Abbie Gale> Children’s book pits Maine lighthouse keeper against storm

ABBIE AGAINST THE STORM, written by Marcia Vaughan, illustrated by Bill Farnsworth, Beyond Words Publishing, Hillsboro, Ore., 1999, 32 pages, hardcover, $15.95.

In a rush to catch a ferry to her Vashon Island (Washington) home, author Marcia Vaughan scribbled down a call number and located a library book. By the time she discovered she’d checked out the wrong book, she was in no position to exchange it. Her “wonderful accident” led to the creation of a delightful Maine family summer read.

Vaughan had selected a book on women lighthouse keepers. The more she read, the more excited she became. When she hit a chapter on Maine’s Abbie Burgess, inspired by her strength and courage, she felt a need to share her story with children. A year of research during which Vaughan was even able to find letters Burgess had written to a close friend on the mainland from her island home evolved into “Abbie Against the Storm.”

In the summer of 1855, Abbie Burgess arrived at Matinicus Rock with her family. Her father’s new responsibilities were heavy. The lighthouse for which he was to be keeper was the only signal that could prevent ships from smashing against rocks. Any dereliction in duty could result in great loss of life. In Abbie he had a willing and able assistant.

The next January, Abbie was put to the test. A scheduled supply ship had failed to arrive. Her father had to row to the mainland to buy food for the family and medicine for his sick wife. Expecting to be away only one night, he admonished Abbie, “Keep the lights burning bright, my girl.” It was her first time to take care of the lights alone.

That day a winter storm commenced. By the next morning, mountains of water surged over the small island. Moments after Abbie made the treacherous journey across the island to save their chickens, a series of waves swept the oil shed, fog bell and hen house into the ocean. As breakers slammed against the walls of the lighthouse itself and salt water rushed in, Abbie and her sisters moved their sick mother and essential possessions up to the north tower.

Bill Farnsworth’s illustrations beautifully capture the drama and tension of the text. As Abbie staggers to the lighthouse with her basket of hens, the buffeting wind and surging waves she struggles against are palpable. The slant of the picture in which she clings to a slender railing, scraping ice off the outside lighthouse tower windows, conveys vividly the precariousness of her perch.

Picture and text unite to give “Abbie Against the Storm” an emotional depth rare in picture books. Abbie’s strength and determination carried her through a trial that would have daunted most adults. Still vulnerable, she felt overwhelmed, afraid of failing, as she watched her father’s dory disappear. The trust and respect she shared with her father shines through. Their embrace on the final page gives this fine book a richly satisfying ending.

Vaughan found Burgess to be a shining example for people in any century. “She had outer and inner strength. She did her job under impossible conditions. She never gave up.”

Despite the hardships and isolation of her life, Burgess embraced it. Upon her father’s retirement she stayed on to help the new lighthouse keeper. She married his son and they raised four children there.

In old age she wrote, “I wonder if the care of the lighthouse will follow my soul after it has left this worn-out body. If I ever have a grave stone, I would like it in the form of a lighthouse.”