2009.08.07: August 7, 2009: Headlines: COS - Liberia: National Parks: Minority Volunteers: African American Issues: History: Buffalo Soldiers: Forestry: Television: Documentaries: Kansas City Star : Liberia RPCV Shelton Johnson could be Ken Burns' next documentary celeb
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2009.08.07: August 7, 2009: Headlines: COS - Liberia: National Parks: Minority Volunteers: African American Issues: History: Buffalo Soldiers: Forestry: Television: Documentaries: Kansas City Star : Liberia RPCV Shelton Johnson could be Ken Burns' next documentary celeb
Liberia RPCV Shelton Johnson could be Ken Burns' next documentary celeb
Johnson is a leading voice in Burns' "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," which runs for 12 hours (a blink of an eye in Burns time) on PBS, two hours a night, from Sept. 27 through Oct. 2. Johnson, born and raised in Detroit, is not your typical park ranger. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in English literature, won a major Hopwood Award in poetry, served as a seventh-grade teacher in Liberia in the Peace Corps and has performed at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tenn. Is he eagerly anticipating all the benefits of Burns stardom? "I think there may be a passing phase of some notoriety," he said. "And then I will go back to being a federal employee."
Liberia RPCV Shelton Johnson could be Ken Burns' next documentary celeb
Park ranger Shelton Johnson could be Ken Burns' next documentary celeb
By JONATHAN STORM
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Caption: Ranger Shelton Johnson, always eager to spread the gospel of national parks' role in the preservation and public enjoyment of America's natural beauty, has a cathedral-like backdrop at Yosemite National Park. Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / SFC
Ken Burns' mega-docs have spawned a star or two. Shelby Foote rose from obscurity after his bravura performance on "The Civil War." Local legend Buck O'Neil, a pretty darn good baseball player in the Negro Leagues and the first African-American major-league coach, found the greatest stardom of his life after being a major voice on "Baseball."
Now comes Shelton Johnson, a wonderfully astute park ranger who sounds as if he would be just as at home on a college campus as he is on the back trails of Yosemite National Park, where he has been stationed for 15 years.
Quick on his feet, too.
"I was called to this work, and it had nothing to do with financial recompense of any kind," Johnson said. "People bandy about the expression within the parks that we are paid in sunsets. I think with inflation, I need sunrise, and I need moonrise as well. But for me, in my purposes, it's been adequate for 22 years. More than adequate."
Johnson is a leading voice in Burns' "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," which runs for 12 hours (a blink of an eye in Burns time) on PBS, two hours a night, from Sept. 27 through Oct. 2.
A critic asked about the rowdiness that sometimes raises its head at big parks such as the Grand Canyon.
"You run into those folks there," Johnson said, "and I think that it says a lot about the democratizing effect of the whole idea of national parks, that you can find this incredible diversity in these parks. Whereas if you go to North Cascades, you're going to basically run into backpackers. And if you don't run into the backpackers, you will see backpackers. If you don't see backpackers - there's a fair likelihood you might see backpackers."
Johnson, born and raised in Detroit, is not your typical park ranger. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in English literature, won a major Hopwood Award in poetry, served as a seventh-grade teacher in Liberia in the Peace Corps and has performed at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tenn.
Is he eagerly anticipating all the benefits of Burns stardom?
"I think there may be a passing phase of some notoriety," he said. "And then I will go back to being a federal employee."
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Headlines: August, 2009; Peace Corps Liberia; Directory of Liberia RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Liberia RPCVs; National Parks; Minority Volunteers; African American Issues; History of the Peace Corps; Forestry; Television
When this story was posted in August 2009, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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| Memo to Incoming Director Williams PCOL has asked five prominent RPCVs and Staff to write a memo on the most important issues facing the Peace Corps today. Issues raised include the independence of the Peace Corps, political appointments at the agency, revitalizing the five-year rule, lowering the ET rate, empowering volunteers, removing financial barriers to service, increasing the agency's budget, reducing costs, and making the Peace Corps bureaucracy more efficient and responsive. Latest: Greetings from Director Williams |
| Director Ron Tschetter: The PCOL Interview Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter sat down for an in-depth interview to discuss the evacuation from Bolivia, political appointees at Peace Corps headquarters, the five year rule, the Peace Corps Foundation, the internet and the Peace Corps, how the transition is going, and what the prospects are for doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011. Read the interview and you are sure to learn something new about the Peace Corps. PCOL previously did an interview with Director Gaddi Vasquez. |
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Story Source: Kansas City Star
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Liberia; National Parks; Minority Volunteers; African American Issues; History; Buffalo Soldiers; Forestry; Television; Documentaries
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