Pilgrimage to the Past: Discovering Interpretation’s Guiding Roots Jim Buchholz, Brenda Lackey & Ron Zimmerman) Session description: Enos Mills originally called interpretation “nature guiding.” Travel back in time to meet guides from throughout human history. Discover how experiences from one of the world’s oldest professions can influence how we develop interpretive programs today. Download a PDF of the PowerPoint slides outline at: https://www.hightail.com/download/OGhmUWV0R0ZlM1MwYjhUQw Presentation video is available on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAEnnbSiaIA. Script is also included as a separate PDF file for the submission J. Updated and used with permission for NAI, December 2013 Pilgrimage to the Past: Discovering Interpretation’s Guiding Roots
2013 NAI National Workshop in Reno, NV
November 7, 2013
Presented by staff of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point:
• Jim Buchholz, Assistant Director of Schmeeckle Reserve and Instructor of Interpretation
• Ron Zimmerman, Director of Schmeeckle Reserve
• Dr. Brenda Lackey, Associate Professor of Environmental Interpretation
• Megan Espe, Outreach Coordinator of Schmeeckle Reserve
• Carly Swatek, Graduate Assistant of Schmeeckle Reserve
FINAL SCRIPT
Introduction
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard Interpretive Time Travel Tours: Pilgrimage to the
Past! We’re so happy that you chose us for your time travel needs. My name is Jim Buchholz
and I’ll be your tour guide… from the future… for our journey today. And a very special
welcome to those joining us in cyberspace through the webinar. You made a good choice…
you’ll be much safer than being in this relatively untested time machine.
Let me introduce the rest of our illustrious flight crew: Ron Zimmerman, Brenda Lackey, Megan
Espe, and Carly Swatek. They will be behind the scenes ensuring that we have a safe and
successful trip. Team, prepare the vessel for its first JUMP through time.
In just a moment, we’ll be on our way to our destination in the past, but first, please turn your
attention to the front of our vessel, where our flight attendant Carly will share this important
safety message.
Flight Attendant: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard. Please fasten your seatbelts, and keep all
seats in their upright and locked position. Smoking is not allowed, unless, of course, we’re about to
crash, then light ‘em if you got ‘em. We may experience some turbulence as we travel to some places
in time, so we’re providing a bag for your convenience. A beverage service will not be provided on this
trip, as traveling through time goes really, really fast. Note that there are no safety exits or oxygen
masks, since if something goes wrong traveling through the time stream, it will tear the ship and all of
you to smithereens. Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy your trip.
Why travel back in time? To truly understand our profession of interpretation, we need to
explore its roots, trace back the family tree to its very beginnings. And like most family trees,
there are probably some characters we wish we weren’t related to. But where do we even start?
Whenever we face an interpretive challenge, we always ask, “What would Enos do?”
Enos Mills is considered the father of contemporary interpretation. In the early 1900s, he called
his fledgling profession “Nature Guiding,” a term that was used for many years after as the
profession developed. And just as Leonardo Da Vinci hid clues in his Mona Lisa to the secrets of
the Templars, we like to believe that Enos hid clues to the origins of the profession in his
manuscripts…. albeit a pretty obvious clue. The term “guiding.”
The role of guiding makes up the base of our family tree. When you hear the word “guiding,”
what does it mean to you?
To understand our past, we need to explore the evolution of guiding over time. Who were these
early guides that our profession evolved from? What can we learn about effective guiding today
from looking at the past?
There’s conventional ways of answering these questions, like “research,” but our crack team of
interpreters at UW-Stevens Point decided to go a different route. Construct a time machine so
that we could travel to the past and actually meet some of these early guides. And what’s the
most important part of developing a time machine? What it looks like, of course!
There are so many models to choose from, it was tough to decide which design would work best
for us. Pop culture quiz time! Where are the following time machines from?
But, as this is Reno, there was really only one choice for our time machine. That’s right, we
invented the Slot Machine Time Machine.
Before each leap through time, we’ll enter in some keywords on our very fancy console so that
we end up in the right place. We’re going to start by looking at the origins of guiding. We’ll
visit hunters and gatherers. And I think 15,000 years ago should about do it. Woops, 65 million
years keeps popping up. I said 15,000 years should about do it. Darn thing… keeps messing
up…
And to transport ourselves through time, we have a slot machine, which is surprisingly very
difficult to find in Reno. Would someone like to pull the slot machine lever and bring us
through time? Here we go!!!!
[Pull the arm…Time effect]
Prehistoric World, 65 million years ago
[Dinosaur roars!]
Oh no, too far back, too far back!
