1898 - The Lighthouse Beacon and the Baby Owl

Elsie watched her older brothers, Edward and Samuel, who were smiling while they held their spelling bee awards and stood at the front of the one-room schoolhouse. 

The pale winter sun came through the window and washed the room in a soft light.

Heat came from the wood-burning warming stove, and the little wooden schoolhouse was cozy and toasty despite the December weather.

The students could hear the rushing sound of the nearby creek flowing over the rocks. The air smelled salty from the sea, mixed with a fragrance of fir trees.

Elsie smiled and clapped her hands with the other six students, but inside she felt a strange sadness. Every time she tried to be as good as Edward and Samuel she did not succeed. 

She reached down to stroke the ears of her puppy, Bear. He rewarded her with a gaze of love, eyes shining against his shaggy dark fur.

“What is wrong with me?” her twelve-year-old heart asked her. She knew she was no longer a child. But she was not quite an adult either. Part of her felt and thought with childish ways. But she could tell another part of her mind was more like an adult.

“Congratulations, Edward and Samuel,” her mother said. “You have tied for the spelling bee champions.”

“Those were difficult words. You both deserve to win.”

“When am I going to win something?” she thought. “Why is it always them?”

She felt small, forgotten and alone while the other kids went up to congratulate Edward, age 15, and Samuel, age 17. 

“If only Father was back from his supply trip into the village. Then I would feel better,” Elsie thought. “We have the same eyes, everyone says so, and he understands. Why is it Mother always seems to like Edward and Samuel better than me?”

She thought about the way her mother’s eyes and the boys’ eyes had the same strong blue. Elsie knew she and her father shared greenish-gray eyes, freckles, and dark hair with reddish glints in it. Their Irish eyes twinkled and laughed while they use their imaginations to think of ideas.

“I love living in Oregon at the lighthouse,” she thought. “But I miss my old friends at the Texas ranch outside Austin."

Elsie began to feel tired. 

“It’s the Christmas season,” she thought.

“I’m supposed to feel happy. Nobody notices me. Father is on a trip to get supplies. My old friends are all far away. I want to grow up so I can be good at things like Edward and Samuel, and so people will clap for me too.”

She thought about her efforts to try to catch up to Edward and Samuel. Elsie wondered if she would ever be able to do what they did, and have her parents proud of her, too.

“Reading time,” said Jeanie. Elsie thought about the way her mother taught the group, each person reading out loud for practice.

“Samuel,” Jeanie said, “Please read your assignment from “The Time Machine,” by H. G. Wells."

Elsie thought about the way Samuel was good with science and math. She knew he enjoyed this book and Elsie liked listening to him read it.

Next, Jeanie said, “Edward, your turn, let’s hear some of Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden Pond.”

While Edward read out loud Elsie thought, “Living here at the lighthouse is like the way Thoreau lived out at Walden Pond, far away from town.” She listened carefully. 

"I love the keepers’ house, the beach, and the ocean,” she thought. "But I can't wait until I grow up. I'm tired of being treated like a child."

When Edward was finished reading, Jeanie said, “Elsie, are you ready? Please speak up, dear. Let’s hear another chapter of “Black Beauty.”

While Elsie read in her strongest voice, Jeanie thought about all the books in her in the family library back in Austin, Texas. 

Jeanie pictured her father standing in his black pants, vest, and bowler hat next to the one-horse carriage, holding his black bag, ready to head out to set broken bones or help a woman deliver a baby. 

Often her mother went with him to assist, until her older brothers began their medical internships with him. Jeanie remembered the strong, stocky, calm brown horse who pulled the carriage. She thought the best part about being schooled at home was their library. When her father came out to Austin, Texas, from back east, he brought his collection of books. 

Jeanie loved escaping into a good book. She hoped she was passing on this love of books to her students too. 

Jeanie saw Elsie looking downcast. She knew Elsie was a sensitive child, and she wondered if some of the experiences of the horses in the "Black Beauty" horse story were causing Elsie to look a little sad.

Fifteen miles away in the tiny village on the river, Joseph was standing at the barn with his riding horse and the pack horses. 

“Here’s a strong, honest worker,” said the stable manager, pointing at a reddish sorrel horse. “You couldn’t go wrong with this one,” he said.

Joseph’s eyes traveled over the horse’s form. He walked around the horse, picked up the feet, ran his hands along the legs, and looked at the horse’s teeth.

“He does have a nice eye,” he said. The brown eyes seemed to meet his own with a friendly glance. Joseph felt a slight connection and he made a decision.

“I need a gentle horse for my daughter,” he said. “What’s his name?”

“I call him Flame,” said the stable manager. “He’s experienced and old enough to be steady. He’s reliable.”

“I’ll take him,” Joseph said, and he pulled out a payment. “He can pack a load of supplies on the way back, too, and help me out.”

