Expedition National Parks

During this month celebrating Women’s History, we want to focus on the important role Maxine Johnston played in the fight to preserve the Big Thicket, the nation’s first (alongside Big Cypress) National Preserve and one of the most biologically diverse areas in the country. In our travels, we have always been impressed by the tenacity and dedication of so many volunteers and citizen groups - true democracy in action. We all owe them so much. One such citizen and conservationist champion is Maxine Johnston, who was recently featured in a National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) blog post: These 10 National Parks Wouldn’t Exist Without Women. Thanks to Shannon Harris from KVLU Public Radio in Beaumont, TX, who interviewed Maxine Johnston in late 2019, we are able to share an excerpt of Maxine Johnston speaking about her involvement. The episode also features our conversation with the very helpful Ranger we met at the Visitor Center, who reviewed our Junior Ranger badges (you can hear us all take the oath together!) and spoke to us about forest restoration, longleaf pines, and the Kirby Nature Trail.

We are grateful to Shelly Vitanza from Lamar University for allowing us to use photos from Lamar University tribute on the occasion of Maxine being selected as the Homecoming Parade Grand Marshal for Lamar University, where she spent more than three decades as a research librarian and then library director. She was honored both for her contributions to the university as well as her dedication and success as a conservation advocate. In fact, today at 93 years young, her LinkedIn profile lists her occupation as “Conservation Gadfly.” We are so thankful for gadflies like Maxine Johnston.

Episode Highlights:

00:40 Introduction
01:48 Shannon Harris’s interview (excerpt from Bayoulands Podcast episode) of Maxine Johnston
07:30 Conversation with Big Thicket Ranger
12:01 Outdoor Organization Feature: Love is King
12:52 Entire family discusses Junior Ranger booklet with Ranger
14:56 Nature Trail description - subtlety of ecosystem
17:54 Longleaf pine forest

Outdoor Organization Feature:

Donate to Love is King: bit.ly/likdonate

Love Is King (LIK), a new organization whose vital work is helping to diversify our public lands and make nature a safe space for all people, is the outdoor organization featured in March. LIK is a movement led with love and empathy to defend the freedom to roam in nature as a basic human right. Join us in supporting Love Is King by sharing and engaging with their work and donating if you can. Follow @lik_free2roam and founder @_chadbrown_ on Instagram.

Special thanks again to Shannon Miller and 91.3 KVLU Public Radio in Beaumont, Texas. Check out the Bayoulands TALKS podcast.

Bayoulands TALKS is produced in the studios of 91.3 KVLU Public Radio in Beaumont, Texas by Shannon Harris and Jason M. Miller. For more information and to stream KVLU online visit: kvlu.org. You can listen to past episodes of the Bayoulands radio series at: https://www.lamar.edu/kvlu/programming/local-programs/bayoulands.html. Bayoulands Talks podcast can be accessed on https://www.npr.org/podcasts/970687057/bayoulands-t-a-l-k-s

Photo credits: Lamar University Special Collections and Archive

Pullman National Monument is one of the newest national park sites. It tells so many stories besides the most obvious one connected to the railroad: civil rights, labor rights, art, architecture, and science.

Overview: In this launch episode, Junior Ranger Sienna describes the family’s visit to their first of five parks sites on the Big Island: Pu`uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park. It is here that the Junior Rangers begin their Hawai`i Island Junior Ranger Adventure Book and mom completes her first Kapuna Ranger booklet. By speaking to a Ranger, volunteers, and a cultural demonstrator, the family begins to understand the historical and cultural importance of the Place of Refuge.

Follow our journey on our website (ExpeditionNationalParks.com) and social media - @ExpeditionNPS on Twitter, @ExpeditionNationalParks on Instagram and please like our Facebook page. Check back for new episodes on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month!

Details: The first site the family visited on the Big Island of Hawaii was Pu`uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park. Located on the west coast of the island, literally just steps away from the famous snorkeling site, 2 step

Learning what Pu`uhonua O Hōnaunau means in English helps one understand the significance and history of the place. Puʻuhonua means place of refuge. As a place of refuge, those who broke kapu, the ancient Hawaiian sacred laws, would be protected here. And in times of battle, defeated warriors and civilians would also seek protection here as anyone seeking shelter here could not be harmed.

The place of refuge itself was enclosed by the Great Wall, an impressive 965 ft long masonry wall, the remains of which can still be viewed.

One can also visit the Royal Grounds, important residential and ceremonial sites for the Hawaiian royals, the ali’i.

For all three of us, the Junior Ranger program is always one of the highlights. We had the good fortune to speak to Ranger Julia shortly upon arrival who explained more about the program and the features of the site.

