Nova Scotia's lightkeeping heritage : an assessment of the life and work of Evelyn Richardson

Abstract

Twentieth-century Nova Scotia witnessed the lighthouse service evolve towards the peak of its technical sophistication and human importance, and eventually decline to its lowest level of practical significance. The automation of lighthouses is arguably an accomplishment in efficiency and economy; but the new navigational aids and systems have meant the demise of the lightkeeping tradition. It is this way of life that was so accurately depicted in Evelyn Richardson's 1945 classic, We Keep a Light .

This thesis will contend that Evelyn Richardson played a pivotal role in the preservation of Nova Scotia's lightkeeping heritage. It will also argue that Richardson made lasting and valuable contributions to local history and conservation, and will analyze her role within a framework of gender analysis and briefly within the theories of modernism and folklorism. This study will also situate We Keep a Light within a survey of lighthouse literature, and demonstrate its historical, cultural and literary importance. Furthermore, this thesis will examine the social, economic and political effects of lightkeeping heritage on twentieth-century Nova Scotia in order to illustrate the necessity of preserving our lighthouses for historical, navigational, cultural, personal and psychological reasons.