MUNISING – David Kronk of Munising has interesting memories of working for the National Park Service. Now other people can share them as well as the recollections of other NPS employees.

A new book published by the Yosemite Conservancy, “The Wonder of It All: 100 Stories from the National Park Service,” is a collection of stories that capture the experiences of people who have worked or volunteered for the NPS.

One of those people is Kronk, who retired two years ago from his position as education specialist for K-12 programs at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Kronk still is involved in the outdoors world, teaching part-time at Northern Michigan University in the Outdoor Recreation and Leadership Management Program, specifically a course entitled “Education in the Outdoors.”

Kronk said an email was sent to all current and former employees about the book, with his entry deemed good enough to be accepted.

Kronk worked at Pictured Rocks from 1977-80 as a seasonal employee right out of college, returning in 1992. As the education specialist, he worked with kids and adult groups and ran summer campground programs, a summer kids camp and after-school programs.

“We tried to focus on the basics of what’s special in the park,” Kronk said, “the geology and the landscapes, you know, the dunes and the cliffs and so on.”

Basic ecology and the cultural resources, like the AuSable Light Station and the Schoolcraft Blast Furnace, also were part of his educational efforts.

However, Kronk’s contribution to “The Wonder of It All” is about his work in the Everglades.

In “Budding Young Environmentalists,” he chronicles a 1990 visit to the park from former President George H.W. Bush.

Bush, he said, wanted to tour the Everglades and meet the children who had been studying about the park while they were camping there.

“He wanted to, you know, just experience the park,” Kronk said, “but he wanted to experience it with some kids and talk to the kids about the park, and it turned out to be a great opportunity for the kids who had been studying about the Everglades National Park to tell them why it was important.”

Bush, he said, was impressed following the visit. In fact, he went on to help the Everglades.

“He started a big Everglades protection renewal program with the (U.S. Army) Corps of Engineers and the state government to try to better coordinate the water that was released in the park,” Kronk said, “because the water, they were finding, was polluted from agriculture.”

Bush also gave the park money to buy additional farmland as a buffer.

“So, he actually, based on what the kids told him, did some things to protect the resource, which was pretty cool,” Kronk said, “besides giving them such a wonderful experience to meet the president and talk to the president.”

At the time, Kronk was managing the Hidden Lake Environmental Education Center, a residential learning center where middle school children from south Florida come with their teachers to study the park for three days.

In the book, Kronk described part of the visit this way: “The students did a great job pointing out different birds and plants, and explaining alligator behavior among other things. It was a beautiful morning in the Everglades, and everyone was having a fun time!”

One curly-haired fifth-grade boy explained how everyone in the park got up one morning before dawn and witnessed the sunrise, and was so impressed with the experience he wrote a poem, which he shared with the president.

Kronk also wrote: “Wow! What awesome comments from these students! I looked at the president and he looked at me, nonverbally suggesting that I had told the children what to tell him. I quickly replied, ‘Mr. President, no one prompted these kids to say any of these things, I swear to you. They just completed three days of exploring the park with their teacher and rangers.'”

Kronk said he expects “The Wonder of It All” to be available in every national park bookshelf this summer.

The book’s back cover mentions a few other subjects, including a life-or-death rescue in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and how to do the “Katmai Shuffle” with grizzly bears.

Kronk made note of another special event this year, something specifically related to the Upper Peninsula.

“This is the 50th anniversary of Pictured Rocks,” Kronk said, “so they’re gearing up for a lot more visitors, and I really think people in the U.P. who have never been through Pictured Rocks really should make an effort to get there, including the other end at Grand Marais. The sand dunes are just as spectacular as the cliffs.”

Christie Bleck can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250.