Caveman: [Cave man enters and is freaked out by the sight of a dinosaur.] Geez! This better be a bad
dream! This is still the Cretaceous! I don’t make my entrance til the Pleistocene! I have no contact
with dinosaurs and no overlap. None! I am outa here! Call me when these guys go extinct!
Let’s get out of here quickly before we get eaten. Pull the slot machine lever again! Moving
forward in time…
[Pull the arm…Time effect]
Hunter-gatherer Societies: Origin of Guiding Roles, 15,000 years ago
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the last great Ice Age. For most of our existence on this
planet, humans were part of hunter-gatherer societies. People lived in small bands of 10-20
individuals and depended on the bounties of nature for their survival. It was in these
prehistoric communities that the role of guiding first developed.
Travel in prehistoric times wasn’t for recreation. People who were hunter-gatherers needed to
move from place to place in order to survive: following food sources, finding clean water,
escaping harsh weather, or avoiding conflicts with rival bands.
Within these societies, two essential roles of guiding evolved.
The Pathfinder guides safely led their people over the landscape from one place to another.
They had to have intimate knowledge of the landscape, the seasons, and other tribal territories
in order to survive.
But early humans needed more than just a physical guide over the landscape. Mentor guides
led people through a different realm… their minds. These were the explainers of natural
phenomena and were the connection with the spiritual world.
Here comes an elder now… let’s listen in.
Tribal Elder: It is time for our tribe to travel on. The Great Spirit will help guide us over those
mountains where we will find abundant food for our families. The sky spirits tell me that life will be
rich in this new land, especially with water. The sacred deer scapula will help us to determine which
direction we will travel. (Toss in air). We shall go in this direction (bear growls)....I mean this
direction.
Tribal Member: What else will we find in this new land for our people, wise one?
Tribal Elder: An abundance of rain from the sky spirits will help us find food in plenty, and we trust
the Great One that other clans have not already arrived there. Great land spirits grazing will be
generous with their lives to help sustain our people. Small land animals and flying animals will be
available to us as well. Come, let us begin our journey...As we travel let me tell you a story. The land
was once covered by large creatures...
Tribal Member Not this one again!
After the agricultural revolution, these simple roles of Pathfinder and Mentor guides exploded
into a multitude of specialized occupations. Pathfinders can be found today as hunting guides,
mountain guides, taxi cab drivers, and pilots. Mentors can be found as teachers, doctors,
scientists, and religious leaders. But a few professions bring the Pathfinder and Mentor roles
together, like interpreters today.
We need to find those guide ancestors that brought those roles together. Brought them together
to lead a specific kind of audience. People that are traveling as part of their leisure experience.
Or another name? Tourists. We need to find the first tour guides.
And to do that, we need to travel to the birth of mass tourism. This will be a time when: (1)
Roads are available to travel from place to place, (2) A stable government protects citizens over
a large area for safe travel, (3) A large middle and upper class have leisure time to spend
traveling. Any ideas when this era first occurred? Let’s find out.
[Pull the arm…Time effect]
Roman Empire: Origin of Tour Guides, A.D. 150
How do we know about early tourists? Well, let’s take a look at the places where tourists would
visit. Just as today, the pyramids and monuments of Egypt were popular tourist attractions.
Let’s take a closer look. What is this writing in the step pyramid? Ancient Egyptian rituals to
lead pharaohs on their journey to the afterlife? Nope. It’s actually ancient tourist graffiti, written
over 3,000 years ago. It essentially says, “Hadnakhte, Egyptian Scribe, was here.” The first
tourists were Egyptians themselves who sailed up the Nile. Let’s take a look at another
monument, the Colossi of Memnon, which after an earthquake, the one on the left began
talking… an ideal tourist attraction! If you look closely at the foot, you will see this beautiful
writing. What is it? Ancient Greek graffiti from about 2,500 years ago. Tourism expanded
greatly during the Ancient Greek Empire as travel by sea thrived. Were there guides to serve
tourists during these earlier times? Possibly.
But it was in Ancient Rome that mass tourism flourished and we have the first written records
of tour guides. The empire spanned large portions of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle
East. A massive paved road network crisscrossed the known world. And a large middle class
arose with leisure time. When not watching people being mauled in the Coliseum, many chose
to travel. The most popular sites were in Greece for their mythology, monuments, and festivals.
But the sites they visited were often packed full of statues, paintings, artifacts, and temples. This
is what a Roman traveler would experience when visiting popular sites like Olympia and
Delphi. How would they ever find their way around and learn about all of these treasures?
