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A Guiding Light
Cape Bonavista Lighthouse Provincial Historic Site
St. John's , Newfoundland and Labrador

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   This community memories
project from the Cape
Bonavista Lighthouse gives a
general introduction into the
life of a lighthouse, circa
1870, in Newfoundland. It
describes the importance the
lightstation had to the
people of the area, and
indeed the country, as it was

one of the first major
constructions of a young
colony that was barely a
decade old in 1843.
   The lightstation, as an
industrial site, was a busy
one, having an impact upon
local and international sea
commerce as well, but this
was no ordinary job. The

lightstation, for mariners,
was more than a workplace; it
was a real lifeline, glowing
a friendly hello in calm
weather, and giving a
lifesaving warning in bad
weather. It was truly a
guiding light. In a time when
industrialization was
homogenizing the labour

force, the lightkeepers and
their families harkened back
to a time of task-oriented
work, with more cross-gender
cooperation in labour than
would be found in most
nations of the late 19th
century. As a place of family
residence, as most
lightstations in Newfoundland

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