Voice of the Glacier Park Foundation ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ Volume XXXIV, No. 1 THE BOATS A History of Boat Concessions in Glacier

The good ship St. Mary on St. Mary Lake, circa 1920. Colorized photo courtesy of Fergus Prestbye.

In this issue: • The New Musical Tradition at Glacier Park Lodge • Hitchhiking and Hiking in the 1940s • Oddities and Idiosyncracies of the 1960s • A Gearjammer’s Return • John Turner Passes Away at Age 103 • Reunions and Partings • Inside News of Glacier Park Sun Road Planning at a Key Juncture The National Park Service soon will In 2013, the Park Service began Glacier’s Preliminary Alternatives release a Draft Management Plan for developing alternatives for manag- also suggest requiring permits for Going-to-the-Sun Road. The Draft ing Going-to-the-Sun. Through a day hiking on some trails during Plan will set out a Preferred Alterna- public scoping process, it formu- peak season. The number of hik- tive and other management options lated Preliminary Alternatives in ers on popular trails such as the for review and public comment. the Spring of 2015. Those alterna- Highline and Avalanche Creek has This will be a crucial step in Glacier tives are posted on the Glacier Park increased dramatically. website. National Park’s response to enor- One alternative calls for a “flexible mous increases in visitor traffic. The Preliminary Alternatives offer decision-framework” for respond- Glacier had 2.1 million visitors in options for maintaining, increasing, ing to various “triggers” (visitation 2012. By 2017, the number had in- or discontinuing shuttle service on levels, numbers of vehicles, trail use creased to 3.3 million. Last year, the the road. The number of vehicles levels, and the like). The alternative number was nearly as high (2.9 mil- allowed on the road (especially if sets out various responses, properly lion), although the Howe Ridge Fire shuttle service were discontinued) calling for managers to use the “least compelled the evacuation of much of might be controlled “by timed entry restrictive actions first.” or a reservation system.” Time limits the Park’s west side in August. These The Park Service will develop and for parking are among the measures increases have caused severe conges- choose among these alternatives (or proposed, as are expanded parking tion on Going-to-the-Sun and other others) in its pending Draft Manage- spaces. roads, in parking areas and on trails. ment Plan. Well-informed public comment will be crucial to its ulti- mate implementation. The Glacier Glacier had 2.1 million visitors in 2012. By 2017, Park Foundation looks forward to the number had increased to 3.3 million. offering its comments on the Plan. We urge members visiting the Park Glacier Park Foundation Officers: to evaluate conditions there and help P.O. Box 15641 John Hagen, President us formulate constructive comment. Minneapolis, MN 55415 Carol Dahle, Vice President www.glacierparkfoundation.org Mac Willemssen, Secretary [email protected] Tessie Bundick, Historian Board of Directors: Jim Lees, Treasurer Joe Blair Laura Chihara, Webmaster The Inside Trail takes its name Mike Buck Rolf Larson, Inside Trail Editor Tessie Bundick from the famous old trail Laura Chihara which connected Glacier Janet Eisner Cornish Park Lodge with the vanished Brian Cross The Glacier Park Foundation was Carol Repulski Dahle formed by Glacier Park employees chalets at Two Medicine, Joyce Daugaard and visitors who have a deep love for Cut Bank, and St. Mary. The Ray Djuff this special place. The Foundation is name thus emphasizes the Emily Trapp Hackethorn commited both to the importance John Hagen of wilderness preservation and to publication’s focus on the the importance of places like Glacier Einar Hanson as classrooms where people can lore and history of Glacier Paul Hoff experience wilderness in intense National Park. We invite Mark Hufstetler meaningful ways, learning not only a submission of historical, Jeff Kuhn love for the land, but also a respect Linda Young Kuhn that nurtures the skills necessary to scientific, or anecdotal ar- Rolf Larson preserve that land. The Foundation ticles, commentary, poetry, Greg Notess has a special interest in Glacier Park’s John Sauer history, traditions and visitor facilities. or artwork for publication in Rick Taylor future issues. Mac Willemssen

2 ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ The Inside Trail INSIDE NEWS of Glacier National Park Boat Concession Up for Bids two boats on St. Mary Lake and one 48-year-old Wei Liu, of Tempe, AZ, Glacier National Park’s historic tour each on Two Medicine Lake, Swift- died near the boat dock at Lake boats are operated under a 10-year current Lake and Lake Josephine. McDonald Lodge. After he was concession contract. The current reported missing, his car was found The concessioner will be required contract expires at the end of 2019. at the lodge. A dive team deployed a to rent small watercraft, as the Boat Bids have been solicited for a new remote operated vehicle underwater Company presently does. Mo- contract. Proposals were due by the which found his body. torboats are to be rented on Lake end of April. McDonald and Two Medicine Lake. Conservancy Projects The Glacier Park Boat Company has Kayaks, canoes, and rowboats are The Glacier National Park Conservan- operated the boat concession since to be rented in specified numbers cy raises private funds to supplement 1938. It submitted a bid for the new at Apgar, Lake McDonald Lodge, the federal budget for Glacier Na- contract. Competing bids may have Many Glacier and Two Medicine. tional Park. The Conservancy hopes been submitted by other compa- to provide $2.3 million for projects in The prospectus gives financial data nies, including those that presently Glacier in 2019. (This is in addition from recent years. It reflects the operate boat concessions in other to the Conservancy’s Sperry Action enormous upsurge in visitation to national parks. The Park Service Fund of $2 million to help fund the Glacier Park. In 2015, the Boat Regional Office declines to release renovation of Sperry Chalet.) Company earned $1.4 million in rev- information on pending bids. enue from 68,459 boat tour passen- One striking project is an observa- The Glacier Park Boat Company gers. In 2017, the Company earned tory at the St. Mary Visitor Center, owns its boats, four of which (the $2.1 million from 86,109 passengers. with two telescopes in a small rotat- DeSmet, the Sinopah, the Little ing dome. The dome was construct- The prospectus includes criteria for Chief, and the Morning Eagle) are ed in 2018 and will begin operating evaluating bids. A Park Service panel listed on the National Register of this summer. Screens outside can be will score bids from 0 to 5 on four Historic Places. If another opera- viewed by visitors, and remote access primary factors: (1) protecting, con- tor is granted concession rights, the will be available. Glacier and Wa- serving and preserving resources; (2) Boat Company could sell the his- terton have been designated as the providing visitor services at reason- toric boats or could simply remove world’s first International Dark Skies able rates; (3) financial capability; and them from the Park. A new operator Park. (4) the amount of the proposed fran- might seek to buy the historic boats chise fee and other consideration paid The Conservancy will contribute or might build a new fleet. to the Park Service. It will score bids funds to 64 projects in Glacier (not The prospectus for the new contract from 0 to 3 on environmental man- including Sperry Chalet) in 2019. states that the Park Service “desires agement, and from 0 to 2 on increas- Among those projects are bear man- boats that reflect the historic nature ing accessibility. Notably, experience agement, boat inspections to prevent of the boat tour experience in the and background will be assessed but mussel infestation, protection of Park.” It specifies characteristics will not figure into the scoring. native fish, and research on lynx, elk, like those of the current fleet – a mountain goats, and other species. Tragedy at Lake McDonald v-shaped hull, with seats mostly The winter of 2018-19 was unusu- The Conservancy is funding many covered, painted white, with accent ally harsh. Flathead Lake, south of internships and volunteer programs colors approved by the Park Service. Glacier Park, froze for the first time to supplement Park Service staff. The new contract will authorize (but since 1993. Lake McDonald froze These programs are vital to help serve not require) two boats on Lake Mc- as well. It attracted many visitors for the greatly increased number of visi- Donald, where the DeSmet histori- ice fishing, skiing, or just walking tors to Glacier. The Conservancy will cally has been the sole vessel. It will on the ice. Tragically, one visitor fell fund eight interpretive interns, three maintain the current complement of through and drowned. backcountry interns, and a service-

