Updated  and  used  with  permission  for  NAI,  July 2015  

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.  

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.  

Pilgrimage to the Past: Discovering Interpretation’s Guiding Roots 2013 NAI National Workshop in Reno, NV November 7, 2013

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.

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,

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.

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

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!

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.

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!

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]

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!

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…

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.

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…

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!

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]

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.]

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….

The Grand Tour flourished from 1660 until the 1840s.

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.

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!

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.

(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).

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”…

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]

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!

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…

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!

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.

Keywords=Reno, Nevada, NAI Conference, 2013

[Pull the arm…Time effect] Conclusion

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.

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.

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 jbuchhol@uwsp.edu

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 brenda.lackey@uwsp.edu

Ron Zimmerman Director Schmeeckle Reserve, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point 2419 North Point Drive Stevens Point, WI 54481 715-346-4992 rzimmerm@uwsp.edu

Megan Espe Outreach Coordinator Schmeeckle Reserve, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point 2419 North Point Drive Stevens Point, WI 54481 715-346-4992 mespe@uwsp.edu

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.