Miss Colfax's Light

by Aimée M. Bissonette, Eileen Ryan Ewen (Illustrations)

A beautifully illustrated account of the remarkable life of one of America's fiercely independent and determined women lighthouse keepers.

In 1861, at the age of 37, Harriet Colfax took on the job of lighthouse keeper for the Michigan City lighthouse off Lake Michigan. It was a bold and determined endeavor, especially since there were very few female lighthouse keepers in the country at that time. For 43 years, until the age of 80, Harriet kept her light burning, through storms, harsh winters, and changes in technology.

This true story focuses on Harriet's commitment and determination to fulfilling her charge and living life on her own terms. Excerpts from her actual log are included.

Genres: Biography, Picture Books, Nonfiction, History, Historical, Childrens, Womens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2016

About the author

Aimée Bissonette was born the sixth of seven children. She grew up with her suitcase never fully unpacked - her family moved many times and she attended 8 different schools before graduating from high school. Aimée earned her Bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University and her Law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School. She has worked as an occupational therapist, teacher, lawyer, and small business owner. In addition to her books for children, Aimée has published a book for K-12 teachers and administrators on the legal issues associated with technology in the schools. She lives with her husband, family, and dogs in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Reviews

[Heather]

 This was a pretty inspirational story, and would be good for kids, especially young girls to read, to show them they can do anything they want. The phrase "I can do this" was said throughout and would be a good thing for kids to incorporate into their own lives to get them through difficult things in life.

It didn't say how Harriet Colfax went from living with her brother to becoming a lighthouse keeper. There was no background on that, and the book starts out with her moving into the house.

This was a unique lighthouse for sure, not what I was expecting. I was surprised that this lighthouse was attached to the house, unlike most other lighthouses. Although probably better and easier for the keeper to manage, not walking outside in all types of weather to go to the light.
And it wasn't attached on the side either. It looked like a regular house with just the light attached on the roof.
They didn't say how tall it was, and I wish they had. It can't be too talk, since it's attached to the house and the top was only a little higher than the roof.

It's amazing what this woman did, how long she was a lighthouse keeper (43 years), and what she did to have her freedom in the place she loved. After her brother moved, she wanted to stay behind and moved into the lighthouse with her friend Ann. It's crazy what all she had to do, how she went up and down the stairs twice a day, at night to light the lamp and again in the morning to turn the lamp off. And then when they added a beacon light on the pier and she had to walk across a catwalk 1500 feet onto Lake Michigan, and then moved it to another spot she had to row to and go across the shore to walk a catwalk that went 500 feet further than the last one. It's like they wanted to make her job miserable!
It's amazing she wasn't cussing mad about all of this. The lights and catwalks would get damaged during storms.
Lighthouse keeping was definitely not glamorous or as romantic as it seems.

Sometimes the Lighthouse Inspector would let Harriet hire an assistant to help with the beacon light, and other times he wouldn't. During this time work was hard to come by for frontiersmen, so it seemed like the Lighthouse Board was trying to make her quit by making her job even more difficult. Well, she got them because she didn't quit!

It was also interesting to see how technology changed throughout history, how the lamp was lit with whale oil, and then later replaced with lard oil, which was cheaper and easier to get. But the lard oil had to be heated up on the stove, and could freeze over on the walk to the beacon, and would have to be reheated. Boy, that would suck.
And in 1904 it was replaced by a modern light, ran by a steam engine and boilers and a fog whistle. It had coal-fired furnaces and needed several keepers to run. That ended Harriet's era. Which is a shame. I like the older lighthouses, not the modern ones.

She was 37 when she first became the keeper, and 80 when she retired.
She sold some things from the household, packed her bags and left, and she says "I can do this" as she has throughout her life.

In some of the images it made it look like Harriet lived alone, but her friend Ann also lived there. I wondered with all the chores she had to do, if Ann ever helped. I know she was a teacher, but it seemed like she would have helped with some of the tasks Harriet had to do each day. When she leaves the house after she retires, it didn't mention anything about Ann leaving too.


At the start, there were very few female lighthouse keepers, but in the Author's Note it said there were many women lighthouse keepers throughout our history. Most became lighthouse keepers because their husbands or fathers were, and I guess they took over for them if they died or something, and couldn't do it anymore.
Her cousin, Schuyler Colfax, was a Congressman and eventually Vice President, and was probably the reason she got her job.
During the Author's Note, it says Harriet was better educated than most keepers, and I was surprised to read that Harriet’s logs are famous for the details she gave, because I thought they were very simple and bare bones. Straight to the facts, no personal opinions or anything.