The Inside Trail ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ 3 (Continued from previous page) and-resources-management intern. this summer. Patrons will order at The Rising Sun registration the counter, receive a number, and building that houses the Two Dog The Conservancy also partners with sit down for delivery of their meals. Flats restaurant was repainted yel- the Montana Conservation Corps to The object is to serve more patrons low instead of brown. Swiftcurrent fund crew that assist with trail main- as Park visitation increases. was covered with a fabric instead of tenance and other projects. There plywood for the winter, due to the are youth crews, adult crews, crews Veteran managers are returning for painting. of military veterans transitioning to both Pursuit and Xanterra at all the civilian employment, and Blackfeet major lodges. They include Eric Ken- Pavement preservation work will be crews. Conservancy funding for dall at Many Glacier, Bob Abrams at done on Going-to-the-Sun Road these crews has nearly doubled, from Lake McDonald Lodge, Angel Espe- in June and in September. It will $69,000 in 2017 to $132,000 in ranueva at Swiftcurrent, John Bloem involve chip sealing to protect the 2019, reflecting the Park’s need for at Glacier Park Lodge, Helen Roberts new road surfaces laid down in re- extra help. at St. Mary Lodge, Chris Caulfield cent years. The decade-long Going- at Prince of Wales Hotel, and Todd to-the-Sun restoration project cost Another Conservancy-sponsored Aiken at West Glacier. around $200 million. project is “Preventive Search and Rescue.” Paid and volunteer person- Park Service Innovations A Waterworks Crisis nel are stationed at trailheads to talk To help Glacier visitors deal with Glacier has a labor shortage, as seen with hikers, checking to see if they congestion, the Park Service is in the many international students have proper equipment and if they rolling out a “Recreation Access who travel thousands of miles to understand the challenges of the trail. Display” on its website. It will offer work in the Park. Some instances This program began on the Highline, travelers real-time information on of the shortage are striking. One is to forestall frequent heat exhaustion weather, vehicle restrictions, and a lack of trained utility operators for problems at the Loop, and may be parking lot information, among Glacier’s waterworks. expanded to other locations. other matters. This is an expan- Two Medicine Camp Store is opening sion of the campground-status page, Donations to the Conservancy can later than usual (on May 27) for lack which has been in place for a num- be made online at www.glacier.org, or of an operator. Goat Haunt may not ber of years. by mail to P.O. Box 2749, Columbia have a functioning water or power Falls, MT 59912. Donations can Infrastructure Work system at all for part of the summer. be designated wither to the general The abominable Many Glacier en- The Goat Haunt Shelters will be un- budget or the Sperry Action Fun. trance road will receive attention this available until the problem is solved, summer. Sections of the road that and the International and other tour Lodge Notes run along steep hillsides have been boats may not be allowed to land. Ron Cadrette retired recently as plagued with slumping. Groundwa- general manager of the Pursuit The Shutdown ter seeps beneath the roadbed, which Collection (formerly Glacier Park, Last January’s government shutdown sags and collapses and causes pave- Inc.). His successor is Gary Rodgers, was challenging for the Park Service. ment to break up. who formerly managed the Copper January largely is devoted to plan- Mountain ski resort in Colorado. The Park Service is partnering with ning and hiring, and the staff has Rodgers is overseeing extensive reno- the Federal Highways Administra- had to scramble in order to catch vation at Glacier Park Lodge and tion to pilot a horizontal drain sys- up. Park Service personnel expressed other facilities. tem that may help with some of the gratitude for the support that they’ve areas where slumping occurs. Other been given by local communities and Marc Ducharme, general manager minor work on the road will contin- local nonprofit groups. for Glacier’s lodging concessioner ue this summer with more extensive Xanterra, reports that Nell’s Diner at repair planned for 2020. Swiftcurrent and Jammer Joe’s Piz- zeria at Lake McDonald Lodge will Buildings at both Rising Sun and offer a “fast casual dining” model Swiftcurrent were painted last fall.

4 ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ The Inside Trail Glacier’s Historic Boats Great Stories of Glacier’s Boats

Captain Billy Swanson aboard the DeSmet, on his way to launch it on Lake McDonald in 1930.

(Photo courtesy of Scott and Barbara Burch.)

By John Hagen (Many Glacier 1970- the lake to Kelly’s Camp (a cluster wildly fictionalized, later starred Bar- 80) of cabins run by Frank Kelly) or to bara Stanwyck and Ronald Reagan). the Snyder Hotel (built and run by Organized boating in what is now Libby Collins made her name on a George Snyder on the present site of Glacier Park began around 1892, ranch near Choteau. She then turned Lake McDonald Lodge). when the Great Northern Railway her energy to mining on the west side established Belton station two miles Rowing boats up the big lake was of what would become Glacier Na- south of Lake McDonald. Local set- arduous work, and tourists certainly tional Park. She upgraded the Indian tlers offered rowboat rides across the must have found the ride forbidding trail over Swiftcurrent Pass to bring Middle Fork of the Flathead River, in windy weather. In the mid-1890s, supplies to her claims (one of which followed by wagon rides to the lake. Snyder introduced a little steamboat, was called Wake Up Jeff). The main An eyewitness recalled that H.D. the F.I. Whitney. Kelly launched sever- claim, where Collins worked for three Apgar drove a sort of “circus wagon,” al gas-powered boats a few years later. summers as cook and foreman, was in “painted red with a lot of gold on it.” the upper McDonald Valley, on Cattle The Cattle Queen’s Mishap Queen Creek. The site which now bears Apgar’s One of Glacier’s most colorful boating name, at the foot of Lake McDon- tales dates to 1895. It involves Libby Collins’s partners in this venture ald, had a small fleet of rowboats for Collins, the legendary “Cattle Queen included Frank McPartland. McPart- hire. Those boats ferried travelers up of Montana.” A movie by that name, land was a rough frontiersman who

The Inside Trail ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ 5 murdered a man on the Blackfeet other’s hands across the boat and One shop in Somers was owned by a Reservation and got away with it yelled for help. George Snyder came man named John William Swanson. when no witnesses appeared. His wa- to the rescue on the F.I. Whitney. The He had built his first boat as a teenag- tery demise is related vividly by C.W. Cattle Queen (who by no means er in Seattle, then moved to Montana Guthrie, Dan and Ann Fagre in Death resembled Barbara Stanwyck) weighed in 1906 at the age of 23. In the next & Survival in Glacier National Park. 300 pounds, and could not be lifted few years he created numerous large aboard the launch, so they towed her steamboats on Flathead Lake and es- McPartland, Collins and her brother to safety with a rope. tablished himself as a leading builder. Chan spent a day at Snyder’s Hotel, disputatiously drinking. Finally they Captain Billy Swanson Glacier National Park was established departed in a rowboat with a jug of As the Lake McDonald proprietors in 1910. Frank Kelly and his partner whiskey. McPartland stood up to go sought to build boats, they turned to Orville Denny obtained a concession for the jug and tipped the boat over. the already-flourishing boating culture contract to transport passengers on Struggling in the water, McPartland on nearby Flathead Lake. That lake Lake McDonald. They hired Swanson grabbed hold of Collins’s cloak, which was a conduit for commerce between to build the launch Ethel, which start- was fastened around her neck with a the Great Northern Railway and the ed regular runs in 1911 from Apgar to chain. She released the chain to keep Northern Pacific Railway to the south. Kelly’s Camp and to the Snyder Hotel. from choking, and McPartland sank, Boat-building shops flourished in the In 1915, Swanson transferred a 60- clutching the cloak. ports of Somers and Polson, turning foot boat, the City of Polson, from out recreational and commercial craft. Chan and Collins clung to each Flathead Lake to Lake McDonald. He

(Photo courtesy of Scott and Barbara Burch.)

