Digest>Archives> Jan/Feb 2015

The Man Who Saved the 1-4-3 of The Lovers Light

By William S. Stout

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Minot’s Ledge Lighthouse as it appears today.

Lighthouse aficionados and many others from around the world are aware that because of the sequence of its light flash, the Minot’s Ledge Lighthouse off the coast of Cohasset, Massachusetts is known as the Lovers Light. But few know that the distinction of the flash from the beacon was almost lost forever, if it had not been for one man.

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In the 1890s, my wife Ellen’s grandfather, Mr. Arthur Lyman, whose country estate was The Vale in Waltham, purchased a summer house located on a point of land at the end of Lothrop Lane in Cohasset, Massachusetts, that had a magnificent view of the ocean and looked out on a lighthouse built on Minot’s Ledge.

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From the archives collection of Lighthouse Digest ...

Minot’s Ledge was a navigational hazard to the many sailing vessels that piled the coastal waters south of the entrance to Boston Harbor. The U. S. Light House Board, more commonly known as the U.S. Lighthouse Establishment, began a program of identifying lighthouses along the coast by giving them distinctive signal patterns so that they could be identified from afar for navigational purposes. In 1894 the U. S. Light House Board randomly designated a signal of 1-4-3 to the Minot’s Ledge Lighthouse. In 1910 the U.S. Bureau of Lighthouses took over the duties of the U.S. Light House Board and became commonly known as the U. S. Lighthouse Service, and for a number of reasons, they never really completed the task of assigning different signal flashes to each lighthouse. In 1939 the Bureau of Lighthouses was dissolved and its duties were taken over by the U. S. Coast Guard. Shortly after the lighthouse on Minot’s Ledge began its designated signal sequence of 1-4-3 spaced over 30 seconds, romantics in the area began calling it the “I Love You Light.” The single flash stood for “I.” After several seconds, the four consecutive flashes stood for “Love.” After several more seconds, the three consecutive flashes stood for “You.” The signal sequence of 1-4-3 would be repeated throughout the working cycle of the lighthouse. Many a romantic couple sat on the rocks or on beaches within sight of Minot’s Ledge being inspired by its visual message. 1-4-3 soon became a fixture in the local culture around the local communities of Hingham, Cohasset, Situate, and Hull. The numbers 1-4-3 were often jotted down as part of a closing statement added to many a note or letter sent to family and friends. Many people were using it as a code for a lock, a house alarm, and as time went on, for ATM numbers, and of course for jewelry. Ellen’s parents, Henry (Bim) and Julia Simonds, spent their summer months with the Lyman’s in the Cohasset house, and Ellen and her brothers and sisters grew up enjoying their summer activities with lots of swimming, tennis, and sailing. At that time there were always two lighthouse keepers on duty at Minot’s Ledge Lighthouse. Ellen, at the age of twelve, often sailed her small boat out to the lighthouse, tie her boat alongside, climb up the iron ladder, and deliver homemade cookies to the lighthouse keepers. With automation in 1947, the employment of lighthouse keepers at Minot’s Ledge Lighthouse came to end.

Because of the vast improvements in navigation equipment and electronics following World War II, the Coast Guard wanted to change every lighthouse to a uniform signal and do away with the old numbered flash sequences that had been established by its predecessor organizations.

Mr. Simonds was aware of what the Coast Guard had in mind and decided to do something to save the 1-4-3 flash sequence. He devised a two-pronged attack that involved getting to know, on a personal basis, the District Commander of the Coast Guard in Boston and to make his mission known to his friend Lev Saltonstall, who, at that time, was a United States Senator.

“Bim” Simmonds was a very affable fellow who made friends easily. It was a great pleasure for him to invite the District Commander of the Coast Guard to cocktails and dinner in Cohasset. Accordingly, he instructed his children to be on their every best behavior for the evening. Cocktails would be served as the sun was setting over the yardarm, and Minot’s Ledge lighthouse would begin displaying its distinctive flash of 1-4-3. Sitting on the porch, gazing out over the water and getting a little mellower as the cocktail session progressed, how could one not agree that the distinguished flash of 1-4-3 was a fascination to behold and what a shame it would be to turn this light into an ordinary blink like all of the others? Mr. Simmonds stressed that the 1-4-3 flash sequence was an integral part of the maritime history of the area, and it would be so easy for the Coast Guard to preserve that heritage by just leaving it alone and not bothering to go to the expense of destroying its distinctive character.

In the meantime, Senator Saltonstall held a meeting in Washington D.C. with the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard to make his case for a slight favor on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to defer any work order to change the flash sequence of the Minot’s Ledge Lighthouse. The Commandant of the Coast Guard conveyed this request to the District Commander in Boston, who was well aware of the situation, especially from his dinner party at the Simonds’ home. And the 1-4-3 flash sequence was saved, but only for the time being. Then there were two separate occasions when the District Commander was replaced, either by retirement or promotion. In each case, the outgoing Commander would introduce the new Commander to Mr. Simonds and a dinner and long cocktail session would soon follow. Mr. Simmonds was well aware that the matter of protecting the 1-4-3 flash sequence could be quite fragile, especially after his friend Senator Saltonstall retired.

Many years later, others in Cohasset were working diligently with the Department of the Interior on plans to place Minot’s Ledge Lighthouse on the National Register of Historic Places. Part of that petition made reference to Minot’s Ledge Lighthouse’s long history of guiding ships in Boston Harbor and the notoriety of the distinct signal emitted from the lighthouse.

In 1987 Minot’s Ledge Lighthouse was accepted to the National Register of Historic Places. But few, if any, of those who worked on that application project had any knowledge that the distinctive signal of Minot’s Ledge Lighthouse, which they had taken for granted, was saved from being a standard signal flash by the determination and imaginative efforts of Mr. Henry “Bim” G. Simmonds back in the 1940s.

And now you know the rest of the story - of how one man, Henry G. Simmonds, saved the 1-4-3 – “I Love You” flash sequence of the Lovers Light so that all future generations will have this light to help guide and share their love with others. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Henry G. Simonds, whose name can now go into the history books as someone who left a legacy that will be loved by all.

The words to the song read as follows:

All through the night,

Staunch Minot’s Light,

Flashes its signal,

Over the sea,

To sailors it speaks

Of rocks and shoals,

That ominous One Four Three

But lovers know well,

That those flashes tell,

The old, old story,

For ever new.

Over and over,

Year after year,

They read them,

I Love You.

This story appeared in the Jan/Feb 2015 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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