One of the last lamplighters in the Coast Guard has died.
Alan Johnston, 78, of Warroad, Minnesota, died while performing a Coast Guard Great Lakes District aids to navigation mission on May 13, according to a news release from the Coast Guard. He dedicated 48 years of service to maintaining navigational aids in remote waterways.
The Great Lakes District, officially known as the Ninth Coast Guard District, includes Michigan and is headquartered in Cleveland.
The cause of Johnston’s death is under investigation. An aids to navigation mission usually consists of placing and maintaining visual aids to facilitate safe maritime navigation, Great Lakes District Chief of Waterways Management Lt. Commander Jason Radcliffe said in an email to the Free Press on May 27. Johnston deployed, retrieved and maintained the mission in a very remote location in and around Lake of the Woods, Minnesota, Radcliffe said.
Now, the Great Lakes District and the entire Coast Guard have two remaining civilian professionals tasked with maintaining remote waterways, according to the news release. Both are based in the Midwest in Lake of the Woods area in Minnesota.
The role of lamplighters in the Coast Guard dates to 1852, when the U.S. Lighthouse Board formed and began hiring local citizens on a part-time basis to tend to the lights and buoys too small or remote for a full-time resident keeper, according to the Coast Guard.
When kerosene became the primary fuel for lighthouses and river beacons, a human attendant was needed to manually clean, fill and light the lamps every 12-48 hours. At its peak, the Coast Guard had almost 1,200 lamplighters.
The rise of battery-powered lights and Coast Guard personnel supporting aids to navigation caused less demand for the role, according to the news release.
Most lamplighter positions were phased out, though the Coast Guard kept a small number of lamplighters with essential expertise and knowledge to manage complex, remote and inland waterways. The lamplighter title was preserved for these civilian professionals carrying on the traditions of the original U.S. Lighthouse Service, according to the Coast Guard.
Johnston was the third in his family to become a lamplighter, according to the Coast Guard. He followed his father and grandfather. On top of his duties as a civilian lamplighter, Johnston, who has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, had a career full of adventures, including commercial fishing, logging, septic system design, serving as a county commissioner, and firefighting with the Department of Natural Resources, according to his obituary.
Coast Guard Great Lakes District Commander Rear Adm. Russell Dash recognized Johnston’s service at his memorial in Warroad, Minnesota, last week, according to the news release, saying his death is a “profound loss to the Coast Guard Community” and ends a “remarkable and generational legacy of service.”
“Most mariners never know the names of the people who maintain the lights and buoys that guide them safely through darkness, storms, and danger,” Dash said in the news release. “But everyone on the water depends on them. Alan Johnston’s historic role as a lamplighter is a cornerstone of our navigational safety mission, and it is our honor to recognize his family’s enduring commitment to guiding others safely home.”
Contact Natalie Davies at ndavies@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 1 of last Great Lakes District Coast Guard lamplighters died on job
Reporting by Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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