JOIN US DURING THE 75th ANNIVERSARY YEAR
FOR LAVA BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENT
On November 21, 1925, President Calvin Coolidge
signed Presidential Proclamation number 1755 establishing Lava Beds
National Monument. The Setting aside of Lava Beds was in recognition of
the many unique geological features and important cultural sites located
with its boundaries.
The Lava Beds National Monument is celebrating its
75th anniversary this year and is hosting a number of special
events in honor of this celebration. These events range from educational
tours for elementary schools students to special presentation for the
entire family to enjoy. Living history and guided tours are offered each
Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or you can tour the
many attractions and spectacular sights of the monument on your own.
The Lava Beds is located south of Klamath Falls on
Hwy. 39 about 30 miles. Watch for the sign to the Lava Beds once you are
through the town of Tulelake, California.
Special Events planned for the
75th anniversary
July 15
Modoc Gathering - The annual Modoc reunion
gathering will be held at the monument campground. Members of the Modoc
tribe will recognize tribal elders and celebrate their identity as a
people.
Month of August
"31 Features in 31 Days Challenge" -
Cancellation slips will be placed in 31 of the monument's cave's and
other features. Any visitor who can visit all of these features during
the month will receive a special certificate commemorating their
successfld adventure.
Week of September 17
The General Miles Marching and Chowder society
- A group of living historians who specialize in recreating life in the
U.S. Infantry between 1965 and 1890, will hold their National Encampment
at the Lava Beds National Monument.
November 21, 2000
Lava Beds 75th Anniversary Celebration - The
public is invited as monuments founding date is celebrated with special
tours and ceremonies.
The last weekend of every Month - A local
actor portrays J.D. Howard, considered the father of the Lava Beds
National Monument.
On Display - 75 years of vacation photos are
displayed in the Visitor Center Kiosk. These photos have been lent to
the monument by people from all over the nation along with from
Europe.
|
|
MEET THE NEW HISTORIAN
by Beverly Paulson
Ella Mae Young of Roseburg has volunteered to serve
as the historian for the Friends of Crater Lake. Ella Mae has a long and
passionate interest in Oregon's only national park.
She was born in Douglas County and remembers as a
young child driving with her folks ina 1925 Buick sedan via the Tiller
Highway to Crater Lake. Wayne Howe, her brother-in-law, and a park
service employee for many years first lived at Annie Springs and later
at the Rim Village. There were many family trips to see her sister,
Jean, Wayne and family and she has many memories of their life in the
Park.
Ella Mae's career was as a librarian, first in
schools and later at the Douglas county Museum. She and her husband have
attended almost every annual meeting of the Friends, helped with Cycle
Oregon and attended the dedication of the Lodge. We are pleased to have
Ella Mae as our historian.
WINTER RIM DESK
Again this year I volunteered for 2 weekends at the
Winter Rim Desk. I was there in late January and in mid February. Both
weekends, I was really busy one day and then a storm would come and the
next day would be quiet and peaceful.
STAFFING THE FRIENDS INFORMATION DISPLAY
I am looking for Friends to volunteer to staff the
Friends table and display board this summer. This is part of the effort
to increase our membership and spread the word about what the Friends
do. Duties will include answering questions about the Friends, signing
up new members, and urging people to become a Friend.
|
|
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
We need to develop a mailing list for the purpose
of increasing membership and supporting the projects of the Park's
Centennial in 2002. At one time it seemed in the distant future, but now
with just two years left we need to shift into action. With more members
there will be more involvement with projects, more awareness of the
plans for the Centennial and more support of its projects. So we need
your help! Think of at least 5 people who we could add to our mailing
list, include addresses and mail to Judy Buckingham, 34277 Oregon Shore
Drive, Chiloquin, OR 97624. Remember to include names from anywhere in
the country and you are not limited to five. Can we count on you for
help?
WILL THERE BE HOT DOGS AGAIN THIS YEAR?
Friends who were at last years Summer Project Weekend
will remember the fine dinner I had for Friday Night. We had a Hot Dog
Roast around the camp fire. It was a fun hot dog roast and we also had
Garden Burgers so to balance out the hot dogs! This year, Jan Wilson is
working on bringing Salmon from Coos Bay. We will hope there is a good
catch of Salmon that week.
Summer project weekend is scheduled for August 18,
19, and 20. Because of the long winters at Crater Lake, the project will
be finalized when the park clear's of snow. We expect to be camping at
Lost Creek Campground once again. Most participants arrive Friday
afternoon and enjoy a hike or something at Crater Lake. Saturday morning
is the work project, but some Friends also come to Crater Lake Saturday
to join in. Saturday night we will have a dinner at Lost Creek
Campground. Sunday morning there might be some more work on the
project.
We will need Friends to help at the camp, answer
questions from park visitors, and help with a variety of tasks on the
project.
