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Grand Canyon Pioneers Society - The Bulletin |
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| Vol 6, No 1 | January 2002 |
GCPS Outings for 2002
| January 24-27: |
Grand Canyon History Symposium - the first such gathering to
address historical topics specific to Grand Canyon National Park. Sponsored
by Grand Canyon Association, Grand Canyon Field Institute, Arizona
Humanities Council, Grand Canyon National Park Lodges, Grand Canyon
Pioneers Society and the National Park Service. One of their goals is to introduce
NPS administrators and interested members of the public to the history of
issues confronting the park today. Another is simply to learn more of the
legacy of this crown jewel of the National Park System. [Participation is
limited to the first 100 registrants.] Call Grand Canyon Field Institute at
928-638-2485 for more information.
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| January 26: | 11:30 AM - GCPS members meet for lunch at the Maswik Lodge cafeteria. |
| February 16: | Tour of the State Capitol in Phoenix, in honor of the Arizona statehood. Tour is at 1:00 PM; meet on the east side of the Capitol. Lunch at 11:00 AM at Sams at the Arizona Center. The parking garage at the Arizona Center is free with a stamped parking ticket. Arizona Center is between Fillmore and Van Buren and between 3rd and 5th Streets. |
| March 16: |
One Hundredth Anniversary of the Grand Canyon Post Office
presented by Bob Bechtel. Bob will be displaying a 4-panel exhibit on the
postal history of the Grand Canyon and will talk about most of the panels.
The post offices at or near the Canyon were Tolfree, Tourist, Grand Canyon,
Kaibab and Kaibab Forest which became North Rim, and Supai. He'll give a
brief history of each with some anecdotes about the characters like John
Hance, and will also mention the stamps that have been issued at the
Canyon, beginning with the National Parks stamp in 1934.
Luncheon at Bright Angel Lodge restaurant at 12:00 Noon pre-presentation talk at one of the cabins at Bright Angle Lodge (site of the old Post Office). |
| March 29-31: | 2002 Easter Hike and Service at the South Bass and Ruby Drainage. |
| April 27: | Glen Canyon by Katie Lee at Jerome State Historic Park (formerly the Douglas Mansion). |
| May 18: | Route 66 Across Arizona by Richard and Sherry Mangum at Northern Arizona University Cline Library at Flagstaff. |
| June 15: | Annual Picnic at Shoshone Point, Grand Canyon. |
| July 20: | Museum of Northern Arizona Special Collections Tour at Flagstaff. |
| August 17: | "The Grand Canyon Orphan Mine" by Maurice Castagne at Grand Canyon Maricopa Observation Point. |
| September 21: | Grand Canyon Aviation History by Ron Warren at Grand Canyon Airport. |
| October 19: | 3-D Photography by Mike Amundson, Assistant Professor of History Northern Arizona University and GCPS Board Meeting at Flagstaff. |
| November 16: | Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association and the Colorado River Management Plan by Tom Hazel, former President of the GCPBA, at Flagstaff. |
| December: | No Meeting |
Betty Settles Remembered
by Becky (Settles) Ingram
I am sure that many of the Grand Canyon Pioneers will remember Betty Settles, wife of Jack Settles, both of whom worked for Babbitt Brothers Trading Co. in the Williams, Grand Canyon, and Page stores from 1952 until 1971. Betty managed the Ready-To-Wear (clothing) Department, while Jack was the store manager of all departments. She would completely outfit tourists, who would take the mule rides into the Grand Canyon, with Levis, western shirts, western belts, bandanas, boots, and cowboy hats which was just a part of making their Grand Canyon experience memorable. She always put forth her best effort in making her department a success throughout the Babbitt system, not only by creatively displaying souvenir items for the tourists, but also displaying her wonderful trait of welcome to each customer she came in contact with.
Betty went to be with our Lord on October 24, 2001. She was diagnosed with Non-Hodkins Lymphoma in the Spring of 2000 and was treated successfully with chemotherapy. She was cancer-free, but developed a drug reaction to a chemical in her treatments, which completely shut down her lungs.
She will be remember as a role model to all of her family and friends; a loving wife of 57 years, a gentle and very caring mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother; a dear sister, and to all of those who knew her, "a best friend". Betty was 78 eight years young. She is survived by her husband, Jack; two children, Becky Ingram and Phil Settles; five grandchildren, and three great grandchildren; a sister, Shirley DeWitt and a brother, Richard DeWitt. Betty will be dearly missed by all.
Moving Waters:
The Colorado River & the West
Seven state humanities councils from seven western states in the Colorado River basin are collaborating on an ambitious project, Moving Waters: The Colorado River & the West. This multi-dimensional program will explore the legal history of the Colorado River; the impact of people and economies on the rivershed; and the stories, legends and lore of this critical water source through a variety of media, including lectures, book discussions, exhibitions and an original radio documentary.
The project brings together seven states and 22 communities and cities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, all of which owe their existence -- directly and indirectly -- to the Colorado River.
"In the modern West, most of the population centers are far from the river banks," explains Dan Shilling, Executive Director for the Arizona Humanities Council, which is spearheading the project. "Because many of us do not actually see the river in front of us, we do not recognize that our very existence in the West is dependent on this river and its vast watershed. This project will reintroduce the river to the West, not only as a physical entity, but also as a cultural and social force that shapes how we live in the West."
Moving Waters: The Colorado River & the West opened in December 2001 in Arizona with a six-part radio series, lectures, book discussions and exhibitions held in Yuma, Parker, Page and Phoenix at local libraries and museums. Activities continue in Arizona through April 2002.
