Page 11 - aruba-today-20240802

locAl Friday 2 august 2024
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A brief history of the California Light House

(Oranjestad)—At the furthest west- to Mr. Fingal, dates back to the day pulls it up, gradually. And while it
ern point of the island, there lies the when the cargo ship S.S. California comes down, the same weight
tallest structure on the island: The sank because of the lack of light. that is descending causes many
California Light House. Standing on In 1913, Aruba made a request small wheels to turn in the opposite
top of a limestone cliff, this light- to Curacao to build a Lighthouse direction. The Lighthouse rotates
house oversees the entire island, at Westpunt, and the governor of from 6 pm in the evening, when
offering one of few best views of Curacao responded to Aruba to the sun sets, until 6 am in the morn-
the island and the surrounding sea. come back in 1915 with a well-de- ing. During the entire night, the light
It is also one of the few monuments tailed plan. “During the First World shines on the lantern, it goes down
that hold a rich history. War from 1914 to 1918, they had to 24 meters, and the Lighthouse is 30
wait for the light to be transported meters high. It is designed not to
The lighthouse was constructed to Aruba because it was manufac- collapse,” Mr. Fingal explains.
in between 1914-1916, and its tured in France. At that time, there
first keeper was a young trained It was very challenging because it was no electricity, and the light Mr. Fingal further explains that in
lighthouse keeper from Curacao was full of goats and donkeys, and was very interesting because it ro- one night, the lighthouse rotates
names Jacob Jacobs. Mr. Frederi- it was very isolated. There were no tated with a kerosene lamp that 4,320 times and consumes one
co Fingal was the last man to have hotels or roads to get there. There planes used; clean kerosene,” Mr. gallon of kerosene for the whole
occupied this position until 1962. was only a donkey trail. Those were Fingal said. operation. “At that time, the kero-
Though his son, Mr. Romulo Fingal the only means of transportation.” sene was supplied from the Lago
did not continue in his father’s foot- Mr. Fingal discovered something refinery. Every day it was brought
steps, he does have a special con- Mr. Fingal continues, “In 1939, I was very interesting about the light- down, and to start the light again,
nection to the lighthouse. He sat born in the lighthouse, and my fa- house after much research was they had to lift the weight up, so
down with our reporter and shared ther was the last lighthouse keeper documented in his book ‘History our job as children was to crank it
a bit of its history. until he retired in 1962. After that, of the Lighthouse at Westpunt.’ and raise the weight back up in the
they removed the power cables He found many details: “I found evening when the light stuck, they
As Mr. Fingal explains, “In 1915, all the way to the top. According out that the height of the light- would take it down again, and the
cargo donkeys were hired from to the story, we couldn’t have the house was due to the absence light stayed down. That’s how it
Figaroa di Noord to help build the light ourselves because they dis- of electricity. There was also the worked for a very long time,” Mr.
Lighthouse at Westpunt. The don- mantled it, and after many years, presence of coral. There is a long Fingal explains.
keys had to walk along the beach I heard that it is in a train museum steel cable from where the light is,
all the way to Westpunt carrying in San Nicolas, where we found this and under the light, at the highest Thanks to the Monument Fund
the cargo, poles, cement, and all very special lens that, when the point, there is a hanging weight, a Aruba, which worked hard and
these things. At that time, it was light shines through it, it reaches 30 sort of pendulum that swings like is currently in charge of the Light-
a difficult task until Aruba got its kilometers out to sea.” Mr. Fingal that, with a weight that measures house, Mr. Fingal is very happy
first truck. These things reflect how told our reporter. about 1 meter by 30 centimeters with its preservation, along with all
people could have accomplished wide, which is a block of solid iron the renovations that have taken
this tremendous job with so little.” The lighthouse has a long and very attached to a cable. When you place. He hopes that the story of
Mr. Fingal said, “At that time, it interesting history. The reason why release it upwards, it comes down, the lighthouse will continue to live
wasn’t a place for people to work. the lighthouse was built, according and the weight that comes down on for future generations.q