Follow me to Isle au Haut

When I saw the title of this book, The Lighthouse and Me, I was hooked. After all, my great grandfather was the keeper at the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse for 32 years, and Linda and I love that very beautiful and special place in Lubec.

Jeffrey Burke fell in love with the lighthouse on Isle au Haut when he and his wife visited there, and he knew, immediately, that this place should be his home. They purchased the keeper’s house and turned it into an inn. And later, they led a drive to save the lighthouse.

Jeffrey’s book, published by Maine Authors Publishing, tells us the interesting history of Isle au Haut and the lighthouse, but the section I liked best is full of stories about their experiences there, including some great stories about their most memorable guests. I particularly enjoyed the story about the guests who got lost on a hike around the island.

Jeff and his wife Judi learned a lot over the years, and he tells about that too. I was very impressed with their passion for the island, and their commitment to it.

Eventually they retired and sold the inn, spending winters in Arizona and summers on Isle au Haut where Jeff paints portraits and repairs houses. Sounds like an ideal life to me!

George Smith

About George Smith

George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters. Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014. In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.