National Park ranger set to mark 90th birthday

IF YOU GO
What: "Road Not Taken" concert marking Betty Reid Soskin's 90th birthday
When: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19
Where: The Nexus, 1414 Harbor Way South, No. 1010, Richmond
Tickets: $60; space is limited. Call 510-620-0290 or go to niadart.org/blog.

By Chris Treadway
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 11/12/2011 06:16:10 AM PST
Updated: 11/14/2011 11:08:09 AM PST

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National Park Ranger and Community Outreach Specialist Betty Reid Soskin speaks about World War...
Betty Reid Soskin regularly shares insights on history and social change with visitors to Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, drawing on her own experiences living through the years before, during and after the war.
Soskin these days may be best known as the oldest active ranger in the National Park Service, but there are many other aspects to her life, and she will share one of them when she performs at a concert Nov. 19 to mark her 90th birthday.
Maybe you wouldn't expect someone hitting 90 to delay a birthday celebration two months, but as Soskin wrote in her blog (cbreaux.blogspot.com) at the time, she already had too many commitments.
Besides, she wanted to use the milestone as a way to once again make a difference.
The evening, called "Road Not Taken," reflects Soskin's time as a sweet-voiced activist jazz/folk singer and the opportunity to be a full-time performer.
"A career as an entertainer was simply not worth what it would mean to my family," she said, recalling time already spent away from four young children and a struggling marriage when Soskin and her husband lived in Pleasant Hill.
"These bookends encapsulate an unfinished chapter in my life," Soskin said. "It's the Betty I left in the suburbs in the 1970s, when I came back to Berkeley. I'm going to perform after 40 years."
The birthday show is at The Nexus, an intimate and handsomely decorated new venue in the northeast corner of the Ford Building, 1414 Harbour Way South, No. 1010, in Richmond.
The program will open with a performance by Soskin's son, Bob Reid, and his partner, Margaret Miles.
Soskin will sing a mix of her own compositions and pieces by others that represent her outlook through personal trials (one song was written as final payment for her therapist) and her growing civil rights activism in the 1960s.
The concert is a benefit for the Richmond-based National Institute of Art and Disabilities, an arts center assisting adults with developmental and other physical disabilities where Soskin's daughter Dorian is a longtime attendee.
Between the opening act and Soskin's performance will be a short video about NIAD, and the evening will conclude with a wine and cheese reception.
The thought of returning to performing was not a simple decision.
"I was panicked until four or five days ago, when I was working with the guitarist, who is just fabulous," she said. "It was a case of listening to that younger Betty and competing with myself and losing."
Soskin said her voice may not sound like it did 40 years ago but added that her son pointed out that it would reflect the experience and wisdom she has gained since.
It promises to be a memorable evening with a remarkable woman, and in any event, "I'm sure that I'll never find a more forgiving audience," Soskin said.
IF YOU GO
What: "Road Not Taken" concert marking Betty Reid Soskin's 90th birthday
When: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19
Where: The Nexus, 1414 Harbor Way South, No. 1010, Richmond
Tickets: $60; space is limited. Call 510-620-0290 or go to niadart.org/blog.

gregory urquiga/staff archives
National Park Service Ranger Betty Reid Soskin tells visitors about the crane near the Red Oak Victory ship during the Rosie the Riveter Home Front Park Tour in 2007.