By Stephanie Grinnell

Staff Writer

S

aco resident Margo Alley has been conducting genealogical research for years. She began researching her family’s history in Biddeford Pool with nothing but a few slips of paper containing names and dates listed in her grandmother’s handwriting. The slips of paper were discovered in her grandmother’s house after she died in 1994 at the age of 94. Alley tucked the paper away in a cookbook and returned to them every once in a while, thinking the names sounded familiar.

“I thought, ‘I’ve just got to find out who these people are’,” Alley said. 

Six years later, she found all the names on the slips of paper and discovered they were all relatives of hers who were all born, and most of whom died, in Biddeford Pool. The dates on the slips went as far back as the 1800s. 

Most of her research was conducted at McArthur Library, until word circulated in Biddeford Pool she was looking for information about certain people. Alley began receiving phone calls from older residents in the area, helping her research. 

“It was tons of information that leads you to a zillion places,” she said, adding she waded through information from geneology papers and diaries. “I didn’t know what I was going to do with it, but I kept it.”

Alley discovered that she had uncovered massive amounts of information about the history of Biddeford Pool in the search for her ancestors and spent the next three years compiling a founding history, her first book, published privately and not available in bookstores.

“I’ve done writing all my life but I didn’t know I was a writer,” she said with a laugh. 

She said she did not have enough money to pay to have her book published so she approached Pool residents with the idea they could sponsor the publishing. She found 50 people willing to sponsor her work and gifted each of them a copy once it was printed. 

“I was hooked,” Alley said. “I was so hooked.” 

She began traveling to Alfred to the registry of deeds located in the courthouse on a regular basis, researching deeds from the 1700s.

“The more I did it, the more I was hooked. I wanted to move in,” she said. 

Alley recently published her second book, titled “Wood Island Lighthouse: The Rescue of Tammy Burnham.” She said she was motivated to write the book after she read a newspaper article about Tammy’s rescue based on a Coast Guard account of the events. Alley has a personal connection to the rescue, her grandfather was involved, though she said her grandfather’s role was omitted from the newspaper article. 

 “I started thinking, ‘I really need to write this story, to have it out, to tell the truth’,” she said.

The book chronicles the story of 2-year-old Tammy Burnham, who lived on Wood Island with her parents, Lilly and Laurier. Laurier Burnham was in the Coast Guard and assigned to Wood Island, which was Coast Guard-owned at the time. He was based at the Fletcher’s Neck Life Saving Station on the mainland in Biddeford Pool. 

The night of Nov. 29, 1960, Laurier Burnham contacted Fletcher’s Neck station and asked them to come pick up his daughter, who was seriously ill, and take her to the hospital for treatment. It was a stormy night, the seas were rough and the fog was thick. The rescue attempt nearly cost two seamen and Tammy their lives. 

“There are a lot of twists and turns on this story,” Alley said. “It’s a harrowing story and it’s a harrowing book.”

An investigation into the evenings’ events would not take place until more than 30 years later and was spurred by Tammy and her sister Holly when the two women sought out Tammy’s rescuers. They uncovered a story of the rescue that had long been hidden by order of the station chief at Fletcher’s Neck, Alley said.

Following the rescue, newspaper accounts gave credit to the Coast Guard. According to Alley, the Coast Guard should not receive all of the accolades. Her research and numerous interviews with Biddeford Pool residents revealed a different story of the rescue, a story in which her grandfather, Preston Alley, played a major role of the rescue effort, as did Laurier Burnham and Seaman Ed Syvinski.  

Her research uncovered the story of a capsized dingy commandeered by the Coast Guard crew to avoid scratching their own boat which threw the two seamen and Tammy into the frigid ocean. 

One seaman swam to the rescue boat while the other, Seaman Ed Syvinski, held Tammy during the 75 minutes it took for help to arrive in the form of Laurier Burnham, using his own boat. Laurier transferred Tammy and Syvinski to Coast Guard custody and was ordered to return to the lighthouse. 

During the return trip to shore, the chief of the boat became confused about his location and could not find his way. Preston Alley, a fisherman, risked his own life and property by taking his boat into the ocean, taking Tammy and placing the child into the arms of her grandparents, who had been waiting on shore for more than three hours while the rescue was underway. 

The chief denied the existence of Preston Alley and the help he provided, and Alley said he continues to deny it today. She said she thinks the reason he denied Preston Alley’s involvement in the rescue was to protect the image of the Coast Guard. 

Alley said her book is backed up by research and the Coast Guard’s own logs from that night.

“This happened when I was 4-years-old. When it happened I didn’t have any memories. My family didn’t talk about it,” she said. 

The end result of the investigation conducted by Lt. Kristopher Furtney of the Coast Guard recommended the two seamen and Laurier Burnham be commended for their actions, though they ignored orders in their attempt to save Tammy. Alley said Laurier Burnham had a difficult time speaking about the events of Nov. 26, 1960 because he did not want the reputation of the Coast Guard to be tarnished, but felt better once the truth was revealed about Tammy’s rescue. 

Portions of the book feature Lilly Burnham describing life on an island as the wife of a lighthouse keeper and the challenges faced by families in similar situations.

Alley said she plans to continue writing in the future. Her next book may be a history of the Coast Guard station at Fletcher’s Neck, she said. Eventually, she would like to continue with more history of Biddeford Pool, including churches, the one room school and the fire station. She said she feels history deserves a more prominent role in every day life.

“We’re starting to live faster. It’s a reality check to look at what was here, who was here before you and what the area was like,” she said.

Alley spends time each day writing or researching and said she has become more disciplined.

“I’m very dedicated to writing,” she said, adding she feels it is important to be connected to writing every day through writing and research.

There is also a possible movie deal based on the book, Alley said, as several producers have copies of the story and have expressed an interest. 

Much of the book was based on interviews with the Burnham family, who Alley spent numerous hours interviewing during her research. Present day locations of the family and other people in the book are revealed at the end of the tale.

Copies of “Wood Island Lighthouse: The Rescue of Tammy Burnham” are available at Wiggle Weigles Bookstore on Alfred Street in Biddeford.