Despite Friday cancellation, Candlelight Tour still a success

The 25th annual Candlelight Tour at Fort Scott National Historic Site this weekend didn't go quite as the local National Park Service officials had planned.

However, the heavy snow that forced the cancellation of Friday's tours -- the first cancellation in tour history -- did not stop Saturday's tour from being an enjoyable event, park rangers said.

"The tour went pretty well and flowed pretty smoothly," National Park Service ranger Barak Geertsen said. "We were able to get in early and get the walkways and stairs shoveled. We were able to do all the scenes."

Geertsen said the tour drew about 375 visitors on Saturday, which included 65 of the 135 who had reserved tickets for Friday's tour but rescheduled after the cancellation. Because of the circumstances surrounding Friday's cancellation, Geertsen said, the fort did issue 55 refunds, though tickets are traditionally non-refundable. He added that the remaining ticket holders for Friday generously told the fort to keep the money.

To accommodate the visitors who had to reschedule, Geertsen said, five additional visitors were added to each of the 24 tours. A strong effort was made to avoid canceling Friday's tour, but the weather and road conditions prevented it from taking place.

"Our staff put in many hours, working hard trying to get it to go," ranger Galen Ewing said. "We were disappointed, sure. We tried to get it to go, but with the weather and the safety aspect, it just wasn't possible."

Geertsen said that canceling Friday's tour may have worked out for the better.

"One good thing about that, though, is more (volunteers) were able to make it on Saturday than would have been able to on Friday," Geertsen said. "Had we went ahead and had it on Friday, it would have been a bare bones production."

Nearly all of the volunteers who were scheduled to help conduct the tour were able to attend Saturday. Ewing said there were a few from Iowa and Oklahoma who could not make it due to road conditions.

"We didn't lose very many, though," Ewing said. "Most of them were able to come."

Throughout the tour, the staff's main priority was the visitors' enjoyment and their safety.

"Considering the situation, I did think the staff came together and did a really good job and made it not only an enjoyable but also a safe event," Ewing said. "All in all, I still feel like it was a successful, quality event."