Hear why the National Parks really were "America's Best Idea" in a free talk by accomplished cultural geographer Norman Moline on Thursday, September 6 at the Rock Island Public Library.

His lecture, "100 Years of the National Park Service," is at 6:00 pm on Thursday at the Downtown Library, 401 19th Street. The National Park Service, or NPS, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016. Moline will present highlights of NPS history, with a additional focus on sites in Illinois and adjacent states, as well as the influence of the NPS on the development of state parks in the United States. His talk is free and open to the public. Registration is not required.

The NPS set aside sites that are particularly beautiful or scientifically or historically significant and made them available to the public on a scale unprecedented in world history. Although western states and coastal regions might initially come to mind, some of the nearly 500 NPS sites are in the Midwest.

Moline taught for 45 years at Augustana College. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago, focusing on the impacts of the automobile and good roads from 1900 to 1930. Moline's teaching and research interests include cultural geography, historic preservation, natural resource management, and East Asia. He is involved in civic and environmental activities in the Quad Cities .