Bernard Goodman
Age - 85
December 9, 2023
Bernard Goodman, 85, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, passed away on December 7, 2023. Bernie was born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1962 with a BA in history. He began his National Park Service career as a park historian at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in 1963. He served as historian at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park (1965) and Fort Smith National Historic Site (1967). At Cumberland Gap National Historical Park (1968), he served as chief interpreter and chief of interpretation and resource management, then a regional interpretative specialist in the Southeast Regional Office, Richmond, Virginia and Atlanta, Georgia (1971). In 1972, Bernie moved into park management by returning to Kennesaw Mountain NBP as park superintendent. This was followed by a move in 1973, to park superintendent of Hot Springs National Park. Bernie became assistant superintendent at Independence National Historical Park in 1977, where he served until his retirement in 1993. While he had many satisfying experiences in his early career, the highlight of his National Park Service years was his sixteen years at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the bicentennial era of the birth of our form of government. Independence National Historical Park was the focal point for the nation's bicentennial celebrations. While there were key dates and years, there was a continuous stream of special visitors, events, openings, all echoing the creation of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. During this time the President visited twice, the Vice President once, the Congress of the United States (both the House and the Senate - 200 members) met in the park for a full day, four members of the United States Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice, met in their origin chamber for several hours after opening their annual session in Washington, D. C. During the bicentennial period millions of visitors expanded park use. Special services were provided to the visits of European royals, foreign presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, other celebrities and dignitaries. Over the course of a career, Bernie always remembered some things he had done. At Fort McHenry he opened a new visitor center working to "debug" its peculiarities of which there were many. At Kennesaw Mountain he worked with a contract photographer to develop photography for a new visitor center slide program covering the many sites along the 100 miles of the Atlanta Campaign. Bernie spent the two hottest days of his life at Fort Smith. On two consecutive days the temperature was 112degF and 113degF. The headquarters building air conditioning system failed. At the end of the Fort Smith tour, the National Park Service was adjusting staffing. Bernie knew he was going to move. He heard he was being considered among other interpreters for Sitka National Historical Park and Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. He got Cumberland Gap. Such is the difference between career altering, life altering paths. Middlesboro, Kentucky, at the time had a population of 14,000 people. This was the smallest community in which Bernie would ever work. Cumberland Gap was the largest park by acreage (20,000 acres) he had ever worked. It had more rangers than interpreters, a large maintenance staff, a Job Corps, a campground, many trails, overlooks, and a historic log village. For the first time, Bernie was involved with management and administrative issues. In 1971 Bernie was reassigned to the Southeast Regional Office in Richmond, Virginia as a regional interpretive specialist. Soon after, the office was moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Of the 100 member staff, Bernie was one of 40 staff to move to Atlanta. But, he did not spend much time in the regional office. He was quickly assigned to his first superintendency at Kennesaw Mountain. This was his second tour at Kennesaw Mountain. He felt that his most important accomplishment during this tour was the funding, contracting, and installation of the park's first radio system. It involved working with the regional office, the Denver Service Center, the FAA to use their tower, Motorola, and about a year's time. Bernie's second superintendency (1973) was Hot Springs National Park. Over the course of four years, through land acquisition, Bernie more than doubled the size of the park in order to protect the recharge area of the thermal springs. In 1977, Bernie became the assistant superintendent of Independence National Historical Park. The park was located in 17 city blocks of center city Philadelphia. Six were full city blocks. There were 41 historic buildings and 11 non-historic buildings in the park. During the bicentennial era, the park was among the ten largest parks for staff and budget. The park was in the midst of the bicentennial era of the birth and early growth of our country. The bicentennial would last for another fourteen years, that is, through the recognition of the Bill of Rights. Millions of visitors came through the park during this period. Bernie participated with others in the planning for and executing programs, projects, ceremonies and other activities to celebrate this historic period. After retirement in 1993, he joined his friend Hobart Guy (Hobie) Cawood as a vice president at Old Salem, Inc. - a historic town - in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He retired a second time in 1997. In later life, Bernie was an avid reader, a listener of classical music, and a watcher of movies. He collected books, CDs, and DVDs. He kept up with the world with an iPad. Bernard Goodman had no surviving family. His remains will be cremated, and his ashes scattered.Show more
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