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Show Pectol, Hickman Worked To Develop Capitol Reef (EDITOR'S NOTE: The second in a series of three features on the creation of Capitol Reef Naitonal Park in 1971. Writer Davidson is a park ranger responsible for the public information and education program at the park.) By George E. Davidson CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK By 1937, the efforts of Wayne County's Ephraim P. Pectol and Joseph S. Hickman to find recognition for Capitol Reef were successful. On August 2, President Roosevelt created Capitol Reef National Monument. In Proclamation 2246, Roosevelt set aside 37,060 acres of the Capitol Reef area. This comprised an area extending about two miles north of present Highway 24 and about 10 miles south, just past Capitol Gorge. Highly protective federal park regulations now applied in "Wayne Wonderland." Those Depression years were lean ones for the National Park Service, the new administering agency. Funds for administration of Capitol Reef National Monument were non-existent; it would be a long time before the first rangers would arrive. Capitol Reef Gets a Watchman Charles Kelly was a man of diverse interests and talent. Born in 1889, "Charlie" made his living as a linotype operator and printer. As he matured, a talent for writing as well as printing emerged. Moving to Salt Lake City in 1919, Kelly began a love affair v with the deserts and canyons of Utah that would last a lifetime. He concentrated his exploration energies on southern Utah and the Colorado River area. His interest in archeology, as well as more recent history, grew. He published his first book in 1930 "Salt Desert Trails." Five more books followed, the most well-known being "Outlaw Trail," the story of Butch Cassidy. Scores of his articles were published by Desert Magazine, The Utah Historical Quarterly and The Saturday Evening Post. He was also known for expressing strong personal views. Kelly developed an intense interest in Fremont Culture and Anasazi rock writing (petroglyphs). On several of his trips, he passed through Fruita and came to know a colorful local resident, Dr. Arthur L. In-glesby, a dentist retired from practice. "Doc" Inglesby was an avid rockhound who had come to know Capital Reef intimately. Inglesby and Kelly became friends and made numerous sallies into the rugged butte and canyon country around Fruita. Kelly decided that he, too, would retire in Fruita. Meanwhile, not much was happening with the administration of Capitol Reef National Monument, which had been placed under the control of Zion National Park. However, a stone ranger cabin, Sulphur Creek bridge and some road surface were built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) and the WPA (Works Project Administration). Kelly came to know NPS officials at Zion well and volunteered to "watchdog" (Continued on Page 8) ! The Castle, an eroded remnant of the Wingate Formation, looms over the visitors center at Capitol Reef Na- tional Park, and remains unchanged from its appearance in 1937 when this photograph was taken. Pectol, Hickman Develop Capitol Reef (Continued from Page 1) the park for the NPS. In 1943, he was officially appointed "custodian-without-pay. ' ' The Kelly Years Charles Kelly's retirement had been short. He was to work wihout pay as a volunteer until 1950 when the NPS offered him a civil service appointment as the first superintendent. At age 62, he got his first federal job at an age when most federal career people have retired. Life was challenging for Kelly; he continued to write mostly about Capitol Reef. During the '50s, he was deeply troubled by NPS management acceding to demands of the Atomic Energy Commission that Capitol Reef National Monument be opened to uranium prospecting. He felt that the decision had been a mistake. It was not until 1958 that Kelly got additional permanent help in protecting the monument and enforcing regulations; Park Ranger Grant Clark transferred from Zion. The year Clark arrived, 56,000 visitors came to the park and "Charlie" Kelly retired for the last time. His "watch on the Fremont" was finished. (Next week: "By Act of Con-gress . . .") |