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Off Screen Interviewer: Where are you originally from?
Jontae Koke: I was born and raised in Scottsbluff so just north of the bluff here.
Every memory that I have this bluff is in the background.
Every picture that we have this bluff is in the background.
My grandparents lived north of the bluff of the river and their neighbor lady,
who I used to think was crazy, and I feel bad for saying this now but,
she used to grab me and my brother whenever we were outside,
which was always because we love the outdoors. But she'd always snag us and say,
"Look up there that's the glorious monument! Look how close you are to the glorious monument!"
And the tag, glorious monument, was something that we would giggle at
because she'd talk about it all the time.
And we'd begin to think, did she remember that she already told us how
glorious this monument was?
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Fred McVaugh: We can tell it all here.
Western history, military history, Native American history, paleontology
we've got it all this is a, this is a hidden gem.
Linda Morton: Something that I've noticed about the Midwest Region it seems to be
sort of the unsung region. Visitors are often surprised
by their experiences they have in our national parks.
I can't tell you how many visitors we get here
that are on their way to Yellowstone or Glacier and they stop by
because it's a national park and it's in their passport book, which they had no idea existed.
And they spend some time here and they just
are amazed at the experience that they have and they fall in love with it.
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Jontae: But the connection to park service never happened
until I started working here. The interactions
with people from all over the world, that is cool.
Getting to teach them about my rock.
This monument is glorious and that's the best word to describe it for me.
I found this this park, it found me, and we are one.
My name is Jontae Koke and I'm a visitor use assistant for the National Park Service
here at Scotts Bluff National Monument.
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[Nature sounds of wind and insects, distant voices talking and laughing.]