National Park Service ranger retires at 100 years old

FILE - National Park Service Ranger Betty Reid Soskin smiles during an interview at Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, Calif., July 12, 2016. Soskin, the nation's oldest active park ranger, is hanging up her smokey hat at the age of 100. She retired Thursday, March 31, 2022, after more than 15 years at the park, the National Park Service announced. Soskin "spent her last day providing an interpretive program to the public and visiting with coworkers," a Park Service statement said. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File) (Ben Margot, Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu)

The National Park Service is celebrating the career of its oldest active ranger, Betty Reid Soskin.

Soskin, who celebrated her 100th birthday in 2021, retired Thursday after spending the last 15 years working at Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park.

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“(Soskin) ... spent the last decade and a half sharing her personal experiences and the efforts of women from diverse backgrounds who worked on the World War II home front,” the National Park Service wrote on its Facebook page.

On her last day as a ranger, Soskin provided an interpretive program to the public and visited with friends.

“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,” Soskin said. “It has proven to bring meaning to my final years.”


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