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Show Arches Park Looks Back on Rich But Rugged Past i -; . "v. . tv. ' - ' - si North and South Windows ' - 1 ;.-Vj A, i i i ! f ' , ; .!wi.. . i.-i'-itr-i. uLjw-jjBarttX.', .&Br'iVaa'r WvTaauiUteijKj-JaiiJaa Balanced Rock Delicate Arch v " s i 1 ? J " r k V-, ft ft ( ' v vr 'v iiV'tvk 2 ;- Skyline Arch ; 'EgH r - ... . -' v:.. r. . - . , .- - :"' x': ' ' : ' a-; m$ Landscape Arch By Maxine Newell The dedication of Arches National Park Saturday culminates cul-minates a colorful history ot development perhaps unsurpassed unsur-passed in the National Park Service. Few areas in the Service have coped with as many discouraging odds. It ail began when the Moab Lions Club won their long struggle for recognition of the magnificent red rock land and Arches National Monument was established by presidential proclamation by Pres. Herbert Hoover on April 12, 1929. The original Monument boundaries encompassed encom-passed 4,52o acres and included includ-ed only the Windows Section and the Devils Garden Section Sec-tion with a gap in between. The Monument was enlarged enlarg-ed to 34,250 acres in 1938 by Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt; decreased to 34,010 acres on July 22, 1960 by Pres. Dwighi D. Eisenhower. It was enlarged en-larged to 82.953 acres in IfJfifl by proclamation from Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson. On Nov. 16, 1971, the boundaries boun-daries were adjusted to a permanent 73,234 acres and Arches was designated a National Na-tional Park, by Pres. Richard M. Nixon following Congressional Congres-sional action. It is that designation des-ignation that is being acknowledged ack-nowledged Saturday. For years Arches was a primitive area at best. The present Visitor Center and paved road system was ac. complished under the NPS Mission 66 program. Visitation Visita-tion has soared since that time. In 1939 a total of 593 visitors toured the Monument; Monu-ment; in 1971 33 years and much history later visitation visita-tion reached the 200,000-plus mark. "Easter Sunday 126 visitors!" the Custodian recorded in 1939; in 1972 District Ranger Wayne Norton Nor-ton reported 1400 visitors on Easter Sunday; and 8500 visitors vis-itors over the 4-dav weekend. First Permanent Man Henry G. Schmidt was the first permanent Custodian at Arches. Prior to his arrival in 1939 seasonal custodians "looked after" Arches, but they didn't live in. "Marvin Turnbow was the first Seasonal Seas-onal Custodier; Harry Reed served as a temporary custodian. cus-todian. Following Schmidt, Lewis T. McKinney and Russell Rus-sell L. Mahan served perm anent, custodian tours of duty. In April, 1949, Bates E. Wilson was assigned to the Custodian post ,and remained 23 years to see the Monument to Park status. Now Superintendent Super-intendent of the Canyonlands Complex Arches, Canyon-lands Canyon-lands and Natural Bridges Wilson will retire from the NPS later this year. Lack of Roads Roads or the lack of them discouraged visita-ton visita-ton in pre-pavement Arches and took up most of the Rangers' Ran-gers' time. When they weren't were-n't patching up the pieces they were rescuing visitors caught on the wrong side of a wash during a flash flood. "It's enough to make the angels weep!" Schmidt wailed wail-ed in a report to headquarters headquar-ters in 1939. He had come to develop the Monument but most of his plans ended up like his roads ". . . somewhere between Arches and Boulder Dam." KuS log records his trouble: ". . . high winds made the sandy sections almost impassable im-passable and it is not uncommon uncom-mon to arrive at the Dunes in the morning and find one stretching its potent self across ac-ross the road ... I have closed clos-ed the road into the Windows until we can break a trail through some of the snowdrifts snow-drifts . . . Sunshine! There are at. present 9 miles of parallel ruts leading into the Windows; we still have a series of ruts several feet wide, inches deep and ten miles long (the last two don't count because they are covered cov-ered with snow and impassable) impass-able) ... I don't like to cry about the road to the Windows, Win-dows, but now and then after filling the same washout 3 . times in 6 days I sort of holler hol-ler at myelf!" And so went Schmidt's log. His December 1941 report was momentous: "Projects for the ensuing month: To conscientiously do as much on my job as the 'outfit' on Cor-regidor Cor-regidor are doing on theirs, and to not forget that it is your country and my country that they are fighting to save." No Facilities There were no facilities in early-day Arches National Monument. Custodian Schmidt established the first headquarters head-quarters in Moab in a room donated for the purpose by the historic old Moab Garag-j Company. One of the contributing con-tributing factors in the development de-velopment was the establishment establish-ment of a National Park Service Ser-vice CCC camp in the early 1930's. Under this program the boundaries were posted, a well was drilled, and a 20,-000 20,-000 gallon concrete reservoir constructed to contain the water supply. This