Split Rock Lighthouse, one of the most picturesque lighthouses in the United States, is located on a 127-foot-high cliff on the northwest shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. By the late 1960s, the Coast Guard deemed the lighthouse obsolete and it was discontinued as an official aid.

Split Rock Light Station, USLHS archives

Today the light station is the centerpiece of Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, operated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The Minnesota Historical Society administers the 25-acre historic lighthouse site. The station has been restored to its early 1920s appearance, and the site is operated as a living museum.

Lee Radzak

Don Terras (L) and Lee Radzak. Don is the resident "keeper" at Grosse Point Light Station in Illinois. Don and Lee are the two longest serving modern day keepers in the U.S.

Hayes Scriven

Hayes Scriven doing some cleanup with his children

Lee Radzak became the lighthouse site manager in November 1982. Lee and his family ended up spending almost 37 years living at the light station —one of the longest stints for any modern-day keeper anywhere in the United States. When he retired, an extensive search for a new site manager led to the hiring of Hayes Scriven, who moved to the site with his wife, Jenny, and their two children in late 2019. In this interview, Lee and Hayes compare notes on life at one of America's most iconic light stations.

Photo by Hayes Scriven

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