Every time a storm approaches the coast, Robert “Bob” W. Gallagher braces himself as he looks out his window at Old Scituate Light. It’s not the wind or waves that bother him. He’s watching out for the daring curiosity-seekers who flock to the ocean near his home.

Gallagher, a 51-year-old schoolteacher and lifelong Scituate resident, has held the honorary title of lightkeeper since 2009, when he and his wife and daughter moved into the lightkeeper’s cottage.