Doris Licameli

Rowing to the Rescue: the Story of Ida Lewis, Famous Lighthouse Heroine Doris Licameli

With mixed emotions, fifteen-year-old Ida Lewis said good-bye to the little house on Spring Street on a sunny June day in 1857. Though her new home would still be in Newport, Rhode Island, it sat on a tiny outcropping of rocks out in the harbor, completely surrounded by water. Ida's father, Captain Hosea Lewis, was the keeper of the Lime Rock Light. The new lighthouse was big enough for the entire family of six. Then just four months later, tragedy struck. Captain Lewis was no longer able to man the lighthouse. Responsibility for keeping the lifesaving beacon aglow soon fell on Ida's young shoulders. It was an awesome task, but she was determined to do a good job. She knew sailors would be depending on her for their safety. As time went on, plenty more people would have petite, amazing Ida Lewis to thank for their lives.