Welcome back to Fireside Chats! In honor of Veterans Day earlier this month, we are exploring the ways veterans and servicemen have impacted Pickwick Landing State Park. Today, Ranger Jillian will share the story of Civil War veteran and Pickwick postmaster, Richardson K. Baird. Sources: 📚 Ancestory.com 📚 Shackelford Funeral Directors. "In 1883, Richardson K. Baird was serving as the postmaster of the newly established Broadway Post Office." Facebook, January 23, 2023. https://www.facebook.com

Welcome back to Fireside Chats! As we wrap up our Veterans Day mini-series honoring the ways veterans and servicemen have impacted Pickwick Landing State Park, Ranger Jillian shares the story of Civilian Conservation Corps member and World War II veteran, Lewis Murray Edge, Jr. Sources: 📚 Carden, Jacob. “The Forgotten Histories of Pickwick State Park: African Americans and the New Deal.” Telling Fuller Stories Case Studies, Tennessee State Parks, 2024. 📚 Wright, Andy. “Pickwick Through the Pas

Welcome to Fireside Chats, a series where we talk about history at Pickwick Landing State Park! Today, in honor of Veterans Day, Ranger Jillian shares about the Buffalo Soldiers, America's first park rangers. Sources: 📚 National Park Service. “Buffalo Soldiers.” Last updated: January 5, 2023. https://www.nps.gov/chyo/learn/historyculture/buffalo-soldiers.htm 📚 National Park Service. “Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks.” Last updated: November 24, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/chyo/learn/histor