'He would’ve been so proud': Lighthouse-keeping runs in Nova Scotia family

The River Bourgeois Lighthouse replica was finished in 2003. (Source: LeBlanc family)

Gerald LeBlanc can still smell the kerosene his father Fred used to use to light the River Bourgeois (Inlet) Lighthouse.

“Every time I go in there I think, ‘Oh, here comes the smell of kerosene,’ you know?” says LeBlanc.

The 67-year-old may have retired from his career as a carpenter, but in Cape Breton’s Richmond County, he still works as a lighthouse keeper, checking the small lighthouse down the road from his home every three months. It’s a tradition and a job his father had.

“He started lighting that lighthouse in 1952,” recalls LeBlanc. “He did it for 17 years, and then Nova Scotia Power put the power to it in 1969.”

Lighting the way

The lighthouse sits on the inlet where the Atlantic Ocean meets River Bourgeois.

It’s an exact replica of the original lighthouse which began operations in 1903 and fell into disrepair by 1989. The Coast Guard burned down the 27-feet (8.2 metres) tapered square, wood tower and replaced it with a steel skeleton tower with a light. At the time, residents were upset the original wasn’t saved.

“People were not very happy with just having a steel beam there with light on it. So that's when everybody got together,” says LeBlanc.

In 2002, the community purchased the land from the Coast Guard, and raised enough money to build a replica.

“We were able to get a hold of the original draft of the building,” says Sharon Chilvers, LeBlanc’s sister. “So we built everything exactly as it was. Right down to the paint and the wood.”

With his carpentry skills and deep knowledge of the original, LeBlanc led the rebuild.

“I built it, so I'm stuck with the key, so I am the lighthouse keeper at the moment,” he says.

Fred LeBlanc passed away in 2000, three years before the replica was finished.

“He would’ve been so proud,” Chilvers says from her home in River Bourgeois. “I remember when our mom cut the ribbon, she was just so proud. It was so important to her. It was important to our family. It was something her husband did for all those years. Before that, he was a fisherman. He used the lighthouse himself to get back into the harbor.”

“The people of River Bourgeois are well known for taking care of each other and for taking pride in their community,” said Richmond County Warden Amanda Mombourquette in an email. “As a person with deep roots in the River, each time I see that lighthouse, my heart overflows to know that such a beautiful landmark is being cared for so well.

“I know I join many others in wanting to extend thanks to Gerald, and everyone who pitches in, for their hard work in maintaining the River Bourgeois light.”

As an adult, Chilvers travelled across the country, but the lighthouse was always a welcome sight when she returned home to Cape Breton.

“It’s the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning, and it’s the last thing you see when you go to bed at night,” she says. It’s also a sight to see from near St. John the Baptist Church. “People would sit there and take in all of its beauty, because it really is beautiful, especially from the church where you see the opening that goes into the harbour and watch the boats go through.”

Family memories

The lighthouse’s location is also across the water from the LeBlanc family home, so it wasn’t uncommon for Fred to take one of his 14 children with him to tend to it.

“Our father had a little rowboat, and he would roll across every night and put the light on,” explains Chilvers. “We followed our father to the boat every single day. Sometimes he’d jump in the boat and leave us behind, and then he’d laugh.”

The children also helped paint the building.

“When we were kids, the lighthouse had to be painted every year because the salt water deteriorated the paint,” recalls Chilvers. “We weren’t allowed to paint the white because we were too messy to paint the red part on the top of the lighthouse. We weren’t very good painters. So he never let us paint the red part, but he let us paint the white part, because it didn’t have to be fancy or anything.”

While not a paying job, LeBlanc’s lighthouse duties today differ from his father’s responsibilities.

“He would have to walk almost a quarter mile along the shore every night, and row across the little channel, which is about four or five hundred feet, against a strong current coming in, and light that lighthouse every night,” he says. “He was supposed to go and turn it off every morning also… but he got the idea that if he'd only put so much kerosene in the lantern… it would burn itself out in the morning. So, he didn't have to go back and forth. That was a clever thing.”

In July, solar power was installed, with a red, blinking light turning on automatically every night. While no longer a daily responsibility, the new lighthouse does require upkeep.

“We put vinyl siding on so we wouldn’t have to paint the bottom part of it anymore, because it was getting too hard to get volunteers to go do it. So now I keep the siding clean. The top part is red, of course, I keep that painted up.”

Interior design

The lighthouse is “all wood” as LeBlanc puts it, with a steep set of steps that go up eight feet towards a platform, then another eight feet going the opposite way.

“The thing that I remember most is the stairs,” says Chilvers. “When you went up the stairs, the staircase was so close together that you had to come down backwards, because there’s no way you’d have enough room for your feet, because it was straight up.”

Like the exterior, the steps inside are an exact replica of the original. At 75 years old, Chilvers has no desire to walk those steps anytime soon.

“I’m not so brave anymore,” she laughs.

Family future

While LeBlanc has no plans to hang up his keys anytime soon, there is a plan to keep it in their Acadian family. His nephew’s adult son, who lives in the community, has agreed to keep carrying on as keeper.

“I’m not ready to give it up just yet,” says LeBlanc.

Her sister agrees the keys will stay close.

“Without a doubt somebody from our family would continue it, for sure,” she says.

Click here to see more photos of the lighthouse.

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