Shelton Johnson Tells the Story of the Buffalo Soldiers in Yosemite
– Carl Bidleman
I admire Shelton Johnson. He is a gifted musician and an even more gifted storyteller. John Muir would have loved Shelton’s stories. He has a passion for National Parks, especially Yosemite, which I have come to love. And he’s a native Detroiter. A west sider, yes, but a Detroiter none the less. (We can’t all be blessed to have come up on the sunrise side of Woodward.) Shelton Johnson embodies many of life’s good things. And thanks to Ken Burns, the whole world now knows about Ranger Johnson.
I thought I’d share a couple of videos that I shot a few years ago on a beautiful November Sunday afternoon. I never published these clips because I realized Shelton’s history walk would be better covered with two cameras instead of one. So they languished on the shelf. But when I took another look this weekend, I realized Shelton’s great storytelling skills trump my lack of shooting skills. I’ll edit the rest of the 90-minute tour in the coming days but here are two of my favorite moments of Shelton’s history walk. Enjoy. And check out more of Shelton’s work on the 9th Cavalry here: http://shadowsoldier.wilderness.net/
Below: Shelton Johnson (as Sgt. Bowman, Sir) tells how being called “Buffalo Soldier” was better than being called “Nigger Cavalry”.
Below: Shelton Johnson (as Sgt. Bowman, Sir) tells tales of the 9th Cavalry “Buffalo Soldiers’” duty in Yosemite and meeting Mr. John Muir.
Find OpenRoad.TV’s other Yosemite videos and stories on our interactive map.
September 30th, 2009 at 9:08 am
This guy is gonna be the Buck O’Neil of the new series. This is nice stuff you’ve shot here. The man has talent! Thanks! And I know one of the kids in the background!!!
October 5th, 2009 at 11:40 am
What an amazing man! My wife and I had the privilege of being part of Shelton’s “Bear Walk” in Yosemite in October, 2007, He held his audience spell-bound for over and hour One of my memories is of Shelton reclining on the ground to demonstrate how a grizzly goes about choosing a spot in which to bed down for the night. It was very good to reconnect with him via the Burns’ series. I could listen to him until next Tuesday!
October 11th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
Thank you so much for posting these! I fell head over heels for Mr. Johnson while watching the National Park series. He’s such a star and has such a gift for reconnecting people with the earth, with history, with themselves. I could listen to him until next Tuesday (and the Tuesday after that), too!