Golden Light: The 1878 Diary of Captain Thomas Rose Lake - Hardcover

James B. Kirk; Thomas Rose Lake

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0945582854 ISBN 13: 9780945582854

Publisher: Down The Shore Publishing, 2003

Synopsis

Discover the 19th century along the mid-Atlantic through one year in the life of a young Jersey Shore sea captain. With extraordinary details, this book is a wondrous vehicle for traveling back to 1878. "It's a little slice of history that needed to be smelt, felt and looked at. I feel incredibly lucky to have brought it to people," the author, James Kirk III, told The New York Times in an interview. The book is based on the 1878 ship's record kept by Capt. Thomas Rose Lake in a tiny leather diary. Miraculously, it survived a century and fell into the hands of James B. Kirk, II an English teacher and historian. With annotations and details imbuing this journal with context, he turned the captain's observations into a fascinating picture of a vanished time, place, and way of life. In the Foreword, New Jersey's eminent historian John T. Cunningham, who offered early encouragement to the author, calls this "a volume that is a treasure trove." Thomas D. Carroll, folklorist and writer, who has taught at the University of Pennsylvania and worked for the Library of Congress and Smithsonian Institution, calls the work "a Rosetta stone" for the late 19th century coast. Maritime historian John M. Kochiss describes the magic of reading the first-hand history this way: "Unlike any other book before, I found myself mouthing, then almost hearing Captain Lake's words... And all this alchemy brews forth." And Stephen Dunn, winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for poetry, says: "History needs its passionate pursuers. Golden Light is alive with such attentiveness." The 45½-foot sloop Golden Light sailed the coast from Virginia to New York and back again with cargoes of clams, oysters, fish oil, or sweet potatoes. The crew encountered storms and heavy seas, but also found excitement in races with other boats, in the people they met, in the places they put in. Golden Light provides a rare picture of the all but forgotten east coast oyster trade in the last quarter of the 19th century -- the end of the age of sail and the agrarian era in America. As such it is of great value to social historians. It is also an indelible and moving document of the last year in a young man's life. Capt. Lake, a gregarious young soul, found his south Jersey home, the bustling New York harbor, and backwater of Virginia equally fascinating, and his experiences touch us as an example of a good life -- even when it is painfully clear that the life is to be cut short. As the author writes of the diary: "In its pages is the final cry of a way of life which, for better or worse, would return no more. As such, the diary is a poignant vignette -- an ambrotype faded at the edges but with the central portrait clear -- of a young man's happiness, simplicity, and struggle. It must give us pause." James B. Kirk II died before the work was completed and his son James B. Kirk III finished the task so lovingly begun.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Three Men, 115 Years, One Diary:

The story of how the book Golden Light came to be really involves three men over the span of one hundred and fifteen years: Thomas Rose Lake, the sea captain and 1878 diarist; James B. Kirk II, the man who found the diary a century later and became obsessed with it and with Lake's life and times; and James B. Kirk III, the son who passionately completed and expanded his father's obsession.

It is also a story that is as personal and poignant as the account of the sloop captain itself. Some aspects of the writing of this book parallel the life of the diarist. Both the captain and the author, as they write, are dying of incurable diseases: Lake of tuberculosis, Kirk II of lung cancer. Upon Lake's death, his cousin Dannie takes helm of the Golden Light; upon the senior Kirk's death, his son Jim completes the manuscript.

So, for reasons that are plainly evident, this book became an intensely personal project for both of the Kirks - as personal as Captain Lake's tiny, original leather-bound diary. Jim Kirk III's "Two Elegies" at the conclusion of Lake's diary offer readers a passionate and moving context for this weaving of lives, time, and place. The ghosts of the past become a felt presence in contemporary New Jersey.

The enclosed comments from advance readers attest not only to a remarkable book of maritime and social history, but also to the father and son who, together - and apart - made this book so much more than a simple account of history.

As folklorist Thomas D. Carroll writes, "Readers may see two men - the 19th century diarist, now figured only in paper and ink, and the 20th century historian now also part of human memory - joining hands across the span of a century."

From the Inside Flap:

In January 1878, Thomas Rose Lake, a twenty-one year old bayman and farmer from southern New Jersey, became captain of the coasting sloop, Golden Light. Brimming with a young man's enthusiasm, Thomas decided to keep a diary of his new responsibilities, and of his days at sea, sailing his cargo between New York City's oyster basin and Virginia. Through the events at sea and on shore over the year, a picture emerges of the young captain. Despite the onset of tuberculosis that would soon kill him, the uncomplaining Thomas was never idle. When not at sea, he would be overhauling the boat, planting, harvesting, working with his father on the oyster platforms, or helping in the family store. A gregarious soul, there are many references to social occasions - oyster suppers, "pick nicks" and beach parties. With friends, he would visit Atlantic City and "Philadelpfia." Again and again he tells us he "saw a good time."

He faithfully records storms, winds and temperature; the shoals and narrows of his daily journeys. While the work was hard and sometimes tedious, there was excitement, too - in maneuvering through challenging seas, in races with other boats, in the people he met and welcomed aboard. The bustling New York harbor was clearly a fascinating place in 1878, especially for a young man from the rural backwater.

With detailed, enlightening annotations about the events and surroundings of the time - which place the diarist, one common man, in the context of his world - we are given a fascinating picture of a vanished time, place and way of life.

Golden Light reveals the all-but-forgotten East Coast oyster trade in the last years of the 19th century and, as such, is of great value to historians. Beyond that, however, it is the portrait, indelible and poignant, of the final year in a young man's life. He embraces each day, its hard duties and simple pleasures, as though he had a future entire. Clearly, it was a life he loved. A century and a quarter later, it is a life and time we are privileged to see - bathed in the golden light of a younger, more innocent America.

About this edition

• Publisher: Down The Shore Publishing
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0945582854
• ISBN 13: 9780945582854
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 317