Joseph smiled. Christmas was almost here. He saw a vision of Elsie smiling with joy when he gave her this flame-colored horse. The boys already each had a horse of their own. Joseph had presents for everyone else, but Elsie was an unusual kid.

He felt challenged while trying to find the right Christmas gift for her. The horse was practical too. It could double as another pack horse.

Finding presents for the boys was easy. They liked fishing equipment. Jeanie loved her cooking utensils. 

Elsie’s life had been uprooted at an impressionable age when they left Austin, Texas. He thought she seemed to enjoy life at the lighthouse. Joseph’s eyes looked somber when he wondered if she was lonely with only two other families for companionship there. 

He knew she tried to tag along with the boys, but it was not the same. She seemed a little lost.

He thought about Elsie running on the beach with her dog, Teddybear. Joseph was so glad they let her keep the puppy. She loved animals.

He pictured her riding the new horse and he thought that would put a smile on her face. It was a useful skill too.

After the supplies were packed on the horses, Joseph set out on the trail going north.

He was glad the December rain was holding off and the day was clear. The new horse followed along on the pack horse string in a way that let Joseph know the horse was used to doing this.

At the shore, Joseph saw the tide was low and the sandy beach was revealed way, way out. He let out a breath of relief. “Its clear, Copper,” he said to his horse. 

“So glad it is not a high tide. When the beach is flooded there is no way with those strong currents that we can get around that rocky bend. I don’t want to spend the night camping in a cave while I wait for low tide,” he thought.

He let the horses walk slowly over the wet sand. Joseph smiled to himself. Soon he would be home.

At the school house Jeanie said, “Children, we’re done today. Samuel and Edward, you can chop down a tree for us to put up for Christmas and drag it back to the house. Please put it in the barn until I get the parlor cleared for it.”

“Come on Bear, let’s go,” Elsie said to the puppy sitting at her feet inside the schoolhouse. “Good dog,” she said, hugging his shaggy, dark fur.

Elsie and Jeanie walked past the creek as they left the ravine where the schoolhouse sat. When they reached the sandy beach they took the sloping trail up to their lighthouse keeper’s house. 

They listened to the seagulls calling and the waves pounding the shore. Floating through the sea air came the sounds of sea lions barking. Jeanie and Elsie saw the sleek dark heads of the sea lions floating together in groups on the ocean swells. Elsie looked over the dried-up blackberry bushes next to the trail, and at the ragged coastline. She remembered the ranch in Austin, Texas, and it seemed so long ago now.

Jeanie and Elsie never tired of seeing the tall, white lighthouse topped by the lantern room. At night the beacon shined for 20 miles out to sea. The rotating light swept the jagged, treacherous coastline and the vast ocean.

Elsie knew that while her father was away, the other two lighthouse keepers were keeping up the routine. At night the lighthouse was serviced every four hours, or more often when needed. The lighthouse keepers kept the kerosene filled, the wicks were trimmed, and the soot from the flames was wiped off the fresnel lens and the other parts of the beacon. During the day the beacon was not lit.

At the house, Elsie went to the shed for more firewood for the stove and fireplace. She and her mother then put the pots on top of the Franklin wood-burning warming stove.

Then Elsie brought vegetables and canned preserves in mason jars from the root cellar under the house. Soon the aromas of vegetable stew and herbs wafted through the house. Jeanie got the dried salmon out to go with the stew.

Elsie began putting flat pancake shapes of cornmeal into a skillet and making flatbread. Her thoughts were still spiraling with feelings of missing her old friends in Austin. Jeanie watched her with curiosity and concern, but she was unsure what to say or do.

Jeanie glanced out the window frequently, looking for the silhouettes of her husband and the horses. 

She knew it always took several days to make the trip and take care of business and supplies in the village. But they would all feel better when Joseph was safely back home, and they knew he had successfully made it across the beach trail.

“There's the tree,” said Jeanie, and Elsie saw the boys hauling a well-shaped Christmas tree into the barn.

When they came into the house, Jeanie said, “Edward and Samuel, I need you to help with stringing this popcorn,” Jeanie said. “Then please clear the parlor and bring the tree over.”

In the barn, the tree sat under a set of rafters that had a nest sitting on them. There was a rustle in the nest and a large adult owl flew away from it and out the window. Then several heads popped up over the side of the nest. There was a scuffle, and a brown shape dropped from the nest downward into the Christmas tree below.

Finding itself on the dense boughs, the baby owl began exploring and burrowing into the thick fir needles. It was like nesting under the parent owls, dark and cozy. The baby owl's big eyes blinked as it settled itself comfortably inside the tree. Then it closed the brown eyes and took a nap. 

When the boys came to get the tree, the baby owl shifted a little but clung to its branch and went back to sleep. Above, in the rafters, the other owlets curled up together, keeping warm, and waiting for the parent to bring another feeding.

