Antietam: July 17-21

Hello ProRanger and NPS Friends!

Last week Jay and I spent all of our time with the Maintenance Division here at Antietam. We had a good time. Can you guys believe we have one week left?! I can't believe it! I feel like I just here. I remember the first day I pulled into Antietam with my dad, his car packed with all of my "necessities". I was scared of the cows. Now me and the cows are friends (almost)! Time is going by sooooo fast.
 Anyhoo, our first day with Maintenance, Jay and I were put straight to work. We road around with Butch repairing falling railings in the fences throughout the park, as well as putting in new fence posts to replace rotten ones. It was fun riding around with Butch. He told us how he use to work for the Park Police in Washington D.C before he retired and took on work at Antietam. On our second day with maintenance, Jay and I worked with Scott and George, helping them repair the siding at the  Muma House. The Muma House is a historic house on the Battlefield which we now use for Education Programs. All the caulking and siding that Jay and I helped with was in preparation for painters who were coming soon to give the house a fresh coat of paint.

Our third day with Maintenance was the best. We spent time with Clay and Patrick working on one of the many historic barns on the battlefield. This barn was the Park Barn. Each barn that the maintenance division works on takes lots of tender, love and care to get back into good condition. The maintenance workers have to repair any rotten boards in the ceilings or walls of the barn, rebuild any collapsing stone work, and make sure that any objects that are displaced during the rebuilding of the born go back exactly in the same spot they were in during the time of the battle. Clay and Patrick taught Jay and me how to use stone and mortar to rebuild the uppermost part of a wall in the Park Barn. The mortar we used was made out of sand, water and a type of cement. Jay and I took turns placing the stones in certain combinations until we got them in a configuration that matched with the rest of the stones around them, then we sealed the places in between the stones with the mortar Patrick and Clay showed us how to make.

Our last day with maintenance was also a day to remember. We worked with Clay again and he showed us some the historic treasures in the park. In front of the Park House, there is an old hand dug well that is about 45 feet deep! Clay allowed us to take the covering off the well. He tied a flashlight to the end of a piece of string and knotted it off when the flashlight hit the ground. After we pulled the flashlight out of the well, Jay and Clay pulled the string straight and walked along side it to measure how many feet long it was. It makes you have a ton of respect for the people living during the Civil War; I mean, to dig a well that deep without any of the machinery and technology we have at our fingertips today! It's amazing!

To cap off our time with maintenance, Clay gave Jay and me some rabbit meat from his hunting stash for us to cook before we leave Antietam. I will let you know if it tastes like chicken!!

The Third Week in June

Hello ProRanger and NPS Friends!

Last week Jay and I had a steller time at Antieatam Battlefield. We were really kicking it. We spent the week with Cultural Resources. Cultural Resources at Antietam is amazing; they do a lot more stuff than I thought they do. Lucky for us, the week we spent with Cultural resources, they had a professional from Washington D.C. come out to administer a training on how to preserve the monuments on the Battlefield. We have a lot of monuments at Antietam, and with our 150th Anniversay coming up on September 17, we want to make sure the park looks its best. Many of the monuments have been subjected to years of rain and rust and the bronze plaques on them describing the regimants of various states have turned green. Katherine, the Historic Preservationist from D.C., shared her experience with us; for years she has worked on preserving monuments such as the Vieatnam Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and even some of the monuments in my hometown of Philadelphia, PA at Independence Hall.

We began the restoration process by cleaning the actual monuments the bronze plaques were on (the stone parts). We sprayed the stone with water and a solution that is slightly stronger than DAWN dish detergent. Monuments that needed more work or that were covered in linchen- a kind of dark green moss that looks like green veins on the sides of the monuments- we sprayed with a stronger chemical called D2. D2 was invented by the same man who thought of the Green Solutions cleaning products, so while the D2 chemical was excellent at cleaning the monuments, the chemicals in it were relativley mild. After we sprayed the D2 solution we let it sit for a minute and then we scrubbed the monument with scrub brushes. All this cleaning was preparation for the second phase in the monument restoration process: waxing. Wax is used on the bronze portion of many monuments because it acts as a protective coating against rain, snow and other elements. The process of applying wax was an experience I will never forget. We had to use a torch to heat the bronze surface of the monument, then quickly apply the wax with large paint brushes. One thing we had to remember was to move the torch either in circles or back and forth as we applied the heat so as not to burn the monument. I was nervous because I don't have too many problems burning toast when I cook breakfast. But with the help of the cultural resources staff and my partner Jay Copper, I did alright. We all worked together on the New Jersey Monument and the New York Monument in the park. I personally think you should all travel down to Antietam to see the beautifaul, shiny monuments we worked on.

