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Blatant, glaring, obnoxious in-your-face National Park Service commercialization/ privatization is occurring as such a breakneck pace that it's impractical to share each of the stories I'm following at a rate of one example per message.
Pasted below are excerpts for five of the examples I've been following this week. As you'll see, almost anything, short of a freak show museum, goes in today's NPS.
Scott
PS... Where have the NPS watchdogs been hiding while this is transpiring?
"National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst."
-Wallace Stegner, 1983
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IVORY SOAP
In recognition of America's priceless historic legacy, Ivory Soap-which
is celebrating its 125th anniversary year-announced today that it will
make a donation to Save America's Treasures, a Washington D.C.-based
program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, dedicated to
identifying and rescuing the enduring symbols of American tradition.
The donation ceremony will take place today at Times Square Studios in
New York City. As part of the ceremony, New York artist Gary Sussman
will put the finishing touches on a 12-foot, to-scale replica of the
Statue of Liberty, carved out of Ivory Aloe, which was introduced in
June 2004 in both bar and body-wash. Ivory Aloe represents the first
major change to the base bar formula in Ivory's 125 year history.
"Ivory Soap has a unique and extremely rich place in American history,"
said Ted Keegan, marketing director, Ivory Soap. "While it's extremely
valuable to read about history, it can be so much more rewarding to see
it, walk through it and experience it first hand, and that's why we're
unveiling this sculpture and making this donation to Save America's
Treasures, which plays such a vital role in preserving the structures
and collections that comprise America's heritage."
Save America's Treasures is a national effort to protect America's
threatened cultural treasures, including historic structures,
collections, works of art, maps and journals that document and
illuminate the history and culture of the United States. Save America's
Treasures was originally established by Executive Order in 1998 as the
centerpiece of the White House National Millennium Commemoration and as
a public-private partnership of the White House, the National Park
Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
"Preserving our country's glorious past requires the efforts of many
people," said Bobbie Greene McCarthy, Director of Save America's
Treasures at the National Trust. "Whether it's an ordinary American
working at one of these historic places or an American brand bringing
visibility to our cause, our success depends on people committed to
protecting our nation's heritage."
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Park to host private functions
Minute Man Historical Park will host an open house from 1 to 4 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 3 to launch a new initiative making certain parts of the
park available for private functions.
Under the special park use program of the National Park Service,
the park will be able to make selected locations and structures
available for weddings, receptions, corporate retreats and other
private functions.
"This new initiative offers the public a number of attractive
options for use of the structures and grounds of Minute Man National
Historical Park," Nelson said. "This use is consistent with our primary
mission to protect the Park now and for future generations. At the same
time, this program will bring in critical funds that will be used for
maintenance and preservation of these historic resources."
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An Asbury Park Press editorial
For those who hoped the National Park Service would allay their
concerns about Fort Hancock being turned into a quasi-private research
campus, they had to have come away from Saturday's forum disappointed.
The two park service representatives did nothing to refute the notion
that the redevelopment of Fort Hancock by a private leaseholder would
primarily serve educational, research and other organizations, largely
to the exclusion of the average park-goer.
"The majority of the buildings will be for educational uses," said
Robert McIntosh, an associate director of the park service. "They will
receive a lot of public use, but they won't be open to the public."
Even those buildings that are to be converted for use as
accommodations, including the lieutenants' quarters on Officers Row,
will be made available first to Fort Hancock's educational and
corporate tenants.
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Cliff Park Inn and golf course are reopened in Milford
The Inn and Golf Course have been renovated by James and Yvonne
Klausmann of the Pine Hill Farm Bed & Breakfast in Milford, who
entered into a long-term lease agreement with the NPS last year to
operate the inn and golf course. The couple say the restaurant will
offer "a more upscale dining alternative."
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Rejected museum
Believe it or not, the superintendent of Hot Springs National Park has
twice turned down a proposal for a "Ripley's Believe It or Not!"
exhibit in the Hale Bath House. "I don't think that's what we want in
the middle of a national park," superintendent Josie Fernandez said.
Ripley's has museums around the world that generally highlight freakish
and odd phenomena.
Themeparks LLC of Louisville, Ky., has been developing the franchise
arrangement with Ripley Entertainment of Orlando, Fla. Themeparks CEO
Daniel Aylward said the proposed attraction would reflect the history
of the community. Aylward said the company does not consider the
project dead and will pursue it through the National Park Service.
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