It mentions how when President Garfield was shot in 1881 she draped the lighthouse in mourning, but not exactly what that meant. Did she put black cloth on the windows? Drape black cloth on the lighthouse? Then how on July 4th, 1896 she "floated to the breeze" the new U.S. flag with 45 stars.
Those were much more interesting logs and I'd rather read those than the ones about the weather that were used in the book.

She worked every single day around the clock for forty years. She told a reporter she loved the lamps, the lighthouse and the work, that it was home and she'd rather die there than live anywhere else.
She died on April 16, 1905, only six months after retiring, and less than three months after Ann died. They're buried near each other in Michigan.
The light never failed while she was in service.

I found the story to be a tad disjointed. The logs weren't as revealing as I would have hoped. I wanted them to be more like a diary, not just strictly what she did, or about the weather. At one point, it felt like the story was about to end, and then it kept going.
It's really nice this was a true story, and that the house has been turned into a museum that you can visit. I would love to see this.
Inspirational, though a tad on the simple side. Not as good as I thought it would be.

[Julie]

This is a fascinating biography of Harriet Colfax who took on the job of lighthouse keeper for the Michigan City Lighthouse. As a woman, people didn’t think she could handle the job, they felt she got the job because of her family connections, and they tried to sabotage her success by making the job even harder. She continued to keep the fire burning for 43 years until the age of 80. Quite an inspirational woman! I want to visit the museum now.

[Sunday]

Read this aloud to your students and they will be struck by the strength of an unsung hero. A recipient of the ILA Children's and Young Adults' Book Award for Nonfiction, this compelling narrative tells the story of Harriet Colfax who was the lighthouse keeper for the Michigan City Lighthouse for forty-three years beginning in 1861. The work was back breaking and intense, but Harriet persevered until she retired at the age of 80. The author uses a repetitive phrase stated by Colfax, “I can do this” to reveal how determined this woman was even when the city asked her to also tend to a beacon light located at the end of a catwalk which reached 1500 feet out into Lake Michigan.

PAIR THIS TEXT with Bissonnette's Headstrong Hallie: The Story of Hallie Morse Daggett the First Female "Fire Guard" (2021).

I make specific suggestions for an interactive read aloud at https://sundaycummins.wordpress.com/2....

[Julie Barrett]

Miss Colfax's light by Bissonette_ Aimee - Ewen_ Eileen Ryan
Story of the first woman lighthouse keeper and what she had to do during her lifetime to keep the light going through good and bad weather.
Loved learning about the Fresnel lens.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

[Shiloah]

Such a great message with a beautiful story.

[QNPoohBear]

A Hoopla bonus borrow and nearly impossible to read on a tablet screen but worth reading if you can get a print copy at the library.

While I've read about female lighthouse keepers before, they were mainly on the east coast in the U.S. and Canada. This true story is different because
1)Miss Colfax's light was in Michigan and her duties were more treacherous. The things the lighthouse board made her do were unacceptable. She was forced to walk across a high, long catwalk at night across Lake Michigan (!) to light the beacon light in all weathers. She doesn't seem to have undertaken any rescues but was determined and dedicated to keeping the lights going. She didn't retire in 1904, in her 80s, and only because technology changed!

It's different because
2)The story mentions how life in the midwest for women was different. Women had more freedoms than they did back east. Harriet was able to work professionally as a lighthouse keeper in her own right, not as a sister, daughter or wife of a light keeper.

3)She appears to have been in a "Boston Marriage" with another woman. They lived together in the lighthouse keeper's home for the rest of their lives. (Ann is referred to as Harriet's friend and companion. Back east that was called a Boston Marriage and some consider it the modern equivalent of a lesbian relationship.)

Harriet was an inspiration. She kept repeating to herself "I can do this!" over and over again for 43 years. She had to learn new technology, adapt and change to keep her job. Her back became bowed from years of carrying pails of coal and oil and bending over fighting the wind. Naturally she died shortly after retirement. Her heart must have been broken to give up the job she loved and was good at.

The back matter includes more about Harriet Colfax and a glossary of lighthouse terms.

The illustrations aren't bad. I liked how Harriet's logbook entries are included in the illustrations. The faces are a little odd and cartoony at times. I don't think they're eye-catching and really, only the nerdiest kids (like me) and parents are going to pick this one up.

Maybe it's used in classrooms and libraries in Michigan to teach local history.

[Kizzi Roberts]

In 1861, on the shore of Lake Michigan, sat a lighthouse waiting for Harriet Colfax to arrive. Working a lighthouse was hard work, with long hours. Many thought Miss Colfax would not be able to handle the strenuous work, but for the next 43 years she proved them wrong as she manned the lighthouse and kept ships safe.

