Former Joplin man scores dream job as superintendent at Roaring River

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November 24, 2008

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Mon Nov 24, 2008, 07:32 AM CST

By Andy Ostmeyer

aostmeyer@joplinglobe.com

CASSVILLE, Mo. — Dusty Reid is young to have found his dream job.

But the former Joplin resident can’t imagine anything else he would rather be doing right now, and certainly not anyplace else he’d rather be.

Reid, 34, last month was named superintendent of Roaring River State Park, one of the crown jewels of Missouri’s park system. Roaring River lures nearly three-quarter of a million anglers, hikers and campers each year, and while Reid can’t guarantee they’ll enjoy their own fresh trout fillets cooked over campfire coals for dinner, it’s his job to make sure they have a good, safe time.

A graduate of Joplin High School and Missouri Southern State University, Reid grew up fishing at Roaring River.

“My mom and dad used to bring me down here all the time,” he said. “We had an old pop-up camper.”

He was joined by his young brother and his grandparents as the family made several trips each summer.

“I remember how hard at the time I thought the fish were to catch,” Reid said.

As he grew up and got his driver’s license, he went to the river with others.

“I can remember bringing girlfriends down for a day trip, and bringing guy friends down for camping trips,” he said.

One year on March 1, he went to Roaring River for opening day of trout season but had to hustle back to Joplin for a test at Missouri Southern after lunch. He has a degree in biology with an emphasis in conservation ecology and in public speaking. In fact, he said he was preparing to be a pre-med student at Missouri Southern when an internship at the park opened up and changed his direction.

He spent that summer leading guided hikes and doing work in the park, and that led to other seasonal jobs there. But there always was something peculiar about the job.

“After three summers here, I didn’t realize I had been working,” Reid said.

After graduating from Southern, Reid taught at Indiana University, worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Alaska and also taught students at an environmental education center in Alabama, where he met his wife.

But Roaring River was always the place that connected with him.

After moving back to Missouri, he was an assistant superintendent at Sam A. Baker State Park in Southeast Missouri, and the superintendent of Confluence Point State Park near St. Louis and the Katy Trail, before moving to Roaring River in April 2006 to become the assistant superintendent.

For visitors, Roaring River is a place of muscular trout, icy water, campfire smoke and trails.

From Reid’s side of the desk, Roaring River is a small city, with a daily population of several thousand and all the demands that go with it.

“We have the infrastructure of a small city,” Reid said, noting the sewage and water systems, the law-enforcement requirements, roads, pool, hotel, restaurant and more.

Most parks are busy from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but Reid said one of the big challenges is taking care of the ongoing work during the short offseason, November through February.

“I always want to keep that level of passion and excitement,” he said, referring to the way he felt as a child on those family visits when they dropped off the ridge top with their camper in tow and descended steeply down Missouri Highway 112 into the valley floor.

“I don’t see myself ever camping at Roaring River again,” said Reid, “but I still have an appreciation. ... I don’t come to Roaring River for recreation, but living in the park, and working here all day, I’m a big part of providing that to others.”

Andy Ostmeyer is the metro editor for The Joplin Globe.

Winter rules

Catch-and-release season began Nov. 14 at Roaring River State Park.