Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie

Abbie is faced with quite a challenge in Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie. Book talk from Drew, Persey, Ava, Callie, Ari and Sarah has been lively as they envision the challenges Abbie faced when she was left with the responsibility to ensure that the lights kept burning in the lighthouse on Mattinicus Rock. On January 19, 1856, Abbie's father left the island and asked Abbie to care for her sisters and ailing mother while he went to gather oil, food and medicine. for her sick mother. A storm prevented him from returning that night and in fact it took four weeks for him to return. Students wrote in journal entries as if they were Abbie.

Ari wrote, " I am very nervous about the lighthouse. I miss Papa. I will do whatever it takes."

A selection from Sarah's journal entry is the following, " I really miss my Papa. He went away to get medicine for Mama, oil and corn. He was not supposed to be gone for long."

Drew included in his journal, " I wish I had help. It was easy to keep the lights burning. I want Papa back. If I didn't keep the lights burning, I wonder what it would be like for Mama and my sisters."

Callie included her responsibility of also taking care of the chickens. " I am worried about my chickens..."

A selection from Persey includes, "Papa has been away and I am sick of eating eggs and our house is wet and my chickens almost got washed away."

Ava wrote, "What has been hard for me is, father is away. I miss him so much. I can't wait until he gets back home. I kept the lights lit. It was really hard to do this job, but I did it anyway."

Everyone agreed that Abbie revealed courage, bravery, and a caring and helpful personality as she took care of her family, the chickens and the lights in the lighthouse during a raging storm while her father was away.