6 ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ The Inside Trail travelled up the South Fork and the He also proposed to operate a launch stationed on St. Mary Lake, where it Middle Fork of the Flathead River, on Two Medicine Lake and to add one operates today. and then up McDonald Creek. James on Lake McDermott “when facilities In 1926-27, Swanson built his biggest Hackethorn, the historian of boating there permit.” boat, the 73-foot, 250-passenger Inter- in Glacier, states: “The epic journey up A concession contract was granted to national. It was commissioned by the river proved Swanson a man of great Swanson. He built the small gasoline Great Northern’s Glacier Park Hotel skill and ingenuity; he and a crew of launch Wymufus to operate on Two Company. Swanson built it on-site, six men took two weeks to navigate Medicine Lake. in a new boat house at the head of about 60 miles of rapids, rocks, and Waterton Lake, where it winters today. sand bars and deliver the boat to Lake In 1925, he completed two similar McDonald. Once there, he dry- 36-foot launches. They worked in In 1930, Swanson built the DeSmet docked the boat, added ten feet to its tandem in the Many Glacier Valley. for the Glacier Park Transport length and rechristened it Lewtana.” The Grinnell ran on Lake McDermott, Company, which had obtained the and the Josephine (later renamed the Lake McDonald boat concession. The Such exploits earned Swanson fame Altyn) ran on Lake Josephine. Pas- DeSmet has run on Lake McDonald and the sobriquet of “Captain Billy.” sengers walked a quarter-mile between every summer since, except for three He played the leading role in Glacier’s the lakes, as they have ever since. summers during World War Two when boating history for three decades. gas rationing suspended operations. Building the Historic Fleet Boats on St. Mary Lake The boats which have been mentioned The Model T Engine The Great Northern Railway energeti- so far lie decomposing at the bottom Colorful tales surround the Interna- cally built nine chalet clusters in the of Glacier’s lakes. The Lewtana tional’s boat house, at the head of early years in Glacier National Park. (named for John Lewis, creator of Lake Waterton Lake. Swanson constructed The largest of these was Going-to-the- McDonald Lodge) was scuttled in Lake it as a shop in which to build the boat Sun Chalets, which stood dramatically McDonald in 1929. The Wymufus, and as its winter dry dock. on Sun Point, on St. Mary Lake. St. Grinnell, and Altyn deteriorated and Mary Chalets were six miles away at The building was placed at the U.S. were scuttled in the 1940s. the lake’s east end, near the St. Mary end of the lake so that the boat would townsite. The next generation of Swanson’s have American registry. But the boats, however, still ply Glacier’s remote location caused challenges. All The Great Northern launched two waters. Their stout construction and the materials, including prefabricated gasoline-powered boats to run be- many years of operation have brought parts of the boat, had to be brought tween these chalets in 1912. The t.S these five vessels a place on the Na- by road to Canada, unloaded at the Mary could carry 100 passengers, and tional Register of Historic Places. Waterton dock, and then shipped the smaller Glacier could transport 20. down the lake. In 1916, the railway hired Swanson to In 1926, Captain Billy built the first run these boats. of these five boats, theLittle Chief, There was no electricity at the boat for the Great Northern. It went into house. Swanson installed a Model T At Sun Point, porters had to transport service on St. Mary Lake alongside the gasoline engine there, which had to baggage steeply uphill from the dock larger and older St. Mary. After World be started with a hand crank. All the to the chalets. This chore was ac- War Two, it was renamed the Sinopah power tools in the boat house were complished picturesquely by a horse and moved to Two Medicine Lake, run by belts attached to the engine. named Uncle Sam, and by a St. Ber- where it operates today. nard dog tethered to a cart! This Rube Goldberg arrangement In the same year, Swanson built the was preserved for many decades. It TheWymufus Rising Wolf for his own boat conces- gave rise to a famous story involving In 1919, Captain Billy Swanson ap- sion. It ran on Two Medicine Lake (in Cy Stevenson. Cy was chief engineer plied to Glacier’s Superintendent for tandem with the Wymufus and later for the Glacier Park Hotel Company permission to operate an east-side boat with the Sinopah). In 1975, it served and its successor concessioner, Glacier concession. He proposed to offer row- briefly at Many Glacier, where it was Park, Inc. He was amazingly adept at boats for hire on Two Medicine Lake, damaged by winter snow. It was handling obsolete equipment, and he Lake McDonald, and Lake McDer- restored, renamed the Little Chief, and also had a legendary temper. mott (later named Swiftcurrent Lake).

