Book Review
by Carl S. Chavez, Northern Division Chief, Retired

Many of us know "Smitty" as a founder of the Park Rangers Association of California (PRAC) and/or Park Management Instructor at West Valley College. Now is your opportunity to know the man as "One of Us".

In his just published book I'm Just a Seasonal many of us will be taken back to the roots of our park careers which we began as seasonal employees, be it with the National Parks, State Parks, U.S. Forest Service or any other resource agency. In Smitty's stories we are privileged to read of his tales from his fifteen summers as a backcountry horse patrol ranger at Yosemite.

These stories are not unique, they ring true and similar to those written in Jordan-Fischer-Smith's Nature Noir, my own A Pathway Through Parks, A Year in Paradise by Floyd Schmoe, and many other writers of park adventures.

What is unique about this book is his focus on the increasing importance, dependency and role the seasonal employee plays in today's park operations. Additionally, the camaraderie and park family, and park ethic comes through as a shining light indicative of the dedication of Smitty and his co-workers.

I'm Just a Seasonal -The Life of a Seasonal Ranger in Yosemite National Park
by Thomas A. (Smitty ) Smith
IBSN-0-9729119-4-4, Productivity Publications, June 2005, 121 pages.