POINT PINOS LIGHTHOUSE, PACIFIC GROVE, CA: Emily Fish, Socialite Keeper

Point Pinos Lighthouse, Pacific Grove, CA

The Point Pinos lighthouse in Pacific Grove, California, (near Monterey) opened for business on February 1, 1855 and has been a guiding light for ships along the Central Pacific coast ever since. It is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in the Western United States. On a sunny Saturday in late August, Art and I made a day trip from Oakland to visit the lighthouse. (It had been closed to visitors during the pandemic and recently opened to the public.) Walking on the grounds is free. Tickets for inside tours of the lighthouse led by volunteer docents are available in the gift shop. .

Sometime after 1899, Light Keeper Emily Fish stands near the front entrance, and her servant is to the right in the kitchen garden. Photo courtesy of Pat Hathaway Collection.

I was particularly interested in visiting the Point Pinos Lighthouse because its most famous light keeper (from 1893 to 1914) was Emily Fish, the mother of Juliet Fish Nichols, the subject of my recent picture book biography for children, KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog. Juliet was the light keeper at Angel Island in San Francisco Bay from 1902 to 1914. Emily and Juliet were an unusual mother/daughter light keeper duo, but with different personalities. Juliet led a quiet life at her lighthouse isolated at the bottom of a cliff on an island, whereas Emily was known as the “Socialite Keeper” due to her love of entertaining at her lighthouse.

Emily's bedroom on the second floor of the Point Pinos lighthouse.

Unlike the lighthouse at Point Knox on Angel Island, which was torn down, the Point Pinos lighthouse has been maintained both as a functioning lighthouse (now with a state-of-the-art beacon at the top) and as a historical monument. It is maintained by local volunteers. Most of the building is furnished in the style of the early 20^th century, as it would have been when Emily Fish lived there. (Emily’s belongings were lost after she retired.)

An information panel in the parlor gives a brief description of Emily: "In 1893, Mrs. Malancthon W. Fish (Emily), recently widowed, arrived to take over the job of keeper at Point Pinos. She brought her Chinese servant and a taste for the finer things in life.…Lawns, flowers, hedges, trees and fountains appeared. Fashionable furniture filled the rooms and visitors from near and far would join her for tea. She was a tough boss, going through over thirty assistants in twenty years. Retiring at 71, she and her faithful servant moved to a house in Pacific Grove, where they lived until Emily’s death in 1931."

View across Monterey Bay toward Santa Cruz from the second floor of the lighthouse.

Like keepers at other light houses, Emily recorded the weather and activities at her lighthouse in her log. Sample pages from her log are on display by the second floor window of the lighthouse, which looks out toward the sea. The lighthouse sits on a knoll that provides a good view of the water but is safely away from dangerous waves during a storm.

Sample log entry: Five ladies and a boy were cut off by high tide on the Point. Two of the party called for aid. I sent a stout plank, a rope and the laborer to get them off safely at sunset. Otherwise they would have had to remain until midnight for the low tide. July 31, 1899, Emily Fish, Keeper

Rooms at the back of the lighthouse include the kitchen and bathroom, furnished in an early 20th century style. The only room in the house not in keeping with Emily's time is upstairs over the parlor. It is devoted to WW II mementos, including a newspaper report of the sighting of Japanese submarines off the coast.

Foghorn on display in the parlor.

We were lucky to have a sunny day and clear skies on the day of our visit to the lighthouse. On foggy nights an automated horn blew to warn ships away from the rocky coast. In addition, buoys anchored in the ocean had bells that also served as warnings. 

Ocean buoy.

The buoy on display outside the lighthouse is similar to the red one located in the ocean to the north of Point Pinos. It marks the southern entrance to Monterey Bay. Normally it would have a bell and a light. Buoys warn of danger and serve as navigational tools.

Stairway to light tower. View into room with WW II mementos.

The light on top of the Point Pinos lighthouse still sends its bright beams across the bay--now from a LED lamp. It is completely automated and there is no need for a lightkeeper. The light is maintained by the Coast Guard. Visitors can peek up the narrow stairway of the light tower, but the top is closed to visitors.

Blog post on TIT about Angel Island:

ANGEL ISLAND IN SAN FRANCISCO BAY: A Trip Through Time, Sept 2017

My book KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog is available on Amazon.