Let me see...we did other cool things last week; but what I really want to tell you about is how we spent Thursday afternoon with the Law Enforcement Rangers at the C&O Canal shooting Range. Our supervisor, Tom Jones, was nice enough to let us come and watch the Rangers from our park manuver through some obstacles and fire at targets. The shooting range was lined with targets. The Rangers had to drive up to the scene and exit their vehicles; then they had to load their rifles and shoot at a target. Once they successfully shot at the target, they had to load their hand guns and shoot at the targets from behind a make shift door, and a piece of wood lying on the ground that acted as a curb. The targets were balloons hidden under t-shirts hanging from paper clips at the opposite and of the range. Jay and I had the responsibilty of blowing up the balloons. It was a good time.

When we came back from our lunch at McDonalds, Ranger Jones allowed Jay and me the opportunity to try firing at the targets. Ranger Jones and another Ranger at our Park, Ranger Moore, are both Firearms Instructors.  Jay and I fired SIG SAUER 40 and 45 caliber guns. Now, you may laugh at me, but this was my first time shooting anything. Really, I wish someone would have told me how loud guns are. They are super loud; and when you pull the trigger and fire them, they kind of push back at you really hard. I would not want to be on the other end of one of them. Ranger Jones and Ranger Moore told us how to load a magazine into the gun, how to make sure a gun was empty of rounds, and how to load rounds into the magazine. It was all a bit overwhelming to me, and exciting, and cool, and a lot of fun. I'm glad I had head gear on to protect my ears. Going to the shooting range made me understand even more the amazing sacrifice Law Enforcement Rangers make everyday to keep the resourcs and visitors at our National Parks safe. It was a very good day.

Antietam Week Four

Dear Fellow Prorangers and NPS Friends,

We have just completed our fourth week at Antietam. Good news! Comcast will be coming this Sunday to install my cable and internet! The struggle is over! This week we did some pretty cool things in the park. I am getting to know the folks and staff at Antietam pretty well. It is fun to not only recognize faces, but to put names to faces as well. I am learning my way around, remembering park roads, and even becoming familiar with most of the trails and farms. Monday we had the day off, I can’t really remember what we did on Tuesday, and Wednesday and Thursday were tons of fun; seriously, they were fun. Wednesday Jay and I put the flag up in front of the Ranger Station together…wait! I do remember what we did on Tuesday. Hold on.

On Tuesday as Jay and I were patrolling the park with Ranger Jones, we came across a team of archeologists who were excavating the Otto House. The Otto House is an old house that was lived in during the Civil War, even when the Battle of Antietam was fought. Folks lived in the Otto House until the fifties or so; if you go in there now (I recommend you go in with a partner because it’s really quiet and eerie) there is no furniture, the wall paper is peeling, and everything has turned brown with age; it is like stepping back in time. On the second floor, someone- we are not exactly sure who- carved the words “Hawkin Zouave” into the wood on the windowsill The Zouave’s were a volunteer infantry from New York that fought in the Battle of Antietam. Fascinating hunh? Anyhoo, once we finished looking at the Civil War graffiti in the Otto House, we went outside and talked to the archeologists who were digging around the House. This team was doing a simple site excavation, turning soil every twenty-five feet to see if they could find any artifacts. You see, back in the Civil War days, there was no such thing as trash collection. A garbage truck did not roll down your block ever Monday to collect the trash from the sidewalk; instead, people would dig holes on the side of their house, and throw all of their garbage into the hole. The hole was called a “trash mitten”. Once the mitten got full, the owner’s of the home would cover it with soil and dig another hole somewhere else. What the archeologists were telling us was that they were searching for the trash mitten that the Otto’s may have used during the Battle of Antietam; if they could find it, the mitten would contain tons of artifacts that could tell us more about the era of the battle; however, they had not been able to find it yet. Still, it was fun to see them work.

Ok. Wednesday we just did a patrol in the morning, had lunch, and went for a hike along some of the park trails in the afternoon. On our hike, we ran into some of the staff from Natural Resources, who were chopping down some invasive plant species on the Bloody Lane Trail. Near the end of our hike, Jay decided that we should go up into the Observation Tower. Now, I didn’t really want to go up into the Observation Tower because we had hiked three miles and I was tired; but to make Jay happy, we went up to the top of the Tower and it was a good thing that we did! A lot of visitors were stopping at the Tower, and once they had climbed all the stairs, they would chat with us and ask us to tell them about the Battle of Antietam. This was a great opportunity for Jay and me to talk about all that we had learned since we had been at the park. We could tell them about the key points of the battle, who fought where, important dates, and even a few things about the wildlife in the park. This was completely a good call on Jay’s part. I

just wanted to get into the car and into the air-conditioning.

Now on Thursday we did some pretty amazing stuff. Our supervisor, Ranger Tom Jones, was teaching a Defensive Tactics Refresher at the park. You see, every year, LE Rangers need forty hours of refresher training so that they can stay on their toes. Jay, a ranger from Monocacy, a ranger from Gettysburg, and me participated in the refresher. We covered handcuffing, asp techniques, and punches and kicks. Ranger Jones allowed Jay and me to partner with each other, each of us taking turns being the suspect and the LE Ranger. Using chain or hinge cuffs, we practiced arresting each other in the standing, kneeling, and prone positions. We practiced extending our asp to the ground and to the sky, as well as striking with it. You should have seen me during the kicks and punches! Or maybe you shouldn’t have seen me. I have never punched anything before; I mean, I got into a fight once in grade school but I didn’t know what I was doing, just a lot of pushing and shoving. Anyway, we got to do jabs, cross punches, upper cuts, and right hooks. I would pretend the pad I was hitting was a bad guy and try to hit it as hard as I could, while shouting “Stop! Get Back!” I tried my best. I think Jay and I both did a good job. I’m thankful Ranger Tom was nice enough to let us participate in the class.

