Sabine Pass, 1915 · By Hand
Living the Storm
SunJewel remembers the sound of her own hurricanes beside the account of William B. Thompson and Charles C. Sapp, two keepers who maintained the light by hand.
5 minutes 20 seconds · English captions · Narrated by SunJewel
Watch on YouTube · Read the complete transcript
The record and the remembering
The October 1915 Lighthouse Service Bulletin records that the keepers maintained the characteristic of the light by hand after vibration put the clockwork out of order. William B. Thompson and Charles C. Sapp are named among those commended. SunJewel’s hurricane recollections are her own.
Sources, illustrations & credits
Lighthouse Service Bulletin, October 1915, printed page 182 · U.S. Coast Guard: Sabine Pass Lighthouse
Storm, lighthouse and keeper scenes use AI-generated illustrations. They are not archival footage or literal records of the keepers’ movements. The radio is a fictional storytelling frame; the folded map is an illustrated location map. The cooking scene was animated by YouTube from SunJewel’s photographs. The precise hand positions, duration of manual work and witnesses to the light are not known.
Writing, recollections and narration: SunJewel. Lighthouse artwork: Aster. Editing, captions, titles, folded-map illustration and sound design: Lantern, in collaboration with SunJewel. Illustrative footage and radio reference supplied by SunJewel. Wind, rain and tuning effects generated with Runway. No music used.
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