In steps the first professional tour guides, local entrepreneurs that had knowledge of the tourist
sites, the artifacts, and their mythology. They were called Periegetai (those who show the way
around something) and Exegetai (those who expound or explain to). Usually working for tips,
tour guides would lead Roman tourists from one place to another and explain the history of the
things they were seeing.
Let’s join this Periegetai on a tour in Delphi…
Guide: Wealthy Roman tourists. Welcome to the temple of Apollo at Delphi!
Roman Tourist: Dove è il bagno (Do-vey-eh-banyo)
Guide: Oh. You don’t speak much Greek eh? I talk slowly and loud. That usually works. I trust that
you are enjoying your Roman holiday. Been to the Parthenon yet? When are ya taken in the
Pyramids? My cousin operates a little cargo vessel out of Athens really fast trip across the
Mediterranean, highly motivated slaves rowing it. I can see by your sophisticated appearance that
you do not have time to be insulted by the swarms of odiferous goat herding, part-time Greek guides
that are falling all over themselves to take your Roman coins here at Delphi so allow me to protect
your valuable time and coins by serving as your host.
Roman Tourist: Dove è il bagno
Guide: My name is Aesop! The fabled Aesop of Delphi. Get it? I trust that you are here to see the
cradle of democratic civilization which gave birth to your magnificent and powerful Roman empire.
You look at the thousands of vandalized statues and you say, Aesop, it’s all Greek to me! Ya won’t
know the players without a guide! If you sign on with those goat herders they’ll just make up lies so if
ye wanta get the real myths you need to hire me. I know all the inside dope on which Greek gods are
sleeping with their siblings even before it’s chiseled in the tabloids. Talk about your dysfunctional
families! Wow, we Greeks invented universal concepts! I got the inside story on King Oedipus and his
mother. You won’t believe it!
Roman Tourist: Dove è il bagno
Guide: You are at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi which was first established to honor the Earth
Goddess, Gaia. But as time went on it became a sacred place to honor Apollo cause this is where
Apollo, when he was just four days old, he slays the dragon named Python. How does a four day old
baby kill a dragon you ask? It’s a myth! I don’t write this stuff, I just recite it. Maybe the gods count
days differently. Calendars weren’t designed yet. I don’t know. Yahda, yada, yahda…
Roman Tourist: Dove è il bagno (tourist hands guide a coin. Guides looks in translation book)
Guide: Oh you just wanta know where the bathroom is! (Roman tourist runs off. Welcome to the
Temple of Apollo at Delphi you rich and sophisticated Roman! You don’t want to hire any of these
stinky goat herders…
As today, tourist guides varied in quality and were often written of negatively by early Roman
tourists… today’s very own TripAdvisor. Tourists complained about their aggressive nature to
get business, spouting of memorized information, and not being particularly knowledgeable
about the facts.
A priest at Delphi wrote, “The guides were going through their prearranged program, paying
no attention to us who begged that they would cut short their monologues and their
expounding of the inscriptions.”
Lucian, a Greek satirist, wrote “Abolish fabulous tales from Greece and the guides there would
all die of starvation, since no tourist wants to hear the true facts, even for free.” Some things
may never change!
Romans travelers weren’t by any means nature tourists. Mountains and grand views were too
imposing and conveyed emptiness. It was the culture, their history, that was most important to
them.
But the great empire of Rome didn’t last forever. Some blame the excess of leisure time for the
fall of Rome, as more and more citizens became seekers of pleasure rather than soldiers. But,
whatever the case, we need to find out if our tour guides were able to survive the collapse of the
empire in the Dark Ages.
Keywords: Dark Ages, Roman Catholic Church, A.D. 1200
[Pull the arm…Time effect]
Middle Ages: Religious Pilgrim Guides, A.D. 1200
Welcome to the Middle, or Dark, Ages… it’s dark here. The once unified Roman lands broke
apart into small warring domains. The vast road network decayed. Roving bandits attacked
unlucky travelers. Few people wanted to travel for leisure.
However, another institution came to power to provide social unity to the crumbling empire:
the Roman Catholic Church. As Christianity spread throughout Europe, a new kind of traveler
appeared. By the mid-thirteenth century, thousands of religious pilgrims traveled to sacred
Christian sites. The traveled to cure illnesses and pain, as appealing to a saint was much better
than visiting a doctor. And they traveled to earn forgiveness of their sins.
Tourist sites were quick to jump on the bandwagon of these new travelers. Ancient pagan
tourist sites mysteriously became associated with Christian saints and Bible stories… touch a
piece of St. Agnes’ cloak, or see the place that St. Peter walked. Religious sites advertised how
much time off of their purgatory sentence that pilgrims would receive after death. Competing
sites would keep increasing the hours to attract the largest volume of pilgrims.
