ALAMEDA, Calif. -- For some people, spring is a time to clean house, a time to clean out the attics, garages and basements, and a time to get rid of the clutter that has built up over the past year.  Now imagine cleaning 20 years of accumulated clutter -- broken appliances, busted furniture and various construction materials gathered from all the nooks and crannies of the East Island Light Station near Richmond, Calif.

Such was the task facing the small group of volunteers who had chosen to participate in the East Brother Island cleanup March 28, 2009. What took decades to accumulate, a small group of volunteers managed to transport off the island in a little more than six hours. Hauling bits and pieces of clutter down a steep ramp by hand, the volunteers transported all the junk down to the raised dock on the eastern side of the island. The trash was loaded onto a small motorboat and taken to the mainland where it could be unloaded and properly disposed.

“Some of the volunteers were Coast Guard, some were dependents, and some were just civilians who wanted to help out. Everyone’s welcome,” said Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Brian Vass, who helped organize the Coast Guard volunteers.

            “There’s no garbage truck that can go out there. The only way to get there is by boat, and it just builds up over time,” said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Montague Verone, one of the volunteers.

            Built in 1874, East Brother Light Station has been in operation for more than 133 years and was maintained by the Lighthouse Service before it merged with the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939.

The Coast Guard still maintains the automated light and fog signal. The lighthouse, the retired foghorn and the island grounds are maintained by East Brother Island Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the historic value of the East Brother Lighthouse. However, there was a time when the continued preservation of this historic landmark was in doubt.

            East Brother Light Station was completely automated under the U.S. Coast Guard’s Lighthouse Automation Project in 1969 and there were plans to replace the aging structure with a modern light tower to better facilitate the automated light and fog signal.

The Contra Costa Shoreline Parks Committee made the preservation of the lighthouse one of its primary goals and managed to prevent its demolition.  The organization also managed to get the lighthouse on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. However, being fully automated, and with little funding for maintenance and repairs, the lighthouse sat empty and abandoned for more than a decade, falling into disrepair.

            In 1979 the newly founded East Brother Light Station Inc., through the use of grants and private donations, managed to raise enough money to restore the lighthouse and convert it into a bed and breakfast inn. The profits of the inn now help pay for the maintenance and upkeep of the lighthouse and the island grounds.

            According to its website, East Brother Light Station Inc. also relies on the efforts of volunteers, like the group that helped clear the large pile of debris, to help maintain and preserve the lighthouse and the island.

Like so many attics, garages and basements, East Brother Island had become overburdened by 20 years of clutter. Through the combined efforts of Coast Guard and civilian volunteers, the East Brother Light Station and Lighthouse inn became a cleaner, better, place for those wishing to witness and preserve the historic beauty of the lighthouse on East Brother Island.

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