By Suzanne Stewart, The Pocahontas Times
CASS, W.Va. — February 1 has become a special date for Frank Witsberger, the new superintendent at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park.
February 1, 2023, Witsberger officially retired from the Army. and exactly one year later, he became the assistant superintendent at Cass, which then led to his new position.
While Witsberger is new to the state parks system, he has wanted to be a park ranger since he was a teen.
“Going back to when I was a kid, I knew at like twelve, thirteen years old I wanted to be a ranger,” he said. “My church youth group did a big tour of the west. We left Wheeling and went to the St. Louis arch then over to the Grand Canyon, then up to Yellowstone, then over to Mount Rushmore and came back to Wheeling. I was just awestruck – ‘Wait – you can make a living doing this? That’s an actual thing?’”
This revelation led Witsberger to apply for a job at Oglebay Park. From age 12 to 14, he was a docent at the Good Children’s Zoo at Oglebay Park, After that, he got an entry level job at the Crispin Center where he worked during his college years.
“I had a pretty singular focus, ‘I’m going to set conditions to realize this goal,’” he said.
When he set out to reach the goal, Witsberger had no idea it would take more than 30 years, but life sometimes has a way of making a meandering path from Point A to Point B.
Read more: https://pocahontastimes.com/witsberger-named-cass-superintendent/