LOWELL — Shortly after Celeste Bernardo started her job as the superintendent of the Lowell National Historical Park in 2012, she recalls feeling the desire to spend the rest of her career in the Mill City.
“I said I’ll retire from Lowell,” she said. “It’s just an amazing place.”
Bernardo’s desire was realized Thursday when she worked her final day as superintendent and retired after more than nine years in the position. Her retirement also brings to a close her 35 years with the National Park Service.
“This is a huge transition to go from a community that has been my family to not being here everyday,” Bernardo said.
A ceremony — organized by the Lowell Festival Foundation and Greater Lowell Community Foundation — was held in honor of Bernardo at Cobblestones of Lowell on Thursday, where Mayor John Leahy gave Bernardo a key to the city and a citation in recognition of her years of service.
“She was National Park superintendent, but she did more than worry about the National Park,” said Art Sutcliffe, the chairman of the Lowell Festival Foundation. “She worried about the city, its nonprofits, its businesses, its education, everything. She was involved in the whole city.”
Bernardo, a resident of Sharon, spent much of her career in New England, with her first tenure in Lowell from 1992 to 1995 as a supervisory park ranger.
Much of her time with the National Park Service included working in urban parks. When she first announced her plans to retire in May, she said a major part of her time in Lowell was focused on connecting the park to the community. The goal was to have the park tell the story of both the city’s industrial history and the history of the communities that worked in the mills and then carried on when the textile industry left.
During her tenure, the park became more active on social media and in reaching out to engage the community, sending out rangers to events across the city and inviting community members to contribute to the park. An example of such collaboration is a roughly two-year effort to bring together community organizations and members to discuss how the park could tell the story of Lowell’s diversity, and of the immigrant communities that have always been part of its history.
That collaboration, and goal, will lead to the opening of a $1.3 million exhibit on diversity at the Morgan Cultural Center on French Street in 2023. In the citation read by Leahy on Thursday, the Morgan Cultural Center was described as “a capstone to a decade worth of investments and efforts to ensure the park is welcoming and relevant to all of Lowell.”
Bernardo was also honored with a citation from the state Senate, which recognized her for 35 years with the National Park Service. The citation was delivered by Zoe Dzineku, of state Sen. Ed Kennedy’s office.
“Nobody knows the hard work Celeste has put into everything,” said City Manager Eileen Donoghue during Thursday’s ceremony. “Every project she takes so to heart and fights fiercely for what Lowell needs and for what the National Park needs, and is so professional and thorough.”
Bernardo, a married mother of one daughter, described her retirement as “bittersweet.” She expressed excitement about the prospects of spending more time with her family, which includes an upcoming trip to Spain with her husband of 26 years. Bernardo’s family was on hand for Thursday’s ceremony, including her 89-year-old mother Rose Bernardo, who drove from Long Island to Lowell to attend the event and was described by her daughter as her “biggest champion.”
Bernardo intends to return to Lowell often, and will even volunteer with the Lowell Festival Foundation to help with future Folk Festivals, which she has been close to during her time as superintendent.
As for her replacement, Bernardo revealed during Thursday’s event that the new superintendent could be announced as early as next week and should start in November.
“They’re going to be amazing and they will continue the great work because we have great staff in the park,” Bernardo said.
In the meantime, Lowell National Historical Park Deputy Superintendent Peter Lonsway will head the park until a permanent replacement is selected.
Follow Aaron Curtis on Twitter @aselahcurtis