Contact any of the Board Members if you need more
information. Mark your calendars now.
|
|
CENTENNIAL PLANNING AND THOUGHTS
by Glen Kaye, Friends Centennial Coordinator
Even though its two years away, plans for the
centennial of Crater Lake National Park continue to create a flurry of
activity. And well they should. This was America's seventh national
park, making it one of the older national parks in the world. Its
significance in America has grown in many ways in the past one hundred
years, and the centennial is a wonderfid opportunity to have public
dialogue and recognition of its resources and its values. The Friends of
Crater Lake National Park has been deeply involved in project planning
and fundraising for this. Your support is helping to make this happen.
Thanks to a grant from a Portland, Oregon foundation
and in-memorium gifts from the Arthur Family, the Friends have
contracted with historian Rick Harmon of Portland to prepare the
manuscript for a definitive publication on the history of the park.
Longtime park supporters recognize that one has never existed. Oregon
State University Press is the prospective publisher, and we expect the
work to reach the market in 2002.
An initial grant from the Mazamas, the Portland,
Oregon outdoor organization, has allowed Southern Oregon Public
Television to begin plans for a one hour video program on the park's
history. There is still $57,000 needed for this project, which is the
single most important effort the Friends are striving to accomplish.
When done, the program can be broadcast over public television stations
throughout the state and beyond. We expect it to reach tens of millions
of people.
The Friends have also contracted with a playwright,
who is going to create a script that will allow an actor to present a
performance in the role of William Gladstone Steel, the father of Crater
Lake National Park. Still needed is $25,000 to fund an actor/interpreter
to present this program. Look for this program at park sites, and,
because it can be taken on the road, throughout Oregon.
We truly expect the centennial year to be one of
unprecedented public attention to Crater Lake National Park. Yes, there
will be celebrations, but what a wonderful opportunity to explore the
very values it holds for each of us.
|
|
GEORGE'S RETIREMENT ROAST
George Buckingham has been the National Park Liason
for the Friends since The Friends started back in 1993. George
Buckingham, Crater Lake National Park Chief Park Ranger for more than
ten years retired on December 31. His career spanned 35 years of NPS
service. When I got back to Klamath Falls after the holiday, I got the
invitation to George's Retirement Party. George's retirement was held in
Klamath Falls and appropriately, for a retiring park ranger, it was in a
tent!
That night was a wonderfully winter stormy night
in Klamath Falls. The roads weren't freezing yet, but there was a lot of
wind, with periods of icy rain and snow. It was a fun retirement party
inside the tent, seeing the tent shudder in the gusts of wind and hear
the ice and rain hit the roof of the tent.
He began as
a seasonal Fire Control Aid and Park Ranger at Rocky Mountain National
Park followed with other seasonal jobs as a Park Ranger and Park
Archeologist at Mesa Verde National Park and Chaco Canyon National
Monument, seven seasons in all. His first permanent assignment was as a
Park Archeologist, Park Ranger and Chief of Interpretation and Resource
Management for six years at Chaco Canyon NM. He and his wife had two
children while stationed at Chaco. He was transferred to Glen Canyon
National Recreation Area as a Sub-District and Assistant District Ranger
(3 years). A stint at Dinosaur National Monument (3 years) as a District
Ranger was followed by eleven years at Bryce Canyon National Park where
he served as a Supervisory park Ranger and Chief Park Ranger before
moving to Crater Lake National Park as Chief Park Ranger. Along the way
he served on a number of Special Event Teams during the sixties and
seventies participating in number of notable NPS events, all of them
interesting, but not all pleasant!
These notable NPS
events provided lots of opportunities for George to get roasted at the
party. George was roasted really good, but there were lots of really
nice things said about George.
George and Judy (a
retired elementary school teacher) now have a home (with a spectacular
view of the Cascades) near Chiloquin, Oregon. George is heavily involved
with the local community in the planning and organization of Crater
Lake's 100th anniversary (2002), outdoor recreation
planning and with emergency services planning. George and Judy also plan
to do some traveling, especially to visit grandchildren. They welcome
visitors.
Another thing George is doing which is fun is
consulting for Oregon Parks and Recreation. They are trying to set up a
law enforcement program, they have none now, but do have limited
violation notice authority. He has served on a task force for the last 8
months or so designing the program and spent the last two weeks doing
some training. Next on the agenda is to design and construct a 40 hour
training academy to be put on this winter. Probably do two sessions. His
job will be to take the "modules" which the task force set up and turn
them into a training program. This will involve "power point"
presentations, lectures, role playing, videos, whatever works for adult
learners. They have even set aside some money to pay him. 'I have no
idea how much! I'm not doing this for money so I don't really care, but
a little coin is appreciated by us "starving pensioners." '
George is vice president of the neighborhood property
owners association which means he runs the show. 'That keeps me hopping
too.'
When you see George, wish him a very happy
retirement. Thank you George from the Friends of Crater Lake.
|
