Friends of

NATIONAL PARK MUSEUMS ARE CELEBRATING A PROUD HISTORY OF 100 YEARS
by Greg Reddell

At the head of the trail to the Sinnott Memorial, the Rim Visitor Information Center was covered with snow March 6, 2004.

An Arboretum in Yosemite National Park established 100 years ago in 1904 was the first National Park Museum. Now the National Park Service manages the largest museum system in the world.

Crater Lake National Park has an interesting role in the history National Park Museums, In 1930, Crater Lake received one of the first Congressional appropriations to build a new museum and observation station, the Sinnott Memorial. The first National Park Service museums were the inspiration of a single park employee and were associated with the features of the park, a 1904 arboretum in Yosemite, a table of artifacts in the ruins at Casa Grande by 1905. Stephen T. Mather in 1920, he called for "early establishment of adequate museums in every one of our parks."

Friends who attended the Centennial Celebration at Crater Lake on August 24, 2002 attended the dedication of the rehabilitated Sinnott Memorial and new exhibits. If you can visit Crater Lake or another National Parks this summer, remember to visit the Sinnott Memorial and lots of other National Park Museums.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!
by George Buckingham

At the head of the trail to the Sinnott Memorial, the Rim Visitor Information Center was covered with snow March 6, 2004.

The park is in great need of volunteers to staff the Rim Community Building. Volunteers will provide information and interpretation to park visitors in both "stationary" mode at the Community Building and while roving the general Rim Village developed area.

Another program in need of volunteers is the Park Adopt-a-Trail/Adopt-a-Boundary program. Volunteers hike a trail or boundary, talk to visitors, record their observations and do minor maintenance work along the way.

Housing may be available. Training is a must and will be provided on July 10-11, 2004.

These are great assignments. You will have a great time and will be filling a serious "gap" in the park program. If the training date is a problem preventing you from volunteering, let us know. Perhaps we can make other arrangements.

COMMUNITY HOUSE
by George Buckingham

At the head of the trail to the Sinnott Memorial, the Rim Visitor Information Center was covered with snow March 6, 2004.

Located at Rim Village, the Community House has a long history in Crater Lake National Park. Originally intended for interpretive programs and then closed for many years due to safety considerations, it has been recently restored. The restored building was reopened in time for the Centennial Year celebration of 2002. During that year, it housed the Artist-in-Parks exhibit. Last year it once again served as an interpretive center where park interpreters presented a variety of programs. The Friends of Crater Lake assisted in providing information, aimed primarily at publicizing the Crater Lake license plate.

What we found was that this site and this building serve these purposes quite well. This year it is the hope that the building will again provide a backdrop for park staff and volunteers providing information and interpretation to park visitors. As park staff continues to shrink in numbers, it is the hope that more volunteers can be recruited to partially fill this gap.

Rather than concentrating on license plate sales, the effort this year will be on providing a more generalized interpretive program. Volunteers will attend both a broader and more in-depth training program. While license plate information will remain as part of the program, it will not be the primary focus of the effort.

Volunteers may be able to stay in one of the historic homes while volunteering, similar to the arrangements we had last year. This is a very charming little house. And, that is not a real estate euphemism! It is actually quite comfortable, as it has been recently renovated with a modern kitchen, bath, heat, etc.