Lighthouses. They dapple our coastlines and are a large part of our Maritime history. Did you know that Canada's oldest surviving lighthouse was built in 1758 on Sambro Island, at the entrance to Halifax Harbour?
We’ll I have more to add to that, thanks to a note at the end of a recipe.
Does the name Ron Gilkie right a bell? Well, he was the gentleman who submitted the lovely recipe for Creamy Cremini Mushroom Soup during my maple recipe contest. It was printed in the Monday, April 6 edition of your newspaper.
I read every email that lands in my inbox and after salivating through my read of the maple-infused soup, I noticed there was more at the bottom of the recipe.
What followed was a lovely personal note. Mr. Gilkie and I had met before, when he was chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee of the Discovery Centre. I emceed their inspiring gala for several years.
As I read on, I realized Mr. Gilkie had an amazing story to tell:
“ … I am the first of five generations of the Gilkie family to not be the lighthouse keeper on Sambro Island. William Gilkie came over from Scotland in 1837 and became assistant keeper to Mr. Goodwin, the keeper. He married the keeper’s daughter and took over as keeper when Mr. Goodwin either retired or died, I am not sure which. The job was passed on from father to son until my dad, Roy Gilkie, was assistant keeper to his father, Arthur. They came ashore in 1929 so Dad could attend Tech to take auto mechanics. I still have his diploma, signed by Freddie Sexton, who was principal from 1907 until 1947.
“I also have in my possession a medal given to my great-grandfather by King George IV, honouring 40 years of service. And lastly, I still have the barometer that grandfather used on Sambro Island. It hangs in my kitchen where I can look at it every morning just as my dad did to determine what the weather is going to be like for the day.”
Tomorrow, we'll get to see the old barometer and learn more about the historic Sambro Lighthouse, also known as the Canadian Statue of Liberty.
- Want more weather information? Visit your weather page.
- Have a weather question, photo or drawing to share with Cindy Day? Email [email protected]
Cindy Day is the chief meteorologist for SaltWire Network
