In a move that must have wilderness champion John Muir “rolling over in his grave”, the Mariposa and Tuolumne County Boards of Supervisors have agreed to honor John Muir by designating Highway 132 from Highway 49 in Coulterville to Highway 120 as the John Muir Highway.
A formal dedication ceremony will be held on Saturday, June 5, 2010 in Coulterville at 11 a.m. with John Muir’s great grandson, Bill Hanna and John Muir impressionist, Lee Stetson. A permanent John Muir exhibit is expected to be announced at the event which will be housed at the Northern Mariposa Museum in Coulterville.
Personally, I think naming a road “in honor” of a man who fought so hard against the destruction and urbanization of wild places is in poor taste and a shameless media ploy. I think John Muir’s name would be better served if they took the money for the event and the signs they’ll undoubtedly be putting up all along the road and set up a scholarship for kids so they can go to college to study environmental stewardship.
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5 responses to “John Muir Rolling Over In His Grave – Getting Own Highway Through Sierra”
[…] blog also posts about the troubling irony of a naming a Sierra highway after Muir. Posted by Dan Mitchell on Tuesday, April 27, 2010, at 4:10 pm, and filed under Commentary. […]
There’s a huge slab of 580 near the Altamont pass that’s also named “John Muir Memorial Highway” … and I think the Exact same thing when I see that sign. It’s just tough irony. 10 lanes of asphalt named after Muir. John is spinning like a drill with the trigger locked in High.
If they name the road after John Muir, and the road 132, basically follows some of the same routes that John Muir travelled, I don’t see the harm.
If they named a strip mine, or renamed the O’Shaughnessy Dam after Muir I could understand the outrage. But really? Its a two lane highway from Pete’s sake. I say the name the Highway afer him,and if it makes a school kid wonder who he is, and maybe he picks up a book on John Muir, then all the better.
It doesn’t follow John Muir’s route into Yosemite unfortunately. His route came up east of Coulterville then up th hill towards then Greeley Mill then over by Brower Cave and up the drainage of the Tuolumne.
I couldn’t agree more (with the “admin” and Pat). It almost seems insulting. How does this get passed? Really. I assume those making the decision could see the irony.