Accolades for Randy Turner, who is retiring as superintendent of the Morristown National Historical Park after 35 years with the National Park Service, flew fast and furious on Friday at the Washington’s Headquarters Museum.
But two tributes stood out.
One came from George Washington. The other, from a man who worked for Randy in 1983 and traveled from Bethlehem, Pa., to pay his respects.
The Washington tribute, captured on a BlackBerry that the General himself might have used, is special because it actually was written and performed by Tom Winslow, one of the staff members who make the Morristown park so enjoyable to visit. Such a performance would be hard to pull off if you did not truly respect the honoree.
Like George Washington, Randy Turner was “the right man at the right place at the right time,” Tom said afterward. “What you see around here–I don’t know how that would have happened without him.”
Tom referred to nearly $7 million in renovations at the museum. During Randy’s five-year tenure in Morristown, the country’s first national historical park celebrated its 75th anniversary and its first Revolutionary Times Weekend, now an annual event. The North Jersey American Revolution Round Table enjoyed a surge in membership.
At the same time, Randy also helped oversee renovations to Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange. And he was instrumental in the production of a sparkling NJN documentary, Morristown: Where America Slept.
The screenwriter, John Cunningham, has written 50 books about New Jersey history and considers Randy the best superintendent the Morristown national park has ever had.
Randy, who plans to travel and do some consulting work, cited that the documentary among his most cherished memories in a career that took shape in the family station wagon on boyhood visits to national parks. He added that Morristown “came out on top” of the dozen or so places where he has served.
One of those places was the Statue of Liberty. Paul Knaak worked there 27 years ago. Randy was his supervisor.
“He was one of the best people I ever worked for,” Paul said as he perused a table of photos from Randy’s career. “He was very considerate, very much a mentor. He was like a father figure.”
Paul said Randy went to bat for the staff, even when it created heat for himself. And he encouraged creativity.
“The Statue of Liberty was the best job I ever had,” said Paul, who now works in public television.
“I was an actor and a playwright. He let me develop a one man docudrama on Irish immigration. He gave creative freedom to everybody. All the nice things that were said tonight, I would think everyone meant them. He’s a very sweet man, always a gentleman. He made everyone feel comfortable.”
Randy’s shoes might be easier to fill if they were made of alligator skin. Jill Hawk, who becomes Morristown’s superintendent next month, spent some quality time with gators during a stint in the Everglades.
Jill praised Randy for setting the bar high.
“A lot of people like to come in when things are low,” she said Friday. “It makes them look good. I’ll just try to set the bar even higher.”
Huzzah!
