Then came James Rouse. His initials were JR. Because he was so short, they called him JR for junior behind his back. Very kind, had trouble making decisions, but his problem was he wanted always to listen to both sides, almost to a fault, before he’d make a decision. His policy was that he never wanted to make anybody mad. By using that policy, you usually make a lot of people mad. The thing that I really appreciated about Mr. Rouse was that he had great respect for the seasonal. He treated the seasonal as equals with permanents, especially the long-term seasonal. I’d be walking through the parking lot on Rim Rove. He’d be driving up, and he’d say “Larry get in the car. I need to talk to you about something.” And he’d bounce some things off of me. He’d just drive around the lodge, back again, and then he’d dump me out there by the visitor center. “Thanks” and be on his way. Or he’d call me in his office when I was down at the Administration Building. “Larry, I need to talk to you.” He’d come in and he’d take council from people or he’d have a question. What was really the neat thing about that man was he’d come to the evening programs. He just set a tone for the park that people seemed to really enjoy, at least the visitors. He was a very quiet man.