reservoir is still completely compatible with NPS specifications and used yet as an emergency reservo'r for fire control, invisible in-visible from the headquarters headquar-ters area and road. Also the Big Culvert The CCC's a'.so jentributed the rock arch culvert on the entrance road. When the road was widened 20 feet it was feared the culvert would have to be dismantled, but a consulting con-sulting rock mason reported it was so well constructed the inside culvert could be jacked and the existing rock structure maintained. The rock house, occupied for the past 23 years by Superintendent Sup-erintendent Wilson, is another anoth-er monument to CCC efficiency. effic-iency. The home was included includ-ed in a development plan devised for Arches by the CCC's the first plan for Arches. "Beautifully dene!" Superintendent Wilson comments com-ments on the house he has declined to exchange for a new construction. The Old Road In 1948 the Arches road entrance en-trance intercepted Highway 160 at Cedar Ridge and ended end-ed at Balanced Rock. Under the CCC program it was extended ex-tended nearly to Double Arch as the first road into the Windows Section. . The first visitor checking station was on this road at Willow Seep it constituted a primitive cabin and flag pole. Custodian Custod-ian Sphmidt commented on that location: ". . . a site chosen with ulterior motivt the first place a visitor can turn around between the entrance en-trance and the Windows. If . we catch them there we can lure them into the Windows by assuring them the remaining re-maining 4 miles are no worse than the 5 already covered." More Road The CCC's also built the first half mile of road into Arches behind the visitor center, cen-ter, but the work was interrupted inter-rupted by World War II. Lewis T. McKinney maneuvered man-euvered a surplus CCC barracks bar-racks for use as headquarters headquar-ters bu'lding during his reign. Moved to the vicinity of the present headquarters the barracks bar-racks served as pump house, storage room,. Visitor Center and office. Superintendent Wilson inherited the complex and administered from it until un-til the present Visitor Center was completed under Mission 66 in 1959. In 1948 a road was built from Balanced Rock to Devils Garden under a cooperative project between the NPS and Grand County. Prior to the;-, visitors walked the 6-msle trek from Salt Valley to Devils De-vils Garden. This was the beginning be-ginning of several cooperative NPS-County projects. In tha 1950's the County had bull- i dozed a road to the Delicate Arch viewpoint, but there was a rigid rule against building unauthorized roads with county coun-ty equipment. Rebuilding an old mine road was legal, however and Bates dicovered if he looked hard enough lie could see a faint outline of a primitive road leading into Cache Valley. He accepted the county's offer. Expected protest came, but he was finally let off the hook. The road is still dubbed "Wilson's neck-out road" inside in-side NPS circles Mission G6 The Mission 66 program which saw the development of Arches extended to its present stage was conducted under Wilson's administration. It included the modern Visitor Visi-tor Center - office complex, employee housing, entrance station and a shop. Visitation has soared since that time. Today when early-day visitors visi-tors return for a second look at the famous Park the standard stan-dard comment is: "The onlv thing tlr.t hasn't changed is the arches!" Which isn't exactly ex-actly correct. Skyline made a notable change in 1940 when a large chunk of rock fell to double its size; Custodian Schmidt was eyeing the tottering tot-tering stone but it fell during dur-ing the night and he missed the show. As a rule the red sandstone features accomp-plish accomp-plish changes quite inconspicuously. inconspic-uously. As conservation writer wri-ter Edward Abbey commented comment-ed in his book, "Desert Solitaire:" Soli-taire:" "In all. my years of exploring the Canyon Country I have yet to see a rock fall." A comforting thought for those posing for a photograph by Balanced Rock! Credits are Due Many deserve laurels for promoting Arches to fame. Among them, of course, is Dr. J. W. Williams, who spearheaded the Moab Lions Club promotion of the area to Monument status. He wa in the first vehicle to travel to Bahmced Rock; others ir the trek were Harry Gould ing of Monument Valley; Hat' ry Reed, Cecil Thomson and Can-oil and Tony Meador The aging doctor vas alSD with the group who walked the proposed road alignment i to Court House Towers. En route he detoured, promise to meet them as they re" turned. They worried their way to the bridge site, only to find Dr. Williams imp3 t'ently tapping his willow cane waiting for them. By a circuitous cir-cuitous route he had still" beat them to the bridge site , B'sh Taylor, early-day edi-tor edi-tor of The Times-Independent Grand County Commissioner' State Industrial Commission member and charter Lions Club member, is also those deserving of grji tional credit. 1 L ... w- - rT'S;J!,nfelL -LdLl j Parade of the Elephants . 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