Portraits of Acadia: Ray & Mary Ann Schaefer

A husband and wife wearing volunteer uniforms smile in front of a lighthouse.

Ray & Mary Ann Schaefer, Volunteer Rangers, smile in front of the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. NPS photo by Brady Richards

We are Volunteer Rangers. We work with the Visitor Experience & Education Department and are based out of the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse.

This is the fifth summer season that we have volunteered in Acadia having worked at Hulls Cove Visitor Center four seasons in the past. We have also worked one winter season with the Education Department. Overall, we have recorded nearly 8,000 hours volunteering here at Acadia. We have worked at four other National Parks including: Montezuma Well district of Montezuma Castle National Monument, Big Bend National Park, Fort Pickens district of Gulf Islands National Seashore, and San Juan Islands National Historic Site.

Our combined service to the National Parks over the last seven years totals almost 14,500 hours.

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse and accompanying house attached to the lighthouse.

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse NPS photo by Brady Richards

After working four seasons at the information desk in the Hulls Cove Visitor Center, we were interested in the lighthouse because it provided the chance to interact with visitors on a more personal level and gave us the unique opportunity to actually live in a working lighthouse.

Our job is to provide interpretive information regarding the history of the lighthouse, and provide general information about Acadia and the park's hiking trails. The lighthouse setting allows us the opportunity to carry on more informal discussions about a wide range of topics with our visitors. In addition, we lead a Geology Walk once a week, during which we point out the geologic evidence here in the park that reveals the role of plate tectonics, volcanism, and glaciation in forming this region.

Lens and LED lantern of Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse lens & LED lantern NPS photo by Brady Richards

We believe that we impact the park by enhancing the visitor’s experience through providing context to inspire our visitors to look beyond the scenery and understand the cultural, historical, and geological significance of Acadia.

Whenever a visitor thanks us for the information that we have shared with them, we feel that we have accomplished our goal of enhancing their visit to Acadia. Some comments from visitors that have impacted us the most are, “I’ve been coming here every year for many years and never knew this!”. We are especially humbled when we thank a Veteran for their service and they look at us and say, “Thank you for your service”!

Acadia represents all that Nature provides for mankind. The unparalleled beauty, the smell of pine and the sea air, the feel of cold granite, the quiet of a forest are all here to renew the spirit. That is what Acadia means to us.

– Ray Schaefer & Mary Ann Schaefer, Volunteer Rangers at Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse

Married volunteers talk to four visitors in front of a lighthouse.

Ray & Mary Ann talk to four visitors in front of the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. NPS photo by Brady Richards

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Learn more about Volunteer Opportunities in Acadia.

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