For more about Emily Fish's daughter, Juliet Nichols, her log, Angel Island, the Point Knox Lighthouse, 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and more go to https://carolinearnoldart.blogspot.com/p/extra-material-for-keeper-of-light.html .

 

MILLS COLLEGE, OAKLAND, CA: Nature Walk and Window Onto History

Mills College, Oakland, CA

In the middle of Oakland sits the campus of Mills College, an island of greenery around academic buildings and a place where local residents go to play sports on the playing fields, walk along tree lined paths, birdwatch, and generally enjoy nature. Established as a women’s college in 1885, Mills College will transform to a campus of Northeastern University in Boston in the fall of 2022.

Mills Young Ladies Seminary, about 1873. Mills Hall and students.

Mills College began as a Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, CA, moved to Oakland in 1871, and was chartered as a college in 1885. Juliet Fish Nichols (1859-1947), the subject of my new book, Keeper of the Light: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog, was one of the first graduates. 

Olin Library at Mills College. 

Earlier this year, on a Sunday afternoon in June, Art and I took a walk on the Mills campus. I wanted to see Mills Hall, the building where Juliet had lived and attended classes when she was a student.

Mills Hall, 2022.

It is likely that one of the girls seated on the lawn in the 1873 photograph is Juliet, then fourteen years old. (The identity of the girls is not noted on the photograph.) At the time, Mills Hall was the only structure on campus. It contained classrooms and offices as well as housing for faculty and the young women who were the students. Now it is used as an administration building. 

The Bell Tower, designed by architect Julia Morgan. 

Gradually, the college grew, with facilities for the arts, sciences, music, sports and other disciplines. In 1904, the bell tower, El Campanil, designed by Julia Morgan was built in the southeast quadrant of the campus, across from Mills Hall.

A grove of California Bay Laurel trees on the Mills College campus.

In the first years the land around the new campus was quite open except for a few native oak trees. More than one thousand trees were planted, now grown to stately heights. As you walk around the campus today, you feel like you are in an arboretum, with trees and plants identified, and a nature trail along Leona Creek, which flows through the campus. 

A bridge crosses Leona Creek, which flows from the Oakland hills to San Francisco Bay.

The day I visited was shortly after graduation (chairs were still set up on the lawn) and few people were around. It was easy to imagine what it must have been like more than one hundred years ago when Juliet was a student.

Juliet Fish was born in Shanghai, China, where her father, Dr. Melancthon Fish, was serving as a medical missionary and United States consul. The family returned to the United States when Juliet was three. Juliet grew up in Oakland, California, and attended Mills Seminary for Young Ladies, where the goals were good health and a classical education. A daily outdoor walk of at least one mile was required. Students also worked out with dumbbells, Indian clubs and wands—so Juliet was well prepared for the physical demands of her later lighthouse work.

When Juliet was a student at Mills, she would have walked along shaded paths like this one lined with blackberry vines.

In 1888, Juliet married Commander Henry Nichols of the U.S. Navy, who became Superintendent of the 12^th Lighthouse District along the coast of California. They had no children. In 1899, Henry Nichols was sent to the Philippines during the Spanish-American War, where he died of heat stroke, leaving Juliet without financial support.

Angel Island Lighthouse and Bell Station, as it appeared when Juliet lived there.

When Juliet learned that the lighthouse keeper on Angel Island was retiring, she applied for the job. Juliet served as lighthouse keeper at Point Knox on Angel Island from 1902 to 1914. Upon her retirement, Juliet lived the rest of her life in Oakland. She is buried in the family plot at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland.

Except for her lighthouse log and official letters and reports, Juliet Fish Nichols left few clues to her personal life. As I walked around the Mills Campus, I felt that in a small way I was able to share Juliet’s experience as a student and get a bit of insight to her life.

I donated at copy of my book Keeper of the Light to the Olin Library at Mills College in honor of Juliet Nichols. 

For more about Juliet Fish Nichols and Angel Island go to my posts of September 2017 and July 2012.

Additional information about Juliet Nichols, her log, Angel Island, the Point Knox Lighthouse, 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and more is at https://carolinearnoldart.blogspot.com/p/extra-material-for-keeper-of-light.html .