With the roads festooned with bandits and so many sites competing for their attention, how
could early pilgrims find their way and discover their Christian roots? Have no fear, the tour
guides are here!
Pilgrim Guide: Come down this way, pilgrims. The fabric of this great city of Jerusalem is overlaid
with religious significance. Every stone tells a story. Here we see the tomb of Rachel. … Here, Rachel
paused.
Roman woman: [Stoops to touch the ground, still perhaps imbued with Rachel’s spirit.]
Pilgrim Guide: And over here is the house of Simon the Pharisee.
Roman woman: [Opens her Bible to read aloud.]
Pilgrim Guide: At long last, pilgrims, after your months of travel, you have finally arrived at the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which has been built where the last events in the life of Christ took
place. Inside this church is an underground chapel whose pillars are perpetually moist, a miraculous
manifestation of weeping over Christ’s judgment. You also will find a giant seashell through which
one can hear the noises of Hell. And here is the sepulcher of the resurrection. And before you now, the
cross upon which Christ was crucified!
Roman woman: [Throws herself down in adoration before the cross as if she could see the Lord
himself hanging from it. Pandemonium of devotion is let loose: weeping, howling, shrieking, beating
of breasts, outstretching of arms in the manner of one crucified, flinging of bodies on the ground to
soak up holy vibrations.]
Pilgrims were a heck of an audience for early guides! They were passionate and emotional
about the sites. According to one historian, the “guide delivered a brief historical lecture, and a
pandemonium of devotion was let loose: weeping, howling, shrieking, beating of breasts,
outstretching of arms, flinging of bodies on the ground.” Wouldn’t we all love audiences like
that at our programs?
In the Middle Ages, professional guides were hired not only to provide information about
religious sites and relics, but also to provide safe passage, which typically included bribes for
bandits. Skilled guides were highly revered in this era, with the best being worth half the cost of
a camel.
Travelers during this era still did not appreciate the beauty of nature. Mountains and
wilderness were places of desolation that reminded them of hell itself. After all, it was in the
wilderness that Jesus was tempted by the devil.
As the Renaissance, the Age of Reason, approached with more emphasis on science rather than
faith, could guides make the transition? Let’s find out.
Keywords=Renaissance Era, The Grand Tour, 1750
[Pull the arm…Time effect]
Renaissance Era: The Grand Tour, Cicerone Guides, 1750
Welcome to England during the Renaissance of the 17th and 18th centuries. This period
included a resurgence in learning based on science rather than religion. It also encouraged the
study of the great ancient civilizations. The epitome of a young Renaissance man’s education
would be to experience these ancient cultural cities firsthand. And those that could afford it, did
just that.
The Grand Tour was a standardized travel itinerary that exposed young upper class-men from
Europe, especially Britain, to the cultural meccas of France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland,
and, of course, Italy. The tour could last from several months to several years, often depending
on how long the parents’ money held out.
How do guides fit into the Grand Tour? Well, to have a successful educational and cultural trip,
the young upper-class pupils were assigned a personal guide tutor called a cicerone. The best
guides were highly respected and sought after. They needed to be articulate, know several
languages, and be well-versed in multiple subjects such as history, literature, architecture, and
current affairs.
Of course, leading a young man around foreign lands filled with temptations also came with
other duties….
Cicerone: Arthur, as your mentor, guide and cicerone your father has entrusted me with your
education, acculturation and spiritual enlightenment during our sojourn on the European continent.
As you know, travel is an absolute necessity if a noble man is to expand his knowledge of the greater
world and to rediscover the roots of western civilization. For when you return triumphant from this
journey you will be expected to assume the mantle of responsibility for government and social order in
Briton. You will no longer be a rude and rough stone but a polished diamond. In Paris you have
shown a great passion for subtle nuances of Bordeaux wine, J'aime le vin Bordeaux, gambling jeu,
and the titillating allure of the Paris bordellos at the expense of your journal entries. Before departing
France, you will be posing for a portrait painting that documents your distinguished participation in
artistic endeavors. It will be proof to those less fortunate than you, as a world traveler, you have
immersed yourself in the culture of the Continent and are of the refined nobility. Arthur, are you
listening? What are you doing? Where did you get that odd artifact?
[Arthur texting on a smart phone.]
Arthur: When we heard that weird whirling noise and the wind blew, it dropped at my feet. If I
punch these things then a little glowing coal lights up but it’s not hot! A spirit speaks from within it!
