In addition to any issues you may have when it comes to masks, there's also the issue of whether or not your docent will get vaccinated or not.

I'm not going to get into the politics of the shot, but I will say that the typical stubborn "boomer" generation will refuse to get a shot which would probably leave less docents if being vaccinated is a requirement to being around the public in a docent capacity.

(At my workplace I share an office with a 60+ boomer that insists that the only shots he'll ever get come in a glass and are of scotch.)

You need to know better boomers. Most of us were offered first crack at getting shots since we're most likely to suffer more from the disease, and those I know took advantage of it. Not being drunk all the time probably makes us more rational....

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Agreed. Of all the people I either know or have met who say they refuse to get the shot only one was a boomer. All the rest were between their 20s and early 50s.

There’s only one of the big three I can have, and seven, count ‘em seven, appointments have failed one way or another. Today’s failure was especially nasty because the venue was offering what I can use, then said “we have X, but it’s the Y brand,” as if it were exactly the same thing. I can’t help my allergies to a specific ingredient, nor fix the supply problems that canceled one appointment after another.

As far as the topic is concerned in relation to COVID, it'll be interesting to see how it pans out once the pandemic is in our collective rear-mirrors (though that might be well into the future, the way things are going).
I fully expect some non-profits and museums will go under for good after the (contaminated) dust settles, but what about volunteers for those that remain? Will there be fewer people sign on for docents? Will there be a wave of them after so long not being able to do such things? I guess it'll be feast or famine as far as that's concerned but I have no clue how it'll pan out.
One thing seems likely, that the mask thing will continue for a very long time into the future, and it'll be interesting to see how that works out for volunteers. I also expect there'll be those who for one reason or another refuse to wear a mask and that will probably cause some real issues for some people who came by to look around.

This is the extent the stupidity has gotten:

There are many, many people out there who are (allegedly) fully vaccinated, in low risk environments, who are STILL wearing masks, because, as they have openly professed, "I don't want people to think I'm a Republican."

This is the point where it has nothing whatsoever to do with "science" and "medicine."

Stupidity exists on both sides. It's not just one side of the spectrum.

I’m not sure why you think that. The Museums I follow are doing great business. People are wanting to get out and about and do things. A few railroad operations I know of are reporting advance ticket sales exceeding pre-covid years.

I support that many are seeing crowds. Where I am helping out, we are seeing sold-out trains with customers buying almost everything that we have to sell in the gift shop. People are traveling long distances (several states away, and these are big states) and are telling us they want to get out and enjoy themselves.

Probably our biggest issue is the lost of a few volunteers who don't want to be around other people. However, we have been able to get several teenagers who are happy to do the job. I have talked to several other operations who are having trouble running trains because of older volunteers not wanting to be with crowds. Another great reason to have members of all ages.

Philadelphia county is tentatively getting rid of masks on June 11. States like TX and IN have gotten rid of them already.

States like Cali are going to keep them for a long while, but if things keep going the way they're going (which is down), I think that most sane states will lift the mandates by Thanksgiving at the latest. The private sector will then follow.

I work at a rail construction company. No one in the office wears masks, as we're mostly all vaccinated.

Some years ago, when Steamtown was running to Kingsley on the D&H, I rode the cab of No. 2317 as a guest , as I climbed down and stood beside the engine, a guy in a Smoky Bear hat and NPS uniform hustled up to me and ordered me to leave the area of the engine. "That's a pressure vessel," he exclaimed. "If it were to explode, you could be injured." I looked him square in the eye and replied, "If it were to explode, neither you nor I would hear the bang. We'd both be instantly vaporized." Should have seen the look on his face!

For what it's worth, we will be requiring everyone, docent and visitors to wear a mask, vaccine or not since we can't tell who has been shot, when in our exhibits, rolling stock buildings etc due to tight spacing.

Bill

I had a very similar experience shortly after Steamtown opened. I had been a cab rider guest and was climbing down the ladder to the ground at Moscow. I no sooner set foot on the ground when a young Smokey Bear approached me and said" you need to clear this area as that's a high pressure machine and could blow up at any time". I politely told her that I was a federally licensed steam locomotive engineer, knew a good bit about these " machines" and that there was a near zero chance that would occur.

She then said" I don't care what you know, I'm ordering you to move out of this area and if you don't you will be arrested".

Rather than fight her I left the area and returned to the depot.

She was also an enforcer on the train making sure everyone stayed seated and did not hang out the open windows. When she passed by our seats I couldn't resist and asked her if I could please go to the restroom as I had to go bad.Her response was " you heard the announcement with the rules, you'll have to wait until we're stopped in the Scranton depot before you can leave your seat. No one is permitted to leave their seat when the train is moving". And with that the rows within hearing range erupted with a loud chorus of boos as she moved to the next car.

That 1995 ride was my first and so far last Steamtown experience.She cured me for life.

Is it any wonder why Steamtown's yearly attendance numbers have plummeted from the 250,000 area to less than 50,000 ?? No mystery to me.

Sad but true. Ross Rowland

I had a similar experience at Steamtown as well. I was with a staff member who led me into the shop to see work being performed on whatever locomotive was in the shop at the time. Some ranger yelled at him in front of me for letting me in saying I was “just a visitor” and this was too dangerous of an area for visitors to be in. Silly.

On a later visit I was escorted away from taking photos of the #26. Great examples of “curbing your docents” or in this case, your rangers!