Monthly Bulletin January/February 2005 - Vol 8 No. 1

First Lady of Light Dies at 103

Connie Small with the citation naming her Honorary Chairperson of the Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse Photo: Jeremy D'Entremont

by Tim Harrison, president of the American Lighthouse Foundation

Connie Scoville Small, known in lighthouse circles as the "First Lady of Light" died at the age of 103 on Tuesday 25 Jan 2005, at the Mark Wentworth Home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA. 

Lighthouses of Australia Inc. would like to acknowledge the contribution that Connie Small has given to the American public in sharing her life's experiences on the lights. We wish to express our sympathy to her family and friends, and record her passing with respect.

Connie, who was famous in the lighthouse preservation movement, had given over 550 lectures on lighthouse life and authored the popular book "The Lighthouse Keeper's Wife." It was former President George Bush, in a speech, at the ceremony in Northport, Maine, concluding the Maine Lights Program, who personally gave Connie Small the title of "First Lady of Light." 

Elson Small, keeper at Lubec Channel Lighthouse, USA in the 1920s Photo courtesy: American Lighthouse Foundation

Born 4 June 1901 in Lubec, Maine, the daughter of Ira and Mabel (Myers) Scoville, Connie's father was the keeper and one of the original crew of the Quoddy Head Life Saving Station in Lubec. 

"Connie will be missed by us all," said Tim Harrison, president of the American Lighthouse Foundation. "She was an inspiration to everyone in the lighthouse movement - a warm and genuine person who never hesitated to share her memories and stories of lighthouse life from the days of yesteryear." 

Connie's husband, Elson Small, joined the US Lighthouse Service shortly after they were married. On the coast of Maine, Elson served as the keeper at Lubec Channel Lighthouse in Lubec from 1920-1922, Avery Rock Lighthouse in Machias Bay from 1922-1926, Seguin Island Light at the mouth of the Kennebec River from 1926 - 1930, St. Croix River Lighthouse near Calais from 1930-1948, and Portsmouth Light in New Hampshire from 1946-1948. Connie was 85 when she wrote her highly successful book recounting the years at those lighthouses. 

Connie's funeral was held Friday, 28 January 2005 at 11am at the First Congregational Church, on State Road in Elliot, Maine, USA. 

Her family has requested that donations in her memory be made to the American Lighthouse Foundation, PO Box 889, Wells, Maine 04090.

Tim Harrison
Email Tim

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