Chautauqua: Selling the Scenery- Stephen Mather’s Visionary Genius Creates our National Park Service

Live historical character reenactment in costume and in the first person
DATE/TIME : July 16, 2026 Thursday evening 7:30-8:30 PM
LOCATION: Valhalla Boathouse Theatre | South Lake Tahoe, CA
Free to Attend
Film historian Ken Burns calls America’s National Parks “America’s Best Idea” and credits Stephen T. Mather as the visionary genius and “obsessed” leader who created the world’s first National Park Service (NPS) in 1916.
Chautauqua presenter Steve Hale will appear as the conservation minded millionaire borax salesman who was also appointed the first Director of the U.S. National Park Service. Director Mather will show the box of 20 Mule Team Borax all-purpose cleaner that propelled him to create the National Park Service.
Mather will go on to describe his stay at Lake Tahoe’s Fallen Leaf Lake in 1919. That visit directly inspired him to integrate Nature Programs and Visitor Education into the core mission for the new National Park Service.
Over a century later, Mather’s keen foresight continues to preserve the diversity and grandeur of America’s dramatic landscapes, history, and culture. His century old vision has blossomed into 433 NPS units, encompassing 85 million acres coast to coast, from Arcadia to Independence Hall Historic Park to Yosemite National Parks.
Steve Hale (Our Presenter) Background:
Steve has entered his third decade performing live costumed first person reenactments of pivotal American historical figures. He’s a National Interpretive Association Certified Guide, received the U.S. Forest Service Gifford Pinchot Award for Excellence in Interpretation and Education, and the recipient of the Nevada Conservation Educator of the Year.