The Inside Trail ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ 7 Cy’s assistant Howard Olson related In the wintertime, Art built boats at chunks of the building, and other this tale for The Inside Trail: “One his shop in Evergreen. He built the flotsam) as remembered by Art’s son time Cy was cranking the Model T Chief Two Guns for Swiftcurrent Lake, Scott Butch. The leaking Two Guns motor when it backfired and almost several versions of the Curly Bear for floated amid the mess, with about two broke his arm. Cy was so mad that St. Mary Lake, and the Wanda Mae, feet of freeboard. The hull was black he threw the crank into the lake – too Roddy Paul and Connie Marlene for with spilled engine oil. deep in to retrieve it, and they had Waterton Lake. He also trucked the Art and his sons towed the Two Guns to bring another one up from East Glacier Park motor launches to the to the outlet of the lake with a motor- Glacier.” shop for periodic maintenance. boat. In Stump Lake (between Lake The Glacier Park Boat Co. The Wreck of theTwo Guns Josephine and Swiftcurrent Lake) , the Captain Billy Swanson’s wife Emma In the fall of 1974, the Burches hull repeatedly was grounded. It had became dissatisfied with Montana’s trucked the Morning Eagle from Lake to be raised with jacks and winched ice and snow. In the mid-1930s, the Josephine to Swiftcurrent Lake on an with “come-alongs.” Finally, the couple began to spend their winters in old logging road. They then trucked Two Guns reached Swiftcurrent Lake, California. Swanson decided to sell it around the Park to Evergreen for where the Burches beached it, cleaned his boats. refitting. They moved theChief Two off the oil and patched the hull. Guns from Swiftcurrent Lake to Lake In 1938, two Kalispell businessmen The next challenge they faced was to Josephine and shut it in the boat paid Swanson $25,000 for the boats, move the refittedMorning Eagle up- house for the winter. boathouses, equipment and concession stream to its customary place on Lake rights. They named their venture the Several months later, a huge cornice of Josephine. The passage took five days Glacier Park Boat Company. One part- snow collapsed on Grinnell Point. An of jacking and winching. (Ordinar- ner, Carl Anderson, left the company avalanche swept down and flattened ily, the boats could have been hauled shortly afterward. The other partner the boat house. The Two Guns was overland from lake to lake on the log- was Arthur Burch, whose family has carried some 80 yards across the ice ging road. But a flood in the spring of run the boat concession for 80 years. that covered Lake Josephine. 1975 had left the road impassible, so the route across Stump Lake had to be Swanson worked closely with the new The Park Service gave the Burches used.) company. He helped run the boats permission to take snowmobiles to in 1938, and he agreed to help build inspect the damage. The Two Guns was The Burches brought the Rising Wolf a larger boat to replace the Altyn at on its side, with the superstructure torn from Two Medicine to Swiftcurrent Many Glacier. That project had to off and with chunks of the boat house Lake to take the Two Guns’s place be deferred during World War Two, driven through its hull. The Burches there. TheTwo Guns itself went to when Swanson supervised naval ship- salvaged life preservers and other items, Rising Sun, where for the rest of the yards in Los Angeles. then roped the hull to trees on the summer it ran (on sunny days) with shore and waited for the ice to melt. no superstructure and tourists riding In 1945, Swanson and Burch collabo- on open benches. Eventually it was rated to build the Big Chief. It ran on Spring left the shallow water at the site refitted and returned to its former Swiftcurrent Lake from 1945 to 1961. “an undulating mass of debris” (trees, place on Swiftcurrent Lake. Then it was renamed theMorning Eagle and moved to Lake Josephine, where it operates today. Arthur Burch’s son Arthur, Jr. or “Art” was ten years old when his father brought the concession. He grew up learning to run and maintain the boats. In 1967, Art and his wife Billy Ann bought the company from Art’s father. They ran the concession for many summers, living in the boat crew quarters at Lake McDonald and Swiftcurrent Lake with their children. In the mid-1890s, then owner, George Snyder introduced a little steamboat, the F.I. Whitney. In this picture, from Left to right are the small steamers Emeline and F.I. Whitney. Photo courtesy of the Ray Djuff collection. 8 ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ The Inside Trail An International Adventure Great Tales of the Boats “Still, we had no idea that we were in In 1977, the Burches bought the The Inside Trail has carried some vivid trouble until a ranger with a bullhorn launch International from Glacier stories of the boats across the years. hailed us from the Sprague Creek Park, Inc. Cy Stevenson showed them Here are a couple of the best. Campground. He ordered the DeSmet the antique arrangements in the boat off the lake, with emphasis on the In 1959, the employees at Lake house. He helped them raise the 50- word ‘immediately.’ The captain did McDonald Lodge held a nocturnal ton boat up rails into the shed with a as he was told and headed back to party on the DeSmet. Patrick Springer cable attached to the Model T engine. the hotel dock, while the merriment recalled: “We stealthily moved the continued. The following spring, the Burches band’s equipment onto the DeSmet. returned to the boat house and started … Employees brought aboard two “When we moored at the dock, we to lower the boat back down the rails. kegs of beer, trays of food from a were met by a squad of rangers and by The cable paid out very slowly, and the secret cache, the drum set, the piano Mr. Tippet, in an indignant state. His International inched toward the water bench, and the sheet music. Finally, a initial impulse was to fire every em- at a snail’s pace. Scott Burch recalls, sturdy group came staggering up the ployee on the boat – not being aware “Art wasn’t real patient. He took the gangplank with the piano and placed that literally every employee was on motor out of gear and let the boat it on the upper deck of the boat. the boat. The upshot was that I alone slide by its own weight. It took off was fired, and all the rest were allowed “My recollection is that, with the like a freight train! There were crowns to leave the DeSmet and go home to exception of Mr. Tippet [the lodge in the rails, and the hull flexed when bed.” manager], Mrs. Putney, and John Bell it hit them. Seams split apart and (the lookout man), every member of A final tale involves one of the greatest windows shattered. Art’s eyes got big the Lake McDonald hotel staff was on practical jokes in Glacier Park history. as the boat splashed into the lake – we the DeSmet. Everyone was hushed. It occurred on the Chief Two Guns on were lucky that it didn’t derail. He Swiftcurrent Lake. Late one summer, said, ‘I guess we won’t do that again!’” “We poled the boat well away from the crew decided to surprise a veteran the dock before gingerly starting up Grandchildren at the Helm ranger who often rode the boat with the motor. When we were well out on In the mid-1980s, a third generation them and conducted a tour. the lake, the kegs were tapped and the of Burches took over ownership of partying began. I went up on the top As the Two Guns finished a cruise, the boats. Art and Billy Ann sold the deck and seated myself at the piano. the crew idled the motor about 50 company to their sons Arthur and The mountains and Lake McDonald feet from the dock. The skipper told Scott, their nephew Mark Van Arts- were gorgeous in the moonlight, and the passengers: “It’s been a great trip. dale, and their wives. Scott and his our friends all were enjoying a marvel- Now the ranger will dock the boat for wife Barbara later bought the shares of ous time. We began to play our music you.” With that, the crew members the other partners, and they run the with gusto. (fully clothed) dived off the side of the company today. boat and swam to shore! “Unfortunately, none of us was aware The DeSmet played a major role in of how sound travels over open water. The ranger must have experienced fighting the Howe Ridge Fire in 2018. We soon found out. quite a blast of adrenalin, having no Firefighters and sawyers slept at the idea how to run the boat. The passen- Sprague Creek campground on Lake “By 12:45 a.m. everybody around the gers likely felt a tremor of uncertainty McDonald, and the boat made scores lake was wide awake and expressing as well. But after brief suspense, of runs to transport them to Kelly’s their displeasure to the Park Service. another boat crew member, concealed Camp at the north end of the lake. Soon we saw ranger vehicles proceed- among the passengers, stepped up and ing up the road from headquarters to docked the boat. the lodge.

In the mid-1980s, a third generation of Burches took over ownership of the boats. Art and Billy Ann to their sons Arthur and Scott, their nephew Mark Van Artsdale, and their wives. Scott and his wife Barbara run the company today.

The Inside Trail ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ 9 Don Witt (pictured here) and Jim Templeton, Many Glacier Hotel employees in the early 1960s, bivouacked overnight on Grinnell Point. Jim recalls that they strung a rope across their sleeping bags for “a false sense of security.”

10 ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ The Inside Trail A Memorial to JOHN TURNER

John and Mary Turner. (Photo courtesy of the Turner family.)

Glacier’s Oldest Gearjammer Passes Away

We finally have lost him. John Turner, the dean of Glacier Park’s gearjammers, died recently at the age of 103. John wrote many articles for The Inside Trail, recalling events and times in Glacier of which he was the last witness.