Cicerone: Let me see that. Ah! “All our associates are unavailable at this time. If you know the
extension of the person you are calling please dial it now. 1 for Human Services….” It has Arabic
numbers on it…it must be a trophy of the Holy War taken from the Arab-Byzantines during the
Crusades. It looks evil. It could destroy western civilization. Rid yourself of that vile vulgarity, it is
pagan sorcery of the infidels! Let us concentrate on collecting Roman artifacts to take home as
evidence of your affluent good taste.
Arthur: Right. (Tucks it into his clothes or bag… lots of coins jingle from his bag_
Cicerone: Arthur! What’s in YOUR wallet? What are you doing with all that money! You have been
warned about the abundance of road bandits. That is why your father sent a sealed affidavit vouching
for payment from his London bank. You’d better rid yourself of that money before we cross the Alps.
We’ll be encountering gypsies, beggars, and even those repulsive German naturalists so rid yourself
of those coins.
Arthur: I think that I know how to get rid of this money…(Blows on dice as he shakes them and rolls
them)
Cicerone: Come Arthur, it’s time for your portrait in front of the Palace at Versailles. You’ll just love
this new style of architecture. It’s called baroque and it is lavish and ornate. Baroque is an Italian
word that means bizzare. Our own Sir Christopher Wren plans to use it in London.
The Grand Tour flourished from 1660 until the 1840s.
But early Renaissance travelers still weren’t interested in nature. They preferred the
mathematical symmetry of civilization: cultivated fields, orderly houses and streets, rather than
the rough and uncouth look of nature. Traveling through the Alps, one Grand Tourist stated, “I
confess to a sort of agreeable shuddering at this most misshapen scenery.”
We’re not doing too well finding guides that are interested in nature, are we? Let’s jump to a
time when people’s views toward nature were changing.
Keywords=Romantic period, Alps of Europe, 1825
[Pull the arm…Time effect]
Romantic Period: Origin of Nature Tour Guides in Alps, 1825
Toward the end of the 1700s, as the Industrial Revolution changed the landscape into cities of
chimneys, chugging machinery, and dark smog, people began to yearn for places that were
untouched by humans. For the first time, wild landscapes were cast in a light of majestic beauty;
to be a part of those landscapes was essential for mental and moral health.
Romantic travelers were those who wanted to “get away from it all,” to experience places for
their own sake and local color. Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Alps of Europe. This
region became the center of a new type of tourism based on nature.
By the 1760s, day-trips were being organized out of Geneva, Switzerland for the express
purpose of looking at glaciers and waterfalls. In Chamonix, France, an inn was opened in 1765
specifically for tourists to discover natural scenery.
Local hunters became the first guides to lead tourists into the mountains. But, according to
research done by Ted Cable, these mountain guides did more than just lead people up the
mountains. They were also knowledgeable about nature, told entertaining stories, and imparted
interesting information. In fact, the guides offered one-hour and nine-hour day hikes in the
valley forests and along the streams. They became the first true nature tour guides, those that
were focused on natural phenomena, instead of just cultural heritage.
Well here comes a Swiss tour guide now!
(Swiss Alps Guide yodels and a recording of real yodeling is echoed back)
Swiss Guide: Guten tag! Ahhh! Breathe in that fresh mountain air! These lovely mountains are here
to be climbed. Today on our trip we will experience the grandeur of the Alps. Be on the look out for
interesting wild things in nature like goats, deer, marmots, the beautiful wildflowers like Queen of the
Alps and Edelweiss. And, of course, we will probably encounter some of the not so wild creatures as
well. (Play video clip of cows with cowbells). Did you know that Alp means "a high mountain pasture
where cows are brought for grazing?”
Hiker: What about waterfalls...will we see any today?
Swiss Guide: Lauterbrunnen means "valley of loud waters" — an apt name. Today, the waterfalls
are particularly robust. After exploring, we will take a pass back to the valley where we began so you
can enjoy plenty of good drink, veinerschnitzel, roclette, and of course Swiss Alp cheese (hold up a
container of Laughing Cow).
To ensure a quality experience for tourists, the mountain guides in Chamonix organized to
create the first professional guiding organization in 1821. In order to become an official guide,
candidates had to pass an exam to demonstrate not only their mountaineering skills, but also
their knowledge of significant regional attractions, botany, and geology. A list of approved
guides was posted at hotels and other sites around town.
Today, nearly 200 years later, the Chamonix Guides’ Company still exists.
While the Alps of Europe may have had the jump on Romantic Period ideas, the United States
would take this ideal to the next level.