NATIONAL ARCHIVES MUSEUM: Washington, DC, A Treasure Trove of American History

 

National Archives, Washington, DC , viewed from the Navy Memorial

The National Archives Museum in Washington, DC, is home to the United States Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and millions of other historic documents. I recently visited, joining crowds of people clustered around the displays in the rotunda to view the signatures on the Declaration of Independence. In a side gallery, working copies of the Bill of Rights revealed the editing marks as the representatives worked out the details of the wording. Like almost every piece of writing, it is never perfect the first time.

Photographs are not allowed in the museum, but posters on the bus stop outside provide a hint to what you will find inside the museum.

Permanent galleries in the Archives Museum focus on aspects of American history ranging from wartime, civil rights, women’s rights, politics, and more. Current special exhibits are All American: The Power of Sports (September 16, 2022 to January 7, 2024) which explores the power of sports to embody our national ideals and the power of athletes to challenge us to live up to them, and the 50th Anniversary of Title IX (June 21, 2022 to September 7, 2022), about the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.

1919 poster promoting school gardens

The Archives Museum Shop on the first floor of the museum is filled with American history themed items ranging from books and posters, to games, gifts and much more. I was intrigued by a reproduction of a Uncle Sam poster promoting gardening in wartime: Follow the Pied Piper, Join the United States School Garden Army (1919) in light of my recent book about a school garden, Planting a Garden in Room 6.  It seems that school gardens have been around for a long time.

A page from Juliet Nichols' Angel Island Light Station Log Book, kept in the National Archives

In the museum shop I was also impressed by the wide selection of books, especially for children, about men and women who have played a role in American History. My newest book for children, KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: JULIET FISH NICHOLS FIGHTS THE SAN FRANCISCO FOG (CameronKids/Abrams, 2022) is based on the lighthouse log book of Juliet Nichols, which is kept in the National Archives. I spent several days in the Archives when I was researching the book. The story focuses on the summer following the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and Juliet's heroic ringing of the fog bell when the automated machine failed.

The National Archives are located at 701 Constitution Avenue NW. I got there by taking the Metro train, getting off at the Archives/Navy Memorial station.

For information about visiting the National Archives Museum, go to https://museum.archives.gov/visit

The National Archives are on the Federal Triangle Heritage Trail

 

11th ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTREPID TOURIST: Celebrating My New Book KEEPER OF THE LIGHT, Inspired by a Trip to Angel Island

Ferry landing at Angel Island State Park, San Francisco Bay, California

This week is the 11th anniversary of my first post at The Intrepid Tourist, a report of a family trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I have continued to post a new article once a week since then. I still love to travel and sometimes, when I least expect it, a travel experience becomes the source of an idea for a new book.

I am dedicating this blog anniversary to the celebration of my new book, KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog, that comes out this week and which was inspired by a visit to Angel Island State Park in San Francisco Bay ten years ago.

Tram ride around Angel Island

In July 2012, Art and I took a ferry from Tiburon to Angel Island to meet friends, who had sailed their boat from Alameda across San Francisco Bay to the harbor at Angel Island. We had a delicious lunch on the boat and then took a tram ride around the island, narrated along the way with historic details about the buildings and the people who once lived on the island, when it was the site of an army post, immigration facility, and a light and fog bell station. 

Point Knox, once site of the light and fog bell station. The giant bell remains.

Near an overlook on the south side of the island we heard about Juliet Nichols, the light keeper of the Angel Island lighthouse at Point Knox, who, during the summer of 1906, when the bay was filled with supply boats after the devastating San Francisco earthquake, heroically rang the fog bell by hand for more then twenty hours before the fog lifted.

Card catalogue, Oakland Public Library.

Juliet’s story intrigued me. It sounded like the perfect subject for a book. I began to research Juliet’s life and the history of Angel Island. I searched the internet. I went to the Oakland library to read newspaper articles and other items in the archives. (Juliet grew up in Oakland and lived there after she retired.) I looked up Census records on Ancestry.com . 

Angel Island Light House log book, 1904-1912. National Archives, Washington, DC.

I visited the National Archives in Washington, DC, to read Juliet’s lighthouse log. I went back to Angel Island several times. Although her house is gone, the giant bell can still be seen at Knox Point.

Keeper of the Light Illustration by Rachell Sumpter

It took me eight years and many rewrites to tell Juliet’s story, then two more years to see it published. I am thrilled that the book is now available and I can share it with the world. Keeper of the Light: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog is published by Cameron Kids/Abrams and is illustrated with beautiful watercolor paintings by Rachell Sumpter. It is available at many book stores as well as Amazon and other online sources.