The First Woman Ranger at Hawai’i National Park

Yellowstone wasn’t the only park to have a woman ranger in 1922. That same year, M. Lydia Barrette became the first temporary women ranger at Hawai’i National Park (now Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and Haleakalā National Park).

A “Lady-guide” Ranger

Superintendent Thomas Boles is perhaps best known for hiring many uniformed women guides at Carlsbad Caverns in the 1930s and 1940s. The fact that he hired Barrette in 1922 is much less well known. Remarkably, on-site administration had only begun in February of that same year. Boles and a male ranger were the only permanent employees when she was hired.

Boles reported in his August 1922 monthly report that, “Owing to the large number of women and children remaining in the Park during the month of August, and the fact that l wanted to get them out on the trails, l have added a lady-guide to my force, in the person of Miss Barrette of Honolulu, who has spent several weeks here in the Park, and is a hiker and an artist of ability.” He went on to describe her duties, which included “organizing hiking parties for the lady and children guests of the two hotels, and to help convince the visitors that Kilauea is just one of our many features.” His intention to hire her as a ranger is made clear when he writes, “Until full authority is given for her appointment as Temporary Ranger, I am showing Miss Barrette on my roll as laborer at $3 per day for days actually employed.”

October 21, 1922, newspaper article featured new ranger Lydia Barrette.(Courtesy of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin)

The Prescribed Uniform (with a Twist)

As a temporary ranger, Barrette didn’t wear the standard NPS uniform, but she did have The Authority of the Badge. Newspaper photographs and a description of her “official guide uniform” suggest that what she wore was not very different from what was prescribed for temporary rangers in 1922. In fact, her khaki breeches, boots, and badge are perfectly consistent with it. The wool shirt may be darker than the gray normally worn, although it’s hard to say for sure. Given the climate, it’s not surprising that photos depict her with the shirt sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Likewise, the climate probably explains the scarf as a substitute for the tie.

The one item that is certainly not a standard part of the uniform was the tam, which isn’t even vaguely close to a Stetson hat. However, since she is standing next to Superintendent Boles in one photo, it can be assumed that he approved the twist her hat choice gave her uniform.

A Lone Ranger

Boles received many favorable comments from visitors about Barrette’s work, which he considered “quite satisfactory.” He noted that she was “instrumental in getting a great many visitors out on our trails who might otherwise have been contented to sit by the hotel fireplaces.”

In spite of Boles’ satisfaction with the position, Barrette’s early appointment didn’t open doors for more women rangers at the park. Although other women were hired as clerk-stenographers in the 1930s, it wasn’t until 1972—50 years later!—that Margaret Thompson became the next woman ranger (and the first permanent one) at what had become Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.

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To learn more about Women and the NPS Uniform, visit Dressing the Part: A Portfolio of Women's History in the NPS.