It has already been another awesome week here at INDE! The time seems to be flying by! Tuesday Dan and I were in charge of the Lost & Found for the whole park! We went around to each building and took all the items out that visitors left behind. We went into dispatch with boxes of items! We had everything from hats and sunglasses to sweaters and lunch pales. We then wrote down all of the items and put them back into the box. This helps the dispatchers because they will make a spreadsheet of all the lost items and send all the stuff to the MEB. In the MEB one of the administrators takes care of all the lost items. After a certain amount of time she donates the items to different organizations. We felt so helpful after all that was done!
We also watched the LE Rangers handcuff a man that was intoxicated and causing a ruckus at the park. We saw how the rangers handled the situations and the steps they took to get the man under control. Even though we do not want any harm to the park it was awesome to watch!
Then we traveled to Washington DC for the NCR 2011 Youth Expo! We drove the Pontiac G6! While there Mark and Jay went on stage to talk about the ProRanger Philadelphia Program! We were able to see what the youth programs were doing in the NCR. They made displays for all of us and we went around to each table to see how their summers were spent. We also roller skated! We tried to get Chief Will Reynolds to join us but we will have to try again when he is out of uniform! We were interviewed about our program and told others about how it works. It was a good way to tell our story and hope that others will take the same path as us. I talked to a student who was thinking of applying to Temple University. He asked me about the school and the program. He seemed really interested and I hope to see him 2 years from now! Our supervisor Paula helped make this trip possible! Tomorrow Don Sweet comes to visit us! We are so excited!

Hello everyone! Dan and I are having a great time in this heat here at INDE! We are staying hydrated and keeping in the shade when possible. Our first day back from our weekend was spent with Public Affairs. We were able to see how they scheduled events at the park. On Tuesday we were able to be a part of a private tour. This group of girls was from the Middle East but came to America for a Leadership program. Dan and I helped Frank Eidmann bring these girls around the park. We were able to see what kinds of groups are able to schedule private tours. We also were able to see the permits that get approved. The permits can be for film crews , wedding pictures or first amendment demonstrators. It was really neat to see how they ran their opperation! I was a part of one of their projects during Freedom Week. They received an e-mail with directions, (We want to show diversity in our staff and diversity in our places. Mostimages will feature one employee, but they could feature two, or anemployee with a visitor. We also hope to obtain short quotes attributableto these employees. Such quotes would be about their feelings for theirpark, their work, the future of the NPS, etc. Quotes could express ideasabout the Centennial, education, professional excellence, stewardship,leadership, or any other aspect of the NPS.) and we were able to use the directions to give them a picture of what they needed. They had a lady come in a take my picture in front of the Libtery Bell. This picture was sent in to hopefully be used in the Newsletter sent from Washington. "This opportunity to work as a ProRanger at Independence National Historical Park has really inspired me, and shown me how I can use all of my skills--as a student, as a history fan, as a nurse and as a law enforcement ranger--to help achieve this mission of the park service."

I was able to help screen a truck yesterday. Cultural Resources wanted to take a portrait from the Franklin Museum and put in in the second floor on Independence Hall. This portrait was so large that they needed 5 guys and a truck to transport it! After they put the portrait in the truck I helped one of the LE Rangers screen the bottom of the truck. We also looked inside the truck. This is because we were bringing it into a secure area. We then followed the truck and helped keep the crowd out of the way for the men.

Dan & Sarah

Hello All! It has been a hectic week here at INDE! It is Freedom Week here at INDE with lots of events taking place. Dan and I have been helping out whenever possible and we will have worked a full week!

Earlier in the week I helped another ranger when we found a man unconscious who seemed to have fallen off a a bench. After we got closer and were able to see more, we saw that he had a large bottle of alcohol with him and the name he gave us did not match his ID. I helped to wave an ambulance over and also helped to make sure no one was too close to the man.

The next day Dan and I watched as Cultural Resources Management changed the documents in the West Wing. These documents include the Declaration of Indepedence, not the signed copy that is in Washington DC, but a copy from before that. A copy that was one of the signers. The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. These documents are kept in a bullet proof container with different layers surrounding them to make sure the humidity and the temperature are regulated. It is really awesome how they are able to keep these documents on display as well as preserve them!

We also helped out with the Wawa welcome week. Wawa brought a 4.5 ton hoagie over. The hoagie was made and then they stored in refrigerated trucks unitl it was time to take it out and pass out. In additon to this hoagie they also passed out iced tea, tasty cakes, and chips. They actually gave out the hoagie before the event was over! They had hoagie making contests, were two different groups would compete for 3 minutes trying to make more than the other. These hoagies were then donated. It was a very interesting day!

Dan and I have also been helping out with the set up for the POPS concert. We closed off Chestnut Street for most of the day and we let trucks unload. The trucks were all screened at an off site location and then we followed the trucks over in our vehicle. We also gave all the workers wristbands and only let them into our secure area. These wristbands expire after one day so they can not try to get in another day with the same one. They made a stage and put up lighting. We wore yellow vests when we were in the street even though it was closed off. Everyone is being very safe here at INDE!

