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

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Liberia: Peace Corps Liberia : Peace Corps Liberia: Newest Stories: 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

By Admin1 (admin) (98.188.147.225) on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 1:15 pm: Edit Post

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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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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