A fire outside got out of control that day and ignited his barn, where he resided in a second-storey studio apartment. After firefighters pulled smouldering material from his office onto the ground, Cunningham noticed a dark, melted rectangle with a barely discernible keyboard amongst the debris.
A fire outside got out of control that day and ignited his barn, where he resided in a second-storey studio apartment. After firefighters pulled smouldering material from his office onto the ground, Cunningham noticed a dark, melted rectangle with a barely discernible keyboard amongst the debris.
It was his laptop, the device in which he had entered hundreds of hours of research for two books he planned on writing about Cape Forchu and its lightkeepers.
Although treasured artifacts had been lost in the fire, including 74 letters written between 1910 and 1912 by his grandfather, former lightkeeper Herb Cunningham, a huge amount of data had been digitally saved on the laptop.
Cunningham’s work with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada included being the lead investigator in the crash of a Cougar helicopter off St. John's, N.L., in 2009. He was also the lead in the investigation of the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Que., crash last March.
Small details are important to him and can provide valuable information.
The loss of his uninsured home, where he had planned on retiring, was devastating, but the slim chance that the data on this hard drive could be recovered and the enduring beauty of his land were two things he held onto.
Before the fire
Since purchasing the property in 2005 Cunningham has installed a footbridge over Devil’s Creek and stone steps up a hillside to a sitting area with a stunning view of the ocean. Colonies of wild foxgloves began moving in as he cleared the land.
Although he was born in Yarmouth, his early years were spent moving about the Maritimes for his father’s work in banking.
The family vacationed in Yarmouth each summer. Cunningham waited all year for those days to visit his grandparents near the Cape Forchu lighthouse, where his “granddad” was lightkeeper from 1922 to 1952.
“Johns Cove and False Harbour were big attractions. We always used to swim,” said Cunningham.
His grandfather had salvaged several staircases from the old lighthouse when it was torn down and set them into the hill behind his house.
“As kids, that’s what we would do, climb up and down these stairs non-stop and sit on them and look out over the harbour,” said Cunningham.
Family barbecues are also wonderful memories. In more recent years, he’s provided tours of the lighthouse property on his time off, dressed in period costume and carrying a small binnacle lamp as lightkeeper Thomas Doane.
Cunningham is viewed by many relatives as the family historian and was entrusted with heirlooms from the past.
Thankfully, one of the most valuable items - his grandfather’s lighthouse logbook - was not in the burned structure but stored in a nearby trailer.
After the fire
Cunningham picked up the laptop and examined it. He held faint hope of anything being retrieved from the hard drive but took the remains to a computer specialist. He was overjoyed to receive a phone call that the information was retrievable.
“I know better than anyone how remarkable it is that that data survived,” he said.
Mike’s former residence was located in a protected hollow. He says it’s impossible for him to give up on the land and now plans to rebuild, higher, to take in the spectacular view of Yarmouth Bar and beyond.
