Lights of the Inside Passage: A History of British Columbia's Lighthouses and their Keepers - Tapa blanda

The lighthouses of the inside passage, many of them built to guide prospectors on their way to the Klondike, stretch from sheltered stations on the Gulf Islands to stark, storm-swept Triple Island and Langara, south of Alaska. Feel the fury of destructive North Pacific gales and tidal waves that ravage the coast; ponder the unsolved murder of Addenbrooke's keeper, and the mysterious disappearances on Egg Island; witness the insanity caused by isolation -and enjoy the contentment and peace that many keepers found on their solitary stations.

Don Graham, keeper at Vancouver's Point Atkinson light, tells the stories of individual lighthouses, then brings the history of lightkeepers in general into the present. The century-old tradition of service that has insured the safety of West Coast mariners and ships is currently threatened by automation, and Graham presents a persua-sive case against unmanning the lights through his account of the dedication and endurance of pioneer keepers.

Donald Graham is the former keeper of the Port Atkinson Lighthouse.
Ian Mulgrew
Vancouver Sun
Friday, October 10, 2003
Not long after dawn Wednesday, leaden sheets of rain marching across the chop off Point Atkinson, the last keeper of the light that heralds Vancouver died.

A keeper for 17 years at the landmark red and white tower at the treacherous confluence of Howe Sound and Burrard Inlet, and much, much more, Don Graham succumbed within sight of the seascape to which he devoted so much of his life.

With family and friends at his side, the 56-year-old considered the foremost authority on B.C. lighthouses had battled pancreatic cancer for several months.

The author of two perennial favourite and acclaimed books -- Keepers of the Light and Lights of the Inside Passage -- Graham was a recognized community and political activist who toiled for peace, more compassionate government, and the environment.