Light Hearted Lite #41 – Kirby Eldridge, keeper at Boon Island, Maine

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.