Dedication to the Lighthouse Service as a Keeper required sacrifice. Joseph and Annie Muise's two year stint at Baker Island, from 1930-1932, resulted in more sacrifice than most; the family's short time there was marked by hardship, triumph and tragedy.
The Muises arrived on Baker with four children: Ronald (12), Bill (11), Madeline (10) and Adele (1). Annie was pregnant.
It must have been an eerie sight. After 120 years of continuous family settlement, Baker was deserted. The widow Phoebe Jane Stanley had died the previous year, and her son, Bert, had moved to "the big island." The dilapidated schoolhouse had been closed for about 15 years. Houses and barns, in varying states of disrepair, stood empty; tools, toys, and household items were scattered about.
On August 23, 1932, their oldest son died off the Bar. He was said to have drowned, but it was an accident in which he fell and struck his head before landing in the water. He was playing on a homemade raft--the same thing my kids were doing on Baker 70 years later.
The family was bereft. 18 month old Adele cried and clung to her big brother's body, laid out in the keeper's house.
Captain Muise applied for immediate transfer. Every time Annie looked out at the shore it was agonizing.
So it was that Joe and Annie began their third winter on this strange and hostile-feeling island: in shock and grief, pregnant with three surviving children.
In Nov. of 1932, Mrs. Muise went into labor. Her husband had no assistant, and the weather was stormy; he couldn't leave his post.
As a keeper, his responsibility was to keep the light burning. Imagine his anguish! He called the US Lifesaving Service, which had a station across the bar in Islesford. The "surfmen" showed up in the launch to take Mrs. Muise the seven miles across choppy waters to Southwest Harbor... but baby Prudence wouldn't wait! She was delivered into the surfmen's wool peacoats two miles from shore.
It was then that they were replaced by Frank Faulkingham and his family. The Muises were transferred to Moose Point in Jonesport, Annie's hometown; then they went to Burnt Island Light, where they spent 15 years and raised five children. Visitors to Burnt Island are greeted by actors portraying members of the Muise family today.
On Wednesday, July 27, 2016, a marker honoring the service of Keeper Muise was placed at his grave at Mt. Height Cemetery in Southwest Harbor, along with those of six other keepers.
It was an honor for KOBI to be involved in the ceremony. President Cornelia Cesari spoke at the dedication and visited with Captain Muise's two daughters, Adele and Ann.
See more information here: at Lighthouse Digest's Facebook page, or the Mount Desert Islander article.
The Muises arrived on Baker with four children: Ronald (12), Bill (11), Madeline (10) and Adele (1). Annie was pregnant.
It must have been an eerie sight. After 120 years of continuous family settlement, Baker was deserted. The widow Phoebe Jane Stanley had died the previous year, and her son, Bert, had moved to "the big island." The dilapidated schoolhouse had been closed for about 15 years. Houses and barns, in varying states of disrepair, stood empty; tools, toys, and household items were scattered about.
On August 23, 1932, their oldest son died off the Bar. He was said to have drowned, but it was an accident in which he fell and struck his head before landing in the water. He was playing on a homemade raft--the same thing my kids were doing on Baker 70 years later.
The family was bereft. 18 month old Adele cried and clung to her big brother's body, laid out in the keeper's house.
Captain Muise applied for immediate transfer. Every time Annie looked out at the shore it was agonizing.
So it was that Joe and Annie began their third winter on this strange and hostile-feeling island: in shock and grief, pregnant with three surviving children.
In Nov. of 1932, Mrs. Muise went into labor. Her husband had no assistant, and the weather was stormy; he couldn't leave his post.
As a keeper, his responsibility was to keep the light burning. Imagine his anguish! He called the US Lifesaving Service, which had a station across the bar in Islesford. The "surfmen" showed up in the launch to take Mrs. Muise the seven miles across choppy waters to Southwest Harbor... but baby Prudence wouldn't wait! She was delivered into the surfmen's wool peacoats two miles from shore.
It was then that they were replaced by Frank Faulkingham and his family. The Muises were transferred to Moose Point in Jonesport, Annie's hometown; then they went to Burnt Island Light, where they spent 15 years and raised five children. Visitors to Burnt Island are greeted by actors portraying members of the Muise family today.
On Wednesday, July 27, 2016, a marker honoring the service of Keeper Muise was placed at his grave at Mt. Height Cemetery in Southwest Harbor, along with those of six other keepers.
It was an honor for KOBI to be involved in the ceremony. President Cornelia Cesari spoke at the dedication and visited with Captain Muise's two daughters, Adele and Ann.
See more information here: at Lighthouse Digest's Facebook page, or the Mount Desert Islander article.