For the second year, the Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Organization is looking for volunteers to do historic preservation work at one of Alaska’s oldest lighthouses.
Sue York, the nonprofit’s executive director, said it’s all part of a plan that began in 2020, when the organization leased the 120-year-old lighthouse from the Coast Guard. They’re working toward a goal of opening to the public next summer, which means people could use it as a retreat or camp there.
“We see us opening up for tourism because we need revenue to fix and maintain the building,” she said.
The historic preservation board started in Haines as a subcommittee of the Sheldon Museum, but became a nonprofit in 2014. Now it has members in Juneau, Skagway, and Gustavus as well.
But, for its volunteer program, York said the preservation organization is specifically looking for more volunteers from Haines. That’s in part because the lighthouse is just 15 miles south of the Chilkat Valley.
“It’s so close to Haines,” she said. “It’s difficult for Juneau to get up there and do the work. We’d prefer it to be a site that is more owned by Haines.”
Last summer volunteers staffed the lighthouse for six weeks and York said they’ve got another six weeks scheduled this summer. Ideally, she said, they would like to have it staffed from May through September.
“It’s difficult because summer is so busy for everyone with tourism in town and fishing,” she said. “It’s hard to get people who want to stay out at the lighthouse for a week or more.”
Returning volunteer and Haines resident Ryan Eckert said the volunteer job should be easier this year given that there’s no longer the need to learn how to safely remediate lead and asbestos.
Eckert said he got involved with the project because it has been a childhood dream of his to be a lighthouse keeper.
“I want to live on a craggy isle,” he said.
Volunteers fill out an application and then if they’re accepted they do six to eight hours of training before they stay for a week. Duties include tackling work projects, greeting any visitors, and maintaining daily upkeep of the lighthouse.
Eckert said he’s returning to do some interior painting and daily chores, like yardwork.
This year, volunteers will be able to sleep inside the lighthouse, which has five bedrooms. There’s a recreational room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, – though there is not currently plumbing or electricity – so people have to use a camp kitchen outside, Eckert said.
“Every week that goes by, it’s getting more and more comfortable to live there. “I know that when they first started, they couldn’t even go inside without Tyvek suits and respirators. It’s kind of fun to see all the work from volunteers pay it forward to future volunteers.”
Getting to the lighthouse can be logistically complex, and expensive.
Eckert said the team of volunteers he was on were flown to the island via helicopter. But, given that there’s less funding available this year, he said the group is trying to rely on donated trips.
“We’re interested in folks from Haines who have a landing craft or a small craft that can go out there and make the trip to drop people off,” York said.
Eckert said his experience was memorable.
“My group had a couple of really nice, sunny, calm days. We’d have a fire on the beach at the end of the day. We’d swim in the water. We saw a double rainbow. We saw orcas,” he said.
They also saw ships with interested passengers go by. The lighthouse is an eyecatching spot on the way two or from Skagway and Haines.
“ It was fun seeing the ferry. The Fjordlands boat, when they go by, they circle the islands and you can hear them. We thought it would be fun to do some skits for them – like maybe a zombie apocalypse and we’re running from zombies.”
Eckert said he also enjoyed being disconnected from the pace of every day life, particularly in the summer.
“You get your tasks done for the day, they don’t expect too much from volunteers – I think it’s four hours a day of volunteering,” he said. “There’s a lot of downtime reading books, doing art. I’m a ham radio operator so I’m bringing my ham radio out.”
Also new this year is a new film about the lighthouse. It describes the volunteer keeper program as well. York said travelers can see it airing on the state ferries.
York said the preservation board is also flagging one more important day: to have a ribbon cutting on June 1, 2026 when it opens public access on the 120th anniversary of the commissioning of Eldred Rock.