Her work there began at 85 and she says it’s been wonderful to be able to share her experiences with visitors.
They say it’s never too late to do what you truly love, to experience the wonder of life, and to feel that a job is no longer a job because of the pleasure it brings you. For Betty Reid Soskin, it was all about being a park ranger, something she didn’t achieve until she was 85 years old. Despite how old she was, she stayed in uniform for more than a decade.
As it turns out, Betty is about to turn 100 years old and that’s why, after 15 years of service, she announced her retirement from the National Park Service (NPS) to finally rest at home.
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For this group, it was a source of pride to have her as part of their corps in California, United States, specifically in the Home Front of World War II. She felt the same way since, as a woman of color, she was able to tell her story, and while she isn’t a historian, she has lived through a lot and passing on her knowledge was something that filled her with gratification.
«To be a part of helping to mark the place where that dramatic trajectory of my own life, combined with others of my generation, will influence the future by the footprints we’ve left behind has been incredible. Being a primary source in the sharing of that history – my history – and giving shape to a new national park has been exciting and fulfilling.”
–Betty Reid Soskin to People–
It’s worth noting that when she began her career as a Ranger Officer at age 85, it was hard for people to believe how good she looked. Her job was to guide visitors on tours of the Rosie the Riveter/ World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California.
Her decision to do this work came when she was working as a NPS consultant on the formation of the park, where she shared her past experience working in a segregated room as a file clerk. It was hard for many to believe that, despite her good performance, she was treated differently back then because of her color.
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«Though I am not a trained historian — my tours are necessarily a way to share my oral history with the public,» Soskin told Today in 2015.
This is what has delighted them all, that it tells a perspective of history that many try to forget, perhaps out of embarrassment, but it’s important to remember so it doesn’t repeat itself. That is why NPS said goodbye to this worker with great honor and thanked her for telling her story firsthand.
Instagram / National Park Service