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Getting paid in sunsets when you volunteer in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
When you visit the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and Friends board member Neil Howk is your guide, you’re in for a treat. As a retired park ranger specializing in telling the stories of the islands, Neil has a special way of immersing park visitors in the rich history and natural beauty in the park. This summer, Neil volunteered at the Raspberry Island light. During the coming weeks, we’ll share some of Neil’s experiences, observations and interactions with park visitors. The position is unpaid but Neil says it offers its own rewards.
The sky was overcast and threatening rain as I prepared to go to Raspberry Island for one of my stints as a volunteer lighthouse keeper on Saturday August 10. I checked the Wave Watch buoys at Sand and Devils islands and saw that they were each registering three-foot waves. My contact at the national lakeshore texted that the Apostle Islands cruise to Raspberry Island might not be able to land because of the conditions. If that happened, the park would find alternative transportation to take me to Raspberry. Eventually, I reported to Roy’s Point at 4 pm to catch a ride to the island with the rangers.
Karl Carlson and Jordan Sjogren needed to drop off some radio batteries for the volunteers at Oak Island, so they could take me to Raspberry and pick up ranger Fred Schlichting. I worked with both Karl and Jordan before I retired, so it was fun to be able to catch up with them and hear what was going on in the park.
I explained that I was helping to provide tours of the Raspberry Island Lighthouse for a few days and that since I was now retired, I’d be getting paid in sunsets. We looked at the sky and joked that with all the clouds, I might be taking a pay cut.
As things turned out, the wind calmed down and the landing at Raspberry was no problem. The sky even cleared that evening, and I enjoyed one of a series of beautiful sunsets. It may have been a different kind of gold standard, but I was well paid for my time on Raspberry Island. You be the judge.
You can learn more about the opportunities to volunteer for the National Park Service here. And you can sign up to volunteer with Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore here. You too just might be paid in sunsets, in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. In our next installment, learn what a National Park Service volunteer does while stationed at the Raspberry Island lighthouse and how life there now compares with a keeper’s life in 1924.
Neil Howk began working as a park ranger/interpreter for the National Park Service in 1978. He worked at a number of different parks over the years and served as the assistant chief of interpretation at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore from 1993-2016. He now serves as a board member of Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
Additional topics related to this article | Interpretation | Raspberry Island | Volunteering | Weather
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