Betty Reid Soskin, the National Park Service’s oldest active ranger retired Thursday after a decade and a half of service. She spent her last day providing and interpretive program to the public, and visiting with coworkers at the Rosie the Riveter World War II memorial.
Betty Reid Soskin, the oldest active National Park Service ranger, retired Thursday following more than 15 years sharing stories of her life and those of other working women during World War II at Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historic Park in Richmond.
Soskin, who turned 100 years old in September, provided an interpretive program to park visitors Thursday and visited with co-workers. A public celebration for her is scheduled for April 16.
Soskin's work as a ranger has influenced the way the park service across the U.S. conveys history.
"To be a part of helping to mark the place where that dramatic trajectory of my own life, combined with others of my generation, will influence the future by the footprints we've left behind has been incredible," Soskin said in a statement.
Soskin worked as a file clerk in a segregated Union hall during World War II. Later, she and her husband Mel Reid founded a record store called Reid's Records, which closed in 2019.
Getty Images/File
National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin poses for a portrait at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California. At the age of 94, Soskin is the oldest full-time National Park Service ranger in the United States. She works at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park where she leads tours, speaks to groups and answers questions about living and working in the area during WWII. Soskin worked as a clerk for the all-black Boilermakers A-36 in Richmond, California during the war.
AP
National Park Service Rangers, from left, Martha Lee, Betty Reid Soskin, and Sue Fritzke on July 12, 2016, at the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California. The nation's oldest full-time park ranger at 94, Soskin was greeted with cheers and hugs when she returned to work three weeks after an assailant attacked and robbed her in her San Francisco Bay Area home.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin poses for a portrait at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California. At the age of 94, Soskin is the oldest full-time National Park Service ranger in the United States. She works at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park where she leads tours, speaks to groups and answers questions about living and working in the area during WWII. Soskin worked as a clerk for the all-black Boilermakers A-36 in Richmond, California during the war.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
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National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
Getty Images
National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park on October 24, 2013 in Richmond, California.
AP
National Park Service Ranger Betty Reid Soskin smiles Tuesday, July 12, 2016, at the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California. The nation's oldest full-time park ranger at 94, Soskin was greeted with cheers and hugs when she returned to work three weeks after an assailant attacked and robbed her in her San Francisco Bay Area home.
Rosie the Riveter WWI Home Front National Historical Park
Betty Reid Soskin addressed the media after returning to work at the Rosie the Riveter WWI Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, Calif. after being attacked in June. July 12, 2016
Rosie the Riveter WWI Home Front National Historical Park
Betty Reid Soskin addressed the media after returning to work at the Rosie the Riveter WWI Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, Calif. after being attacked in June. July 12, 2016
NBC Bay Area
Betty Reid Soskin, 94, hugs Park Supt. Tom Leatherman at the Rosie the Riveter museum in Richmond upon returning to work after being attacked. July 12, 2016
NBC Bay Area
Betty Reid Soskin, 94, hugs Park Supt. Tom Leatherman at the Rosie the Riveter museum in Richmond upon returning to work after being attacked. July 12, 2016
NBC Bay Area
Betty Reid Soskin, 94, comes back to work after being attacked in June. She returns to work at the Rosie the Riveter museum in RIchmond. July 12, 2016
NBC Bay Area
Betty Reid Soskin, 94, returns back to work at the Rosie the Riveter museum in Richmond after being attacked on June 27. July 12, 2016
Soskin became a permanent National Park Service employee in 2011. Since then, she has led public programs and recounted her memories and thoughts at the park visitor center.
"Betty has made a profound impact on the National Park Service and the way we carry out our mission," said NPS Director Chuck Sams in a statement. "Her efforts remind us that we must seek out and give space for all perspectives so that we can tell a more full and inclusive history of our nation."
Soskin participated in meetings with the National Park Service and the city of Richmond to prepare the general management plan for Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park.
She worked on a park service grant to tell yet untold stories of Black Americans who worked in the U.S. during the war. That led to a temporary job with the park service when she was 84 years old.
"Being a primary source in the sharing of that history - my history - and giving shape to a new national park has been exciting and fulfilling," Soskin said. "It has proven to bring meaning to my final years."
Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park was established in 2000.
"The National Park Service is grateful to Ranger Betty for sharing her thoughts and first-person accounts in ways that span across generations," said Naomi Torres, acting superintendent of Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park, in a statement.
"She has used stories of her life on the Home Front, drawing meaning from those experiences in ways that make that history truly impactful for those of us living today," Torres said.
A free ceremony to recognize Soskin has been scheduled for Saturday, April 16 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Craneway Pavilion at 1414 Harbour Way South in Richmond. All ages are invited, and reservations are not required.
The public can get more information by calling (510) 232-5050 ext. 0 or at www.nps.gov/RORI.
