‘Nothing Else Tops This': Oldest Full-Time Park Ranger, Betty Reid Soskin, to Light National Christmas Tree, Meet President Obama
Betty Reid Soskin, 94, will have a picture of her great grandmother, born a slave, in her pocket.
By Jennifer Vasquez and Lisa Fernandez ••
Betty Reid Soskin of San Pablo, Calif., introduces President Obama at the national Christmas tree lighting ceremony.
When Betty Reid Soskin, the oldest National Park Service Ranger in the United States, lights the national Christmas tree and introduces President Obama on Thursday, the 94-year-old California woman will be carrying a special photo in her pocket.
It’s a picture of her great grandmother, who was born into slavery in 1846 and died when she was 102, teaching Soskin all about that ugly part of U.S. history. Soskin will also have at her side her own two granddaughters, who flew with her from her home in San Pablo, about 20 miles northeast of San Francisco, to watch her make history herself.
“It feels overwhelming,” Soskin said in an interview ahead of the Washington, D.C., ceremony. “I mean, absolutely, totally unthinkable.”
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.
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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.
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 received her invitation last month while working at her full-time job, giving tours at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California. She said the honor was “the greatest! Unquestionably. Nothing else tops this.”
Not that Soskin hasn’t had great invitations before. In fact, when Obama was inaugurated in 2009, Soskin was a guest of now-retired U.S. Rep. George Miller to witness the first African-American president be sworn into office. The same photo was in her pocket then, too.
“So, on inauguration day, I had a picture in my pocket of my great-grandmother experiencing that with me,” Soskin said. “And now I get to bring her to this, the tree lighting ceremony that represents more than I can say … and with my grandchildren. It’s a kind of experience that covers years, and decades, and centuries.”
Betty Reid Soskin, 94, the nation's oldest full-time park ranger hugs President Obama on Dec. 3, 2015 at the national Christmas tree lighting.
In 1995, Soskin was named a “Woman of the Year” by the California State Legislature. In 2005 she was named one of the nation’s 10 outstanding women, “Builders of communities and dreams,” by the National Women’s History Project.
What Soskin most loves to do now – after having been a social activist and record store owner with her late husband in Berkeley – is teach visitors about her slice of history.
During World War II, Soskin worked as a clerk for the all-black Boilermakers A-36. In the true sense of the word, she was never a "Rosie," because that title is typically held for female wartime shipyard workers who were white.
Betty Reid Soskin, 94, the nation's oldest full-time park ranger makes a speech before introducing President Obama on Dec. 3, 2015 at the national Christmas tree lighting.
And when she’s not leading tours, Soskin also loves to blog, a hobby she started in order to leave her family a record of her life, and spend time with her children and grandchildren. In fact, for Christmas, Soskin said she plans to be back at her small apartment, where all her relatives will “trip over each other” and have a great time.
As for what’s next, Soskin feels like she’s happy just where she is and with her accomplishments. And she knows her great grandmother would approve.
“Just being in their presence is enough for me,” Soskin said, choking up, when speaking of getting to meet the first family. “My bucket list has disappeared pretty much.”
