Women in the National Park Service Era

 

Ruth Pettinga was one of the early female rangers at Great Sand Dunes in the 1970s. In this photo she was leading an interpretive program while holding a taxidermy kangaroo rat.

NPS Photo

 

Since the establishment of Great Sand Dunes National Monument in 1932, women have played a major role in managing, maintaining, and establishing the park. Through their efforts as rangers, naturalists, artists, and activists, women have helped shape Great Sand Dunes into the park it is today. Uncovering this history provides insight not only to women’s expanding roles in twentieth century American society, but also their unique experiences working for the National Park Service. Many of these women, while at Great Sand Dunes and other National Park Service sites, have faced a wide array of gender bias, harrassment, discrimination, and sometimes even assault during their time in the service. Shedding light on these legacies provides more intricate histories to Great Sand Dunes.

 

Myrtle Woods of the Ladies' PEO

NPS Photo

Ladies' P.E.O.

The Ladies' P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) is a nationally recognized women's organization. In June 1930, a local P.E.O. Chapter V from Monte Vista, Colorado, had a luncheon. Elizabeth Spencer expressed concern over the Great Sand Dunes deteriorating by trucks hauling sand away, miners searching for gold in the dunefield, and archaeological sites being damaged. By the end of the luncheon, the Great Sand Dunes Commitee was formed. The committee included Elizabeth Spencer, Anna Mae Darnley, Myrtle Woods, and Martha Jean Corlett.

With the help of other San Luis Valley Chapters, the Ladies' P.E.O. started a petition and letter writing campaign to congressmen, senators, and eventually National Park Service Director Horace Albright. A survey of the Great Sand Dunes, completed by Superintendent Roger Toll of Yellowstone, supported the Ladies' P.E.O. in their efforts to protect the dunefield and surrounding resources. Learn more about the PEO's role at Great Sand Dunes.

On March 17, 1932, President Herbert Hoover signed Presidential Proclamation No. 1994 (47 Stat. 2506) which stated:

"Whereas it appears that the public interest would be promoted by including the lands hereinafter described within a national monument of the preservation of the Great Sand Dunes and additional features of scenic, scientific, and educational interest..."

 

Erica Prather led an interactive dance workshop at the dunes in 2019.

Kevin Larkin Photo

Artists

From painters to photographers to dancers, numerous women have been artists in residence or led art workshops at Great Sand Dunes. Learn about each one on our Artist Opportunities page.

 

Southwest Parks and Monuments Association

 

Neysa Dickey, 1975

Photographer: Stephen Trimble

In 1938, the Southwest Parks and Monuments Association was established by the National Park Service. The SPMA was dedicated to the protection and education of 18 national monuments in the desert southwest.

Following the construction of the Great Sand Dunes Visitor Center in the 1960's, the National Park Service and SPMA staffed the building to answer questions and manage retail operations.

One of the SPMA employees was Neysa Dickey. The summer of 1974, before her final semester at nearby Adams State College (now University), she worked as a 'desk girl'. She answered visitor questions and completed retail sales. Dickey later went on to become a seasonal park ranger at Timpanogos Cave National Monument in Utah, which launched her 30-year career with the National Park Service in various parks and two regional offices.

 

The First Female Rangers

Though the first official female rangers in the National Park Service were hired in 1918, many women performed the duties of rangers in parks as rangers' wives. Lois Bean was the wife of Great Sand Dunes' first superintendent, Glen Bean. At that time rangers did virtually every needed job, from maintenance to fee collection to law enforcement to resource management to evening programs. Lois performed all these tasks and more while raising three daughters in the relative isolation of the national monument.

Initially, the first female rangers filled seasonal positions due to a shortage of men near the end of World War I. The first permanent female ranger wouldn't arrive until December 1925 in Yellowstone National Park.

 

Ranger Nordling with Pat Nixon, Yellowstone

Photo Courtesy of Thea Nordling

Thea Nordling was the first known female park ranger at Great Sand Dunes National Park in 1975-1978. Thea started her park service career as a Park Technician in Yellowstone in 1970. While there, Thea staffed visitor centers throughout the park, curated the park collection and exhibits, and presented interpretive programs and guided hikes.

Great Sand Dunes was Thea's first permanent position with the park service. As Chief of Interpretation, Thea oversaw hiring new staff, visitor center operations, museum collections, writing park publications, and interpretation training.

Thea would later go on to work in Canyonlands National Park, Denali National Park & Preserve, and Capitol Reef National Park.

"I loved being outside in the parks and sharing my enthusiam for these special places with visitors..."

 

Superintendent Lisa Carrico prepares to speak to a large crowd in the Dunes Parking Lot during the unveiling of the Great Sand Dunes quarter in 2014.

NPS/Patrick Myers

Great Sand Dunes' First Female Superintendent

In 2012, Lisa Carrico was chosen to lead Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. She had spent part of her childhood living in Great Sand Dunes National Monument, where her father, Jim Carrico, was superintendent.

 

Today's Women in the National Park Service

 

Deb Haaland

Department of the Interior Photo

Thanks to the efforts of these women and many others like them, there are more and more opportunities for women in upper level positions within the National Park Service. Since the first female rangers in 1918, women have made many firsts in the National Park Service.

Gertrude Cooper became the first woman superintendent in the National Park Service in 1940. Geraldine M. Bell became the first African American woman superintendent in 1979. Barbara Booher became the first Native American woman superintendent in 1990. Fran Maniella was the first woman National Park Service Director in 2001. In 2021, Deb Haaland became the first Native American woman to hold the position of Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary oversees many land management agencies including the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service.

There is still more work to be done for representation within Great Sand Dunes and the National Park Service as a whole. The park service is working to learn more and share these previously untold stories with the public. Many of these stories include challenges that women, people of color, and other minorities have faced while working within the National Park Service.

 

Women of Great Sand Dunes 2022
(l-r Pam Rice, Hannah Boatright, Grace White, Kathy Faz)

NPS Photo

 

Links of Interest

Women of the NPS
Telling All American's Stories
By the Numbers, National Park Service Employment Statistics

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Further Reading

• Geary, Michael M. (2016). Sea of Sand: A History of Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
• Kaufman, Polly Welts (2006). National Parks and the Woman's Voice: A History. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
• National Park Service History Collection. National Park Service Uniforms: Breeches, Blouses, and Skirts: Women's Uniforms in the National Park Service 1918-1991. Office of Library, Archives and Graphics Research, Harpers Ferry, WV