We finally have lost him. John a hand crank. They were manu- Entrance (East Glacier Park) when Turner, the dean of Glacier Park’s factured in Cleveland by the White Sid Couch, the dispatcher at Many gearjammers, died recently at the Motor Company in the 1920s. Glacier, phoned down to Page age of 103. John wrote many John described these vehicles as Stanley, the Entrance dispatcher, to articles for The Inside Trail, recall- follows: “magneto ignition, six- send buses as quickly as possible to ing events and times in Glacier of teen inch wooden steering wheel, evacuate the hotel guests.” which he was the last witness. acetylene headlamps, brown canvas The drivers were dispatched at fold-down top, leather seat covers, John drove red buses from 1936- once, without changing into their rear mounted luggage rack … too 39. He was transport agent at East uniforms. John recalled that the bad if you were driving when it be- Glacier from 1940-41. Going-to- buses had mechanical “governors,” came dark and didn’t have matches the-Sun Road over Logan Pass had which kept them from exceeding 40 (several) to light the headlamps.” opened just three years before his mph. But the drivers had learned first summer. The present red bus That summer of 1936 brought to how to jump the governors and fleet (now probably the oldest fleet the Heaven’s Peak Forest Fire. It speed up to 50 mph or more. They of buses in the world) had not yet jumped Swiftcurrent Pass on an used this technique in order to ex- arrived in Glacier. evening in late August and roared pedite the run to Many Glacier. down the Swiftcurrent Valley. It In John’s first summer, he drove a When they reached the hotel, the very nearly burned Many Glacier “cranker” – one of the original red relief drivers found that most of the Hotel. John recalled, “A few of buses, which had to be started with guests already had been evacuated us were having a day off at the by the buses on site. The remain- The Inside Trail ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ 11 ing guests wanted to stay and help scape had changed from luxuriant surgeon for U.S. Olympic teams) fight the fire. The relief drivers green lodgepole pines to defoliated, as the star player for the opposing were put into service as firefighters, smoldering spikes. … I have come Entrance Hotel team. too. John shared vivid memories to believe there was a Divine Hand John recalled working with a device of the fire in The Inside Trail: present, or the hotel and dormito- called the Kerry Kleaner. The com- ries would have been destroyed.” “This fire happened 76 years ago, pany installed it in 1937 to clean the and over the years I have relived Returning in 1937, John was as- undersides of the new buses. This the experience – the massive wall signed a brand-new White Motor was an onerous task for the drivers, of flames charging toward us, gale Company red bus – bus number 99, as he picturesquely described: force winds snapping and popping which still is in service today. He “The Kleaner had a rack to drive the pine trees like match sticks, two recalled that it “had no more than bus onto and elevate it into the air. mountains aglow with fire, and five miles on the odometer when A trigger-operated nozzle released a flaming debris flying all around I headed out with my first load of high pressure mixture of steam and us.… The air was filled with red ‘dudes’ across Logan Pass.” harsh chemicals that stripped the tar, burning debris, cinders, and smoke, John’s articles in The Inside Trail oil, and anything else from the chas- igniting one fire after another and related carefree memories from the sis. Who can forget those nasty ses- making breathing a significant 1930s and ‘40s. One was the long- sions? All the ‘crud’ was supposed problem. Covering our heads with standing softball rivalry between to fall into the sludge pit under the wet rags helped somewhat. Strong the gearjammers and the lodge rack, but most seemed to end up on wind gusts made it very difficult to employees at the Entrance Hotel. the operator. If you weren’t wearing move around and keep balanced. a ‘g-suit,’ forget about going on a Games were played weekly after “The wind was so intense across date that night!” dinner at the Transport Company the lake it was literally picking up compound in East Glacier. The John told arresting tales of his sheets of water and misting the field was a dirt-and-gravel park- backcountry adventures in the Park. hotel structure. Some of us were convinced that this strange phe- nomenon played a significant part “[O]ver the years I have relived the experience in helping the firefighters save the (of the 1936 Heaven’s Peak fire) – the massive hotel from burning down. wall of flames charging toward us, gale force “Sid Couch organized the gearjam- winds snapping and popping pine trees like mer firefighters to save the employ- match sticks, two mountains aglow with fire, and ees’ and gearjammers’ dormitories and the bus garage. … I recall that flaming debris flying all around us … making most of our effort was trying to breathing a significant problem.” snuff out all of the spot fires that kept cropping up in the dry bushes ing lot, and John recalled “lots of He once took a slide down Grin- around the garage and dorm. skinned knees and elbows” from nell Glacier, stopped a few inches “It was late in the evening before that unfriendly surface. Two big from a crevasse, then threw a rock the winds finally subsided, the garages encroached on the outfield into the crevasse and never heard it worst was over, and the joyful (like the Green Monster at Fenway hit the bottom. Another of John’s realization that the beautiful Many Park), and balls hit onto their roofs adventures recalls the tightrope Glacier Hotel was still standing were treated as ground-rule doubles. walker Blondin above Niagara was apparent. It was a real trib- Falls – John climbed out on a tree John remembered the gearjammer ute to all the hotel employees and limb above a 300-foot drop, and team of 1937 as the best ever. He guests who fought long and hard stood on his head! fondly recited most of the lineup against tremendous odds. seven decades later. He remem- John’s favorite story, however, “In only a few hours the whole bered Harvey O’Phelan (who later involved meeting Mary, his wife of fabric of the Many Glacier land- became a distinguished orthopedic 12 ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ The Inside Trail 62 years. John related this tale to Leroy Lott, who shared it through The Inside Trail: “John met his wife Mary in Glacier in 1941. As Transport Agent at the Entrance, John was furnished an advance list of employees arriving on the Great Northern’s Empire Builder. John perused the list and ran across the name of Mary Treacy. He says that he fell in love with her name. “John tried diligently to cross Mary’s path on her arrival at the depot. He missed her there and first encountered her three weeks later at a dance at the hotel. He John and Mary Turner with their children. (Photo courtesy of the Turner family.) asked her to dance, and he was In 2004, their children and grand- honor John in his later years. Two ever so pleased when she provided children planned a reunion in Gla- Californians, Don Perry and Ed - her name! They began their court cier Park, assuming that neither of Baretta (jammers in 1959) intro- ship while walking on the golf their parents could attend. Weeks duced themselves to John and course that night, sipping from one before the reunion, Mary died. established a custom of giving him bottle of beer.” a birthday dinner. Leroy Lott (class The family carried on with the trip of 1949 and ’50) solicited birthday John and Mary were engaged by the to Glacier. John (88 years old, and greetings to John from his enormous end of the summer. Four months having been homebound for a de- alumni list, and dozens of former later, Pearl Harbor was attacked, cade) surprised them by making his drivers responded. and the country entered World War own way to Montana, joining them Two. John left school and went to for the reunion. He rode Glacier’s As a crowning honor, John was work in California as an aircraft roads again and was reunited after asked to ride in a 1925 Glacier red engineer, designing warplanes. 65 years with red bus number 99. bus in the Tournament of Roses - Parade. Bruce Austin, the owner of Mary came to California and mar As more years passed, John gradu- the bus, arranged for the chairperson ried John in 1942. They built a ally lost the use of his legs. But he of the parade to go to John’s home home in Granada Hills, outside Los remained vigorous, cooking meals, and give him the invitation. The bus Angeles, and lived there till the end baking bread and carrying out his - was a “cranker,” similar to the one of their days. They had six chil housework and yard work with the that John had first driven in 1936. dren and many grandchildren and help of a wheelchair. He carried great-grandchildren. The family on an active e-mail correspondence John always concluded his e-mails always remained close-knit. past the age of 100. with “blessings!” He has been a - great blessing to the Glacier commu- John had a remarkable profes Gearjammers of later eras rallied to sional career, developing ejector nity and to his innumerable friends. seats for military jets. He was Vice President of Engineering for Weber John had a remarkable professional career, Aircraft. He worked on the Gemini space capsule, designing an ejector developing ejector seats for military jets. He was seat that saved an astronaut’s life. Vice President of Engineering for Weber Aircraft. John faithfully tended Mary He worked on the Gemini space capsule, designing through years of declining health. an ejector seat that saved an astronaut’s life.

The Inside Trail ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ 13 Thanks to our generous donors! The Glacier Park Foundation gratefully thanks the many generous donors who’ve contributed funds beyond their membership dues. GPF remains an all-volunteer effort. We deeply appreciate the extra contributions which help fund our projects and our publications. Gary Barron Clark and Mary Bormann John and Patricia Case Jay and Janet Cornish (in memory of Dr. John Hagen) Rosella Dambowy Don Day Joyce Daugaard and George Noble (in memory of Dr. John Hagen) “Go Fund Me” page Sondra and William Fondren Margie Goergen-Rood for Ian Tippet Greg Hagen John Hagen Many Inside Trail readers know and love Ian B. Tippet, former Karen Heller manager of Lake McDonald Lodge and Many Glacier Hotel Phil Holtegaard and former personnel director for Glacier Park, Inc. He Jim Hummel profoundly influenced the lives of thousands of Glacier Park Rolf Larson employees through the decades, and we are deeply grateful to Dr. Albert Manville him. Mr. Tippet now is 87 years old and experiencing difficult Richard Mark times, including medical problems. A “Go Fund Me” page Steven Marquardt has been established for him. James McGarry Paul Meierding We hope that you’ll consider giving what you can to assist Russell and Ellen Gill Miller this marvelous man in this season of his life. Don Rubovitz Mark Schneider Rod and Cindy Lou Schobert To contribute, go to the GPF Facebook page to find a link. McNeil Seymour Timothy Spiess Dr. James Thompson and Margaret Dowling Carl Van Valkenburg

14 ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ The Inside Trail East Glacier Country Music Band, 1995

Ian Tippet plays accompaniment for Mike Rihner during an evening program The New Musical at Glacier Park Lodge. Tradition at Glacier Park Lodge

By Mike Rihner (Many Glacier, Lake McD, GPL, 1990-95, 2002-2018)

The performers mentioned are just a handful of the many talented people who have shared their musicianship with the guests and graced the “stage” that is the lobby of Glacier Park Lodge.

The great history of music per- Tippet managed the historic lodge sands and will live forever in the formances and Broadway produc- has been well documented. Mr. hearts and minds of employees and tions at Many Glacier Hotel during Tippet created a musical legacy at guests who visited the park in those the golden years when Mr. Ian B. Many Glacier that touched thou- golden years.

