Wanted: lighthouse keepers.
Location: a tiny island with remarkable views of San Francisco.
Salary: approximately $130,000.
A job search sure to stoke fantasy and envy is now under way for two keepers who will be based at the East Brother Light Station, which has lit up the northern reaches of San Francisco Bay since 1873. Although they will share the salary and require qualifications that will rule out many would-be applicants, there has already been broad interest in the positions.
A local group saved the station from planned demolition in the 1970s, lobbying for its nomination to the National Register of Historic Places and working to restore and manage it as a bed and breakfast. Upon arrival, guests receive champagne and hors d’oeuvres. After a tour of the little station complex – the Victorian quarters; the lighthouse, which remains operational; a centuries old-rain cistern – they enjoy a multi-course dinner and a gourmet breakfast the next morning.
The job is certainly alluring, concedes Jillian Meeker, one of the outgoing lighthouse keepers. It’s also a whole lot of work.
Since the keepers, usually a couple, are the station’s only workers, the necessary skillset is as unique as the place itself. Keepers must cook those gourmet meals, clean, provide spotless customer service, organize supply runs, and pilot the station’s single boat, which requires a captain’s license from the US Coast Guard.
But Meeker and her partner, Che Rodgers, just so happen to fit those qualifications. Rodgers grew up working on fishing boats in Alaska, then later in fine dining and on cruise ships. Meeker ran a bed and breakfast for four years and loves baking.
The East Brother schedule is grueling, often running from early morning until late night. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are spent doing laundry, completing a lengthy grocery trip, and addressing pending maintenance – and as the salt air eats away at 150-year-old structures, there’s always maintenance. Over the weekends, Rodgers and Meeker juggle ferrying guests to and from the island with preparing dinner and breakfast for and cleaning up after as many as 10 people.
The job, first reported by SFgate, requires a combination of meticulous planning and adaptability in the face of unexpected weather, broken appliances, and a variety of guest needs in a place where problems can’t be solved with a run to the grocery or hardware store.
Meeker and Rodgers will be helping with interviews for the next keepers, with 1 May as the formal lighthouse handover date. They’re looking for a couple who have thought about how to divide the considerable workload sustainably and who understand that caring for East Brother means more than the romantic image of living in a lighthouse.
They’ll miss the small moments on the island, especially sitting outside reading with the gulls for company or finding old photos during routine cleanings and repairs. That’s Meeker’s favorite part, she said: “Uncovering tiny pieces of the history. There’s so much more, too, and that’s the hard part – leaving before we’ve solved all the mysteries.”