National Park Service celebrating centennial birthday
MUNISING — The National Park Service is celebrating a milestone birthday today.
100 years is the amount of time that the National Parks have been a part of the U.S. One popular national park in the U.P. is the Pictured Rocks. The hometown of this popular tourist destination is honoring this centennial anniversary through many celebrations.
According to the Superintendent of the Pictured Rocks, national parks gives Americans the chance to learn and embrace their history.
“We’re one of few countries that has park services this old so it’s a testimate to the entire spirit of this country that we’ve been able to keep this going. Not only going but thriving, we have a new unit as of yesterday so we’re up to 413 national parks. This is our stories,” said Pictured Rocks National Lakeshores Superintendent, Laura Rotegard.
The first celebration kicked off in the city of Munising today, with a naturalization ceremony, welcoming 25 new American citizens. This ceremony was held in honor of the 100th anniversary and to demonstrate the city’s diversity.
“A lot of people don’t realize this but Munising is an international port and if you come by here any summer day, you will see people from up to 25 different countries in this park enjoying what we have to offer, the Pictured Rocks, and the U.P.,” said City of Munising Mayor, Rod DeJardins.
More events will be happening throughout the weekend, with one celebration at the Grand Marais visiting center on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m.