Did some of your interest in Nachez Trace stem from your interest in John Muir? As far as interpretation was concerned, was Muir’s 1,000 mile walk to the Gulf ever a topic of discussion?
No, I don’t recall that it ever was. I would say the Nachez Trace was not a place I had ever contemplated moving to. But I had felt after four years that I’d given master planning about what I had to give. One reason I was selected for that was because of my field background. That applied to John Henneberger, too, who was there at that time. I felt like I had given about what I had to give when this job offer came up to go to Nachez Trace, but it was not a promotion. I was a 13 at that time; it was a lateral. I wanted to get into management. And it was my last job; I spent 10 years there. From the viewpoint of career achievement, taking that job might not have been the smartest thing to do because while I was in Cape Hatteras, I knew people in the southeast quite well. During the four years I was in the West I developed a rapport with people in that region. I should probably have stayed in the west if I’d wanted to continue upward in the Park Service hierarchy. By going to Nachez Trace I was once again in the southeast region, but during the time I was in the West, a lot of the personnel in the regional office had changed and I had a job as assistant superintendent, not the number one person. So I think I kind of got stuck there and it seems that people who got to the Nachez Trace tend to get stuck. I have one dubious distinction in being there as assistant superintendent longer than any other person. Charley Marshall was the runner-up on that. It was a good experience and I feel good about the contributions I made at Cape Hatteras with my interp and ranger background.
