Video
Women's Uniform Unveiling, 1970
Descriptive Transcript
A crowd is seated in an outdoor area. The camera pans across it as two women in National Park Service (NPS) uniforms walk into view. One woman wears a tan NPS uniforms consisting of a dress with a cardigan jacket, beige pumps, tan gloves, and a flat hat designed for women. The second woman wears the 1962 women’s uniform which is being replaced by the tan uniform. She is wearing a skirt, white blouse, green jacket, pillbox hat, brown pumps, and white gloves. They stop at the top of the steps, posing. Although not identified in the film, the woman in the tan uniform is NPS employee Carole Scanlon. The woman in the green uniform is NPS employee Mary Rhinehart.
Scanlon walks down the steps into the plaza area surrounded by the crowd as Rhinehart walks symbolically away. Scanlon models and twirls as the crowd applauds.
Scanlon takes off the cardigan jacket to reveal the dress below with a white belt around her waist. Close up of her head with hat on.
View of Scanlon standing in the plaza with the cardigan jacket back on. The seated audiences is on either side. Behind her is a podium. A woman stands behind the podium and a man next to him. Although not identified in the film, the woman is Mary Jo Glynn, a designer from Doyle Dane Bernach, Inc., and the man is NPS Director George B. Hartzog, Jr. There is no sound in this film but Glynn at the podium to describe each uniform to the audience.
Another view of Scanlon modeling the uniform with tall building behind her as she walks. In the plaza, several photographers take her photograph as she again removes the cardigan jacket.
The camera follows another woman walking to the top of the stairs before entering the plaza. She is wearing tan culottes and a tunic, with leather calf-length tan boots, and the standard NPS ranger flat hat. Although she is not identified in the film, her name is Marion Riggs. She walks the full length of the plaza and up the steps at the opposite end. She turns back and pulls up the corner of the culotte skirt, revealing the shorts underneath. She turns back facing more observers.
Close up of her smiling face. View of her walking away cuts away to her in front of buildings. A sky shot pans down the building to Riggs wearing the uniform. She again reveals the shirt under the culotte skirt before walking away. She walks into the frame again with a close up of her head, wearing the standard ranger straw hat rather than the hat designed for women. Another scene begins at her boots and follows upward to reveal the rest of the uniform. The final Riggs scene shows her face and hat again.
The camera follows a new woman walking to the top of the stairs before entering the plaza. She is wearing a stripped brown and tan smock. Although not identified in the film, she is Inger Garrison, wife of NPS regional director Lon Garrison, and she is wearing the domestician’s smock uniform. She carries an orange and cream scarf in her left hand and has on brown shoes. She walks between the audience modeling the uniform.
Scene cuts to Garrison twirling to show off the uniform at the top of the steps. She repeats the sequence with the scarf in one hand, twirling again. She repeats this again and the wind almost knocks her off balance before one last attempt that goes smoothly.
Garrison again modeling in the plaza, exiting after moving through the audience.
The camera follows a new woman who pauses briefly at the top of the steps. She is wearing pants, tunic, cardigan jacket, woman’s uniform flat hat, and orange-brown shoes. Although she is not identified in the film her name is NPS employee Elaine Hounsell. She begins unbuttoning the cardigan jacket as she walks down the stairs. As she takes of the jacket a gust of wind blows off her flat hat. She turns to pick it up. She smiles as she continues to twirl and model the uniform for the audience in a couple of scenes.
Hounsell modeling at the top of the stairs, twirling and holding her jacket in her hand. The scene repeats and she walks away. The camera pans up from her shoes to show her uniform and hat.
The camera follows a new woman who walks to the top of the steps. She is wearing the tan uniform dress and beige shoes. Although she isn’t identified in the film, she is NPS employee Ellen Lang. She walks down the steps and into the plaza between the seated audience. Director Hartzog and Glynn are seen at the podium. She walks through the audience to the steps on the other end of the plaza.
Two scenes of Lang modeling the dress, turning for the camera.
The camera follows a new woman to the top of the steps. She is wearing the orange “pop over” apron over the tan administrative support personnel dress with orange pumps. Although she is not identified in the film, this is Helen Hartzog, wife of Director Hartzog. She walks down the steps and across the plaza. Another scene shows her walking through the plaza again.
A close up of a large carved NPS arrowhead emblem. The view widens and Director Hartzog and Glynn are seen at the podium as the camera pans back to the top of the steps where another woman has come out. She is wearing the administrative support personnel dress which has a full-length zipper down the front and brown shoes. Although she is not identified in the film, she is NPS employee Louise Boggs. She walks down the steps into the plaza and across it to the other side. The scene repeats from another angle. She then models the dress from the top of the steps.
The camera pans to the top of the steps where Marion Riggs has come out again. Over her previous uniform she is wearing a tan raincoat, and she has an orange and cream scarf tied across her head. She walks down the steps and across the plaza.
Description
Silent color B-roll of the public unveiling of the new NPS women's uniforms at Independence National Historical Park on June 27, 1970. The models are NPS employees Carole Scanlon, Marion Riggs, Louise Boggs, Ellen Lang, and Elaine Hounsell, as well as wives of NPS employees Inger Garrison and Helen Hartzog. Filmed by Associated Film Consultants, Inc. This film remains in copyright and is provided for non-commercial research purposes only. All users must comply with US copyright laws.
Duration
6 minutes, 51 seconds
Credit
NPS History Collection film by Associated Film Consultants, Inc. (HFCA 2486)
Date Created
08/14/2023
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