50 Years, 50 Legacies: Raoul Lufbery

#10 Raoul Lufbery: A Legacy of Building and Belief at Voyageurs National Park

Raoul Lufbery sitting at a prototype rustic log picnic table developed by park maintenance workers for visitor use in 1990. 

In the world of national parks, where the grandeur of the natural landscape often takes center stage, the quiet and essential work of maintaining the facilities, roads, trails, and campsites often goes unnoticed. But for Raoul Lufbery, the foundation of his four-decade career with the National Park Service was just that - building, developing, and maintaining the infrastructure that makes Voyageurs National Park both accessible and sustainable today.


A Park from Scratch

Raoul Lufbery arrived at Voyageurs in March 1977, just a couple years after the park had been established. “I spent the next 35-some-odd years basically building, developing, and maintaining the park,” he recalled. “Most people in the National Park Service, especially in maintenance, don’t get the opportunity to start off with a brand-new park and stay for some 35 years... I consider myself very fortunate.”

Born in Meriden, Connecticut, and graduating from West Virginia University with a degree in Forestry, Recreation, and Resource Management, Raoul came to the National Park Service by way of seasonal work in state parks and a stint with the George Washington Memorial Parkway and the numerous National Capital Region historical monuments and distinguished visitor sites. But it was Voyageurs that became his long-term home. In fact, he received all his career promotions while stationed at International Falls – a rare feat in the national park service, where moving up often means moving around and relocation to different sites. “I did expect to probably put in three or four good years in the park,” he admitted. “But I found the job extremely rewarding; challenges up the kazoo. And I had the ambition and the go-get-’em attitude to put my heart and soul in the park to make it the best it could be.”

Finding a Path Forward

Raoul’s vision was always forward-thinking. He believed deeply in the park’s future and the community’s evolving relationship with it. “Every now and then you pinch yourself. I’ve always loved the park, and the resource is wonderful,” he said. “Even though some were not happy about the park coming in, many have changed their views... It belongs to a lot of people; and it’s in a lot of people’s hearts.” His optimism endured throughout his career: “Voyageurs has a ton of potential; I’ll say for the next 100 years and then for the centuries to come thereafter.”

While determination fueled his vision, Raoul’s work was firmly grounded in practicality. He was a key figure in creating the park’s development concept plans, which were the master plans for the areas that included visitor centers, trails, docks, comfort stations, and more.

Carpenters performing major reconstruction work on the historic Kettle Falls Hotel in 1987.  

One of the most complex projects he undertook was the rehabilitation of the historic Kettle Falls Hotel. “When I came up in ’77 and looked at the facility… I used to say it had a ‘roller coaster floor’... you could walk from the kitchen, into the dining room, then to the bar and it was like a roller coaster of changing  floor elevations (from a couple of inches to over a foot or more) due to the failing log timber foundation.”  The project was filled with challenges: rotting logs, deteriorating roof, electric wiring problems, broken sewer and waterlines, and the daunting need to come into compliance with strict health and safety codes.  In addition, the hotel’s two marinas, needed for visitor boat-in access, required major safety improvements to the docks, signage, portage road and pathways.  Raoul credited his entire maintenance staff, including skilled local craftsmen like Norbert Goulet, Jim Larson, Clayton Stevens, Dennis Lagergren, Bill Johnson and maintenance supervisors Chris Case and Rod Booth for the project’s success. Together, they vastly improved visitor site safety and ensured the hotel met codes while maintaining its historic charm.

Maintenance: The Lifeblood of a Park

Facility Manager Lufbery (wearing a blue shirt) with other park staff members relaxing at the old Meadwood Lodge (now used as the Ash River Visitor Center) after performing a long day of debris and rubbish cleanup work on park land in 1985.

Today, the work that Raoul helped pioneer continues through the dedicated and skilled maintenance team at Voyageurs. These behind-the-scenes professionals are responsible for everything from clearing snow to developing winter visitor access lake ice roads, maintaining front and backcountry trails, performing electrical, plumbing, and carpentry tasks in remote locations. Voyageurs is a vast and complex operation: dozens of buildings, a large fleet of boats and vehicles, over 50 miles of trails, 300+ campsites and visitor destinations, and four visitor centers. The maintenance crew keeps it all running, often using specialized trade skills in carpentry, masonry, welding, and mechanical repair.   Heavy equipment is occasionally utilized at some developed sites and landing-craft barges are in constant use hauling building materials and construction equipment to numerous remote historic sites and hundreds of lake front-country boat-in campsites.   Without the maintenance and repair work, the park would grind to a halt.   

Raoul noted, serving for decades with the professional employees from the other four park divisions (protection, interpretation, resource protection, and administration) raised the quality and attractiveness of planned facilities to optimum standards for visitor enjoyment.   Citizen input from the five nearby park communities was appreciated and often aided in improving new facility designs.                  

A Life of Service

Raoul Lufbery (left), Chief Ranger Ben Welch (center), and USCG Auxiliarist Gary Whipple (right) preparing to instruct local grade school children in safe boating protocols at park headquarters in 2018. 

Even after retiring in 2012, Raoul hasn’t stopped serving the park community. Today, he volunteers with the local United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, promoting boating safety and helping educate the next generation of park visitors and boaters. Auxiliary Flotilla 091-30-7, which Raoul is a member of, predominantly serves the four large lake waterway system in Minnesota’s only National Park, Voyageurs National Park. Members of Flotilla 07 live all over the state and work with park rangers to host boating safety programs for local school students each spring.

A Quiet Builder of Legacies

Raoul Lufbery’s story is more than a career; it’s a legacy of stewardship, commitment, and community. 

He may have started out with a few trucks and a couple of boats, but his work laid the foundation for a world-class national park that now welcomes thousands of visitors each year. His story is a reminder that parks don’t just protect nature—they are built and sustained by people with vision, grit, and heart. 

Applying for a Job with the National Park Service (U.S. National Park Service)

Maintenance Action Teams - Infrastructure (U.S. National Park Service)

Kettle Falls - Voyageurs National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Check out the full list of our 50 legacies!

This year, we’re celebrating 50 years of Voyageurs National Park by sharing 50 inspiring stories of the people who shaped its legacy—from the visionaries who established the park to those protecting its beauty today. Raise a canteen and celebrate this historic milestone with us at our 50th anniversary website. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for more inspiring stories and updates!