Tom and I had a great time at Cumberland Gap National Park this last summer and most of that is because of the great rangers we got to work with every day.  Getting up in the morning was easy because I knew I would enjoy seeing the rangers when I got to work.  We learned from them and (I hope) they learned from us.

With the current national government, many national park sites are having a hard time keeping enough staff.  Cumberland Gap is short on staff, but not to the extent of many other parks.  They were able to offer all the usual programs and even added some to the repertoire.  Tom and I were able to help with most of the programs and we always felt welcome to develop new programs.  In this blog post, let me introduce you to the terrific interpretive rangers.

Layton Carr is the Volunteer Coordinator and responsible for recruiting us for a second season at Cumberland Gap.  Layton emailed us and asked if we were interested in being Living Historians in Residence.  How could we turn down a fancy title like that?  Layton was in charge of getting us the things that we needed.  He made sure Tom had plenty of steel and coal and that I had my special room with the textile tools.  Layton also took care of problems that arose, such as no water at our RV site.  He wants his volunteers to be happy and enjoy what they are doing.  On our last day in the park, he arranged a lunch for us with all the staff to say “thank you.”

Brittony Pique has been at the park the longest.  She started working at the park as a high school student.  Even though she is only in her 30’s, she has been a ranger at the park for 17 years.  Brittony has all the corporate memory.  If I need to know how long we have been doing a particular program or when a certain ranger worked at the park, I ask Brittony.  Brittony also personifies the spirit of the rangers at Cumberland Gap.  She willingly jumps in to whatever needs to be done.  She was a great help to me this summer with carrying heavy things and cleaning pots on the days I cooked.

Lucas Wilder is the park historian.  He doesn’t have that title, but if he doesn’t know something historically, then it isn’t relevant to Cumberland Gap.  Lucas has a Ph.D. in History, with a specialty on the Civil War History in the Cumberland Gap area.  I love to compare notes with him on historical events or on books that I have read.  I learn something new every time I talk to him.  Lucas would love to be teaching full-time at a university, but hasn’t been able to get a full-time position yet.  Instead, he fills in and works full-time at the park.  The park is lucky to have his expertise.

Olivia Paul is the assistant Volunteer Coordinator.  She is also the safety officer, so she was the one I texted when I found the hoary bat on the road.  In fact, I text Olivia every time I have something that needs to be addressed.  She is very good about taking care of things promptly and doesn’t let them slide.  Olivia is a good person to work with Layton because she does a lot of detail stuff behind the scenes.  Because Olivia is often stuck at her computer, I sit down and hang with her at the end of the day.  I love talking with her about life in general.  We speak the same language.

Stormy Redfern is the campground fee ranger.  He is also the one most interested in learning everything Tom can teach him about blacksmithing and coopering.  After we were at Cumberland Gap two years ago, Stormy built his own bellows and forge.  They work great, so Tom was able to use those instead of using his own.  Stormy is the only ranger who built his own bucket this summer.  He is also really good at talking to visitors and even remembers most of Tom’s jokes.

Samantha DiGiulian is a newer campground fee ranger.  She shares duties with Stormy at the campground.  The campground rangers are under the interpretive umbrella at Cumberland Gap.  I got to know Sam better when she started working with me in the textile room on Sunday afternoons.  She caught on to spinning with the walking wheel very quickly and learned to weave on my little loom and on the historic Hensley loom.  It was her hope to continue to have the textile room open on Sundays through October.

Kymberlyn Wilson is in her second season at Cumberland Gap.  She was the bat intern last year and a ranger this year.  I worked at the desk with Kymberlyn a lot and she was always fun to talk to.  She has a quick wit and a dry sense of humor and made me laugh.  Kymberlyn visited the textile room and took to weaving like a duck to water.  She started designing her own patterns the second day she was up there.  She also likes to use lots of color – more than I would use – but it works for her.

Neveah Castille is the newest ranger at Cumberland Gap.  She and Kymberlyn are both part of the Pathways program in the National Park Service.  This gives college students and recent graduates a way to try out federal jobs while they are still in school.  Neveah graduated from the University of Tennessee in May and started a Master’s program in September.  She is working part time at Cumberland Gap while she is in school.  Neveah is young and enthusiastic.  She loved giving programs and was good at it, but would get very nervous beforehand.  I think all of us heard her programs several times before she actually gave them.

Those are the wonderful rangers we got to work with over the summer at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.  I learned from them, enjoyed working with them, and look forward to seeing them again next year.