4 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
THE PERILS AND LEGENDS OF
‘TERRIBLE TILLY’
Author Brian D. Ratty
discusses lighthouse,
new book at History &
Hops on May 31
By REBECCA HERREN
FOR COAST WEEKEND
K
nown for her fortitude to with-
stand nature’s elements, the
Tillamook Rock Lighthouse is
not much more than a ghostly shell of
her true glory. She is battered, beaten
and abandoned, but still, she stands
nearly 134 feet above sea level on a
solitary rock off the shore of Tillamook
Head.
There are six known books about
the lighthouse — most of them out of
print. The newest book “Tillamook
Rock Lighthouse: History & Tales of
Terrible Tilly” by Brian D. Ratty, a
local author who enjoys writing histor-
ical novels, was released last month.
Ratty is the featured speaker at the
Seaside Museum & Historical Society’s
next History & Hops event, 6 p.m. Thurs-
day, May 31, at Seaside Brewing Co., 861
Broadway St.
His book is mostly written in a
narrative form and includes correspon-
dence letters and logbook excerpts
kept by former lighthouse keepers.
There are passages from the book
“Tillamook Light” by James Gibbs,
a young Coast Guardsman who spent
tours of duty on the rock in 1945 and
to whom Ratty dedicates this book,
as well as accounts from local news-
papers. He writes about the different
ownerships and how they came to buy
the lighthouse after its decommission
on Sept. 1, 1957.
Before ‘decapitation’
Ratty includes historical photos
TESS RATTY PHOTO
Local author Brian D. Ratty with his recently released book “Tillamook Rock Lighhouse: History and Tales of Terrible Tilly”
Continued on Page 16