Modern Athenas

In this podcast, we will be discussing the book “The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter: The Remarkable True Story of American Heroine Ida Lewis,” by Lenore Skomal. Lenore tells the story of Ida Lewis, whose father was responsible for keeping the light burning in the Lime Rock Lighthouse outside of Newport, Rhode Island in the mid-1800s. When Ida was young, her father fell ill, and tending the light fell to her mother and later, to Ida. Ida was considered the bravest woman of her day, not because of her light keeping skills but because of her daring rescues at sea. Ida would see men in danger in the waters surrounding the lighthouse and immediately race for her row boat, casting off and rowing as hard as she could to reach the drowning men. Using her 5’4”, 103-pound frame, she would pull the men into her boat and then row them back to the safety of the shore. Ida’s rescues brought her unwanted fame and attention. While she met some of the biggest political and military names of her day—men who today have their own