The owlet woke up again when the tree was set up in the dining room by the window and the owlet felt the heat from the wood burning warming stove, saw light shining into the tree, and heard puzzling sounds.

There were lots of movements from the people draping the tree with popcorn and the owlet could smell the popcorn’s aroma. It was different from the meals the owlet got from the parents but the owlet sensed it was food.

Jeanie, Elsie, Edward and Samuel finished putting the homemade presents on the tree. Edward hung the brightly colored pictures of animals he had made on the branches. Samuel hung the carved wood seagulls, sea lions, and shells he had made for the family. 

Elsie’s creations of driftwood, shells, and colored beach stones were leaned against the tree trunk. Jeanie added the knitted slippers she had made for everyone. As the afternoon light began to fade they saw the familiar figure of Joseph on his horse, leading the pack string across the beach below.

“He’s back,” shouted Elsie.

They grabbed their coats and ran down the trail to the beach.

“Look, there’s an extra horse,” ‘Elsie said, with her puppy, Bear, running along next to her.

The wind blew over the waves, the tidepools reflected the setting sun, and the beacon from the lighthouse swept past them as it rotated. Elsie felt her mood begin to lift.

“Here boys, take these pack horses to the house and unload them,” said Joseph. 

“Elsie, please take this one to the house too,” he said, handing the lead rope for the new horse to Elsie. “Merry Christmas, Elsie."

She froze, wondering, looking at her father, “What did he mean?"

“This is Flame. It’s time for you to practice your riding. He's yours now," said Joseph.

Elsie felt her face turn into a huge smile and her heart raced.

“Mine?” She looked at the friendly eyes as Flame turned toward her. Bear looked at the horse and wagged his tail.

Joseph looked at her and laughed. “Yes, for you.”

Elsie could hardly breathe, she was so excited. She stepped closer to Flame and they looked into each other's eyes.

The group went up the trail to the barn and Elsie was filled with a sense of wonder.

How the day had changed. One moment she felt alone and forgotten. The next moment she was beyond words with joy. "Was this what it was like to be twelve years old? So many changes? Why was it so complicated?"

Father was back. How had he known how much she wanted a horse? Her heart was beating fast and she felt as sparkling as the sun or the stars. She stroked Flames’ soft nose and drew her fingers over the heavy winter coat.

Elsie put Flame in the corral with the other horses and helped carry armfuls of hay over to Flame. She felt as if she was light and floating. Her own horse. She tingled all over with excitement.

When everyone was finished feeding the animals they went into the house.

Joseph began to unpack the supplies and the presents. 

The family sat at the dining table in the parlor. Supper was quiet while they enjoyed the vegetable stew and cornmeal flatbread that Jeanie and Elsie cooked earlier.

Afterward, they went to sit in the parlor and admire the new Christmas tree.

Elsie saw Teddybear go over to the Christmas tree and stare at it. The dark-haired puppy did a play bow, lowering his front end to the floor, smiling with his white teeth gleaming, and keeping his rear in the air, wagging his tail. 

“No Teddybear, do not play with the tree decorations,” said Elsie. 

Teddybear made a series of high yips. “What has gotten into him?” said Jeanie.

There was a rustle from inside the tree. The boughs were moving.

“What is it?” Jeanie said, her voice rising.

The branches moved more rapidly. Edward and Elsie leaped toward the tree. What was in there?

Between the fir needles and the popcorn strings, two big brown eyes emerged, then a small round body and two small wings.

The baby owlet peered out at them. Its head swiveled to the left and right, eyes blinking.

They stared back, speechless.

“Wait, don’t scare him,” said Elsie. She reached over carefully, and gently gathered the baby owl into both her hands. It sat immobile, blinking those large eyes.

“It’s from the nest in the rafters of the barn,” she said. The owlet seemed to settle into the warmth of her hands and curl up against her fingers. "The owlet must have fallen down into the tree when you left the tree in the barn."

“”Well, Merry Christmas everyone,” said Jeanie. She started laughing and everyone else joined in.

"Boys, go with Elsie to the barn and help her put the baby owl back in its nest,” she said.

Elsie felt very important while she carried the owl back to the barn. The boys boosted her up and she placed the owlet back into its nest on the barn rafters all by herself.

Then she went to the corral and leaned against Flame’s warm neck while the horse continued finishing the hay.

Bear frolicked along beside her. The corral went from darkness to bright when the lighthouse beacon rotated around and shined on it.

Dark to light. “Merry Christmas,” thought Elsie as she stroked Bear and listened to Flame happily munching hay.

She felt like a special girl, surrounded by love. The lighthouse beacon rotated around again, bathing her in light under the stars.

"Round and around, like days and nights," Elsie thought.

"When it's dark, the light will come around and shine again."