1985 [PDF] - Yosemite

!:A Message from the Presidentby Edward C. HardyThink about it for a minute: being in the hospitality business,providing a wide range of guest services including overnightaccommodations, retail, recreation, food service, etc., is similar toinviting guests into your home. We all know that a friendly personmakes the best host, at home as well as in the hospitality business.We each strive to be competent, pleasant and helpful, butdespite our best efforts things sometimes do go wrong. Thefollowing Five A’s, hints for handling difficult situations, mayhelp you to resolve such problems; remember to seek the assistanceof your Manager when such situations arise.1. Away Take the guest to a quiet place away from other guests.2. Apologize to the guest for any inconvenience he/she mayhave experienced.3. Ask the guest what he/she feels should be done to rectify thesituation.4. Agree with the guest on a suitable solution or course ofaction.5. Act at once on the agreed solution.Handled with grace and professionalism, these five hints will helpto ensure guest satisfaction.Badger Pass Celebrates50 Golden Years!A Short Article Abouta Short Railroad!by Chet Brooks, Jr.On the North side of the Merced River Canyon, between ElPortal and Briceburg, the last remains of the Yosemite ValleyRailroad are still visible. The "Short Line to Paradise" carriedpassengers and freight to Yosemite for thirty-eight years and stillholds a place in the hearts of railroad fans everywhere.While the first survey for a possible railway was made in 1890,construction did not begin until fifteen years later in Septemberof 1905. Over the next two and one half years, 1,500 menlabored to lay over 88 miles of track (including ten miles ofsidings). During construction, over 3.3 million dollars was spenton wages and equipment including 2.8 million pounds of blastingpowder and dynamite!On May 15, 1907, the first run between Merced and El Portalwas made, and for nearly four decades the railroad used ninedifferent engines and a wide variety of specialty cars to carrysupplies bound for the Park, as well as U.S. Presidents Taft(1909) and Franklin Roosevelt (1938). In addition, many ofcrowned heads of Europe were introduced to Yosemite via this"short line" railroad. In 1922, a section of the railway near Bagbywas used by movie star Tom Mix in one of his many westerns.Disaster struck the railroad in 1926, with the completion ofHighway 140, the "all year highway." Despite several financialreorganizations, the handwriting was on the wall: over the nexttwo decades, both passenger numbers and freight steadilydeclined as autos and buses became the preferred method oftravel to Yosemite, replacing the railroad as easily as it hadreplaced the stage coaches so many years before.On August 24, 1945, the Yosemite Valley Railroad made itslast run, bringing to an end an era in travel that will probablynever be seen again.Join the race tofun at BadgerPass this winter-- details of the50thAnniversarycelebration inupcomingSentine/issues!MCA INK Photo ContestWinners AnnouncedWe are pleased to announce the second place winner’ in thecolor category of the 1985 MCA INK photo contest is Yosemite’sown Herbert Schog. Schog, a second cook at The Ahwahnee,entered several beautiful photographs but took second prizewith a spectacular view of El Capitan in winter.First Place went to Allan W. Glass of the MCA/Universal SecurityDepartment, with "Liberty Enlightening the World," a sunsetview of the Statue of Liberty.An Honorable Mention was garnered by Rose Roscoe of ourFresno-based Yosemite Sierra Services, and outstandingentries were also submitted by Allen Bourhene and JamesRodrigues.Congratulations to all our winners!i