We were lucky to be there on a cultural demonstration day and are grateful to the volunteers who give their time to share Hawaiian culture with visitors, and also took the time to speak to us.

Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial is one of the least visited and known sites within the National Park Service. On a visit to Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historic Park, we had the honor to meet and learn from Betty Reid Soskin, a pioneer and leader and the oldest Ranger in the National Park Service. Part of her Q&A covered the great tragedy that occurred at Port Chicago Naval Magazine. The history of Port Chicago is one of tragedy, racism, and injustice. I am embarrassed to say I knew nothing about it until attending the Q&A. There are so many stories like this around the United States, many in our very own communities. I encourage you all to seek out these stories.

The episode delves into how much our family has learned from the National Park Service, and how much we need to learn more. Through a visit to Golden Gate National Recreation Area, we learned about the International Coalition of Sites of Consciencebit.ly/3ICSC. Sites of conscience, whether officially designated or not, are vitally important as they connect past struggles to contemporary movements for human rights and “turn memory into action” according to the Coalition.

By listening to Betty Reid Soskin tell the story of this terrible strategy, we hope she will serve as much as an inspiration to you to learn and act more as she did to us.

Follow our journey on our website (ExpeditionNationalParks.comhttps://bit.ly/3ExpNP) and social media - @ExpeditionNPS on Twitter, @ExpeditionNationalParks on Instagram and please like our Facebook page. Please check back for new episodes on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month.

Music: "Solo Acoustic Guitar" by Jason Shaw
From the Free Music Archive
CC BY

Join us as we meet Betty Reid Soskin, the inspiring National Park Service (NPS) Ranger who began her NPS career at age 85 and is currently the oldest Ranger. Based at Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park (NHP) in Richmond, California, she is a true inspiration with accolades as an author, entrepreneur, musician, activist and civil rights pioneer. She shares stories and experiences from the war where she worked at a segregated union hall but also her role in planning and launching the NHP.

We encourage you to read her memoir “Sign My Name to Freedom: A Memoir of a Pioneering Life.” The biggest lesson we took away from meeting Ranger Betty as well as her book was that history is written by the people in the room doing the remembering. She has made it a habit to be in that room but she has taught us that it is important for all of us to be more aware of all strands of our history, not just the physical remnants. In fact, it is most important to seek and learn about the parts of history that are not so apparent. While we love the beauty of the national parks we visit, we are also as impressed by the history we have learned along the way. We saw a quote from Betty Reid Soskin that summed this up so perfectly: “We have created this system of national parks, where it’s possible to revisit almost any era in our history...The heroic places, the scenic wonders, the contemplative places, the shameful places, and the painful places. In order to own that history. Own it, process it, that we may begin to forgive ourselves in order to move into a more compassionate future together.”

As always, we would love your feedback. Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or message us on our social media accounts: @ExpeditionNationalParks on Facebook and Instagram and @ExpeditionNPS on Twitter. Thanks to Jason Shaw for the music. And, as always, follow the inspiration of the Junior Ranger motto - keep exploring, learning, and protecting!

Outdoor Organization feature:

Syatt was founded by a mother and two daughters—TeamHood: Marcia, Erika, and Ebony Hood—with a mission to increase access to outdoor spaces for Black and Brown youth, while simultaneously creating and inspiring joy in places that haven’t traditionally been safe or welcoming to people of color.

Syatt: @syatt_cle on Instagram

Support/donate: https://syattcle.org/support-syatt

Episode Highlights:

00:45 Introduction
01:45 Ranger Betty Reid Soskin introduction
06:45 Richmond Shipyards
09:05 Expansion of Richmond’s population
10:11 Kaiser recruitment in the south
12:30 Port Chicago tragedy
21:24 Role of National Parks
22:48 Outdoor Org Feature
23:58 Work experience during WWII
29:20 Racism and employment discrimination
33:10 Bay Area different than rest of country
34:58 Richmond’s explosive growth
38:12 Great-grandparents’ experience
39:25 Family connections to Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans
40:54 Family impacted by New Orleans floods, bombing of levees
43:31 How social revolution/response to racism evolved
45:00 Constant state of renewal since
45:30 Signoff

Donate to Syatt: https://syattcle.org/support-syatt

Resources/More Information:

No Time to Waste: https://www.notimetowastefilm.com/ (documentary on Betty Reid Soskin)

Her memoir, Sign My Name to Freedom: A Memoir of a Pioneering Life

Spoken-word album: “A Lifetime of Being Betty”

Reference:

https://www.rei.com/blog/stewardship/betty-reid-soskin