Ed Note: Readers you are in for a treat as Tom Cervenak, Visitor Services and Marketing Manager for Virginia State Parks, weaves the story of how he came to work for parks and what his career has been like. This series will run nine chapters, with many of them split into two parts.
Chapter 1 – Humble Beginnings (Part 2)
The second great event in my life to help mold my career was when my Dad built us a cottage in the woods on Pymatuning Lake near Linesville, Pennsylvania the year I was born, as a place to escape the big city lights and noise of Cleveland.
I like to say my Dad built it just for me, but my 4 sisters might tell you different. It was here I learned all the great things you can do in the outdoors like, swimming, fishing, hiking, canoeing, boating, picking berries, cutting firewood, chasing butterflies, watching bald eagles catch fish, catching lightening bugs in a jar and playing kick the can. Does anyone know the game “kick the can?”
It was a great beginning to a love affair with nature that continued to grow into my High School days…
Tune in for Chapter 2 tomorrow!