28 min listen
Light Hearted ep 229 – Connie Small, “The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife”
FromLight Hearted
ratings:
Length:
59 minutes
Released:
Jun 11, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Connie and Elson Small in the 1940s
Constance Scovill Small was born into a Maine family that included sea captains and lighthouse keepers. Connie had dreams of being an artist or writer, but when light keeper Elson Small asked her, “Do you love me enough to go with me on a lighthouse?” she knew she had to say yes. They were soon married.
Connie Small and Jeremy D'Entremont in 2003
Connie and Elson had a 28-year career at light stations including Maine’s Avery Rock, Seguin Island, and St. Croix Island –also known as Dochet’s Island -- and New Hampshire’s Portsmouth Harbor. Portsmouth Harbor Light Station was their first home with electricity, in 1946.
Some years after Elson’s death in 1960, a woman in a social club said to Connie, “How on earth could anyone have any kind of a life in a lighthouse?” That started Connie on a mission that led to the publication of her book The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife when she was 85 years old. Connie lived to the age of 103, passing away in 2005.
This interview was recorded at the Mark Wentworth Home in Portsmouth in 1997 by Light Hearted host Jeremy D'Entremont. It's been edited for this podcast, and some of the questions have been re-recorded for sound quality and continuity.
Connie and Elson Small at Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse in the 1940s
Listen to the podcast with this player:
Constance Scovill Small was born into a Maine family that included sea captains and lighthouse keepers. Connie had dreams of being an artist or writer, but when light keeper Elson Small asked her, “Do you love me enough to go with me on a lighthouse?” she knew she had to say yes. They were soon married.
Connie Small and Jeremy D'Entremont in 2003
Connie and Elson had a 28-year career at light stations including Maine’s Avery Rock, Seguin Island, and St. Croix Island –also known as Dochet’s Island -- and New Hampshire’s Portsmouth Harbor. Portsmouth Harbor Light Station was their first home with electricity, in 1946.
Some years after Elson’s death in 1960, a woman in a social club said to Connie, “How on earth could anyone have any kind of a life in a lighthouse?” That started Connie on a mission that led to the publication of her book The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife when she was 85 years old. Connie lived to the age of 103, passing away in 2005.
This interview was recorded at the Mark Wentworth Home in Portsmouth in 1997 by Light Hearted host Jeremy D'Entremont. It's been edited for this podcast, and some of the questions have been re-recorded for sound quality and continuity.
Connie and Elson Small at Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse in the 1940s
Listen to the podcast with this player:
Released:
Jun 11, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Light Hearted Ep 9 – Annie C. Harris, Bakers Island; Monster of Piedras Blancas; Eddystone part 2: Bakers Island Lighthouse, Salem, Massachusetts. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont. Host Jeremy D'Entremont interviews Annie C. Harris, director of Essex Heritage. The non-profit organization promotes the cultural heritage of Essex County, Massachusetts, by Light Hearted