We did other cool things this week, but I think the blog is long enough. Be safe, and I will see you all soon!

Week 2 at Antietam: Fire Training

My second week at Antietam Battlefield was so much fun! Each day I did something different. The only downside was that I did not get to spend a lot of time inside the park because myself and the other ProRangers were so busy doing cool stuff elsewhere. On Thursday we had Wildland fire training. I think this was my best day in the Park Service so far. Each part of the training was back to back awesomeness. Everyone met at Prince William Forest Park around 8am. The first thing we did was the Pack Test. We each had to walk three miles with a forty-five pound vest on our shoulders. The objective of the test is to simulate the amount of weight we would have to carry when arriving on the fire scene. Now, many of you reading this have probably done the Pack Test plenty of times and are familiar with it. This past Thursday was my first time ever doing the Pack Test, and I have to say that I could not have made it past the finish line if it were not for my ProRanger friends encouraging me the entire way; they are the reason that I did not quit. It was hot, the sun was shining bright as ever, there were a few hills, I was sweating, and my shoulders were killing me, but because we all cheered and rooted for each other, myself, and everyone who participated in the training, crossed the finish line. (You should have seen us!) The next awesome thing we did was the learn how to deploy a fire shelter. Let’s say you and other members of your fire crew arrive to a fire and have been given orders to construct a fire line so that the fire does not spread through the rest of the forest. All of a sudden, the wind changes and blows the fire your way, blocking your escape routes and putting everyone in immediate danger. If this were to happen, everyone would run to a predesignated safe zone, deploy their fire shelters with their feet facing the fire, and wait for orders from the crew boss. Fire shelters are made of materials (I can’t remember the exact materials; I know fiberglass in one of them) that block out radiant heat and flames; they can be used for up to ninety minutes. They look similar to the oval shaped aluminum foil wrapped around a baked potato and are a last resort for safety when a fire is upon you. At the training on Thursday we each got to take a turn deploying a fire shelter. I think I did pretty good wiggling inside of mine within a few short seconds.

As part of fire training we got to work with some cool fire tools. We learned how to properly use Rakes, Pulaskis, and Shovels, as well as learn about Mcleods, Floppers, and Combi-tools. Each of these tools may be used when a crew needs to construct a fire line. Fire lines are a methodical way of over turning flammable fuels to stop the spread of a fire. For example, in training we went into the middle of a wooded area and used our tools to overturn grass so that the bare dirt showed. Now, it is important to know that when you make a fire line, you can’t just go whacking at every bit of grass like a crazy person; if you do this, someone will get hit in the eye with a shovel. The proper way to build a fire line is for everyone to be in single file, ten feet apart from each other, and to “strike and step”. You take a strike at the grass with your shovel and move along, then a person comes behind you and strikes with their rake, then the next person with their Pulaski, and so on until you all have created  a neat line of dirt in the ground to stop the fire. When making a fire line, communication is key! How would you like it if you are going along with your rake and trip over a hole in the line? You would be mad that the person in front of you didn’t shout, “Hey, watch for the hole right here!”  Building a fire line not only gave us firsthand experience on fighting a fire, but it also taught us the importance of working together and communicating.

The final and for me, funnest, part of our fire training making a hose lay. We learned how to make two types of hose lays: a progressive hose lay and a single hose lay. A single hose lay uses only one type of hose and a progressive hose lay uses more than one type of hose, such as an inch and inch and a half. On Thursday we split into two teams and raced each other, each team unrolling their hoses and connecting them in whichever way our crew boss told us to with the male end and female end. We had to be careful to keep any kinks or knots out of the hoses, otherwise the water would not flow through the hose smoothly. Once our hoses were set up correctly, we each got to take turns shooting water from the hose into the area where our fire would be. It was very rewarding to work with my teammates and share with them the experience of shooting icy water though the air and trees.

Along with the excitement of learning so many new things was the joy I felt at learning them with my ProRanger friends. I do not think I would have enjoyed fire training or any of the other things we did this week, such as Operational Leadership or Non -Emergency Driving Training if they were not with me. The first day I came to Antietam, I was nervous because of all of the cows and farms I saw. I have lived in Philadelphia all of my life and I was unsure about being out here in the country where there seems to be more cows than people. But you know what? The country is not such a scary place. The Rangers and Fire Instructors we had the opportunity to meet at Harpers Ferry and Prince William have been the best at helping us ProRangers understand everything we have to learn. I cannot wait to see everyone again!