Henry Coe State Park is an extension of its senior ranger’s
childhood backyard.
Barry Breckling, who has been a ranger at Coe for 26 years,
developed his love of nature as a child growing up in Contra Costa
Country, where the Lafayette Reservoir was just beyond the back
fence of his home.
Henry Coe State Park is an extension of its senior ranger’s childhood backyard.
Barry Breckling, who has been a ranger at Coe for 26 years, developed his love of nature as a child growing up in Contra Costa Country, where the Lafayette Reservoir was just beyond the back fence of his home.
“I always knew I wanted to be a ranger,” he said. “I grew up outdoors, and I love plants. We had a wonderful tradition on Mothers Day: The children would run through the fields after breakfast gathering bouquets of wild flowers and then present them to our mothers. Our Mothers Day event we hold each year at Coe grew out of that tradition.”
Breckling studied forestry at Humbolt State University, but when he discovered he would be cutting trees down, he started putting together his own academic program in wildlife management and botany.
His first job was as a park aid at Mount Diablo, then as a ranger at Fremont Peak, where he documented the plant life within the park.
“I went back to park ranger school after that. I was in the first group of trainees for the program,” he said. “We learned about resource management, interpretation, administration and peace officer law enforcement training. As park rangers we do a little bit of everything.”
After a short stint at Santa Cruz Beach, he decided to look around for a park with mountains. The ranger position at Henry Coe State Park was open, and on Oct. 31, 1977, he was appointed.
“The next day I was hiking in the park, and I sneaked up behind what looked liked a baby bobcat, then it turned around and it had a long tail. I was three feet behind a baby Mountain Lion. How neat is that?” he said.
Henry Coe State Park is 86,000 acres and growing. It supports many programs and events such as back country hiking, interpretive wild flower talks, horseback riding and mountain biking.
“It’s three times the size of San Francisco,” Breckling said.
He manages the park with one other ranger, minimal maintenance staff and a cadre of 150 loyal uniformed and civilian volunteers. The Pine Ridge Association, also made up of volunteers, is the fundraising arm of the park.
Cameron Bowers started working with Breckling as a Park Aid in 1993.
“Barry inspired me to go on to be a park ranger,” he said. “Three years ago I got the chance to work at Coe, and I couldn’t be happier. Barry is just so wonderful to work with. He is my childhood image of what a ranger should be. He cares about the park.
“The plants and animals are his family and the visitors and the volunteers are treated like guests in his home,” he continued. ” I spend every day picking his brain.”
The volunteers Breckling has nurtured over the years are a dedicated group of people. Teddy Goodrich has known Breckling for 26 years.
“I was in the first group of volunteers at the park,” she said. “Barry is a rare person. He has encouraged each of us to pursue what we really like. The park has become central to many of our lives.”
Breckling encouraged Goodrich’s interest in the Native Americans, homesteaders and squatters that made Coe Park their home. With her interest in archeology peaked, she went back to school to get her master’s degree in archeology. She now has written a book about the park’s history, and is active in conserving its historic farm buildings.
“(Brickling’s) a gem; here I am sitting at his desk,” she said. “It’s a very informal environment, yet we all highly respect him.”
Dan Mc Cranie decided to make painting and Coe Park his hobbies after he retired. He has been active in all areas of the Park over the last six years and is currently helping to illustrate the book Barry is writing entitled “Under My Brim.”
“Barry is a catalyst for all of us. We end up doing more than we ever thought we would,” Mc Cranie said. “The first day I met Barry, he looked around and casually mentioned the ‘open’ sign needed modifying. The next thing I knew I was contacting an iron worker to make a wrought iron sign, and I spend a month building a wooden sign. The end product is more important than the individual. Barry has the unique ability to synthesize a diverse group of people.”
Now with 26 years on the mountain, Breckling said he has no plans of stopping, and he is still awed by the beauty that is Henry Coe Park.
“I’ve enjoyed every bit of this job,” he said. “Each day is like the sunsets up here, you think you have seen the best one and then a better one comes along.”
