Search Films, Videos

  •
    Film, Video
    Vickie Carson interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2014-04-16 Growing up in Wisconsin and traveling and camping with her family shaped Carson's love of the outdoors. She majored in natural resource management in college before being hired at Mammoth Cave National Park as a seasonal guide in 1978. Carson recalls experiences during her first summer at Mammoth as one of 20 new guides; apprenticing with one of the long-time guides; and how large...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Carson, Vickie - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2014-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Robert Hatton Ward interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2014-05-30 Robert (Bob) Hatton Ward had his first experience with the Army Corp of Engineers as a child when his family was displaced from their farm to create Percy Priest Lake in Tennessee. As a youth, he worked at local parks and cemeteries and obtained his first National Park Service (NPS) job at Stones River National Battlefield. In June of 1980, he became a seasonal...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Björkman, Brent - Ward, Robert Hatton
    • Date: 2014-01-01
  • Film, Video
    William "Tres" Seymour interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2014-04-16 William ("Tres") Seymour began working at Mammoth Cave National Park as a guide in 1987. One of the longest-serving park rangers, he apprenticed with many of the old-time guides and has seen many changes. He discusses the concept of "mentorship"; what being a "guide" means to the National Park Service; how the public perceives "guides"; how guides have moved from a "raconteur model" to...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Björkman, Brent - Seymour, Tres
    • Date: 2014-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Henry T. Holman and Pamela Susan Holman interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2014-05-30 Henry Holman began working at Mammoth Cave in 1971 as a law enforcement ranger and later as a manager. He has since retired and is now Chairman of the Board of the Friends of Mammoth Cave Organization. His wife, Pamela Holman, worked at the park before leaving to have children and later become a teacher. After her retirement, she began working as a part-time...
    • Contributor: Björkman, Brent - Occupational Folklife Project - Holman, Henry T. - Holman, Pamela Susan
    • Date: 2014-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Peter Zahrt interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2014-04-17 U.S. Park Ranger Peter Zahrt began his law enforcement career in high school working as a security officer for the Indiana State Park system. After college, he attended several seasonal NPS law enforcement academies, which helped him secure a NPS job. Zahrt shares stories of his progress through the ranks, beginning with his first assignment as a seasonal law enforcement officer at Isle Royale...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Björkman, Brent - Zahrt, Peter
    • Date: 2014-01-01
  • Film, Video
    David Lyons and Joy Medley Lyons interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2014-05-19 A couple, David Lyons and Joy Medley Lyons both started working for the National Park Service (NPS) in the 1970s and met in the Mammoth Cave guide lounge. David left after 15 years as a law enforcement ranger; Joy only recently retired in 2013. At first, they rented a house through the park and now live just outside the park's boundaries. The couple discuss...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Lyons, David M. - Lyons, Joy Medley - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2014-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Brian Sacia interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2014-04-17 U.S. National Park Ranger Brian Sacia is in charge of the field training programs at Mammoth Cave, Big South Fork, and Cumberland Gap parks. Interested in parks since his youth, Sacia tailored his education to a parks career, which he began at St. Croix National Scenic Riverway in 1996. He then went to Katmai National Park as a backcountry ranger before becoming a permanent...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Sacia, Brian - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2014-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Bobby Steenbergen interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2014-05-21 Bobby Steenbergen, who has family ties to the Mammoth Cave National Park, first started working there as a seasonal employee in 1977, while still working as a teacher. He believes giving tours improved his teaching skills and ability to communicate. He now works alongside his granddaughter, who is also a guide. Although he started the job as a source of supplementary income, he has...
    • Contributor: Steenbergen, Bobby - Occupational Folklife Project - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2014-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Johnny Merideth interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2013-12-03 Johnny Merideth grew up near Mammoth Cave National Park and remembers it from his childhood. He majored in geology at Western Kentucky University and honed his interpretive and presentational skills working at other local independently-owned caves before getting his Park Service job in 1996. Merideth discusses how his wife supported his "sticking it out" as a seasonal employee for a number of years before...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Merideth, Johnny - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2013-01-01
  • Film, Video
    David Spence interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2013-12-03 David Spence grew up near the Mammoth Cave Park and as a child visited the park with his family. He attended Western Kentucky University and focused on anthropology. Early in his career, he was hired as an assistant archaeologist to do a cultural inventory for Earthwatch. He talks about the connection between the Earthwatch program and Mammoth Cave National Park and his lucky break...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Spence, David - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2013-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Walter Tillow oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Louisville, Kentucky, 2013 June 21 Walter Tillow discusses how he joined the Civil Rights Movement as a college student and how that led him into labor and leftist movements. He describes his childhood in New York City and the leftist politics of his parents, as well as how he learned about the Movement as a college student at Harpur College and as a graduate student at Cornell University. In...
    • Contributor: Civil Rights History Project (U.S.) - Cline, David P. - Tillow, Walter M.
    • Date: 2013-01-01