We had a small bird fly into the Liberty Bell Center. The bird was stuck in the building for a few days before one of the night shift guys was able to catch him. Dan and I helped the other rangers try to catch the bird when the building was closed to the public.

We also got a visit from our ProRangers from Valley Forge! They were able to come over for a day and see how we do things here at INDE. Valley Forge Rangers have been coming over to help us all week. It is such a great idea!

Sorry for the lack of pictures this week. We will make up for it next week! We have been so busy! Can't wait to see all of you on Tuesday! We are so excited for Leadership Camp!

INDE Week 4

Hey Everyone! Hope all is well at your parks!

This week Dan and I worked with maintenance for another week. This week as a little different than last. We worked with the men that fix air conditioners and plumbing. Dan mainly worked with the Supervisor named Jimmy while I worked with the plumber named Joe. Jimmy is an acting Supervisor, he helps with the air conditioners and over seeing the other men.

Dan has been changing air filters. He knows all about the different sizes for the different buildings. Dan helped to look at the lists of duties we had for that day. He would tell us what ones were important to get done that day as well as what supplies everyone would need. We also would talk about who would take what car for the day. The mornings we

re a good way to discuss what needed to be done and organize how people would split things up. They would also talk about who would need help with bigger jobs.

I worked with Joe as we put 88 feet of cable down a pipe, only to find out that the clog was down further than that! We have to cut a hole in the basement pipe in order to get rid of the water that is causing a flood. Then we will drain 3 stores worth of water and hopefully find the place that is clogged. I also helped Joe clean the fountain in Washington Square. When we got to it in the morning it was green! We drained it for about an hour and then started scrubbing the scum line and pushing the dirt into piles. The dirt was mainly leaves and branches that had fallen into the fountain. Then we pushed all the coins into a pile and picked them up. Yes, we do collect the coins so I am sorry but your wishes are not coming true at Washington Square! We put about a fourth of a bucket worth of change into the donation box in the Liberty Bell Center. Sorry for

whoever has to count that!

Dan and I also worked with a man named Bill who changes the lights at the park. Dan helped to climb the latter with him while I helped to throw about old bulbs and unpackage them for the guys. We needed different types of bulbs and different latters for the outside lights. This is a picture of Dan on a 10 foot latter changing one of the lights from Washington Square!

We also were able to work with the custodial group this week. I worked to help clean one of the bathrooms, the Liberty Bell Center and a smaller building. After we did that we stayed near the bathrooms to make sure there was no toilet paper on the floor and no other issues. We helped the other workers with some of their duties for the day. Dan helped to vacuum both floors of the East Wing. The top floor is where many of the Rangers eat lunch. The bottom floor is where they organize groups for the Independence Hall tours. He also cleaned a bathroom as well as mopped a floor. It was a busy Saturday full of cleaning!

Week 2 at Independance!

Hey Everyone!
This week feels like it has been flying by! The weather here has been HOT! But we have been staying hydrated and rotating out of the sun to stay cool. Dan and I are still with the Interpretations division. We are now shadowing guides and rangers in addition to learning how they control the lines. Each day we become more and more comfortable with the park and how it operates.

Yesterday was a very exciting day at Independence for Dan and myself! We were able to see how the park protects a high profile visitor. As many of you may have seen Sarah Palin visited yesterday with some of her family. Dan was able to see the private tour of Independence Hall that she was on while I saw her while she was visiting the Liberty Bell. The law enforcement staff surrounded her at the Bell, making sure no one got too close. While she mingling with other visitors the Rangers said it was difficult to keep the reporters and press away. For the time that she was at the park the press and reporters were running from place to place while security staff was trying to make sure she was safe and trying not to disturb other visitors tours. Both Dan and myself were unable to take pictures of Sarah Palin while she was here because we were helping out the staff as much as possible.
This was a great learning experience for both of us. The other staff had told us about other famous visitors at the park, but seeing first hand really helped us understand the procedure. I hope everyone is having a great time! See you all soon!

INDE Week 2 - Poe House!

Hello Everyone!

Dan and I have just finished up our second week here at Independence National Historial Park! We were so excited to share all the new information we have learned that we had to post again!

In addition to being at the Visitors Center, which you read in Dan's post, we have spent the day at the Edgar Allan Poe House. While at the Visitors Center we witnessed the 20 millionth visitor! It was so awesome! The children from a school in Bailtmore were given free Philly cheesesteaks, gifts bags and they even were able to meet the mayor! The Mummers even stopped by! They then went on to spend the day at the park with great weather!

The Poe House is roughly a mile away from the Icon, Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell block. We went on a self guided tour of the building in addition to two guided tours from two different Rangers. We really understand the operations of the site as well as the history of Poe. This is truly a great educational experience for both of us! We were able to provide more information for visitors as well as Welcome them to the site. We were really lucky in the amount of visitors that showed up today!