NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Who am I? Reflections on the Meaning Of Parks on the Occasion of The Nation's Bicentennial

Freeman Tilden is best known for his several books on our state and historical parks, and judging from his knowledge of these places, one might surmise that he has been writing about them all of his life. Not so. He began writing about the parks when he was 59.

He started his literary career as a newspaperman. At the age of 10 he prepared occasional book reviews for his father's paper in the town of Malden, Mass. Armed with an active curiosity and his high school diploma, he then served as a reporter on papers in Boston, Charleston, S.C., and New York City. Throughout the twenties and thirties, he wrote fiction for several national magazines, tried his hand at a few plays, and produced radio scripts. This work took him all over the United States and to various parts of the world.

Freeman Tilden began his career with the National Park Service in 1941 when he took on the responsibilities of a literary consultant for the agency. He soon became an expositor of interpretation in the parks and, with the support of some foundation grants, wrote his popular books about parklands and preservation.

He now lives down in Maine most of the year and heads south "with the rest of the birds" in the winter. In his early nineties, he still walks about two miles a day. "When there is too much snow outside, I can do a mile just in the canned peas section at the supermarket."