Bruce and Sara as National Park Rangers at
Cape Hatteras National Seashore

June 18, 2006


A Typical Day, the other Rangers and Volunteers, and Good News---Oliver Becomes a Ranger!

As of Sunday, June 11th, the Lighthouse, the Visitor Center, and the Museum are open from 9 AM to 6 PM, we've started all our summer interpretive programs, and the summer crowds have started to come!

Very quickly, Cape Hatteras National Seashore consists of the Bodie Island area, the Ocracoke Island section, and our Cape Hatteras Lighthouses group. Here at the Lighthouse, we are responsible for visitors to the famous Cape Hatteras lighthouse, for an information desk at a Visitor Center and another one at the Museum, and for a variety of interpretive programs ranging from outer banks history and the history of the lighthouse, to barrier island formation and talks about historical pirates, to snorkling and seining programs and programs "just for kids." We also spend time just "roving" which means walking around and making ourselves available to visitors who have questions, need help, or want assistance. Roving involves doing a lot of what the Park Service calls "informal interpretation" and "showing the flag" (e.g. just being visible.) And from this site we "rove" not only around the lighthouse, but also along the swimming beach near the lighthouse, and near the ramps and surf-fishing areas at Cape Point, and along the road and trails of the park.

To accomplish this, there are 13 interpretive Rangers, a "lead" Ranger who is our direct supervisor, and a number of wonderful volunteers. And so our days of being paid to work three hours in the lighthouse, and just a few hours in the museum or Visitor Center with lots of time to study and learn and prepare our programs have come to an end! And our days of being real Park Rangers have begun!

A typical day or week from us is fairly simple:

And so we are busy! But it's a fun kind of busy, full of new experiences with new and different people, and filled with satisfaction!

At the top of our immediate group is "Mac" McClammy, our "Lead." The Lead Ranger makes the schedules of who does what, he coordinates all the activities, makes the calls to the law enforcement officers when we need them, makes the decision to close the lighthouse if we have to because of bad weather or heat, and tries to mold together many personalities and many different interests into a meaningful and efficient group.

Among the thirteen full-time seasonal interpretive Rangers, we have a very wonderful group with very different interest and skills and experiences. More about these Rangers in our next page.

Finally there is a very dedicated group of volunteers who help us. Some are RV "full-timers" who are here for weeks or months at a time. These are people who live full-time in their motor homes, go from park to park as volunteers for long periods of time, and often work without pay doing everything we do as paid Park Rangers. Needless to say, they are great people, very dedicated, and deserve the admiration of all the staff and visitors! Among those with whom we have worked are:

carolandkim
Carol Bowman and Kim Harris
who left us to volunteer at a Fish Hatchery in the Badlands
(maybe that's why they were gathering fish recipies before they left!)
bearandmb
Bear and Mary Beth Kelly
who finally got their slider in and left for a state park in Georgia
to head up a fishing program for children


paulandpeggy
Paul and Peggy V
who will be with us for another month!
(and without Kim and Carol, and Bear and Mary Beth, we really need Paul and Peggy!)
barbara
Barbara M
our mother and grandmother who keeps us in order and never stops smiling
(who also will be with us for only another month)


Julie
Julie
who will be with us all summer
and is part of the "B" Team with Sara and Bruce
(We like to think the "B" Lighthouse Team is the "BETTER TEAM"!)


Ed and Kaaren
Kaaren and Ed,
and their grandson, Ben, a new Junior Ranger!
MaryAnn and Vance
Mary Ann and Vance
Myron
Myron
Gloria
Gloria

  • In addition, there are local volunteers who spend a day or two working with us. These people too are invaluable! They know their stuff, they know the local history and the background stories of almost everything around here, and they are very dependable! In particular, we've enjoyed getting to know and work with Dee, Jinx, Audrey, Bob and Bob!


    Go to the next page..... Just Pictures: The Ospry, Shipwrecks, Cape Lookout, Charlotte and the Conways,
    and the Schundlers all in uniform!!

    Return to opening page Bruce and Sara in Cape Hatteras


    If you don't want to receive these updates or know of anyone who should be included, please let us know!

    bruce@schundler.net