Our Parks · May 7 by Kurt Peterson
If you’re a fan of documentary film-making then you’re no stranger to the name Ken Burns, the virtuoso of the genre. He even has a slideshow effect named after him. Most of his film series’ touch on particular elements of American history and culture like jazz, World War II, the Civil War to name a few. So back in March, a few of our store managers and some of the corporate office staff had the privilege of attending a fundraiser for the Shenandoah National Park Trust where Ken Burns spoke about his upcoming documentary series due out on PBS in September, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.
I expected to hear him speak about the beauty and majesty of our national parks, and he certainly painted that part of the tale with great effect. But it was his focus on family that caught me re-living some of my own trips as a child, packed away in my parents’ old ‘72 Ford pickup. With a big camper strapped on the bed, we traveled out west visiting family and linking up a national park or two like Yellowstone or Mount Rushmore or the Smokies each time we took a trip. His clips from the upcoming series included interviews from people of all walks of life remembering their own childhood national park visits and how these trips molded them into the people they were today. How oddly familiar that seems…
But most of all Ken reminds us of how important these resources are not just because of their recreational potential, but in how they inter-weave so deeply within the American psyche and culture as we know it. Or as Ken put it, how the landscape of these parks is a reflection of who we are as Americans—incredibly diverse, beautiful, free and open, and yet at times not so pretty, as is served by Manzanar National Historic Site where Japanese-Americans were imprisoned during World War II.
It can be easy to lose sight of the importance these parks represent when you have one in your own backyard. Sadly, I sometimes take Shenandoah for granted. Fortunately, I don’t think I’ll make that mistake when I have children of my own. Camping will most certainly be a part of our children’s lives just like it was for my family.
After all, they are our parks. So why not go out and use them?
Be sure to make it out for our Family Camping 101 class being held June 16th at 7pm in all store locations.
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