Rescue of the Keeper's Daughter
Wood Island Lighthouse, Biddeford, Maine
Laurier Burnham was the Coast Guard keeper at Wood Island lighthouse with his wife Lily and two children from 1959-1963. On November 29th, 1960, a near tragedy occurred when his two-year-old daughter, Tammy, became seriously ill and it became necessary for her to get to the mainland for immediate medical attention. The seas were high and a storm was approaching in the late afternoon. Burnham signaled the coast guard station at Biddeford Pool that he needed help. They responded sending a 30 foot boat towing a small skiff containing a four man crew to bring the little girl in. The skiff manned by two seamen, Ed Syvinski and Raymond Bill, was sent to the island boat ramp to pick up the sick child and transport her back to the main boat.
Seaman Ed Syvinski and Seaman Raymond Bill made it to the boat ramp on Wood Island where keeper Burnham handed over his daughter. The two young men set out for the main boat when a large wave capsized the small skiff, tossing the little girl and the two seamen into the cold water. In the darkness and fog, neither Burnham at the Light Station nor the anchored Coast Guard boat knew of what had happened to the three struggling in the icy waters. Seaman Raymond Bill took off swimming towards the coast guard boat. Chief Kennedy and Engineman Rouleau aboard the 30-foot boat spotted Seamen Bill with their searchlight and got him to safety.
Seaman Syvinski still hung onto little Tammy even though he sank below the waves several times. He finally made it to nearby Negro Ledge island and lay on the rocks, keeping the girl as warm as possible.
After an hour or so, the little girl and the 19 year old Syvinski were feared lost. The coast guard signaled Burnham they did not have his daughter which he quickly got into his boat to go in search of his daughter. He knew there were 14 islands in the bay and decided the first place to search would be at nearby Negro Island. As luck would have it, at his first try at Negro Island he spotted the exhausted pair. He made it to Negro ledge in his peapod and got his daughter and Syvinski into his boat and back to the main coast guard boat.
With the three from the capsized boat brought safely onto the main boat, but suffering from exposure to the cold, Laurier was then ordered to return to the lighthouse. With the storm still raging, the boat was trying to return to shore, but became disoriented regarding its location in the fog. Preston Alley, a local lobsterman who knew the area better than most, heard of the situation and risking his life and his boat headed out towards the Coast Guard boat, found it, and helped to guide it back ashore. He was able to get Tammy to her grandparents waiting ashore to bring her to the hospital. Thanks to the brave efforts of seamen Syvinski and Bill, Keeper Burnham, Coast Guard Chief Kennedy, Engineman Rouleau, and the local lobsterman, Preston Alley, Burnham’s daughter Tammy was safely delivered to the docks and onto the hospital where she fully recuperated along with everyone involved in the rescue.
Thrity three years later, in 1993, the Coast Guard investigated the incident, after inquiries by Tammy's sister as to the accuracy of the accounts that night, and decided to present awards to Laurier Burnham and Edward Syvinski for their extraordinary courage. A Public Service Commendation was awarded to the widow of lobsterman Preston Alley, who had passed away in 1990, whom the Coast Guard had determined had also been instrumental in the rescue. What is most important regarding this story is a little girl survived what could have been a tragic event with the help of a group of individuals who risked their lives and safety so she would survive and have a family of her own.
Some Interesting References
blog.kennebunkpost.com
Wood Island Lighthouse: The Rescue of Tammy Burnham by Margo Alley
www.biddefordpoolmaine.com
A Rescue Rememered at Wood island Light; Lighthouse Digest October 2010
http://web.mac.com/maurenekennedy/iweb/
Lighthouses and Lifesaving Along the Maine and New Hampshire Sea Coast by James Claflin