The Light on the Hudson

by Dana Ferry

published by Ithaca Press

My parents gave me permission to watch the nest from the gallery of the lighthouse. This spot allowed me to see the terns come and go to the nest. The male and female took turns sitting with the eggs. No wonder I kept seeing the terns around so often. They'd been living on this rocky ledge right here with us.

Each afternoon, I greeted the man in the old wooden boat with the fishing line hanging over the side of it. Some days the woven basket had fish in it; other days the basket was empty. The man's name was Hal. He rowed by our lighthouse and looked around to see us as he passed by. I think Hal was lonely. I felt a bit sorry for him.

Father, Mother and I couldn't wait to climb into our skiff to make the trip to the mainland for supplies every two weeks. In Esopus, Mother took me to the Post Office on Canal Street. It was an old place, as the wide, pine floor boards squeaked when we walked across them. A strong glue smell hung in the air. Pigeon-hole-style wooden boxes sat on a large table behind the tall glass counter. Thaddeus Hadwen, the postmaster with the handle-bar mustache, winked at me as he got our mail from one of the pigeon holes. There were often a pile of letters, catalogues and out-dated newspapers that Father enjoyed. He was interested in a story about the man from Germany named Adolf Hitler. Father told us that Mr. Hitler was stirring up trouble across the ocean. From the Post Office, Mother and I hurried to the Esopus Library. We had a small library at the lighthouse. It was a little bookcase filled with books from the Lighthouse Mission. Among those books were a Bible, a prayer book, Tom Sawyer, Walden Pond, and Uncle Tom's Cabin. Mother and I still enjoyed the library in town. I loved the long tables and the quietness.