MARGARET HOBDAY… ALIVE AGAIN

January 29, 2020

On Thursday, January 23, at the Cedar Key Historical Society’s Morning Coffee, Seahorse Key’s Assistant Lighthouse Keeper Margaret Hobday entertained the crowd of nearly sixty folks.

Dressed in period attire, Hobday, ably performed by Carol McQueen, shared her daily experiences keeping the light station, details about her son, and the hardships of having five husbands, all of whom passed away before her. One husband, a seafarer became sick, experienced “a fit,” fell overboard, and drowned. Another abandoned her. Yet another went to sea and never returned.

Her years as assistant keeper, circa 1873 to 1879, were not for the faint of heart, Hobday reported uncomplainingly. Attending the light meant polishing the brass, cleaning the Fresnel lens, replacing the lens when damaged by birds, and winding the light every two hours…all day and all night certainly did make for a full day, however.

CEDAR KEY HISTORICA SOCIETY EVENTS PLANNERS

At the meeting’s end, CKHS Executive Director Anna White Hodges applauded the event planning group.

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