Nubble Lighthouse decked out for Christmas: Meet the keeper who keeps it bright

YORK, Maine — Matt Rosenberg peered for gaps in the Christmas lights that outlined the Nubble Lighthouse against the sunset sky. If a light went out, he’d soon be on his boat to the island to fix it.

“Our goal is for the lighthouse to be perfect,” said Rosenberg, the Nubble Lighthouse keeper and caretaker of Sohier Park for 10 years.

The Nubble’s Christmas lights have been lit since Nov. 26 from 4 p.m. to midnight and will remain on at night until New Year’s Day. For lovers of the Nubble, which draws tourists from far and wide, Christmas time is a central part of appreciating the historic lighthouse.

“It’s a beacon of hope and represents steadfast strength and resilience,” said Robin Cogger, recently retired York Parks and Recreation director. “I think during the holiday that is just magnified, literally.”

The current white Christmas lights were installed five years ago, according to Rosenberg, as part of major improvements to the lighthouse that was built in 1879. The lights are permanently fixed there, only to be turned on for the holiday season.

“Looks like things are in pretty good shape,” Rosenberg said of the lights Monday at sunset, looking through a window inside the Nubble gift shop.

York Parks and Recreation, which maintains the lighthouse and park and employs Rosenberg, previously held an annual event for the lighting of the Nubble that drew large crowds. The COVID-19 pandemic caused that to be canceled for the last three years, however. Rosenberg said it is uncertain when that will return.

The Nubble as a spectacle of lights remains a draw, though, he said, with good weather drawing many crowds to Sohier Park. The lights come on for a week in the summer for Christmas in July during York Days, but Rosenberg tells people that nothing beats the wintertime view. He said he looks forward to quiet December nights at Sohier Park when the wind is down. The temperature can be cold, but that keeps the crowds away.

“And you just go down by the water and you can see it,” Rosenberg said, “And you feel like you’re standing in the middle of a Christmas movie.”

The Nubble a tourism boon for York

Tourism for the Nubble funds itself, as the gift shop is able to cover all of the costs that go into the lighthouse’s maintenance year-round. A new gift shop that was built eight years ago helped boost revenue, and last year the store brought in about $800,000, he said.

“If you come in here on a Saturday, you can’t even move in that gift shop, and they can barely keep it stocked,” Rosenberg said.

That income allows York Parks and Recreation to cover all the Nubble’s upkeep without going to the voters. When the most recent lights were put up during renovations, Rosenberg said the Nubble was in significant disrepair. The white building next to the lighthouse was nearly falling down, he recalled.

“We were able to get to it quicker because we had this fundraising vehicle,” Rosenberg said. Many of Maine's 65 lighthouses lack that funding and therefore remain in disrepair, he said.

The craze over the Nubble, Rosenberg said, goes back to many people’s childhoods. Access to the Nubble itself is exclusive, making opportunities to visit in high demand.

Rosenberg is the only person who can come and go freely, taking a small boat to a dock on the far side of the island. The limited access has a lot to do with how difficult it is to get to the island when all factors are considered, including the weather. Longtime York Beach visitors have said they recall days when the tide went low enough to walk across the gap, but that is not the case today.

More:Judge halts construction at fire-damaged York Beach house until mystery owner revealed

Rosenberg said a bridge could never be built to last because of how harsh the weather is during the winter. He has also learned how quickly the weather can turn, always watching the flagpole to see if the wind changes abruptly.

“I think there’s some mystique in the fact that it’s on an island,” Cogger said. Rosenberg recently took Cogger and her husband Scott, a former York police officer, on a trip to the Nubble as a gift for their transition into retirement.

He said Cogger was once the only person who determined who could visit the island. With her replacement yet to be hired, he said it is uncertain who exactly holds that power right now.

“Usually deciding who goes is above my paygrade,” Rosenberg said.

Nubble lovers still have opportunities to visit to the island, as Parks and Recreation holds two raffles a year for a six-person picnic. Winners get four hours with their five guests on the island, and Rosenberg said the department sells 1,000 tickets for $10 each year.

Many people have bought tickets several years in a row without winning, Rosenberg said, and many winners are first-time participants. The names are drawn by chance from a bowl, but Rosenberg said he still hears plenty of people lobbying for why they should ultimately be chosen.

“The person always says, ‘I’m the perfect person for you to pick.’ That’s how it always starts,” Rosenberg said. “Then they always have a story about all the reasons why being over there means more to them than anybody else.Which,” he paused, “It’s really sweet.”

'He’s ready to go':York police K9 Gunther back on all four paws after being stabbed

Being part of history

Rosenberg, a York High School teacher for 25 years, said he does not know how long he will remain the keeper of the lighthouse. Today, he thoroughly enjoys it. The last keeper was a teacher as well, the job being seasonal with most of the work being in the summer. He said his predecessor left the post in his 60s. Rosenberg is 48.

The job helps Rosenberg pay for his kids’ college, but he said he is not taking his boat two to four days a week to the Nubble island to get rich. A lover of the state of Maine, he said he appreciates the history and does not mind the mundane tasks that bring him to York’s historic lighthouse.

“When I fix something over there, I’m probably the 10th person to fix that exact same thing,” Rosenberg said. “It’s kind of neat to get to participate in the history of the people who have kept the lighthouse.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Nubble Lighthouse decked out for Christmas: Meet the keeper behind it