Vigo County Historical Society

Historical Treasure Article

Historic Treasure of the Week - January 2, 1983

Giglight used for fishing on the river

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley will be closed during the months of January and February. During this period, the Historical Treasure of the Week will include several descriptions written by the late Juliet A. Peddle for the Historical Society's newsletter, The Leaves of Thyme.

"One of the interesting aspects of the operation of a museum is the many unusual items that come in, often things that we have never heard of before, and which had a place in the community life of the past.

"Early this summer, Ralph C. Dinkle brought in an article which he called a giglight. When we asked him about its use, he told us that it was employed in fishing on the Wabash River, but it became illegal later. This one had been put away in a shed or barn since the death of Dinkle's grandfather, James Akers in 1876.

"The idea of the light was to attract the fish after dark, and when they came near enough to be seen, they would be speared with what was known as a gig. He brought the gig as well as the light. It is a four pronged fork on a long handle, totalling about nine feet in length. The fork is iron, about seven inches long, attached to an iron shank fitted to the end of a wooden pole.

"The light is made up of a back board which is some twenty-two inches high and seventeen wide, carries the light hung on the outer face. The light is composed of a metal container, semicircular in shape in which lard was palced, with two wicks emerging from holes around the sides. The container was attached to a metal back, probably to protect the wood, and when it was new, to reflect the light."

Juliet A. Peddle, September, 1959 Leaves of Thyme