For Thomas Smith his proudest success is in his students; what he calls his psychic paycheck. Photo provided
After graduating from Purdue 62 years ago, Thomas Smith (HK '53), shown above in Yosemite National Park, ventured west and spent as much time as possible in the great outdoors. And whether he was coaching collegiate athletes from the interior of an oval track or training aspiring park rangers from atop a horse, Smith has shared his love of physical education and nature with hundreds of students.
In his golden years, Smith has documented his life as a park ranger in two spirited memoirs. The first, I'm Just a Seasonal: The Life of a Seasonal Ranger in Yosemite National Park, details his summer job from 1981 to 1998. His most recent book is called A Ranger Pure and Simple: The Evolution of Parks and Park Rangers in America. "I was just like a fulltime ranger, but I worked only from Memorial Day to Labor Day," Smith says of the 'seasonal' title. "The rest of the time I taught kids how to be rangers."
Having spent his own childhood in the shadow of the Golden Dome in South Bend, Indiana, Smith decided against following his brother (a renowned sprinter) to Notre Dame. He enrolled at rival Purdue and threw the shot put on the track and field team, learning the intricacies of coaching from Dave Rankin, a Purdue Hall of Fame athlete and coach.
"I was a lousy athlete, so I thought maybe I could be a good coach. And I think I achieved that. I had some really good teams and talented individuals," says Smith, who coached track at San Jose City College and West Valley College, where he was also an instructor in park management.
Smith still considers Purdue a special place and has maintained friendships with teammates for six decades. Like many men from his generation, Smith was drafted into the U.S. Army six months after his Purdue graduation, counting the days until his discharge — "One year, nine months, 23 days and 12 hours," he says of his time in that uniform.
Both in person and on paper, Smith looks back in awe at his time spent as a mounted ranger in Yosemite. "There were days when I would ride down Lyell Canyon, which is a very beautiful place, and think, 'God, I get paid for this?' And what I'm doing is rescuing damsels in distress and keeping people from giving their food away to the bears," he says. "There were also long days. I once spent 14 hours in the saddle looking for a lost person, which happens quite often in large parks."
For a few years, he worked as a backcountry ranger, living with his family in a cabin 14 miles from the nearest road. All of their living supplies came in on the back end of a mule. It was good training ground for the kids. His oldest son will soon retire from the California Department of Fish and Game, and a daughter ended up running a High Sierra Camp, where hikers can shower, eat and get shelter.
Through the entirety of his career, however, from teacher to coach, professor to mentoring ranger, Smith is perhaps proudest of his former students' success. "My students are what I call my psychic paycheck," he says, "something that makes you feel good that's not about money."