The Inside Trail ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ 15 All Photos courtesy of Mike Rihner Ben Darce

Mike Rhiner, Ian Tippet, Roger Stephens

Grant Sorlie Grant Sorlie

Todd Gray

Wayne Murphy

Rob Styron

16 ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ The Inside Trail Mike Rhiner, Ian Tippet, Roger Stephens

Emma Hagan Todd Gray Julie Smythe McKenzie Sherburne

Fred Patricia Soldotska Logan

Rob Styron

Jessie Nolan

The Inside Trail ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ 17 Although the last Broadway musi - cal was performed at Many Glacier 1995 was my first summer working as in the summer of 1983, Mr. Tippet continued to hire musicians each Entertainment Director at Glacier Park Lodge. summer for all three major ho - tels, including three entertainment Director at Lake McDonald, and music that was stored in a small directors. He placed one director Julie Smythe was Entertainment closet in the basement near the at each location: Many Glacier, Director at Glacier Park Lodge in St. Moritz Room. Thanks to this Lake McDonald, and Glacier Park East Glacier Park. large library that Mr. Tippet had Lodge. This was how I came to the created, great classics like “Danny Glacier Park experience. In 1989 Musical hits from Phantom of the Boy,” “Moon River,” “Stranger I graduated from the University of Opera, Fiddler on the Roof, Okla- in Paradise,” “Shenandoah,” and New Orleans with a degree in mu - homa, The Fantasticks, Pippin, many more made their way into sic, and I was pondering my next Godspell, Guys and Dolls, South the nightly repertoire. The dining move. A friend of mine told me Pacific, and The Sound of Music room choir would regularly sing about the summer music tradition echoed through the great Many “Food, Glorious Food,” “Consider of Glacier Park, and so I sent in an Glacier Hotel six nights a week in Yourself at Home,” and “Put On application and applied for the po - that summer of 1990. I especially a Happy Face.” I spent two more sition of “Entertainment Director.” remember alto singer Jenny Knight years as Entertainment Director at from Indiana, who had a beautiful I still vividly remember the day Many Glacier Hotel, in 1993 and and expressive voice. Tenor singer when the phone rang in the early 1994. Each summer was more Jesse Nolan from Baton Rouge was spring of 1990. A very genteel man magical than the previous one. dynamic and powerful and received with a distinctive English accent thunderous applause each time he In 1996 I worked at Lake McDon- was on the phone offering me the sang. ald Lodge. I did variety shows in position of Entertainment Director the lobby almost every night that at Many Glacier Hotel. “As Enter - Being from New Orleans, of course summer. The night that Rodney tainment Director,” he said, “it will I had to bring some jazz into the Erickson (the dorm dad) hosted our be your job to organize, rehearse, mix, and so eventually a jazz evening variety show as “David and perform various solos, duets, quartet was formed with other em- Letterman: Live From Lake Mc- trios, and whatever you can put ployees. Jazz classics like “Basin Donald Lodge” was a highlight. together with other employees for Street Blues,” “Take the ‘A’ Train,” nightly entertainment in the lobby “Route 66,” “Don’t Get Around 1995 was my first summer working of the hotel. You will also play Much Anymore,” and many others as Entertainment Director at Gla- piano music in the dining room were performed regularly. There cier Park Lodge. Little did I know during dinner hours and organize were at least a half dozen really at the time that I would eventually a dining room choir.” Mr. Tip - good singers and several instru- return to work at the majestic lodge pet explained to me the awesome mentalists, including a drummer, for 17 consecutive summers, from and rich tradition of music he had saxophone player, violin player, 2002 through 2018! A major high- created at the historic hotel, and and clarinet player. Eventually I light from my first summer was the although the Broadway musicals started composing my own ar- night when Mr. Tippet agreed to were no more, he told me he still rangements and original music for play piano for me while I sang two expected these more informal eve - those instrumentalists. It was then of his personal favorites: “Danny ning lobby shows to be at a high that the “Glacier Classic Quartet” Boy,” and “Jerusalem.” level with regard to musicianship was born. We performed many That first summer of ‘95 at GPL and repertoire. times that summer. we had formed the “East Glacier I spent that summer of 1990 direct - Over the years, Mr. Tippet had Country Western Band” for the ing the music at Many Glacier. amassed a large collection of sheet American Cabaret. It featured the Fred Logan was Entertainment

18 ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ The Inside Trail times both in the lobby and in the Little did I know at the time that I would Arrow Room of GPL, playing clas- sics from Bob Dylan, Neil Young, eventually return to work at the majestic lodge for and Jim Croce, among others. I’ve 17 consecutive summers, from 2002 through 2018! included a photo of us from around 2009 performing in the Arrow Room. “The Bear Grass Boys” also The result was “Glacier Piano awesome talents of banjo player performed at various other locations Reflections”, which I performed Charles Lackey from Nashville. in the area over the years, including quite often at GPL for the next Charles’s authentic banjo picking The Snow Slip Inn, The Belton Cha- several years. It seemed to be a and country vocal “twang” was let Tap Room, and Summit Station. pure gold. I played piano, wrote real crowd-pleaser for the guests. arrangements for the group, and These piano pieces eventually be- Although musicians now are not directed the band. Timeless coun- came “Peace Park” for symphony actively recruited as they were in the try classics like “Great Speckled orchestra, which was performed by old days, there are always a handful Bird,” “I Walk the Line,” “Crazy,” the Glacier Symphony in July 2010 of employees who have rich musi- and “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” as part of the Glacier National Park cal talents to share. Jazz guitarist echoed through Glacier Park Lodge centennial concert celebration at Ben Darce from Austin, Texas has all through the summer of 1995. Rebecca Farms in Kalispell. worked as a waiter in the Great Gretchen Bradley from Salt Lake One of the outstanding highlights Northern Restaurant at Glacier Park City mimicked the Patsy Cline from those early years was the Lodge for the past ten years. He voice perfectly, and she got great summer of 2006 when Roger Ste- and I have performed quite a lot as applause every night she sang. phens and his wife visited Glacier a duo during this time. He earned his degree in jazz music studies from Since 2002, I’ve been very fortu- Park Lodge. Roger was the musical director for many of Mr. Tippet’s the University of North Texas. Ben nate to return each year as Enter- is an avid mountain climber and he tainment Director at Glacier Park elaborate Broadway productions at Many Glacier in the golden era. To loves Glacier Park as much as anyone Lodge. I have been a professional I know. music teacher in New Orleans meet and talk with him and Mr. since 1996, which means that I Tippet and to hear their stories from Violin player Patricia Soldotska from have the summer months off of that magical time was quite simply Poland has worked in the Great work. This creates the perfect fantastic. After sharing several sto- Northern Restaurant for the past scenario for me to return to Glacier ries and much laughter, Roger asked three years, from 2016 thru 2018. Park each summer during my time if he could sing a song with me in In 2017 we performed several times off. the lobby show that evening. I was as a duet, playing various classical thrilled! We had a quick rehearsal themes and some traditional polkas. When I first returned to work at before dinner. That night I played Glacier Park Lodge in 2002, the piano while Roger passionately sang Former GPI employees often show company had virtually stopped ac- the melodious and poignant “With- up to visit the park again and per- tively recruiting musically talented out a Song.” The lobby erupted form. Singer Jesse Nolan (Lake employees. Many employees were in unbridled applause at Roger’s McDonald ‘90 and ‘91) and Robert now coming from foreign coun- dynamic singing. It was a magical Styron (Many Glacier ‘91) have both tries. In addition to a series of performance. returned several times over the past themed variety shows that I per- two decades. In 2014, we formed formed myself, I decided to create It was about 2007, I believe, when I a vocal trio and sang a collection of an audio-visual show for the lobby formed an acoustic duet with guitar- various American folk songs. On with original music, video images ist Wayne Murphy, the warehouse another occasion, Rob played flute of the park, narration, and humor- manager at GPI from 2000-2012. while I played guitar and sang Paul ous historical anecdotes about We called ourselves “The Bear Grass McCartney’s “Fool on the Hill.” famous places in the park. Boys.” We performed dozens of

