Meet the Michigan Native Who’s Now the Oldest Park Ranger in the US [VIDEO]
Betty Reid Soskin is just the sweetest little ol' thing. She's also the oldest national park service ranger in the United States and she just happened to become a centenarian. And at 100 years old, the Michigan native now has a school in California which bears her name.
On Wednesday, as Soskin celebrated her 100th birthday, a middle school in El Sobrante, California became the Betty Reid Soskin Middle School.
In an interview with San Francisco TV station KGO, Soskin said she is touched and overwhelmed by the honor.
"Having a school named for me is more than I ever could have thought of," she told the TV station. "Because it means that a number of children will go into the world knowing who I was, and what I was doing here. And maybe it will make a difference. I think maybe it will make a difference.”
And get this: Betty is still working, serving as a park ranger at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Park in Richmond, California.
Soskin says one of her greatest memories is of meeting former President Barack Obama.
“Standing with Obama on the stage in Washington, D.C., I had in my hand a little evening bag. In that bag was a picture of my great grandmother, and I was holding it as I was introducing the president of the United States in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial, in the shadow of the White House that was built by slaves. The whole meaning of that has really captured me.”
Isn't she just adorable?