Letters from the Lighthouse, Vol. 6
Photography by David Oliver
As our tour season winds down, we’re looking back at how our community came together this summer and thinking ahead as our strategic planning process continues.
In this month’s newsletter:
💡 Meet Rodney Russo, a HALPS volunteer and Tower Master🎙️ Climb to the top with Rodney on The Jiffy
⚓ Join us on October 24 for our final Saturday tour this season
👋 ICYMI: Highlights from our September pop-up events with our strategic planners
Lighthouse Lover: Meet Rodney Russo
The Tower Master at the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse has plenty of stories to tell!
If you’ve been to the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse, you’ve probably met Rodney Russo. The longtime volunteer and Tower Master.
We caught up with Rodney and heard a few of his favorite lighthouse stories, both new and old.
What’s a memorable moment with visitors that has stuck with you
During a field trip to the Lighthouse, a group of second graders spent the day learning about conservation and pollution. At lunch, one student’s plastic sandwich bag blew over the railing and into the river.
The students were immediately upset to see the bag polluting the river they had just been learning about. When they spotted a kayaker nearby, the whole group began calling for him to pick it up.
“He rows over there and, with his oar, picks up the bag, and the whole class cheers. He was a hero!”
As Tower Master, what’s your favorite part of bringing visitors to the tower?
For Rodney, it’s seeing visitors reach the top and take in the view for the first time. From there, he uses each direction to introduce something new, drawing on his background as a science teacher to share the history, geography, and folklore of the Hudson River Valley, with a few of his signature puns mixed in along the way.
“They get out there, and they say, ‘Whoa, this is a really nice view. Wow.”
Why is preserving the Lighthouse so important for its future?
From the tower, Rodney can point visitors north toward a pile of rocks in the river topped by a simple automated light. It still serves a navigational purpose, but no Lighthouse surrounds it. Rodney uses that view to show visitors what could happen here if the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse were no longer preserved.
“If this Lighthouse falls into the river or we can’t keep it restored and healthy, that’s what this is going to become. There won’t be a Lighthouse anymore.”
The light can be replaced. The Lighthouse cannot.
Take a Trip to the Top 🎙️
Want to hear more stories from Rodney? In a recent episode of The Jiffy, host James Cave heads out to the Lighthouse with Rodney.
Along the way, Rodney shares how he became involved, what keeps him coming back, and a few of the “Captain Pun” jokes that have become part of the experience. Take a trip to the top and hear Rodney’s story for yourself!
ICYMI: Our Fall Community Events
It was great to spend time with communities along the Hudson last month! Our strategic planners joined HALPS to hear from neighbors and learn more about their connections to the Lighthouse.
At the Catskill Library, children chanted “Hello, Lighthouse!” during storytime and painted their own lighthouse sunsets. In Hudson, we looked through historic postcards and archival materials, while in Coxsackie, we heard from people who have made their own trips to the Lighthouse by kayak and boat.
Through all of these conversations, one message came through again and again: the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse is an icon.
One Last Tour This Season ⚓
Only one Saturday tour remains this season. Step aboard for one final trip to the Lighthouse and experience it for yourself before we close out 2026.
🔹 Saturday, October 24
📍 Henry Hudson Riverfront Park
🕙 Tours depart every 20 min from 10:00 AM–12:20 PM
Thank you to everyone who visited the lighthouse this season, joined our strategic planning activities, or simply admired its majestic beauty from the shore.
We’re thankful to have you as part of our community.
