Light Hearted Lite #34: Lee Radzak, Split Rock, Minnesota

Lee Radzak Split Rock Lighthouse, on a 127-foot-high cliff on the northwest shore of Lake Superior, began service in 1910. The light station is now the centerpiece of 2200-acre Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. Lee Radzak became the lighthouse site manager in November 1982. Over the next 36 years, he and his wife Jane raised a son and a daughter, marveled at the lake’s beauty, endured gigantic storms, and answered the questions posed by more than four million visitors. Split Rock Lighthouse, photo by Jeremy D’Entremont. After retiring in 2019, Lee began work on a new book — The View from Split Rock: A Lighthouse Keeper’s Life. The book, which was co-written by journalist and author Curt Brown, takes readers into the life of a modern-day lighthouse keeper at Split Rock. This is an edited version of an interview that was first heard in episode 127 in July 2021.