Richard Skidmore and his wife Joan LeLacheur have guided the Gay Head Lighthouse for 25 years.
On a hot, sunny evening last week, Richard Skidmore and Joan LeLacheur sat at a picnic table on the porch of a small cottage at Aquinnah Circle that has served as headquarters for the Gay Head Light relocation project.
Richard Skidmore lives by the rhythms of the lighthouse. — Maria Thibodeau
The soft-spoken couple carried their metal lightkeeper’s badges; Mr. Skidmore’s was clipped to his shirt and Ms. LeLacheur’s to her purse. Each badge bore the image of a lighthouse and the words U.S. Lighthouse Service. The U.S. Coast Guard assumed control of the country’s navigational aids in 1939, but the badges still exude a sort of timeless authority.
Mr. Skidmore, a former book reviewer for the New York Times, and Ms. LeLacheur, a wampum jewelry maker, have lived by the particular rhythms of the Gay Head Light for 25 years, tending to its mishaps and arranging countless visits with people from around the world. Like many Aquinnah residents, they have grown fond of the red and white sweep of the light through their windows at night.