Lighthouse Keepers Family Takes Last Look at Home Before Its Demolished in Cobourg

Pete Fisher
3 years ago
• Categories: Community, Editor Choice, Local

It was a time for the Ribble family to say one final goodbye to the home they grew up in at the Cobourg Harbour.

Members of the Ribble family gathered at the bottom of Division Street to visit the light-house keepers home they lived in for 16-years.

Joining the family was Cobourg Mayor John Henderson who was keenly interested to learn more about the history of Cobourg Harbour.

Speaking with Today’s Northumberland Evelyn Ribble said her husband Murray and three children (Murray, Larry and Pam) moved into the brand new home on December, 1964 and lived there until July 1, 1980.

At that time Evelyn said Cobourg Harbour wasn’t a tourist stop, it was for large lake ships coming in for the oil tanks located between Hibernia and Third Streets or coal located on the north side of the harbour. Ocean ships would also come in for companies like General Wire and Cable.

During that time, local manufacturing depended on getting supplies from the ships.

Evelyn recalls the time when a brand new ship came in from Sweden for General Wire and Cable. The Captain was so proud of his new ship he invited both her husband and herself to take a tour of the “humongous” ship.

Ribble started out as the assistant light house keeper on Main Duck Island near Kingston and applied and was accepted for the job in Cobourg.

Evelyn said her husbands job was to maintain the lights and motors in the lighthouse, to make sure everything was in proper working order for both the lighthouse and the foghorn. He would also make sure the markers were in their proper spots for the ships.

Once a day, he would also send weather reports to Prescott. Ribble was also responsible for Peter’s Rock which is between Cobourg and Port Hope on Lake Ontario. Nothing was automated at that time.

Evelyn remembers one year the weather was so bad in the winter the spray froze the west side of the house and the ice made it impossible to enter the home on the west side.

Throughout the years the harbour was a busy spot.

“There was a lot of activity going on because of the harbour, the way it was. And in the summer time it was quite nice.”

Pam Bates was two-years-old when she and her two siblings move into the lighthouse keepers home in Cobourg.

“It was fun. Very enjoyable in the summers.”

But over the years numerous people lost their lives in and around the harbour and the children witnessed things and heard things.

Aside from the bad things, the family had a lot of fun at the home enjoying the lake in both the summer and winter.

Relatives would come from across Ontario in the summer to visit them.

“Our home was filled with laughter and joy. In the summertime there was always a family member visiting from elsewhere because it was like a vacation to them.”

“It’s engrained in me. I will always love the water.”

The only neighbour the home had was a squatter named Mr. Frederick who lived there for years.

When the family was told they’d be moving from the once-in-a-lifetime residence, Bates said she was “heartbroken.”

By the time 1980 came around, technology had caught up and the light house keepers job became redundent, not only in Cobourg, but many other places. But the Ribble family stayed in Cobourg and raised their children who came down to their old home for one final view on Sunday, April 3, 2022.

Cobourg Major John Henderson greeted the family and learned more about Cobourg Harbour.

With very little history about the lighthouse keeper Henderson enjoyed speaking with the family.

Stating that Evelyn Ribble is a “walking encyclopaedia” Henderson was thrilled with the stories she told him about living in the home.

“I think it’s critically important as we redevelop this area, we don’t lose its history.”

SASS Construction started around noon on Tuesday, April 5, 2022 around noon demolishing the garage and home and by 4:30 p.m. the last of the house was torn down.