Keywords=Yellowstone, Early Guides, 1883
[Pull the arm…Time effect]
Yellowstone: First National Park Tour Guides, 1883
Welcome back to the United States at the turn of the last century. Americans had long believed
that it was their duty to expand across the continent and conquer the seemingly inexhaustible
resources, what was known as Manifest Destiny. But by the end of the 1800s, the United States
frontier was closing. The transcontinental railroad had connected the east to the west. Forests,
wildlife, and other natural resources were dwindling.
Spurred on by Romantic-era artists like Albert Bierstadt and writers like Henry David Thoreau,
Americans began to switch from the prevailing notion of conquering wilderness, to saving parts
of it for prosperity.
In 1872, Yellowstone was opened as the first National Park in the country. It was heavily
supported and promoted by the Northern Pacific Railway. In 1883, the railway began service to
Yellowstone and opened hotels, restaurants, and gift shops for tourists. This was the first time
that a railroad had been built specifically to a tourist destination. Interestingly, the railway
billed this as America’s own “Grand Tour,” which focused on natural phenomena rather than
the antiquity of Europe.
Travelers arriving in Yellowstone by train planned to stay for several weeks. With the vast areas
of wilderness, rough trails, and dangerous thermal features, a visitor would be lost, or even
worse, without a guide.
The first tour guides in Yellowstone worked as stagecoach drivers and thermal-basin walking
guides. According to a 1909 guidebook: “On the drive through Yellowstone Park the driver
must be your guide, interpreter and friend… if you have not asked the question of some
attraction that you are passing, he will call your attention to it, and pleasantly give you its
story.”
Since the drivers worked for tips, each had his own technique for making the trip as
“interesting as possible for his passengers”…
Stagecoach Driver Guide:
Here Missy, let me help you down from the stage coach. (Driver slaps his dusty hat on his thigh and
dust billows out with the loud sound). Sorry about that little scare from the grizzly. That dress oughta
sew up pretty good though. Who’da knowed that he’d get so excited ‘bout that greasy bacon I had ya
bring a long for bait though?
This hot pool is where old Jim Bridger first taught me to catch cooked fish! Only the top layers of this
thermo pool are boilin’. Down deep it’s cool and that’s where the big trout live. You drop in a real
long line with a real heavy sinker attached and when the hungry trout hits it ya pull it up real fast.
Did ya want the fish well done or just cooked? I gotta know fur I get it through the boiling water. Be
careful now Missy, ya already got some cuts from the bear, so don’t get burned too! You’re gonna
have some great stories to tell when you get back home in the East!
Old Jim was a mountain man, never lied but he did knit a pretty tight yarn sometimes!
See that glass mountain over yonder? When Jim first discovered it he saw an elk feeding along the
slope on grass. Jim took a good straight aim and BOOM! That elk didn’t even lift a ear. It just kept
right on grazing. Jim took another aim. BOOM! But the elk didn’t bat an eye. This perplexed old Jim
so much that he started marchin’ right over to it… took him all day to get there. The mountain was 25
miles away. It was pure obsidian glass and it magnified that elk, that was actually on the other side of
the mountain so much that he looked 25 miles closer.
Ya look a little skeptical Missy or is ya just a little shaky after that bear nipped ya? Ya need to get
back to Old Faithful Lodge and get sewed up? Come on!
Perhaps taking their lead from past tour guides, some early Yellowstone guides didn’t feel the
need to base their talks on scientific fact. According to Milton Skinner in 1913, who would
become the park’s first chief naturalist, “The guests too are largely dependent on their stage
driver. Here the trouble seems to be that the driver assumes that his passengers want to be
amused and so he directs his attention to securing and giving amusing information rather than
accurate information.”
To break from this loathing view of tour guides over time, the early American guides needed to
attain a level of professionalism like the guides of the Alps had achieved.
Keywords= First Licensed Guides, Gettysburg, 1915
[Pull the arm…Time effect]
Gettysburg: First Licensed Tour Guides in U.S., 1915
Welcome to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. In July of 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg ended with the
largest number of casualties in the American Civil War. Nearly 50,000 soldiers were killed or
wounded. Within a few days, grieving family members and curious visitors arrived on the
battlefield. Local residents took advantage of these new travelers and began guiding them to the
different sites of the battle.
Over time, more and more visitors arrived to witness the historic turning point of the war, and
the number of guides grew. By 1915, about 100 guides were giving tours of the battlefield.
The number of visitor complaints about the guides was also growing. Tour guides charged
different fees and told stories that weren’t necessarily true. To increase the quality of the guides,
the Federal Government began a process to license official guides for the battlefield. A written
exam was given to test their knowledge and regulations covering fees, conduct, length of tours,
and appearance were established. The Gettysburg Licensed Guides became the first
professional guide service in the United States.
