(Fredonia, AZ) – Come celebrate the 96th birthday of the National Park Service at Pipe Spring National Monument, Saturday, August 25th, 2012. Pipe Spring will host an Old Time Jam Session, with a workshop from 9-10 am AZ (10-11 UT) followed by an open jam session from 10 am-noon AZ (11 am-1 pm UT). Bring an acoustic instrument, learn a song, and jam with the best of them! We will be celebrating the creation of the National Park Service (NPS) by the National Park Service Organic Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on August 25th 1916. Chosen by Wilson to be the first leader of this agency, Stephen T. Mather took on the task of building the NPS from an idea on paper to a tangible organization that would manage national parks, monuments, and historic sites throughout the country. Mather began with an organization that included 40 national parks and monuments in 1916. Since that time, the NPS has expanded to nearly 400 sites, preserving the nation’s natural and cultural heritage. As part of this system, Mather helped establish Pipe Spring National Monument in 1923 to preserve the history of frontier settlement in the Southwest. As much as Mather was a ‘founder’ of the National Park Service, he was also a founder for Pipe Spring. From his first visit in 1920 to the declaration of the site as a national monument on May 31, 1923, Mather worked diligently to have Pipe Spring declared part of the park system. It was not only an important piece of western and Mormon history, but a vital link in the Pipe Spring National Monument News Release. For more information call 928-643-7105.