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Who’s in Our Bed? Richard Earl Batman (1 931-2002) married Dorothy May Dyke (1931-?). Dick was the Shenandoah National Park ranger in charge of the Hoover Camp for many years, in addition to regular ranger duties. Dick took my wife, Dorothy, and me on a tour of the camp during Hoover days (the weekend closest to Herbert Hoover’s birthday) when the camp was open to the public. A bus from Big Meadows took us down to the camp and back. According to Bob Johnson, the park service is now in the progress of refurbishing the Hoover Camp, so this news brought the following story to mind. My mind must be piqued in some manner to remember these stories. Who’s in Our Bed? Dick Batman: It was a Friday night, I believe, in the summer of 1980. My wife, Dorothy, and I were getting ready for bed when the phone rang. When I answered, I found out that an aide to President Jimmy Carter was on the line. He stated that Jimmy and First Lady Rosalyn would arrive at Hoover Camp the next morning. Now, the aide stated, you know that President Carter will expect to find a double bed in the presidential cabin and then he hung up without further comment. Now, when you are a ranger in charge of the Hoover Camp, you don’t tell an aide to the President of the United States that this is 9:00 PM on Friday and that there is no way to get a double bed into the camp by Saturday morning. So, while wringing my hands, I said to my wife Dorothy, “What am I going to do? An aide to the president just informed me that there must be a double bed in the presidential cabin by tomorrow morning. I think that my days as a park ranger have come to an end!” My wife Dorothy said, “Well Dick, just take our bed and put it in your truck and haul it to the camp. It’s so simple, why didn’t you think of it?” So, Dorothy got me out of a real jam and Jimmy and Rosalyn were all smiles (that famous Jimmy smile) that Saturday. Now perhaps I can charge a buck or two to have folks lie down on the “President’s Bed.” |