This is an edited version of an interview that was first heard in May 2021. The guest is Kirby Eldridge, a former Coast Guard lighthouse keeper. Kirby was one of the two last keepers of Boon Island Light Station, which is about seven miles off the coast of southern Maine. Kirby and the other keeper at the time, Leo Berry, had to evacuate Boon Island during the devastating Blizzard of 1978, and the light was automated soon after that.
In this interview, Kirby recalls his harrowing rescue during the blizzard, as well as memories of everyday life at one of America’s most desolate light stations.
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U.S. Lighthouse Society Historian Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of 24 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is a past president of the American Lighthouse Foundation and founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and he has lectured and narrated cruises throughout the Northeast and in other regions. He is also the producer and host of the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s weekly podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org