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Imagine being the keeper that day back in 38'
Octave Ponsart, later at Butler Flats, Cuttyhunk and West Chop, was keeper at Dumpling Rock in September 1938 when the worst hurricane in New England history hit. Ponsart and his family were just about to leave on their first vacation in several years, leaving the assistant keeper in charge. Their suitcases had already been placed in a dory when the wind suddenly picked up and the seas rose.
Ponsart and his assistant, Henry Fontineau, tried to secure the lighthouse tower, but the situation soon looked hopeless. The first floor of the house filled with water. Ponsart and his wife, daughter and niece, along with Fontineau and his wife, all went to an upstairs bedroom, leaving the station's dog, Rexeena, swimming on the first floor. Chunks of roof flew off and all the windows were quickly broken.
Suddenly there was a thunderous crash and a violent shaking of the house. Ponsart and Fontineau looked downstairs to find water almost to the ceiling. A huge piece of Dumpling Rock itself had been torn away and crashed through the living room wall. The boulder stayed in place partly inside the house, anchoring the dwelling to the rock. This lucky accident may have saved the lives of the keepers and their families as the house remained anchored throughout the storm. Emma Ponsart later said that the hymn, "Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me," held new meaning for her after that day.
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