Books are lighthouses erected in the great sea of time.

Edwin Whipple, American Author 1819-1886

 

I cannot live without books.

Thomas Jefferson

 

A native of Frederick, Maryland, Elinor DeW ire has been researching, photographing, and writing about lighthouses since 1973, when she moved to Maine with her husband on a military assignment. Since that time, she has lived on many coasts and visited more than 700 lighthouses. Currently, she resides on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington State where she writes and lectures.

DeW ire has authored many books and more than 200 magazine articles about her favorite topic -- lighthouses -- as well as three astronomy books for children, and The Florida Night, a guidebook to the night skies over Florida. She has authored many magazine articles on science, history, and travel and has worked as a contributing editor and columnist for several publications. In 1992 she received a short fiction prize from the National League of American Pen Women for "The Lei," set in Hawaii, where she lived from 1983-85. She is also the recipient of the Coast Guard Book Award for 2003 and 2004, and the Ben Franklin Book Award for 2005.

DeW ire has appeared on numerous television and radio programs about lighthouses, including Connecticut Public Television's "New England Lighthouses," the Learning Channel's "Haunted Lighthouses," (though she doesn't believe in ghosts) and National Public Television's "Legendary Lighthouses." She works on behalf of a number of nonprofit lighthouse societies and is the founder and first president of the Washington Lightkeepers Association. She has been the featured speaker for such organizations as the New England Lighthouse Foundation, the U.S. Lighthouse Society, the Florida Lighthouse Association, the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the Harbour Lights Annual Reunion, and the American Association of University Women. Her public lectures and workshops for children are bringing to life the science, history, and lore of lighthouses as they were years ago, before automation altered their appearance and made the occupation of lightkeeping obsolete.

DeWire tells audiences:

Everything I ever needed to know I learned from a lighthouse. Stand up straight and be proud of who you are. Always look on the bright side. Aim high, and don't look down. Take the stairs; it's better for your health. It's okay to wear horizontal stripes. If you want to be noticed, look conspicuous, but try not to look conspicuous in a thunderstorm! Never fall down on the job. Pay your electric bill. It's okay to stay up late. Don't make waves. Life can be a little stormy now and then. The taller you are, the harder you fall. You can make it through the night. Write in your journal every day. If it gets foggy, just say 'Boooo!' Never fall asleep on the job. Rise to great heights. Always keep a flashlight on hand. Do windows. Hold the handrail for safety. Don't drink and shine. Most importantly, remember to leave the light on for anyone not home yet.

DeWire enjoys working with teachers and is pleased that her Lighthouse Activity Book, a multidisciplinary thematic approach to learning about lighthouses, is used in a number of elementary and middle schools and museums around the nation and is offered to teachers by the U.S. Lighthouse Society, the American Lighthouse Foundation, and the Great Lakes Lightkeepers Association. Her column for children, called "Kids on the Beam," appears bimonthly in Lighthouse Digest. DeWire, a former planetarium education director and public school teacher, regularly visits schools to share her love of lighthouses with students in a workshop called "Lighthouses on the Beam." She also offers a workshop for elementary teachers wishing to design a multidisciplinary unit on lighthouses.

Elinor DeWire holds a B.S. in General Studies and an M.A. in Education, both from the University of Connecticut. She divides her time between teaching college courses, writing, traveling, and family activities. Her husband, Jonathan DeWire, who does much of the photography for her books and lectures, is a native of Pennsylvania and a retired Navy Officer now working at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Keyport, Washington. The DeWires have two grown children, Jessica (of Vashon Island, Washington) and Scott (of Audubon, Pennsylvania), and one grandchild--Elena. They have fond memories of visiting lighthouses around the nation during the family's many military tours and vacations.

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Thank you for your tremendous contributions and ongoing work relative to lighthouses/lightkeepers. We, like so many others, are fortunate to have some of your special publications and also your sharing of lighthouse knowledge on various DVDs. We appreciate your spirited, creative, and dynamic enthusiasm! Continue on!!!

Abel Martinez, Restoration Volunteer, Piedras Blancas Lighthouse, California

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Click here for Elinor DeWire's "Writer's Credits."

Click here to read an interview with Elinor DeWire.

Image below of Elinor DeWire on the stairs of New Dungeness Lighthouse, Washington courtesy of Mel Jetter.