When I was young, Lee Stetson, who played John Muir was still doing nature walks in Yosemite in character. I remember walking hand in hand through a meadow in Yosemite while holding “John Muir’s” hand at the age of just six, or seven.
Today, at 48, I portray Laura Mahan, the major redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) advocate whose love for California’s redwoods inspired the Humboldt County Federation of Women’s Clubs to lead its Redwood Park Committee in 1913, which went on to become the Save the Redwoods League (read more about her legacy here). Her inspirational conservation through women’s groups, and her voice as an outspoken individual striving to save sequoias was almost lost to history. But today, and after years of research tracking down her story, I portray her all over California’s North Coast Redwoods District of State Parks.
Inspired by Mr. Stetson and his impact on my story, I hope to have the same influence on the next generation. Through historical reenactment and leading walks as a Docent (as Laura Mahan and as myself) I can give back, entertain and educate. What a gift!
