What where the main things that you emphasized in trying to improve living conditions at Crater Lake?
We tried to have a good strong community activities in the school building. In fact, when I first visited Crater Lake in my regional staff position, they still had a school at Crater Lake. That was convenient for the employees that had kids there. Without a certified teacher and probably other factors, kids had to ride the bus to Chiloquin. Another little problem that came about relating to housing was required occupancy. About the time that I came on the scene all the employees were living in the park under required occupancy. Some GAO report said that is not necessary for all the people to be required occupants, but I think we were making special allowances after that water fiasco. About the time I got there the clamp down started on this required occupancy. We had to go through quarter’s appraisals, an evaluation program, and all.
Did you have a policy so that employees could bid for housing?
No. We tried to have housing based (as much as possible) on position and family needs, so it was flexible. We didn’t have the bidding process they had in Yellowstone and some of these other parks. It worked okay. With the tightening of the screws on required occupancy, I remember it got down to only four positions. In the mean time, the rent kept being jacked up higher and higher. We had to deduct for invasion of privacy, on the basis that some people would come into our residential area at various times. The remote location counted a lot. GAO was watch dogging this, and it seemed to be pinching our people. We tried to put our emergency response guys out near the front of Steel Circle. In case of an emergency, the people would come in and contact them first.
The quarter’s situation became quite a concern. Families with kids had a real problem with the distance to school. It handicapped them when they got into high school and wanted to participate in extra curricular activities. I remember granting Pat Smith, the chief of interpretation, permission to live in Klamath Falls because he had two boys in high school.
He had to commute every day?
We made an arrangement that he could stay in the park during the week but the housing situation is awkward with kids in school. The Prospect school situation developed after I left. During my last year or so, there was a family sending their kids to Prospect, but I think they were riding down on their own. I hope things are working okay now. Housing has improved, especially in the new Sleepy Hollow. Would you believe that one Easter Sunday morning, at that time we had a record for snow on the ground, there was close to 22 feet on the ground (45). You can imagine how high it was on some of those flat roofs in Steel Circle (46).