    Resource: View All Images | PDF

  • Film, Video
    Irvin Brad McDougal interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2014-06-23 Brad McDougal started in 1980 as a seasonal ticket seller and retired in 2013 as Mammoth Cave's Head Ranger. Recalling his early career, he explains how working as a ticket seller introduced him to working with the public; that working as an interpreter looked like fun; and also talks about "throwing torches" and learning to lead his own tours. Discussing the challenges he encountered,...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - McDougal, Brad - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2014
  • Film, Video
    Jenny Smith interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2013-12-04 Growing up in nearby Cub Run, Kentucky, Jenny Smith did not anticipate a career as a ranger until she interviewed rangers about the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) for her master's degree. She became a ranger in June 2013. In this interview, Smith shares an intimate overview of her first days on the job, the process of acquiring park knowledge to share with the visitors,...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Björkman, Brent - Smith, Jenny
    • Date: 2013-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Bobby Carson interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2014-04-24 Bobby Carson is the Chief of Science and Resource Management at Mammoth Cave National Park. His family ties to Mammoth Cave date back to 1911, and he has been working for the National Park Service (NPS) for 38 years. He recounts his efforts to reduce and manage radon exposure; working as air quality manager during the 1980s; and traveling to other national parks to...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Carson, Bobby - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2014-01-01
  • Film, Video
    William Duvall interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2013-12-02 Joe Duvall grew up in the Mammoth Cave area (Barren County, Kentucky) and began his career as a cave guide at Diamond Caverns, a nearby private cave. This interview features stories about his work for competing caves (during a period known as "the cave wars"); going to work at Mammoth Cave--first working at the hotel, then as a cave guide; his days teaching high...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Duvall, William - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2013-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Joel Gillespie interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2014-04-23 Joel Gillespie first considered becoming a park guide in fourth grade and began working at Mammoth Cave as a seasonal employee in 2004. With some prior experience working in zoos, he found becoming an interpreter was an easy transition. He talks briefly about not being "omniscient" and collaborating with co-workers to acquire and incorporate new information. He talks about his research that has enabled...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Björkman, Brent - Gillespie, Joel
    • Date: 2014-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Jackie Wheet interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2013-12-04 Bowling Green native Jackie Wheet began his career at Mammoth Cave as a summer intern helping to run a school project. As a Parks and Recreation major in college, he continued his involvement with environmental educational programs for youth and fell in love with the Park's cave culture. He worked for a privately-owned cave for two years before securing a seasonal position at Mammoth...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Björkman, Brent - Wheet, Jackie
    • Date: 2013-01-01
  • Film, Video
    David Wyrick interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2014-04-24 Mammoth Cave Chief of Interpretation David Wyrick grew up in an outdoorsy family near Carlsbad Caverns and even as a child was interested in becoming a park ranger. After working in the Pacific Northwest during college, he was hired by the National Park Service (NPS) and returned to Carlsbad Caverns. He explains that the dark, quiet atmosphere in the cave wasn't for him. He...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Wyrick, David - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2014-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Keven Neff interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2013-12-02 Keven Neff began his career as a junior high school science teacher. In search of summer employment, he applied to work at Mammoth Cave, since it was only a day's drive from his home in Ada, Ohio. After several unsuccessful attempts, he was hired at Mammoth Cave, first as a seasonal ranger and then, in 1969, as a full-time ranger. In this interview, Neff...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Neff, Keven - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2013-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Saene Garcia interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2013-12-05 Saene Garcia is an office assistant in the shift office at the Mammoth Cave Visitor's Center. Currently a college student, she has been a seasonal park employee for the past five years, beginning in the Pathways Program, a government program that ensures summer employment for student enrolled in post-secondary education. As an office-based support person, Garcia wears many hats: she discusses her diverse work...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Garcia, Saene - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2013-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Coy J. Hanson interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2014-07-10 Coy Hanson, who is one of the oldest of Mammoth's retired guides, recounts his experiences growing up around Mammoth Cave and his family's involvement in establishing the park. Hanson was first employed as a trailer and handyman at the cave in 1938, before its takeover by the National Park Service. Eventually he became a full-time employee and had a lengthy career in multiple parks,...
    • Contributor: Hanson, Coy J. - Occupational Folklife Project - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2014
  • Film, Video
    Alice Marie (Reynolds) Lee and Daniel Elmer Lee interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2014-06-24 Born two-and-a-half miles from the Mammoth Cave entrance, Daniel Lee's family moved to Cave City when he was ten after their land was enveloped by the National Park designation. He took a job in the park service after leaving the military in 1948 and married his wife, Alice, that same year. He talks about his 31-year career in the National Park Service, moving between...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Lee, Daniel Elmer - Lee, Alice Marie - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2014-01-01
  • Film, Video
    David Alexander interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2014-04-17 A law enforcement officer with Mammoth Cave's Emergency Services, Alexander grew up in nearby Brownsville in a law enforcement household. He was first hired as a cave guide and also worked in Mammoth's environmental education program. After graduation, he took law enforcement training classes in North Carolina and returned to Mammoth Cave in 1992. Alexander talks about how camaraderie is integral to a ranger's...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Alexander, David - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2014-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Charles DeCroix interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2013-12-05 After completing a forestry degree at the University of Illinois-Carbondale, Charles DeCroix was hired as an interpreter (cave guide) at Mammoth Cave National Park in 1990. Although he grew up in a family of "outdoor types," he never considered a Park Service career until talking to his sophomore roommate. DeCroix begins by sharing his thoughts about Mammoth Cave as a park in which many...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Decroix, Charles J. - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2013-01-01
  • Film, Video
    Joshua Clemons interview conducted by Brent A. Bjorkman, 2014-04-24 Joshua Clemons is a National Park Service (NPS) law enforcement ranger who even as a child was concerned about people who were violating park rules like illegally feeding wildlife. Clemons talks about being hired by the NPS as a college student and rising through the ranks. He shares stories about criminal activity in the Park and his experiences as a field trainer. He discusses...
    • Contributor: Occupational Folklife Project - Clemons, Joshua W. - Björkman, Brent
    • Date: 2014-01-01