The Inside Trail ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ 19 Vibraphone player Grant Sorlie, who for me to return to East Glacier their time and talents to enhance the now lives in Kalispell, worked at each summer to make music for the Glacier Park experience for all the Many Glacier Hotel in the “golden guests in the historic lodge, not only guests. Thank you, Mr. Tippet, for era,” from 1980-1982. Grant has as a soloist, but also as an accom- opening this musical door so many volumes of stories to share from the panist for others. The performers years ago to me and to so many oth- old days at Many Glacier. After I’ve mentioned are just a handful of ers. And thank you, Nicole Smith meeting each other at the Many Gla- the many talented people who have and Ron Cadrette, for keeping the cier Reunion in 2015, we finally were shared their musicianship with the door open and the music going for able to get together to perform an ex- guests and graced the “stage” that so many years since. May the musi- citing duet of classic standards in the is the lobby of Glacier Park Lodge. cal tradition in Glacier Park continue Great Northern Restaurant in July of What a joy it is to perform and to into the future for the enjoyment of 2017. After dinner, we performed an share that “stage” with so many other everyone. entire lobby show together to enthu- gracious musicians who freely give siastic applause. East Glacier’s own resident vocal- ist McKenzie Sherburne, a dynamic performer who sings and performs in What a joy it is to perform and to share that various shows in New York, has been “stage” with so many other gracious musicians a regular performer with me at GPL who freely give their time and talents to enhance over the years. Emma Hagan,a local girl, is an alto who plays guitar and the Glacier Park experience for all the guests. sings with a warm endearing tone. Emma still returns now and then to sing for the guests. Guests have been known to occasionally share their talents in the lobby shows. They have freely offered musical samplings of everything from Beethoven to the Beatles and beyond. I especially remember Todd Gray, a trumpet player from San Fran- cisco, who joined me one night in 2017 and played a great version of “What a Wonderful World.” The continuing musical tradition at Glacier Park Lodge is perhaps richer than many people Mike “Rhinestone” Rihner with Ian Tippet and Roger Stephens during a 2006 visit by realize. It has been an the Stephens family. honor and a privilege

20 ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ The Inside Trail Glacier Park Oddities and Idiosyncrasies of the 1960s

By Mac Willemssen (Swiftcurrent than that we Swifties felt like rubes t-shirts for $1.00 and selling them for 1967, Many Glacier 1968-70) compared to the sophisticated Many $3.00. Glacier emps. We were literally and During the summer of 2017, my wife Our football revelry came to an abrupt figuratively at the end of the road. and I spent a night at Glacier Park end in 1970. I was president of the Lodge. One of the desk clerks printed I got to know some Many emps. They Many Glacier Employee Council. In our airline boarding passes at the front had a flag football team for the annual that capacity, I received a letter from desk. After thanking her, I showed GPL-MGH football game. The MGH Al Donau, the GPI general manager. her a photo on my iPhone from the captains asked me to bring a team to Mr. Donau summarily cancelled the summer of 1967. The photo showed the upper parking lot for a scrimmage football games. The stated reason was Miss Swiftcurrent, Claudia Hanson, game. It ended in a 0-0 tie and I was a risk of injury; the reason suspected and her escort, me, on a stage built on asked to become a ringer for Mr. Tip- by Mr. Tippet was GPL’s fear of los- top of the giant log tables in the GPL pet’s Choirboys. ing. I wrote a pleading letter, offering lobby. You could see the exact place parental releases for all the players, In hindsight, we were a bunch of the desk clerk and I were standing. To but my advocacy proved futile. The numbskulls, playing football on an my surprise, her reaction had nothing football games became odd and idio- asphalt parking lot with the sidelines to do with the sameness of the GPL syncratic pieces of Glacier history. being curbs. You never wanted to front desk; rather, she was shocked fall, so you developed a great sense The pageants now look even more by the idea that that there used to be a of balance. When we got to GPL for strange and dated from the vantage Miss Glacier Park Pageant … and that the game on the front lawn, the green point of the 21st century. In the 1960s, the 19-year old blond-haired escort grass felt heaven-sent. We started off and for years preceding that decade, was now a 69-year old geezer with with a kickoff return for a touchdown, they were a big deal. Each of the GPI grey hair. only to have GPL eventually win the locations, plus the jammers, all had I then told her about the Many Gla- game. This lit the fire for payback the their own pageants to decide who was cier-GPL football games. Those were next two summers. going to be Miss Rising Sun, Miss almost as strange to her as the thought Prince of Wales, Miss Lake McDon- In 1968, MGH won 41-7. Mr. Tip- of a beauty pageant. Who would ever ald, Miss Glacier Park Lodge, Miss pet, our “coach”, was excited about come to work in Glacier National Many Glacier, Miss Swiftcurrent and the victory. He treated the entire team Park and then do things like beauty Miss Jammer. and all our lederhosen-clad cheer- pageants and football games? It was leaders to a steak dinner in the Many I was asked by Claudia Hanson, Swift- a great question for which there was Glacier Dining Room. In 1969, MGH current’s “Miss Camp Store” (a title really no good answer. won again. This time Mr. Tippet was that is definitely resume material) to I spent the summer of 1966 working too impatient to wait for the victory be her escort. Claudia was promoted at an upscale boys’ camp in Maine. dinner. After our win, he called Chef from Miss Camp Store to Miss Swift- It was fun and a great experience Wilson and told him to get steaks, current. When it came time for the for a small-town Iowa boy. Two of baked potatoes, relishes-to-be-passed Miss Glacier Park Pageant, she and I my hometown friends had spent the and pie ala mode ready for us upon rode a red bus to GPL on the Saturday summer of 1966 working in the camp our return. That was probably the best of the Pageant. store at Swiftcurrent. They had great meal ever served in the Many Glacier Let’s just say it was a lot easier being stories, great photos and great adven- employees’ cafeteria. an escort than a contestant. The pag- tures. Above all, they had mountains I also became a budding capitalist in eant contestants had to practice their and girls. 1969. In addition to designing and routines, meet the judges, do a lot of Mr. Tippet hired me to be a house- selling Glacier National Park “Staff” smiling, get their hair done and look man at Swiftcurrent for the summer t-shirts, I also designed and sold red good in doing so. We escorts spent of 1967. It was a good job and Swifty Many Glacier football t-shirts. I felt about ten minutes with one of ladies was a great place to work, other like Scrooge McDuck, buying the in charge who told us what we should

The Inside Trail ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ 21 and shouldn’t do. The essence of our lesson was don’t pick your nose, don’t Pageants look stupid and don’t be dorky. After Football & those valuable instructions, we had all Cheerleaders day to go to the swimming pool, drink beer and get sun tans. I’m happy to say I didn’t pick my nose; I’m not so sure about stupid and dorky. I got to reprise my role as an escort for Judy Shoup (who later became Judy Willemssen) in the 1969 and 1970 Miss Many Glacier Pageants, which I think were the last years for the pag - eants in Glacier. I will get in trouble with my wife for writing this, but I want to pass along the story of Judy’s “sportswear” choice. That was one of the parts of the pageants, along with talent, formalwear and, later for the finalists, the dreaded oral questions … with everyone hoping to get in a good word for world peace and helping blind children. Most contestants in the “sportswear” part of the pageant would wear some type of shorts, shoes and a jacket or wrap. Judy had a great tan and sun- blond hair, so after her wrap was described, she peeled it off to show her “sportswear” was an orange bikini. There was an audible gasp from the au- dience, but she looked just great … and was ahead of the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants by 30 years. We still have one of the judge’s score- cards which he gave Judy after the pageant. He praised her singing voice, but the bikini might have been a little too much (or too little?) for him. He wrote, “Be sure to honor your mother and father and walk in the ways of the Lord”. I now look back from the vantage point of 50 years and realize the 2017 GPL desk clerk was right. When you work in Glacier you have mountains, hiking, climbing, natural beauty, great friends and fun. Who really needs oddities and idiosyncrasies like football and beauty pageants?

