Valley Forge NHP- Week 4

Week 4 has been all about interpretation at Valley Forge. We started the week at Washington's Headquarters with Rangers Bill Troppman and George Matlock. Washington's Headquarters is the place where Washington and his troops stayed during the winter encampment at Valley Forge. We learned about the significance of the rooms and the historical value of the furniture within the rooms.

In the afternoon, we went to the Train Station. This station was used in the early 1900's to transport people to and from Philadelphia. While the train station was not around during the time of the encampment, it still serves as an important historical landmark at Valley Forge. Our tasks for the day included greeting visitors and directing visitors to the rooms. At the train station we directed visitors to Washington's Headquarters.

The next day we were at the Visitor Center working behind the front desk with Ranger Marlene Concordia. She taught us how to use the microphone to make the many daily announcements regarding the time frame for Ranger lead tours, the trolley tour and the free welcoming film shown at the Theater. Other important tasks that the front desk handles is the sale of public lands passes, answering the phone, greeting our visitors and offering our knowledge of the park when asked; the most common questions being which sites to see first or which trails to hike.

Later in the week, Angela and I met up with more of the interpretation crew for black powder training. Although it was sweltering hot on this day, we made the best of the situation and really enjoyed learning all about 18^th century Muskets. The Muskets we use here in the park for reenactment are authentic, but not original pieces. Ranger Marc Brier explained the strict guidelines the park has about which weapons we permit for reenactment because of the need to preserve historical integrity. We learned some of the basic drills a solider during Valley Forge would perform along with how to properly load and fire the weapon. Later, we had the opportunity fire the Muskets multiple times as well as the 18^th century rifle that Washington’s most elite men would have used during the encampment. The interpretation crew was incredibly knowledgeable and a lot of fun to be around.

The next day, Angela and I inspected the Park Ranger vehicles to see if they were properly equipped. Each vechicle is to be equipped to handle just about any emergency and to aid a given ranger with their duties. We also checked the lights, sirens, radio, and camera to make sure they were functioning properly. Later that day, Cheif Tinkham gave us a bicycle lesson. He taught us how to properly ride and care for the bikes. He instructed us on how the brakes and gears work. We rode around part of the park to apply what we learned and familiarize ourselves with the bikes.

On the final day, we were assigned to a task that involved looking for missing signs that read "Area Closed at Dark." We learned that these signs are posted at park entrances in order to help discourage visitors from entering the park after hours. When these signs disappear or are stolen, people can enter the park after hours with little proof that they knew of the policy. We went to every entrance and marked the existing signs and took note of the areas where signs were missing.

Interpretation has given me more insight about the importance of the history at Valley Forge. I hope everyone is continuing to enjoy their parks. Until next time! ProRangers Ben and Angela

Valley Forge NHP Week 2- Benjamin Amoah

I hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day weekend.   My week was an abbreviated one because I had to attend my sister's graduation.  I made up for missing a few days by going in on Monday.

Monday I spent my first hour walking from my house to the Ranger Station.  During this walk I experienced first hand how treacherous State Route 23 can be.  I walked part of the Joseph Plumb Martin Trail on the way to the Ranger Station.  The total distance was about 3 miles.


When I got to the Ranger Station, I had to fill out  an excel document.  The excel sheet documented all the violations and tickets that were issued over the course of the year.  From the excel sheet, I learned some of the violations that can take place at the park at any given time.  In the afternoon I read  the General Management Plan.  The book discusses the history of the park, the plans for the present and the plans for the future.  The plans include the preservation of the park's natural resources, wildlife management, and transportation in and through the park.

A map of the land-uses of Valley Forge

Tuesday Angela and I were in the Administation building.  We spent the first part of the day with Pat Madden and learned about the park budgeting and the divisions within the park.  We sat in on meeting about room safety and we inspected the rooms in the administration building.

As we were leaving for lunch, we happened to witness a medical emergency first hand.  Our supervisor, Mike Valora arrived and treated the patient onsceen before the local ambulance took her to the hospital.  In the afternoon we met  Karen Heitz, the IT specialist and did some computer training courses in relation to welcoming diversity within the workforce.  Lastly, we dicussed payroll and permits with Lisa Waterman.  Permits are needed for special uses within the park, such as weddings and professional photography.  People have to fill out a form stating their desired use, time they wanted to use the park, and where in the park.  Issuing special use permits can be a very complicated process.

As we arrived to the Ranger Station Wednesday, we were met by two dogs.  The dogs were found chasing a runner after escaping from their yard.  The dogs were very cooperative and friendly.  Afterwards, we helped build the new machine for the gym. Once we were finished, we were able to contact the onwer of the dogs and the owner was able to pick them up.  We went to the Montgomery County Radio Room (MONTCO,) the site where local officers and park rangers are dispatched from.  Here we learned about how the dispatchers receive calls, find the locations of the calls, and send the appropriate emergency personnel.  In the afternoon, we went on a hike with Ranger Quinn Hackwielder.  On the hike we visited some buildings and enjoyed the scenery.  

My week was short but it was sweet.  Many events can occur in a given time so it is hard to predict what will happen next.  

-Benjamin Amoah

Valley Forge NHP Week 1- Benjamin Amoah

I have really enjoyed Valley Forge so far.  The first day we many rangers and administrators.  We were also shown the vehicles and the Ranger Station.  The second and third day was spent learning in the Operational Leadership course.  Taught by John Waterman and Kate Jensen, the course was designed to educate us about the importance of leadership and teamwork. We learned about types of leadership, accidents and causation, effects of stress and fatigue on ability and decisions, and risk management. In that class, we met more people, including a few rangers from Hopewell Furnace.  Hopewell Furnace is a National Park located about 45 minutes west of Valley Forge. 

The fourth day we sat in court.  Court went pretty quick and not much happened this time, but it was interesting to see how it worked.  Later that morning, we went to a meeting about the internet issue at Valley Forge and the circuit issue at the Ranger Station.  In the afternoon, we were issued one of the government vechiles and were allowed to drive around the park.  We got to see many landmarks and buildings that were and weren't open to the public.  We went to places only NPS employees could access.  We were also able to see much of the wildlife.

We spent the last day of the week with Resource Management.  We helped load the van for the crayfishing event.  We went crayfishing with Kate and helped the children crayfish.  We were removing the invasive crayfish speices from the creek.  After the meeting, we worked with Amy Ruhe on a project to tag deer fawn.  This project is being done to monitor the health of the deer in comparsion to the late 90’s when the project was done previously.  This project will also help monitor the health of the deer in relation to the deer population.  We were able to find two fawn.  We learned a lot about the deer and fawn behavioral habits. 

I have learned a lot in this past week.  I hope you are enjoying our parks as much as we are.  Feel free to comment if you have any questions or want to know more.

-Benjamin Amoah