Gettysburg Guide:
Our next stop here at the Battle of Gettysburg is the Trostle Farm.
On July 2nd, 1863, Major General Daniel Edgar Sickles moved his Third Corps of the Union Army
from his assigned location along Cemetery Ridge to what he saw as a more favorable position. As the
Confederates drove back the men of the 3rd Corps in a series of vicious fights, Major General Sickles
sat mounted on his horse near the Trostle Barn. As the battle raged, a 12 pound cannon ball screamed
through the air and shattered the General's right leg, nearly tearing it completely off. Hearing rumors
that his men thought he was dead and wishing to maintain what morale he could, he asked an officer
to light a cigar and place it in his mouth. He calmly puffed on his cigar as he continued to give orders
to his men right up until he was carried from the field. Soldiers reported that the General saluted them
or waved his hat as he was carried by. About one half hour later, Federal surgeons amputated the
General's right leg just above the knee. His amputated leg, which the General insisted be saved, is
now on display at the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
It was common in the years that followed the war for the general to visit his leg at the museum on the
anniversary of the amputation. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his action that
day. General Sickles lived a colorful and very controversial life. He died in 1914 at the age of 94 and is
buried in the Arlington National Cemetery.
Our next stop will be …Cemetery Ridge…
Today more than 150 private guides licensed by the National Park Service still interpret the
Gettysburg Battlefield.
At the same time that cultural guides were organizing a higher quality profession, park guides
were following a similar path.
Keywords=Licensed Nature Guides, Longs Peak, 1917
[Pull the arm…Time effect]
Longs Peak, Colorado: First Licensed Nature Guides in U.S., 1917
Welcome to beautiful Longs Peak, Colorado. Enos Mills was originally from Kansas, but as a
young teenager, he moved to Colorado to live with family due to health issues. At the ripe age
of 15, he made his first climb up Longs Peak and became enamored with the mountain. Over
the years, he would make nearly 300 ascents of the peak.
In 1901, he purchased a ranch from his cousin and opened it as the Longs Peak Inn. From here,
he guided people on nature walks and gave evening campfire talks. Unlike other resorts in the
area, the Longs Peak Inn focused the visitor’s attention on the natural world. Smoking,
drinking, card playing, and music were not allowed in the lobby of the Inn… but anything went
inside the guest’s rooms.
Enos Mills fought for the establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park, which became a
reality in 1915.
After 1906, as his writing and speaking engagement took up more time, Mills created a Trail
School that provided rigorous natural history training for Nature Guides, a new concept that
began a divergence from previous tour guides. Enos described Nature Guides as “a naturalist
who can guide others to the secrets of nature… Touched by a nature guide the wilderness of the
outdoors becomes a wonderland.” Nature Guides were taught to “See with the heart, as well as
with an accurate eye.”
In 1917, Esther Burnell, trained by Enos Mills in his Trail School, became the first Nature Guide
certified by the National Park Service to conduct interpretive tours. The next year, she would
also become Enos’ wife…
Esther: This mountain plateau region of the Rockies is a world by itself. Brilliant wildflowers grow in
these treeless prairies and sedge meadows. Many of these flowers are dwarfed to tiny smallness, but
others grow with great vigor. Their colors are varied and brilliant and many are perfumed.
Many of these flowers probably originated in the Arctic Circle. During the Ice Age, many of the
plants and animals and birds that now live here were swept southward by a slow-moving glacier. In
this new colony, the flowers still maintain the traditions of their respective old families.
Ladies and gentlemen, this meadow looks like a fine place to rest, take in the scene, and have a bite to
eat. Please relax, and we will resume our journey up the mountain in a short while.
Tourist: Esther, how did it come about that you operate the Longs Peak Inn and guide groups in the
Rocky Mountains?
Esther: My late husband, Enos Mills, started the Inn and guided groups to the summit of Longs Peak
more than 250 times. But for him, it wasn’t enough that he led people to the summit. He also pointed
out the birds and flowers and other natural features along the way. He called this profession nature
guiding.
Tourist: Why was he interested in nature guiding?
Esther: Enos believed that nature guiding was about more than showing the way. The essence was to
travel gracefully rather than to arrive. Nature guides were naturalists who could guide people to the
secrets of nature. A nature guide is an interpreter of geology, botany, zoology, and natural history.
Tourist: Well, that sounds like quite the repertoire.
Esther: Indeed. But it’s not necessary to be an expert in all of that subject matter. As Enos often said,
the nature guide is not a teacher. Though the guide may be associated with education, nature guiding
is more inspirational than informational.