Miss Colfax's Light written by Aimée Bissonette and illustrated by Eileen Ryan Ewen is a surprisingly fascinating tale of one woman's dedication and determination. Having never heard of Miss Colfax before, the tale is exceptionally informative while maintaining a good pace and keeping the reader engaged. The illustrations are beautiful and will keep little ones entertained as the text is read aloud. This non-fiction account of the life of Miss Colfax, including detailed descriptions of maintaining the light and excerpts from her journal, is sure to spark interest in children of all ages.

Thank you to Sleeping Bear Press for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Lynn]

Narrative biography told in chronological order. Details bring the reader right into the lighthouse with her and the illustrations pull us even closer to the passion, dedication, and determination of Miss Colfax. We also feel her acceptance of the end of her life-time work: "But Harriet understood. She was 80 years old. It was time."
Author's note and Glossary of Lighthouse Terms give more details. Occasional inserts of her diary entries help show the faithfulness of Bissonette's narratives.

[Laura Salas]

I generally prefer spare, short picture books, so I blanched when I saw the amount of text on each spread. But I was quickly drawn into the dramatic story of this female lighthouse keeper in the 1800s--and all the physical and dangerous work she did. Lovely--by turns dramatic and detailed--pen and ink art by Eileen Ryan Ewen complements this story of determination and bravery. A compelling way to learn a bit of history!

[Stephanie Croaning]

I came upon this book when a 4th grade teacher wanted a picture book about Indiana, that was not something like H is for Hoosier. I was looking for a story that didn't focus on the Indy 500, and came across this book.

Harriet Colfax was an amazing woman who persevered through very difficult situations. A refrain she repeats throughout the book is, "I can do this!" It would be interesting to pair this story with Hello, Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall.

[SusanwithaGoodBook]

Adorable little book about the lighthouse keeper at the Old Michigan Indiana Lighthouse. She kept the light alone until she was 80 years old! It’s an amazing life and a cute little story. I particularly love the little illustrations.

[Pita-eater]

This is the true story of a female lighthouse keeper in Michigan City, IN. The story details Miss Colfax's strength and determination, including the repeated phrase, "You can do this." The illustrations are lovely.

[Melissa]

Loved everything about this book

[Melissa Ried]

Very interesting story and GORGEOUS illustrations!!

[Terri]

Very interesting story about the woman who manned our local Lighthouse for 40 years.

[Sarah]

2017 Amelia Bloomer Project

[Diane]

Amazing! Story about an amazingly courageous woman.

[Babs]

Easy informative read with great illustrations

[Stacy]

This book is a great historical picture book.

[Andrea]

This was unique in that Harriet Colfax was appointed for the role of lighthouse keeper. I was surprised that the country had many women lighthouse keepers but most of them got the job because their husbands and dads were keepers.

I was surprised that in the story the author wrote that people thought she got the job because her cousin was a US Congressman at the time who went on to become Vice President. She made it sound like people doubted her abilities because she said Harriet would prove them wrong. Then at the end in the author's note, she wrote that he probably helped Harriet get the job as a favor to her family. I thought that wasn't the case!

Harriet is what you would call a spinster even though that word wasn't used. She was 37, unmarried, with no job and no home. She had lived with her brother before this but he was moving out of Indiana and she wanted to stay. She had independence because in Indiana women could do almost all the same things men could. She'd been a music teacher and a newspaper worker. She would get to live in the keeper's house and have her own home and earn $350 a year.

Twice a night she had to carry a bucket of whale oil up the stairs to refuel the light and had to polish the Fresnel lens. At daybreak she went back up the stairs to the lantern room and put the light out, cleaned, and painted. She varnished the woodwork and shined the brass. She made noted in the log. In the evening she did the whole process again. Every night she did this whether she was tired, ill, or when it stormed or was cold.

I was shocked that in 1871 she also had to light the beacon light on the Michigan City east pier. She had to cross a catwalk 1,500 feet out on the lake to do so. After lighting the main light she had to fill another bucket of fuel for the beacon light. Lard oil replaced whale oil, because it was cheaper and easier to get. But it had to be heated. Sometimes the oil hardened in the cold and she had to go back and reheat the oil. Waves would crash over the catwalk and soak her.

In 1874 the Lighthouse Board moved the beacon light to the west pier. It went out 2,000 feet into the lake. So now she had to row a boat cross the creek and hike the shore to cross the catwalk. Sometimes it was damaged by storms. She had to telegraph the Inspector that the light couldn't be repaired once.

Sometimes the Inspector allowed her to hire an assistant to help with the beacon light. But many times he didn't and she had to tend both lights herself. Jerk! Work was scarce and the author asked if they were trying to make her quit so the job would go to a man. I wondered if that was a thought Harriet had or if the author found info. to imply that. I guess I'll never know.

She kept the light burning for 43 years. People in Michigan City called it Miss Colfax's light. Ships often called it Old Faithful. It's amazing that she saw lunar eclipses, and the northern lights. It was cool but also sad that she saw the schooners replaced with iron and steel steamships.

