Oh, Ranger!

When I was young, school field trips to Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Washington, DC, and Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, all National Park Service sites, were standard fare. Later, a summer road trip with a high school buddy provided memorable visits to Concord, Salem, Cape Cod and to Acadia National Park. Long before Animal Planet, the parks offered views of native wildlife never seen in suburbia, and preserved the places where events, often reluctantly studied in school, had occurred. 

I moved on to college and graduate school, studying American history and landscape architecture. My position with a private architectural firm, researching and restoring historic houses and landscapes throughout the mid- Atlantic region brought me to Valley Forge, Gettysburg and Independence National Historical Park where I found myself influencing the field trips of students and the way visitors looked at the symbols of their pasts. When, 25 years ago, I was offered a "temporary" job with the National Park Service, I jumped at the chance to make the parks a full-time part of my life. 

Elegant 18th century manor houses, West Virginia coal mines, tobacco barns, slave quarters, bridges, gardens, dams, battlefields and cemeteries—I have been fortunate to help research and preserve them all. More so, I have been given the opportunity to uncover long-lost stories, the chance to bring clarity to past events, to preserve the deeds and efforts of those our histories have forgotten. 

I do hope your visit is both educational and fun.