Unites States Oldest Park Ranger, Betty Reid Soskin, Retires At Age 100

Soskin 'spent her last day providing an interpretive program to the public and visiting with coworkers,' a Park Service statement said.

In 1942, she worked for the United States Air Force in a segregated union auxiliary called the Boilermakers Union A-36, where she was in charge of filing the change of address cards for the regularly moving workers.

'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 in the Park Service statement. 'It has proven to bring meaning to my final years.'

Soskin was hired as a temporary Park Service employee in 2007 when he was 84 years old, and he was promoted to a permanent Park Service employee in 2011. In September of last year, she turned 100 years old.

'Betty has made a profound impact on the National Park Service and the way we carry out our mission,' Director Chuck Sams said. '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.'

After more than 15 years as a member of the National Park Service, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, whose responsibilities include regulating the use of public resources and sustaining national parks, among others, paid respect to the ranger.

'Park Ranger Betty Reid Soskin has been a trailblazer for women and the Park Service,' she tweeted. 'After countless tours at @RosieRiveterNPS and millions of smiles, today she is retiring. On behalf of @Interior, thank you, Betty, for your service. You will be missed' 

According to the Park Service history, Soskin was born Betty Charbonnet in Detroit in 1921 but recounted surviving the terrible Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 while living with her Creole family in New Orleans.

Soskin remained in the San Francisco Bay Area after her family relocated to Oakland, California, where she and her first husband opened one of the first Black-owned record stores in the area in 1945, according to her biography. After they constructed a home in a white suburb, the couple and their children faced a lot of bigotry, and she received death threats.

She was also a civil rights activist who attended sessions to establish a Home Front park general management plan. She has garnered numerous awards.

In 1995, she was voted California Woman of the Year.

After lighting the National Christmas tree at the White House in 2015, Soskin was presented with a presidential coin by President Barack Obama.

Upon learning of the veteran ranger's retirement on Thursday, the former President tweeted: 'I heard Betty Reid Soskin is retiring at 100, and want to congratulate her for more than a decade of service as a National Park Ranger.'

'Betty, I hope you realize just how many people appreciate everything you’ve done—myself included,' he added.

In June 2016, she was woken up in her house by a robber who struck her in the face repeatedly, took her out of her bedroom, and beat her before fleeing with the coin and other valuables.

Soskin, who was 94 at the time, was able to heal and return to work just weeks after the incident. The coin was swapped out.

Soskin's name was likewise added to the Congressional Record. In 2018, Glamour Magazine named her Woman of the Year.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who previously represented the families of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Brianna Taylor, remarked on Twitter after learning of her retirement:

'The oldest active National Park Service ranger, Betty Soskin, has retired at the age of 100! She's been a source of inspiration for many Black girls and has done an outstanding job at the Rosie the Riveter Park! We wish her a joyous & peaceful retirement!'

The National Park Service also paid respect to its long-serving employee, congratulating her on a "remarkable career."

The government agency said it will have a retirement celebration for Soskin on April 16 in Richmond, California, at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park.