Ranger Things #3: A Cavernous Voice

Lillian Ares. (Photo courtesy of Kim Townsend)

While many of us confine our singing to the shower, some National Park Service (NPS) staff have been so talented that they could bring tears to your eyes. That was certainly true for Lillian Victoria Bearup Ares (1900-1971). In 1929 she worked as a guide at Carlsbad Caverns National Park where she “delighted thousands” by singing inside the caverns.

One visitor described her performance noting,

When Mrs. Ares stepped into that flood-light and sang in that wonderful sweet soprano voice that wonderful solo, I could not keep the tears from my eyes, and indeed to have broken the silence, when requested to be silent, would seem like disobeying the word of God amid such wonder—as she sang with such ease and grace in her ranger’s uniform. I want to say that this was to us the most beautiful part of the whole trip, and I must add that Carlsbad is certainly most fortunate in having such wonderful talent in their city.

Singing and driving the park bus weren't her only talents. Ares went on to become a prominent southwestern artist. Her works were exhibited in museums, galleries, hotels, and other venues in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Roswell, New Mexico, as well as in El Paso, Lubbock, and Austin, Texas. She also won many awards for her art throughout the Southwest.

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Learn more about NPS history with museum objects and archival collections at NPS History Collection.