A National Park Service Ranger who’s worked for more than three decades at Wind Cave National Park is due to retire this month.
Historic presentations about the cave won’t be the same once “Ranger Mary” hangs up her lantern.
Dressed in 19th century period clothing Mary Laycock greets a group of third graders for one of her last official historic tours of Wind Cave.
“I’m dressed as Mary McDonald, who is one of the early settlers in the area,” Mary explains. “Her Dad and family got here in 1889 and started running tours through the cave in 1890.”
With a candle lantern and a trusty ball of twine to help find her way back to the surface Ranger Mary has taken children on a historic journey into the depths of Wind Cave since 1990.
‘I really like working with early elementary school children…third grade through fifth…sixth grade,” says Mary. “They’re wanting to learn and they’re not looking to their peers for acceptance as to whether it’s an OK thing to do.”
Mary says she also likes working with middle schoolers willing to explore the amazing aspects of the natural world.
During her time at Wind Cave, Mary Laycock helped establish an Environmental Education program. Its goal, says Ranger Mary, is to teach students of all ages that the prairie, the forest, the animals and the cave are all connected and that nothing stands alone.
Laycock helped establish an Environmental Education program. Its goal, says Ranger Mary, is to teach students of all ages that the prairie, the forest, the animals and the cave are all connected and that nothing stands alone.