The Nation - News from May 24, 1989

One of the lucky college students who landed much-sought-after summer work at Yellowstone National Park is Mary Cheney, daughter of Lynne V. Cheney, chairwoman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Defense Secretary Dick Cheney. Mary Cheney was rejected when she applied last spring, the Washington Post reported. According to her mother, she “got a notice saying she wasn’t qualified” for the job she had sought as a work leader on the park’s Youth Conservation Corps. Then Lynne Cheney called park Supt. Robert Barbee, who knows the Cheneys from the time Dick Cheney was the only House member from Wyoming, which includes most of the park. “It was just a sort of casual call,” said Joan Anzelmo of the superintendent’s office. “There was absolutely no pressure put on at all.” After the conversation, park officials took another look at the application and found that Mary Cheney did qualify for employment, Anzelmo said. Next month, she said, Mary Cheney will begin work in the position she originally sought--work leader.