In 1904 when she was 80, the Lighthouse Board replaced it with a modern light. It would have a steam engine and boilers and a fog whistle and have to have several keepers to work the coal-fired furnaces.

It was depressing that her time ended and the light was no more. She tendered her resignation of the main light to the Lt. House Inspector, and that she wrote that she sold off all her household effects and vacated the "dear old Lt. House." So sad.

It was such a cool fact that she was better educated than most keepers and her log is famous for the detail. I loved learning that she draped the lighthouse in mourning when President Garfield was shot and when other presidents died. And awesome that she "gloated to the breeze" the new flag with 45 stars. What an incredible point in history that she lived to see.

It was hard and dangerous work. She worked around the clock for 43 years to tend the light. She died 6 months after she retired. The lighthouse is a museum and I would love to visit. The light never failed to shine during her service.

I liked the glossary explaining what a beacon light, breakwater, catwalk, fog whistle, Fresnel lens, Lantern tower, Lighthouse Board, Log, and Pier are.

The illustrations are okay, not bad but not great either. I don't like the style because the severe lines made the people look ugly. But the rest of the illustrations were nice, just not the people.
I got tired of the constant phrase "I can do this." I don't like when authors put words into historical figures' mouths when they don't know if they said that or not. If it's a quote, I want for the real person to have actually said that, not for it to be made up. It felt like the author wanted it to be inspirational and so used this catchphrase but it was way too modern for the time period and got old.

[Thomasin Propson]

"With Ann as her companion, Harriet lived out her life on the great lake [Michigan]." Perhaps to allow for a wider (e.g., prejudiced) readership, this lovely children's book skims over the lifetime of love Harriet shared with her partner Ann. It's there, though, if only in the barest of mentions at the beginning of the story, with Harriet leaving Ann in Indiana, and at the end, when Ann has since joined Harriet in Michigan, and they living long lives together before dying within months of each other.

Illustrations are 4/5.
Story is 4/5.
Readability is 3/5. Ideal for an older child to read to themselves (too wordy for reading aloud - too advanced vocabulary and use of occasional italics for early readers).

Harriet Colfax wasn't a name familiar to me before reading book, though her service is apparently more discussed in Michigan. This children's picture book is a story of persistence, focusing on Harriet's job as a lighthouse keeper and how she survived years of physically difficult work in brutal weather, and also the mental strain of being the only one responsible for such an important community feature (including having to prove herself to a public less than happy about a woman filling the role, and perhaps, in part, to protect herself and Ann).

[A Allen]

I read and purchased this book for the first time after visiting the Old Lighthouse Museum in Michigan City, Indiana. This was the perfect souvenir for me! I love the illustrations and I appreciate that a children's book about Harriet exists. Some of the pages have large chunks of text so I would recommend this title for children just a little older than my preschool students. I enjoyed reading about many of Harriet's tasks and experiences at the lighthouse. However, I was disappointed that the book glossed over Harriet's "friendship" with Ann Hartwell; Ann was at the very least Harriet's life-long companion, not just any ol' friend. Although we cannot say for certain the nature of their relationship, we do know that the two exchanged engagement rings, which they wore for the rest of their lives, they lived together for decades, and they were laid to rest side by side at the cemetery.

[Lois]

In the 1860s, Harriett Colfax began working as a lighthouse keeper for the Michigan City lighthouse on L. Michigan. For forty-three years this determined woman kept her light burning (remarkable!) until her retirement at the age of eighty. Bissonette includes excerpts from Harriett's log and information about lighthouse life. The excellent illustrations by Eileen Ryan Ewen bring these details to life. Bissonette provides an Author's Note and a good Glossary of Lighthouse Terms.

[Dorothea Holcomb]

A great book about the tireless efforts of a female lighthouse keeper in the late 1800s. Great for teaching about this period in history and especially for teaching girls that they can do any career they out their mind to if they work hard. Watercolor illustrations are a treat too.

[Sherry Scheline]

Great book for the women’s history month. It is a very inspiring story. She worked hard and was dedicated to her task.

[Lady reading under the Willow]

Wow! Here's another courageous lady lightkeeper. What peril she faced! What dreadful cold! She tended her light faithfully for 43 years.

[VJ]

Biography of Harriet Colfax, the first woman lighthouse keeper on Lake Michigan. Lovely illustrations, including lots of cats!

[Amy]

What a compelling story! I'm so glad my kids and I got to know Miss Colfax, and cheer her on every time she told herself "I can do this."

[Andi]

What a remarkable woman!

Beautiful illustrations and story told with great respect and admiration of Miss Colfax.

[Krista]

The life story of Harriet Colfax a lighthouse keeper.