Terrible Tilly

In 1881, Tillamook Rock Lighthouse first lit the northern Oregon coast. With its precarious location and a treacherous commute, it came to be known as Terrible Tilly. Terrible Tilly stayed lit until a storm hurled a boulder through its lens in 1934, and was permanently decommissioned in 1957. The final entry in the logbook reads: “Farewell, Tillamook Rock Light Station. An era has ended. With this final entry, and not without sentiment, I return thee to the elements. You, one of the most notorious and yet fascinating of the sea-swept sentinels in the world; long the friend of the tempest-tossed mariner. Through howling gale, thick fog and driving rain your beacon has been a star of hope and your foghorn a voice of encouragement. May the elements of nature be kind to you. For 77 years you have beamed your light across desolate acres of ocean. Keepers have come and gone; men lived and died; but you were faithful to the end. May your sunset years be good years. Your purpose is now only a symbol, but the lives you have saved and the service you have rendered are worthy of the highest respect. A protector of life and property to all, may old-timers, newcomers and travelers along the way pause from the shore in memory of your humanitarian role.” See more on my IG: @sangye