Friends of

LICENSE PLATE DESK COMMENTS
by Judy Buckingham

While the license plate desk at the rim may not have met all the hopes of the park in terms of sales, it was a huge success for many other reasons.

George and I staffed the desk very early on, probably just a few days after it was set up. We were given permission to organize the area to suit ourselves, so we set up the sales desk out on the porch to enjoy the sunshine and wonderful view. We placed the Friends exhibit inside the Community House along with informative posters containing plans for renovating the old Superintendent's house to make a Science and Learning Center. A poster of the license plate was placed near the sidewalk to attract attention of passers by.

We had a lot of interested people come up to find out what the building was and what we were doing there. We took advantage of this opportunity to tell what history we knew of the Community House. (There was an information leaflet in the desk.) We led people inside to see the beautiful renovation. We showed them our display, as well as those on the learning center, which then led directly into license plate sales. A large number of these visitors were from out of state or out of country, but for the in-state people who showed interest, we either signed them up or gave them the forms to fill out and take to their own DMV. Most people did not want to go back to their car to get all the YIN numbers, etc.

Most people wanted to talk and asked numerous questions. Most frequently asked was "Where is the bathroom?" We got questions about when boat tours would begin. (They had been delayed due to replacement of tour boats.) There were questions about trail conditions. (Many trails were not open that early in the season.). And then there were questions about where to eat and what kind of food they serve and where to buy gifts and questions about roads and the quickest way to get somewhere. There were a few plant, animal, and lake questions also. By the end of the day we were hoarse from talking so much, but we loved every minute of it.

Below are some comments from some of the other volunteers who staffed this desk during the summer.

From Owen Hoffman:

Friend Owen Hoffman at the Rim Community House

"I thought the days I spent this summer at the Rim Community House afforded me the opportunity to occupy the best office in the park. I've attached a picture. I believe the team of myself, Ron Mastrogiuseppe, and Rod Cranson set the record for the number of license plate sales promoted by FOCL volunteers."

"I found the license plate sales activity to provide park visitors with the chance to personally chat with someone knowledgeable about the park in an informal setting. Such quality visitor contact is a very effective way for the park to build a strong public constituency."

"So from the standpoint of visitor contacts in a beautiful setting, with the side benefit of sales or public awareness of license plates, I would say it was a huge success."

From Adelle and Marshall Sherwin:

"A young couple from Illinois stopped to see what was happening in the building and when we told them that we were selling license plates they said it was too bad that they couldn't' use one. So we said that yes, they could buy one and use it for a souvenir. And then the young man said that it could be a honeymoon souvenir, and they would always remember being at Crater Lake on their honeymoon."

From Larry Smith:

"I spent four days covering the Community House contact station. There was some interest in the CL license, but few Oregonians seem to visit CL during the week. I did pass out a number of applications though. Some were giving them to parents and others wanted to "think about it". So, I mostly spent time visiting with visitors. What a great spot!"

"With no Ranger programs for several days, this was a good opportunity to provide a place to answer questions of a longer nature. I set up chairs on the porch and inside the building to provide a place for people to sit and rest and talk. With the extreme heat in the Park, older people welcomed a cooler place to sit and visit and enjoy the grand view at the same time. I always greeted the people standing .up and then invited them to come and sit a spell."

"I provided them a history of the building. Lots of comments from visitors on how beautiful the building has become. One woman had tears in her eyes as I told her the story of Clark Gable and Carol Lombard dancing in the building. "That story gives me goose bumps to know he was here."

"I gave several geology talks and answered a multitude of questions. Several families stayed for two hours because they had set the time aside for the boat trips and with no boats decided to spend the time asking me questions. Several came back for a second round of questioning and asked for more Park stories."

"I am still amazed at the variety of people who come to the Park. I talked with doctors, teachers, engineers, kids, and elderly couples struggling to live on a tiny SS check; but still getting out. Lots of foreign people stopped by with questions. I visited with a Danish/American lady whose family comes from a small town in Denmark located only 10 miles from my family's ancestral home in Ringe, Denmark."

"Had a great visit with a 12 year-old boy from S. Arabia. Has been in Oregon for two years, but the family is going back after a visit around the state. He could not say enough good things about America. "I love it here. America is wonderful! I do not want to go back. We have no lakes. I am leaving forever."

As you can see, the folks who staffed this desk enjoyed it thoroughly and felt they were very useful. There is the possibility that the park may staff this desk again in the summer of 2004, so if this sounds of interest to you, be sure to let George Buckingham know and he will be happy to schedule you in. Housing may or may not be available. We are hopeful it will be.