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In August of 1941, then 65-year-old Louis A. Dissett, the Principal Keeper at the Tawas Point, Michigan, light station, received a letter from the Coast Guard District office in Cleveland, Ohio, advising him that he was now eligible for voluntary retirement. This letter, which was from the District Commanding Officer, further advised Dissett that “On the basis of over 30 years’ service, you would receive 30/40 percent of your average pay for the last 5 years of service.”
On August 9, 1941, Louis Dissett typed a letter of reply which stated: “Sir: Your letter of 5 August is received, my answer is that I would like to remain in the service until I am 70 years old, unless something turns up that I would not be able to do my work, then I would consider retirement willingly.” Coast Guard personnel rules at that time made retirement compulsory at age 70.
A prophetic handwritten note on the bottom of Dissett’s very polite letter says, “It looks as though our friend Dissett intends staying with us for a while.” Dissett’s wishes to stay on were apparently accepted for the time being as no further action or correspondence ensued.
However, the next correspondence in the file is dated February 19, 1942 from the Personnel Officer of the Cleveland Coast Guard District. This letter told Dissett that if he did not retire, he would be transferred to the head keeper position at the Middle Island Light Station on Lake Huron near Alpena, Michigan. “Advise promptly,” the letter told him, “whether you accept transfer or prefer to apply for voluntary retirement.”
The Coast Guard superiors were about to find out with just whom they were dealing. Although he was an employee of the Coast Guard, Louis Dissett had remained a civilian when lighthouses were incorporated into that agency. He did not just salute and say, “Yes, Sir!”
This time Dissett’s letter of reply, while not disrespectful, was also not quite as polite. His strongly worded letter rejected both a transfer or his retirement. He wrote, “Throughout my entire service I have always performed my work in a satisfactory manner, and can continue to do so at this station [Tawas], as I am able and capable of doing my work as well as anyone you may transfer here. Therefore, I do not understand the reason or cause for working a hardship of this sort on me.”
As did Louis Dissett’s first letter of reply, this one too includes cryptic hand-written notes in the margin. “Dissett’s letter shows he will not leave unless forced to, which might result in complications,” says one of these notes. In yet another person’s handwriting are the words, “Leave him stay where he is.” Louis Dissett was proving not to be one with whom to tangle.
The issue came to an end with another letter, this one dated March 16, 1942, from the “Senior Coast Guard Officer” in Cleveland to the Commanding Officer of the East Tawas Coast Guard Station regarding Louis Dissett. The East Tawas C.O. was Dissett’s immediate supervisor. This letter stated, among other things, “ . . . no action will be taken towards transfer or retirement of subject employee.” Louis Dissett was promptly notified that he could remain at the Tawas Point Light Station.
Lighthouse Keeper Louis A. Dissett would earn annual performance ratings of “Good” or “Very Good” for the next several years. He did retire voluntarily in 1946 upon reaching the age of 70.
Interestingly, his 1941-42 letters were not the first time Louis Dissett had negotiated with his lighthouse superiors. In 1936, when lighthouses were still under the Bureau of Lighthouses within the federal Department of Commerce, Dissett had requested a transfer to Tawas Point. Its location near a town, rather than the much more isolated Thunder Bay station where he was then serving, made Tawas a more desirable assignment. However, the Lighthouse Service wanted to reduce his pay if he transferred to Tawas Point Lighthouse.
Dissett wrote a letter on February 12, 1936 to the District Lighthouse Superintendent in Detroit stating: “In reply to your letter of February 8 about transferring to Tawas Point Light Station, I have just visited Tawas Point and due to the condition of the keeper’s quarters and water conditions would not care to accept the station at $1360 per annum.” A handwritten note in the margin of Dissett’s typed letter says: “Stated verbally he would accept $1440.” Dissett was indeed transferred to Tawas Point in 1936, so it would appear he received the salary he requested.
The following information about Keeper Louis A. Dissett is found in an exhibit at the Keeper’s House/Museum at the Tawas Point Lighthouse.
“The Superintendent desires to commend you and the personnel at your station for the good condition of your station at the time of inspections during the past year.”
The commendation, was one of several earned by Keeper Louis Dissett. Earlier, while posted as an assistant keeper at Marquette, he helped win the “Best Run Station” District pennant. In 1940 he earned an Efficiency Star to wear on his uniform. Dissett, a former fisherman, spent two years with the Life Saving Service before joining the Lighthouse Service in 1905.
Tawas Point Lighthouse was the final assignment in his 40-year career. By the time Louis A. Dissett arrived at Tawas Point, all four of his children with his first wife Emma Bowden were grown. On January 2, 1928 while being the 1st Assistant keeper at Marquette Harbor Lighthouse in Marquette, Michigan, he had married his second wife Alma Karolina Petersson.
Lighthouse Keeper Louis A. Dissett began his career when the U.S. lighthouses were still under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Light-House Board. He served for 29 more years as an employee of the U.S. Bureau of Lighthouses, with the last seven years of his long service as a civilian lighthouse keeper of the U.S. Coast Guard. He retired from Tawas Point Lighthouse in 1946.
Records indicate that Louis Albert Dissett was born on October 15, 1875 in Wellington, Ontario, Canada and show his last name as being spelled Dissette. Apparently the letter “e” was dropped or changed at some point. Louis A. Dissett passed away on December 8, 1953 at the U.S. Veterans Hospital in West Haven, Connecticut.
Chronology of Louis A. Dissett’s
Light Keeper assignments - all in Michigan:
1905-1908: 2nd assistant keeper – Granite Island Lighthouse
1908-1910: 2nd assistant keeper – Big Bay Point Lighthouse
1910-1914: 1st assistant keeper – Granite Island
1914-1915: 2nd assistant keeper – Marquette Harbor Light
1915-1922: 1st assistant keeper – Marquette Harbor Light
1922-1926: 1st assistant keeper – Forty Mile Point Lighthouse
1926-1934: 1st assistant keeper – Marquette Harbor Light
1934-1936: Head Keeper – Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse
1936-1946: Head Keeper – Tawas Point Lighthouse
This story appeared in the
Jan/Feb 2020 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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