Happy independence Day Mr. President

“Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance”   -Theodore Roosevelt

Entrance to the park

Many people view Theodore Roosevelt as the conservation president, while in office he passed the Antiquities Act which allowed him to set aside historic landmarks so that they were not disturbed or destroyed by anyone. He very much cared about the preservation of the natural and historic landmarks of the nation. About a 45 minutes away from Fire Island National Seashore is Sagamore Hill National Historic site. Within Sagamore Hill is the one of Theodore Roosevelts homes, this is where he lived during the summer months and this is also referred to as the summer white house because he would stay at in this house even while in office. The main house on the ground was restored to the exact way that Theodore and his wife had it, there original furniture along with original rugs and even down to original books which lined the shelves when Theodore was alive. The park grounds also have a house that was built for Theodore Roosevelt Jr. which is now the main museum which has artifacts from the rough riders and from his campaign as vice president with Williams McKinley.

Ranger talking with park visitor

Now at this point you may be asking yourself how this all connects and why am I telling you so much information about Sagamore Hill Historic site, well Justen I thought you were at Fire Island. The historic site is a sister park to Fire Island National Seashore and the Law Enforcement officers from Fire Island do routine patrols out at the historic site. Sagamore Hill does not have a Law Enforcement officer because the park is too small so they have an agreement with Fire Island that once or twice a week a Law Enforcement officer would go and do patrol within Sagamore Hill. Even though I am at Fire Island I have been on patrols and even worked the fourth of July event there.

Rough Riders Reenactment 

                Sagamore Hill opened up last year on the fourth of July after being closed for three years for restoration on the house and stuff within the house. Last year it was a crazy event with over three thousand visitors to the park in one day. This year was expected to be a little smaller but I was given the task to man a parking lot which held 150 cars when anywhere from 1500-2500 people were looking for a spot. For close to 9 hours I stood and directed traffic letting people know the alternate lots where they could park and allowing people in when spots opened up. Luckily I was not alone and had the assistance of two of the law enforcement rangers when they weren’t patrolling the event grounds.