Yosemite Workers Are a Community

The Need for Medical Services in the Park

Dale Olander oversees the operations of Garden Terrace Restaurant. He's lived in the park 21 years. When he first started working in the park in 1979 there were nearly one million visitors a year. Now there are four million. One of his major concerns is the closing of the medical clinic. "I work in a kitchen and it is a dangerous place. I've been stitched up numerous times. I don't want to sound accident prone but I do use a knife at work. And I think that having to go outside the park for medical care would be a big hardship for many people. I know people who would have died. I had a neighbor who had a heart condition and he collapsed. Medical treatment was there within five minutes of his collapse and it saved his life."

Moving the Workers out of the Park

Olander is also concerned about the effect of moving the workers out of the park. "Living in the park is one of the main advantages of working here. If employees aren't able to live here, we'll lose a lot of our staff. Granted, the job is eight hours a day, but the quality of life outside those eight hours can have a big impact on how you perform your job. It is a community here, almost like a family, especially in the off-season when people have time to interact and socialize. They would eliminate that, and people will figure, if I can't live here, why work here?"

Evan Adkins: "I've been living here for 12 years. I've fixed my place up. I take guests on tours during my time off. The Valley is our home. They shouldn't move us out."

John Walter: "I'm concerned that if they remove Housekeeping and other campgrounds, people with low incomes won't be able to stay here. The park will become a place for an exclusive group of people." --

Letter Writing Campaign

Dayna Fosson writing a letter inside the Purple Mac. Yosemite workers wrote over 200 letters to legislators and park officials expressing their concerns about the National Park Services plan. Fosson first camped in Yosemite with her parents in Housekeeping Camp and Curry Village. She now works at the village store. "I love staying here. Coming to Yosemite in the summertime is my favorite thing in the world, and that is why I'm working here," she states.

The Stables

Under the park plan the Yosemite Valley Stables would be removed. The park service claims that the guided horse rides damage the trails and make it difficult for hikers. Workers dispute these claims, stating that the wear and tear horses do to the trails is easily mitigated. Horses have been transporting people through the valley since before Yosemite was declared a national park. In addition, guided horse rides are still the only transportation to many parts of the valley for the elderly and people with disabilities.

Sonya Hudson, Guide Packer: "A lot of these people wouldn't be able to make it up to places like Vernal Falls or Nevada Falls or Mirror Lake without the animals. I've taken people as old as 85 up to the falls. We get a lot of people with Down's Syndrome. The other day we had a guy with only one leg. He couldn't have hiked up there with one leg. We match the horses with the people so they are safe. We have to make accommodations, adjusting the saddle, especially if one limb is longer than the other. But the horses are used to it and they are ready to go. They are trained to deal with all kinds of people."

"I took out a lady with cerebral palsy. She loved it. She was in tears. She came back the next the day for a four-hour ride." --Kara Shepard.

Housekeeping Camp

For Kathy Sabroff, staying in Housekeeping Camp is a family tradition. "My mother came up here with my grandparents when she was nine years old. She brought me when I was a year old, and I started with my son when he was two weeks old. Now [since her mother passed away] when I come up here, I feel my mother is still with us. It's a special place for us. We got married up here. It's home for me. It would take something away from my being if I couldn't come up here."

Malcolm Grossman has been the night auditor of Housekeeping Camp for 20 years. "The term 'Housekeeping Camp' goes back to 1849," He explains. "When people came to the valley to mine for gold. Housekeeping Camp is a unique campground for families who don't have a lot of equipment and want to feel at home in the park." The Camp is comprised of 266 units. Reservations are accepted beginning one year and a day in advance, and many of the people staying in this popular campground already have their reservations for next year. The park service plan calls for reducing the 266 units to a little over 30.