Bug Light with its keeper’s house. Parker Haley served as the keeper of Bug Light from 1900 to 1908. He and his wife Nellie lived in the keeper’s house. Contributed / Holbrook Kelley Collection, South Portland Historical Society

South Portland Historical Society will present the next in its fall lecture series on Thursday, Nov. 14, at the South Portland Community Center. Lighthouse historian and author Jeremy D’Entremont will give an illustrated lecture on the lighthouses of Casco Bay. For more information about D’Entremont and the lecture, read on to the end of this column.

Since we’re thinking about lighthouses this week, I thought we’d take a quick look at one of the interesting lighthouse keepers who served at our own Bug Light – Parker O. Haley. Haley was one of only five lighthouse keepers to live in the keeper’s house that was attached to Bug Light. When the first lighthouse was built in 1855, there was no house, so the early keepers had to travel out to the light at the end of the breakwater to keep it lit. In 1889 the keeper’s house was constructed while Albus Angell was serving there (we have previously written about him). Angell served as the keeper at Bug Light from 1887 to 1900. Upon Angell’s retirement, Parker Haley became keeper and served until 1908.

The steamer Forest Queen was one of the fleet of steamers operated by the Casco Bay Steamboat Co., providing service between Portland and the islands. Parker O. Haley was captain of the Forest Queen in 1889 and 1890. Contributed / Legere Collection, South Portland Historical Society

Parker Haley was born in Phippsburg in 1855. In his early 30s, he was a captain of passenger steamers. He commanded the steamer Percy V on the Bath/Fort Popham route in 1886. He then joined the Casco Bay Steamboat Co. (the predecessor to current-day Casco Bay Lines). In 1887, he was captain of the steamer Mary W. Libby and, in 1889 and 1890, he was captain of the steamer Forest Queen.

In December 1890, Captain Haley began a new career path when he was appointed as the second lighthouse keeper at Seguin Island Light in Phippsburg. While working at Seguin Island, he married Helen “Nellie” Curran York from Cape Elizabeth in 1891. She was the widow of Captain Jeremiah H. York of Ferry Village; she had a son from that marriage, Andrew J. York, born in 1884, who Parker Haley then raised as his own son.

He was transferred and promoted to head keeper at Halfway Rock Light in 1893. While working at Halfway Rock, his wife and step-son were living in South Portland. They rented an apartment at first, but Haley purchased a vacant lot on Stanford Street in 1894 and built the house upon it in 1895 (the address was known as 22 Stanford St. in those days, but the street was renumbered; the home is 136 Stanford St. today). Society news reports frequently had mentions of Haley coming home to spend time with his family when he would have time off.

For many years, the Haleys lived in this home at 136 Stanford St. which they built in 1895. Contributed / South Portland Historical Society

In 1900, Albus Angell at Bug Light tendered his resignation (he was 84 years old), and Parker Haley was chosen to replace him. Although it was a significant cut in pay (from $800 at Half Way Rock to $500 at Bug Light), it was a significant difference in his quality of life. At Bug Light, his family was able to live with him in the keeper’s house, so they no longer had to spend time apart. They rented out their home on Stanford Street for additional income.

Now that Parker Haley’s wife, Nellie, was living with him at the lighthouse, it is interesting to note that while she had previously hosted meetings of the Ladies Aid Circle from Peoples Church at her home on Stanford Street, the group now met regularly at the keeper’s house at Bug Light.

Haley resigned his position in 1908 and was replaced by William A. Stetson. In 1910, Parker Haley would serve as second mate on the six-masted schooner George W. Wells. It’s all about who you know – the captain of the George W. Wells who hired him on was Haley’s wife’s nephew, Captain Joseph H. York.

Upon Parker Haley’s death in 1931, he left the Stanford Street home to his wife; upon her death in 1933, she left the home to her niece (her sister’s daughter), local elementary school teacher Dora L. Small. Parker and Nellie Haley are buried together at Forest City Cemetery in South Portland.

Author chats on Sundays at museum

The Sunday Chat series at the museum at Bug Light Park begins this Sunday, Nov. 10. Historian and author Kathy DiPhilippo will be at the museum from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to talk with visitors and sign copies of her book “South Portland: A Nostalgic Look at Our Neighborhood Stores.” Other upcoming Sunday Chats include Jean Flahive and Michael Connolly on Nov. 17, historian Paul Ledman on Nov. 24, and military historian Ken Thompson on Dec. 1. All Sunday Chats are free events; books are available for purchase in the museum gift shop with proceeds supporting the historical society and its museum.

Lecture: Casco Bay Lighthouses

On Thursday, Nov. 14, at 6:30 p.m., Jeremy D’Entremont will offer an illustrated lecture about the lighthouses of Casco Bay. The lecture will be held in the Casco Bay room of the South Portland Community Center. Admission is free for current members of South Portland Historical Society and $20 for non-members. Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event; purchases of books should be by cash or check. For more information, call 767-7299 or email sphistory04106@gmail.com.

Jeremy D’Entremont has been photographing and writing about lighthouses for almost four decades. He is the author of more than 20 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history, and he has appeared on public television and other local and national TV and radio. He is the historian for the U.S. Lighthouse Society and hosts the society’s podcast, “Light Hearted.” He is a past president of the American Lighthouse Foundation and founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses in New Hampshire. Jeremy always emphasizes the human stories of lighthouse keepers and their families in his writing and presentations.

Kathryn Onos DiPhilippo is executive director of the South Portland Historical Society.