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Ludlow Rotary Hears from National Park Service's Newton Rose At their October 3rd meeting the Ludlow Rotary Club heard from Ludlow native son Newton Rose who was a Rotary Interact member and scholarship winner while at Black River High School. Now, Rose is the engagement media coordinator at St. Gaudens National Park in Cornish, New Hampshire. He noted that many Americans have a relationship with our National Parks. Like the Rotarians whom Rose asked if they had ever visited a National Park, most people think of the big, spectacular parks. While there are less than 100 of those in the park system, there are 425 total national parks and monuments including sites of historic and cultural importance, said Rose. For example, the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Vermont was the home of George Perkins Marsh, who pushed for the establishment of a system of National Parks. In addition to those 425 parks and monuments, the National Park System (NPS) manages and protects National Recreation Trails such as the Appalachian Trail, Wild and Scenic Rivers, the National Register of Historic Places, and provides various grants to protect local and regional treasures. Rose enjoys working at St. Gaudens National Park for the Arts, which is preserving the home and studio of sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907). Rose told Rotarians a bit of the history behind the bronze sculptures while stressing the relationship of the beauty of art and nature in the park. The NPS showcases how St. Gaudens created a distinctly American culture in his work like the Shaw Memorial in Boston. Newton encouraged members to come see the recast sculptures at the park where they were made. The park is dedicated to the arts with the oldest Artist in Residency program in the country. Rose has also worked at the Women's Rights National Park in Seneca Falls, NY, which he loved, and at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller, the oldest continuously professionally managed forest in the United States. He enjoys the opportunity to establish a relationship to places for park visitors as they are experiencing the places where history and nature converge. Anyone interested in learning more about joining Rotary is invited to contact Kevin Barnes, Membership Chairman at (802) 228-8877, to receive an invitation to a meeting.
Left to Right, President Tom Ray, Scholarship Chairperson Mary Crowley and Guest speaker Newton Rose after Rose addressed the recent Ludlow Rotary Club meeting. Photo credit: Glenn Heitsmith
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