The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare is one of the most effective and trustworthy sources for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid advocacy. Since 1982, we have been working for generations of older Americans who want our nation’s health and income security programs secured for the future. Join us and learn more about how you can be a part of our intergenerational crusade.
In addition to news, you'll find plenty of posts about donuts, NASA/space, and coffee.
Let’s start off the week with a beautiful sunrise from Acadia National Park in Maine. At 1,530 feet, Cadillac Mountain is not only the tallest mountain in the park, it is also the tallest mountain along the eastern coast of the United States. That means for half the year, this is the first place in the Continental U.S. to see the sunrise each day. That fact, along with its rugged beauty, make Cadillac Mountain a very popular destination. During the busy months, parking lots can fill up, so if you want to see this impressive sight, please plan ahead. Photo by Kristopher Schoenleber (www.sharetheexperience.org).
We hope your summer plans included visiting one or more of the 411 national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails in the National Park System. If you can’t make it to one of the locations found in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands – join the National Archives online to celebrate the records of the National Park Service on their 100th anniversary tomorrow, August 25.
#TagYourPark!
Tagging is a fun and easy way for you to help make National Archives records more discoverable online. By adding keywords, terms, and labels to a record, you can do your part to help the next person discover that record. Take a look at these photographs from the National Parks and add keywords that describe what you see.
Trail of the Ancients – Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park. National Archives Identifier 7722478
Are you ready to tag? Select the National Parks Tagging Mission and get tagging!
Transcribe!
Letter from Frederick Harvey, owner of Fred Harvey Company to M. R. Tillotson, Superintendent of the Grand Canyon National Park. National Archives Identifier 27753707
Transcribing the digitized records in the National Archives Catalog is an important way to improve search results and increase accessibility to these historical records.
Are you ready to transcribe? Jump right in and select the National Parks Transcription Mission.
Watch!
In the 1930s the Department of Interior made a series of films on the nation’s growing park system, from trails blazed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in Yosemite, California, all the way up to Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes. Now you can see what your local parks looked like during the Great Depression, a time when many old parks were upgraded and many new parks were created.
View highlights from the National Archives’ collection of films from the National Park Service.
The National Park Service is 100 years old today! I found this publication from the same year of NPS’s birth, 1916. It’s Glimpses of our National Parks, by Robert Sterling Yards, and was published by the Government Printing Office for the Department of the Interior.
The first section is a hoot - a chronological list of National Parks by order of creation, with some distinctive characteristics listed.
Learn more at the National Park Service’s page about the centennial. All National Parks are free through the 28th to celebrate, so now’s as good a time as any to visit!
For the last century, the National Park Service has protected America’s Best Idea, ensuring current and future generations can experience the country’s natural, cultural and historic treasures. Established 44 years before the National Park Service, Yellowstone was the world’s first national park and sparked a worldwide movement to protect special places.
Tomorrow is the 100th birthday of National Park Service! We were honored to have their park rangers visit us this week.
Lindsay Brandt (Rock Creek Park) and Suzy Traut and Heath Mitchell (National Mall and Memorial Parks) answered questioned about the Organic Act of 1916, which is currently on display.
The Organic Act created the National Park Service as we know it today. (Learn more here: http://1.usa.gov/29hOr2N). The rangers also shared the history and current initiatives of the National Park Service with our visitors.
Visitors can also explore the national parks in our ReSource room with fun activities like a scavenger hunt.
One of the best things about working for the National Archives is that we get exposure to a variety of Federal agencies and their work.
On August 25, 1916, the National Park Service was founded. But, of course, the establishment of an agency or park and the management of it are two very different things! Today we wanted to focus on the exceptional work done by our colleagues at the National Park Service and other Federal agencies that have made travel and enjoyment in the National Parks a reality over the past 101 years!
From our holdings of the National Park Service (Record Group 79), who built campgrounds, worked with concessionaires like the Fred Harvey Company and who made sure that there were “facilities” available to the every growing public; the U.S. Forest Service who preserved and managed lands before the birth of the Park Service (Record Group 95) and the Bureau of Public Roads (Record Group 30) who made it possible to leave the mule carts behind, we bring you the Grand Canyon National Park!
This weekend, we lost a member of the Department of the Interior family. Brian Hughes, captain of the Arrowhead Interagency Hot Shots crew out of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, lost his life while battling the Ferguson Fire just outside Yosemite National Park. We extend our condolences to the family, friends, and fellow National Park Service coworkers who loved and knew him. We honor his service and sacrifice.
June 30, 1864: President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant Act during the Civil War to protect Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove in California. 150 years later, Yosemite National Park is as beautiful as ever.
Even in winter, there is plenty of amazing outdoor activities to do at Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska. From early November to May, visitors can explore the park by fat bikes, cross-country skis, snowmobile and dog sled. No matter your experience, you’ll enjoy the stark beauty of winter at Kenai Fjords. Photo by National Park Service.
Ranging over 4 million acres in southwest Alaska, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve offers excellent opportunities for adventure, exploration, learning and just plain fun. However, it can be hard to get a lot done when all you want to do is stare at the epic views. Photo along the Telaquana River by J. Mills, National Park Service.
