A historical position in North Carolina’s Outer Banks was flooded with applicants a little over a day after it was advertised.
An “overwhelming” amount of people want to be a lighthouse keeper for the summer, according to Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which shared a post about the position on Monday.
The park needed to recruit volunteer lighthouse keepers for Ocracoke Island and offered participants free housing if they volunteer at least 32 hours a week, according to the park’s announcement. No experience was needed to apply.
By Tuesday afternoon, the park had to close the application pool.
Volunteers will staff the lighthouse and educate visitors on the historic site, according to the park. Some duties of the lighthouse keepers listed include:
• Staff visitor contact points within the Ocracoke Light Station grounds, including the base of the Ocracoke Lighthouse.
• Provide basic grounds keeping of the Light Station grounds, including litter pickup and simple vegetation work.
• Staff Discovery Center desk and grounds providing park and general information to the public.
• Talk in front of large groups of visitors.
• Educate visitors on the regulations of the park and safety concerns.
• Distribute maps, brochures, and other printed materials.
• May be requested to assist in emergency medical responses within the scope of training.
Ocracoke Island’s first lighthouse was built in the late 1700s but was destroyed by lighting, according to Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The island’s current lighthouse is 75 feet tall and built on a plot of land purchased by the federal government for $50 in 1822, the park said. By 1823, the lighthouse was completed and cost $11,359 to build.
Lighthouse keepers painted the structure using a concoction of lime, salt, Spanish whiting, rice, glue and boiling water to maintain the eye-catching white hue to attract the attention of ships, according to the park.
The duties of a lighthouse keeper were first established in writing in 1852, Cape Hatteras National Seashore reports. While the position often didn’t pay much, the keepers respected the importance of lighthouse keeping, the park said.
Lighthouse keepers might experience extreme weather conditions, including thunderstorms, hurricanes, heat and high winds, according to the position application, which has now been removed due to the volume of applications.
The lighthouse keepers will work from May 1 to Sept. 30, according to the application.
If park enthusiasts missed the window to apply to be a lighthouse keeper, the National Park Service has a lengthy list of other volunteer positions.
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