National Park Service Oral History

In this episode, Bill Wade describes how he had to bend the rules to safeguard resources when he was superintendent of Shenandoah National Park in the 1980s. The result? Some admonishments; a few accolades; and a sense of a job well done. Thanks to the Association of National Park Rangers for this oral history collaboration with the Park History Program.

In the 1980s Meg Weesner was among a pioneer generation of women to move into Natural Resources Management in the National Park Service. During her career she discovered that collaboration with partners was the best way to preserve and protect valuable resources.

In college Sandra Weber decided to major in a subject she loved--history. Following her passions and gifts led to a job at the Clara Barton National Historic Site, the first step in a career with the National Park Service.

Do you realize how many people it takes to make the National Park System work? Many are like Flo Six Townsend, who found her Park Service passion in career development and employee training. In 2013 we talked as part of the Association of National Park Rangers Oral History Project. Townsend reflected on her satisfaction is helping others advance their careers and how she herself discovered and developed her own talents in the National Park Service.

Dick Martin served as the second superintendent Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska between 1985 and 1990. The assignment, in hold interviewer Alison Steiner, taught him how to work with communities in the face of controversy. This interview was part of the Association of National Park Rangers Oral History Project.

How do you build a successful career in the National Park Service? In this installment of Centennial Voices, Wendy Lauritzen describes how she combined careful planning, serendipity, the guidance of mentors, and a professional organization to build a satisfying career.

In 1988 Ed Rizzotto began working at Gateway National Recreation Area in New York City. During his seven years at Gateway helped him recognize the unique role that urban parks play in the National Park System and in people’s everyday lives.

Anne and Scott Warner share their stories as seasonal park rangers who began mid-life careers with the National Park Service. They've worked from Maine to Nevada and Louisiana to Texas, exploring our national parks in depth as seasonal rangers and eventually putting down roots at Acadia National Park in Maine.

J.D. Swed shares some of his experiences as a search and rescue ranger in the parks. He discusses how he learned to deal with death and helped others to do the same.

Diane and Dan Moses share what it was like to raise two daughters while living and working in the national parks. Listen along as they tell their stories of giving birth during a Yellowstone winter, finding community in the parks, and allowing their daughters to explore freely.

John Reynolds tells us what it was like to grow up in our national parks as the son of a park ranger. Listen as he shares childhood memories from Yellowstone and Theodore Roosevelt National Parks, and hear him discuss how these experiences shaped his own career with the National Park Service.

What's it like to grow up in a national park? Retired NPS superintendent Bill Wade will tell you.

In the 1970s Laurel Munson Boyers was among a pioneering generation of women who assumed new roles in the National Park Service. Listen to Boyers describe one frightful night as a wilderness ranger, stationed at Buck Camp.

In this segment of "Centennial Voices," we hear how a disciplined mentor and a balky horse teach a seasonal National Park Service ranger the importance of his image as well as his duties.

Retired Park Ranger J. D. Swed talks about how family life and work are inter-related in the National Park Service. Thanks to Nolan Edmondson, NPS volunteer, for audio production.