In 1920, Enos wrote The Adventures of a Nature Guide. The book introduced the profession of
nature guiding and offered the first real definitions and philosophies. This concept of nature
guiding became the foundation of the National Park Service interpretive program.
That same year, Stephen Mather advocated for a trained naturalist on the staff of every national
park to administer educational programs. Based on Enos Mills’ Trail School model, natural
history field schools were developed in the parks to train professional nature guides, who were
later called interpreters. This model was replicated in federal, state, and local agencies
throughout the country. In 1957, Freeman Tilden was hired by the National Park Service to
further distill the principles outlined first in Enos Mills’ book.
We’ve come a long way. 65 million years to be exact. Schwew! But I’m feeling that urge to eat
buffet food and battle some more one-armed bandits. So back to Reno we go!
Keywords=Reno, Nevada, NAI Conference, 2013
[Pull the arm…Time effect]
Conclusion
Flight Attendant: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Reno, Nevada. The time is locally ____.
Frequent time traveler members have earned 65 million miles on this trip. Be sure to check the seat
pocket in front of you and return all tray tables to their upright and locked positions. Please use
caution when opening the overhead bins, as things may have shifted on our 65 million year flight. We
know that you have choices for your time travel needs, so we truly appreciate that you chose
Interpretive Time Travel Tours for your travel today.
The family tree of our interpretive profession has its roots in the ancient role of guiding.
Throughout time, guides have appeared to lead visitors in their quest for meanings, both in a
physical sense and an intellectual and spiritual sense.
Why did the name of our profession, “Nature Guiding,” the term that Enos Mills coined, ever
change to Interpretation? Well, there are likely many reasons. But one, I believe, was to
disassociate our profession with the negative connotations of tour guides over time. I say, let’s
embrace our tour guide ancestors, those brave pioneers who first faced the hordes of leisure
travelers. For without them, we wouldn’t be the “consummate professionals” that we are today.
Thank you for joining us on our time travel journey… to the past! And your checked baggage
will be available for pickup in 14 B.C.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Jim Buchholz
Assistant Director/Instructor of Environmental Education and Interpretation
Schmeeckle Reserve, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
2419 North Point Drive
Stevens Point, WI 54481
715-346-4992
[email protected]
Brenda Lackey, Ph. D.
Associate Professor of Environmental Education and Interpretation
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
800 Reserve Street
Stevens Point, WI 54481
715-346-2076
[email protected]
Ron Zimmerman
Director
Schmeeckle Reserve, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
2419 North Point Drive
Stevens Point, WI 54481
715-346-4992
[email protected]
Megan Espe
Outreach Coordinator
Schmeeckle Reserve, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
2419 North Point Drive
Stevens Point, WI 54481
715-346-4992
[email protected]
REFERENCES
•
Brockman, C. Frank. “Park Naturalists and the Evolution of National Park Service
Interpretation through World War II.” Journal of Forest History, January, 1978: 24-43.
•
Cable, Ted. “Musings on the History of Professional Nature Guiding.” International
Interpretation Newsletter, Q3 2012.
•
Casson, Lionel. Travel in the Ancient World. Baltimore, MD: The John Hopkins University
Press. 1994.
•
Drummond, Alexander. Enos Mills: Citizen of Nature. Boulder, CO: University Press of
Colorado. 2002.
•
Feifer, Maxine. Tourism in History: From Imperial Rome to the Present. Briarcliff Manor, NY:
Scarborough House. 1985.
•
Mead, William Edward. The Grand Tour of the 18th Century. Boston, MA: Houghton
Mifflin Company. 1914.
•
Mackintosh, Barry. Interpretation in the National Park Service: A Historical Perspective.
Washington D.C.: Historical Division, National Park Service. 1986.
•
Mills, Enos. Adventures of a Nature Guide. Estes Park, CO: Temporal Mechanical Press.
2001.
•
Perrottet, Tony. Pagan Holiday: On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists. Random House
Trade Paperbacks. 2002.
•
Pond, Kathleen L. The Professional Guide: Dynamics of Tour Guiding. New York: Van
Nostrand Reinhold. 1993.
•
Regnier, Kathleen, Gross, Michael, & Zimmerman, Ron. The Interpreter’s Guidebook:
Techniques for Programs and Presentations. Stevens Point, WI: UW-SP Foundation Press,
Inc. 1992.
•
Shankland, Robert. Steve Mather of the National Parks. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1951.
•
Whittlesey, Lee H. Storytelling in Yellowstone: Horse and Buggy Tour Guides. University of
New Mexico Press. 2007.