Female keeper of 300-year-old lighthouse prepares to farewell job

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Waves crashed as the wind whipped and howled, sending eddies of snow and ice towards the two figures, illuminated by the 22-metre lighthouse.

Instead of being frightened by the wild Nor'easter, Sally Snowman - the first, and last, female keeper of the Boston Light - was exhilarated.

The Massachusetts woman rushed to photograph the raging 20 foot seas - much to the chagrin of her employer, the Coast Guard.

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"This is partly why we aren't allowed to do winter watches anymore," she told 9news.com.au, explaining the Coast Guard weren't happy seeing her pictures.

"They said 'what were you doing out there? And so the Coast Guard said 'that's it, no more winter watches'."

It took three days "for the sea to calm down" and for rescue boats to pluck Snowman and her colleague from Little Brewster Island; the rocky three-acre spit of land, the 306-year-old beacon is perched upon.

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Sally Snowman was appointed as the keeper of the Boston Light in 2003, after a nation-wide search. She is the first, and last, female keeper of the lighthouse.The lighthouse has been lashed by violent storms called Nor'easters, akin to hurricanes these can occur throughout the year, but are most common in September through April.

"It was meant to be a typical Nor'easter with 40 knot winds (74km/h), but it turned out to be a full-blown blizzard, with hurricane gusts of 70 knots (129km/h)," she said.

"The waves were banging on the back of the house, the bed felt like it was vibrating.

"The question I would get asked is 'was I afraid?', but no.

"If I was to die out on Boston Light in a storm, what a way to go."

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Sally Snowman said the cold started getting worse, and so on-island winter stays stopped around 2013.

A curious quirk in the law

Snowman is the first, and last, female keeper of the Boston Light.

The storm of 2013 is just one she fondly remembers during her two decades tending to America's second oldest lighthouse, which casts a beam 43 kilometres across the Atlantic Ocean.

She was appointed keeper in 2003, even though the beacon is automated.

A curious quirk in federal law is why Snowman has the position she does today; in 1989 legislation was passed requiring the Boston Light remain manned.

But by the end of next year, she will retire as the Coast Guard plans to do a stewardship transfer of the island.

Snowman loves nature and said she thrives on the solitude.

Snowman said she fell in love with the lighthouse at the tender age of 10.

"My dad was a Coast Guard Auxiliarist," she explained.

"He had arranged to have a summer picnic with other Auxiliarists on the island in 1961, and he brought the family.

"We anchored the boat, I stepped out, looked up at the lighthouse and said to my father; 'daddy when I grow up I want to get married out here'."

Sally Snowman was appointed as the keeper of the Boston Light in 2003, after a nation-wide search. She is the first, and last, female keeper of the lighthouse.

And that did happen, in 1994, when she exchanged vows with her husband James who she met in the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

"At the time it was a stag station, for men only," she said.

"As an Auxiliarist I wasn't able to stay there, but once I got married to a fellow Auxiliarist, we could go up together."

Almost a decade later she landed her full-time dream job. 

Solitude, snow and sunshine: What a keeper endures

As a keeper, Snowman spent a lot of time living on-island, including during extreme winters, and dazzling summers.

Sally Snowman keeper of the Boston Light said she always kept a flower garden on the island.

Her days would be filled with chores while she spent her weekend doing tours.

She'd quickly "fall into a routine".

"We'd get up at 7am do rounds, check the buildings, make sure no hazardous matter had washed up on shore," she said.

"We would do routine maintenance... Keep the interior buildings clean, mow the lawn, trim the walkaway.

"I love to have a flower garden out there, so I'd tend that. I love to go down to the beach and look for heart-shaped rocks. Around the house I have all these little rocks."

One of the aspects of her days does stand out; the solitude.

"I can't get enough of it," she said.

"Sometimes the sea is roaring and sometimes it's lapping.

"We would see the sun rise on the horizon, and it would set 10 miles (16 kilometres) away in Boston.

"We had this 360 degree panorama that I just loved."

Sally Snowman said nothing rivals the 360 degree panorama on Little Brewster Island.

Snowman said she's been honoured to tend the light, and experience a side of nature not many do. 

"I'm going to retire on December 31st, 2023," she said.

"I'm so privileged to be the 70th keeper of the Boston Light, with the first 69 all men.

"Can you imagine coming across the Atlantic Ocean in the 1700s, a horrible trip, and then seeing this lighthouse flashing?

"It gave hope, it's the light showing the way."



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