Programs will cover the Colorado River ecosystem, law and litigation, communities and economies, legends and stories, and clashes over values bringing the river to listeners throughout the West.
Moving Waters is funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation. For more information about state and community participation, lectures, book discussions and exhibitions, contact Nancy Dallett at 602-257-0335 ext. 23 or at ndallett@aol.com or visit their web site at www.MovingWaters.org.
Dances With Spiders
by Mike Verkamp
Violent summer thunderstorms on the rim of the Grand Canyon are some of the most dramatic and often dangerous weather conditions that exist in the area.
During one of the last big summer storms of the season in 1954, we braced as we always did for the hordes of tourists heading to our store for shelter having been caught on the east rim between Verkamp's and Yavapai Point. These storms were highly predictable back then and usually bloomed between 2 and 4 o'clock, dropping first hail as large as marbles, then huge quantities of water in a very short period. Those caught in the storms ran the gauntlet of dangerous lightning and total deluge, coming to the comfortable porch on our store for protection and relief.
Inside, the Verkamp family members were trained to man the "leak buckets" which caught water dripping from known locations. These leaks resulted from the flat-roofed layout of our structure that was designed to catch water and drain it into a cistern below the front porch. In spite of years of attempts to correct the problem areas, the old wood-framed structure resisted being fixed and we had no choice other than to deal with the problem as it occurred.
Outside, the 3-piece telescopic, cast iron flag pole in front of the store was a perfect lightning rod and during these storms it would buzz with static electricity, even oscillating like a light filament at the top during major strikes. The old pole no doubt sheltered the store from many hits during these vicious storms.
While people scurried, leak buckets installed, and a mop brigade manned the front door, there was a consistent knock-out of the power supply which shut out our lights but never closed the store. Dad believed in letting visitors continue their shopping, lights or no lights. We simply went in the back room, brought out a supply of flash lights, offered them to customers, and continued to do business.
Immediately after the storm let up, one or two of us would run out to the front rim wall to check out waterfalls coming over the redwall limestone (actually white limestone colored by run-off from the red clay oxides of the Supai formation above it). Flash flooding over this 500-foot drop was as impressive as anything I have observed during our Canyon life. Occasionally, we would watch as flash floods caused hikers and mule riders at Indian Gardens to scramble for high ground during these fast moving cloudbursts.
Around 6:30 following the Indian dances at the Hopi House and "after-dance" rush, we all settled in for a late supper. Mom passed through the hallway to the dining room and shrieked, "Jack...tarantula, they're all over the place!" We all began looking down at the floor and sure enough they were everywhere, crossing the hardwood floor, scaling the couch and chairs, crawling up the walls, and advancing on our dining room table. We looked out on to the front porch only to see a mass, Normandy-like invasion of the large black furry tarantulas coming over the roof deck. The spiders had apparently come in through a gap under the screen door.
Mom, who was easily "creeped out" by almost any insect-related incident quickly retreated to the small bathroom just off the kitchen. Dad called for brooms, mops, towels, dirty shirts, whatever we could muster. We proceeded with groans, cussing, squeals, heavy breathing... not to mention some quickstepping, dancing, and jumping. to swat and sweep the creatures back out on the front porch. slamming the screen door closed each time we pushed the enemy back, and noting that the entire screen door was covered with undulating fuzzy bodies. We were used to "daddy-longlegs" during the summer, but had never seen these huge tarantulas in this kind of a concentration.
After we regained control of our space, we all sat quietly and nervously in the living room hoping this siege would come to an end. Almost as quickly as they arrived, the spiders moved on and disappeared into the night leaving us wondering what was under our sheets in the bedrooms.
We all knew that we had experienced something probably never to be repeated in our lifetime and wondered if it had been some strange combination of events like the heavy rain and sever, ozone-producing lightning which had triggered the mass exodus from inner canyon caves below us. Or, could the spiders have been propagating in the cistern below the store and forced out by heavy rain? We'll never know.
Later that night, as we lay restless in our beds praying for sleep, my brother Tersh (John) ran his finger lightly up my neck, behind the ear and into my hair.ieeeeeh!!, I yelled and then bolted up and punched him in the arm as he turned his head into the pillow to muffle his laughter. Sleep did not come easily that humid summer night.
Michael Verkamp
1618 Gold Rush Rd. #203
Bullhead City, AZ 86442
928-758-1914
Grand Canyon Pioneers Society
Pioneer Award
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2002 Grand Canyon Pioneer Society Pioneer Award. The Society wants to honor an individual who has made a significant contribution to the understanding of and knowledge about the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River.
The individual honored will have made a significant contribution to the understanding of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado in such areas as geology, creation, river running, backcountry hiking, photography, history, administration, etc., that is, any area that advances knowledge of the Grand Canyon.
To make a nomination, simply submit an individual's name and their accomplishments and/or contributions that have advanced our knowledge of the Grand Canyon to:
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Tom Carmony 206 W. Caroline Lane Tempe, Arizona 85284 |
or E-mail to: ThomasCarmony@aol.com.
Nominations must be received before March 1, 2002.
Outings Contacts Information
Outings Coordinator is
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Carol Castleman 18909 North 87th Drive Peoria, AZ 85382 623-825-9971 |
e-mail AZlady3@aol.com
The Bulletin welcomes comments, stories, or Reflections and Remembrances.
Please send them to
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Diane Cassidy 2112 Demerse Avenue Prescott, AZ 86301 |
or e-mail them to GCPioneers@yahoo.com
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