Sally Snowman (aged 72 as of December 30, 2023, her retirement date) was the last keeper of the Boston Light a lighthouse in Boston Harbor on Little Brewster Island. As of December 30, 2023, Snowman has retired and is expected to be the last official lighthouse keeper ever in the U.S.[1]
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Personal life and career
editSnowman has lived near Boston Harbor since she was a child and first visited Little Brewster Island at age 10.[2] She was married there to Jay Thompson in 1994 and they live in Weymouth, Massachusetts when not staying at the light.[3]
She earned a B.S. at Bridgewater State College, and a Masters in education at Curry College. She then worked as a teacher while earning a Ph.D. in neurolinguistics from Walden University.[4] She volunteered for 30 years for the Coast Guard Auxiliary.[5], where she first met Thompson. In 2003 she was hired by the Coast Guard as a civilian, becoming the first woman and the seventieth keeper of the Boston Light.[6]
See also
edit- George Worthylake - the first keeper of the Boston Light in 1718
References
edit- ^ Helmore, Edward (2023-12-30). "Last US lighthouse keeper steps down from role at Boston Light Beacon". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
- ^ Smith, Tovia (December 26, 2023). "The nation's last official lighthouse keeper retires this week". NPR News.
- ^ Frost, Natasha (17 July 2020). "Meet the United States's Only Female Lighthouse Keeper". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ Wickenden, Dorothy (30 October 2023). "The Last Lighthouse Keeper in America". The New Yorker. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ Cathy Conley. "Sally Snowman, The Keeper of Boston Light". Weymouth (Mass) News. Archived from the original on 2006-10-04.
- ^ "300 years old and this lighthouse is still a keeper". PBS Newshour. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2023.