22 ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ The Inside Trail Hitchhiking & Hiking in the 1940s By Richard Schwab (Many Glacier was decided that all spare tax mon- there would be a viable population 1947-52) ies should go into the pockets of of all species of animals in the Park. larcenous defense contractors, fiscal Memory of those completely anxiety- It could be fairly said in the 1940s and criminals, and other big-time and free days on the trails anywhere in the 1950s that the employees in the Park little-time thieves, pork-barrellers, Park brings out my curmudgeonly owned Glacier. Our era of near mo- and hangers-on. The crystal lakes and tendencies, when I compare that nopoly of the backcountry came just rivers of the Park had not yet been in- relaxed atmosphere with the one that after the days when large numbers of fected by Giardia, and we drank freely currently prevails. Now you have to people still rode horses, and the great Park Saddle Horse Company trips had up to six hundred horses carry- It could be fairly said in the 1940s and 1950s ing dudes on incomparable horseback that the employees in the Park owned Glacier. tours all over the interior of the Park. Our era of near monopoly of the backcountry A watershed occurred, however, with the closure and irreversible decay of came just after the days when large numbers of the back country tent camps during people still rode horses. World War II, and thereafter the big horseback trips were discontinued. and copiously from the little stream- be slightly concerned most of the time On the other hand, it was only after lets and cataracts that crossed the trails about what you might see coming at the time we worked in Glacier that the everywhere. you around the next curve of a trail, healthy vogue for hiking and camping even a well-travelled one. The danger of grizzlies never crossed caught on in a big way in the United our minds, and we hiked blissfully Practically the only problem bears in States. It ultimately filled the moun- without giving a thought to them. the forties and fifties were the beg- tainous back country with backpack- Veteran backcountry rangers, acting gar black bears, like the cinnamon ers, hikers, and climbers. For a short on the archaic idea that a human life “Glacier Gertie” and her cubs, lining period in between those two phases of is more important than that of a beast, up for handouts along the Going-to- the history of the Park the automobile actually shot bears if there was an indi- the-Sun Road and stopping traffic. A reigned supreme, and not many of the cation they were a threat. On my way few of these bears became raiders and visitors ventured very far from their to Granite once I was surprised to see scavengers at campgrounds as well. vehicles or the buses. a ranger in the distance kneeling with They eventually were cleared away For the most part, the only people a high-powered rifle raised toward as a menace to car travellers, but the besides Park employees who were regularly seen on the trails were exceptionally interesting and adven- For a short period in between those two phases turous souls or half-mad eccentrics. of the history of the Park the automobile reigned The magnificent chalets, Granite and supreme, and not many of the visitors ventured Sperry, were practically empty much of the time, and they constantly lost very far from their vehicles or the buses. money for the Great Northern Rail- road, which would have closed them if some low trees and underbrush. An- grizzlies increased in numbers and too the Park Service had permitted them other ranger was standing next to him. often threatened, maimed, and killed to. And so for all practical purposes I later found out they were getting rid hikers on the trails and campgrounds the interior of the Park belonged to of a troublesome grizzly. of the Park. us, the trail crew people, and the Park The rangers did not make a big fuss Hitchhiking Service people. about it, but quietly used good judg- But back to the adventures of the The trails continued to be beautifully ment in disposing of dangerous ani- 1940s and 1950s. Many Glacier has maintained in this period before it mals at the same time as they assured always been the hub of a network of

The Inside Trail ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ 23 to Many Glacier, because the traffic was so very sparse there. The only comforting thing about that location was that you could hike the twelve miles to the hotel if you had to. The biggest tensions, though, came if the hour was getting late and you were hitchhiking back from the Waterton area in Canada. The border closed at 10:00 o’clock or maybe earlier then, and if you did not get a ride through the checking station by that time you were lost. I recall sweating that one out more than once, but we always managed to get lucky. Occasionally a humane ranger, per- Photo courtesy of the Ray Djuff collection. haps recognizing you, would give you the critical lift if you were stranded Practically the only problem bears in the forties somewhere, although I think this was against Park policy. I recall being and fifties were the beggar black bears, like the rescued by a ranger when I was pretty cinnamon “Glacier Gertie” and her cubs, lining much trapped at dusk on the high- way way down near Lake McDonald. up for handouts along the Going-to-the-Sun Road Providentially, he was heading to and stopping traffic. Many Glacier to give a talk or nature tour of some kind. Remembering what a relief it was to the best hiking trails and climbing getting short. Uncertainty about lifts get a ride in those days, I have made approaches in the Park. We could added an extra edge to the adventure, it a policy to pick up backpackers and have been kept busy exploring that and we would laugh in relief about employee hitchhikers whenever there area without ever having to travel various kinds of close calls once we got is any room at all in the car during anywhere by car. However, we wanted back to the hotel. these last twenty summers at Glacier. to try exciting expeditions all over Except for one occasion, a great bliz- It is enjoyable to talk with them, find Glacier, and this meant hitchhiking. zard in July of 1948 that was counted out where they come from, and where Anyone who has thumbed rides as as an adequate excuse for not getting they have been in the Park; and it is a extensively as the employees did then back to home base on time, my com- salute to the good-hearted souls who will have plenty of interesting stories panions of the road and I always man- gave us rides a couple generations about hitchhiking; and this is as good aged to catch rides when we needed earlier. a place as any to discuss that part of them most. We were willing to risk our Glacier adventures. Salt of the Earth the uncertainties of hitchhiking, but Once in the 1940s I was heading to Hitchhiking is one of the least de- sometimes that part of our trips was Canada, and an antique Chevy or pendable ways of travelling, and since quite worrisome until it was all safely Ford, the kind with running boards we knew we would be automatically over. Several times salvation came just on the sides and a spare tire perched fired if we did not get back in time in the nick of time, a sort of miracle at on the back, stopped to give me a lift. for work, we experienced many an the moment of despair after hours of A gentle old Montana couple said they hour of anxiety out on the road at the no luck on a little-travelled road. thought they had room for me in their end of a day. The need to catch a ride One of the most difficult places to packed back seat. They told me to sometimes led us practically to run as get a ride toward nightfall was the move a valise out of the way in order we got toward the end of long hikes stretch of road from the Babb turnoff to make a place to sit. (That was the in the interior and saw the time was

24 ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ The Inside Trail archaic word they used: “valise”.) They were the picture of the good, salt-of-the- It turned out that they were elderly Mormons making the great pilgrim- earth rural Americans of the olden days. I have age of their lives, to the Temple in always remembered how fine, almost holy, Cardston. I was impressed with their they were as they calmly moved toward their complete serenity. They told me they had waited twenty years to make this Jerusalem. trip, and that in order to be permit- ted into the Temple they had to bring straw hat with cherries. They were the his backbone. This was a dreadful their “Recommend.” It was the first picture of the good, salt-of-the-earth emergency, for it looked as if the bear time I had heard that old-fashioned rural Americans of the olden days. I were about to crawl completely in. term, and the elderly gentleman have always remembered how fine, The man’s face was now drained white, explained simply that you had to live almost holy, they were as they calmly and his eyes bulged. “Can you do right for many years in order to get moved toward their Jerusalem. one. The couple were both dressed in something?” he gurgled in a frozen, humble, spotless clothes, he in a blue A Roadside Bear strangled voice. I grabbed a sandwich shirt and suspenders, she wearing a Another time I was given a ride over out of my lunch bag, and uttering Logan Pass in a very big luxury auto- as much of a prayer as a free-thinker Illustration credit: mobile. The driver was a jolly man could, I tossed it at the small triangu- (1920’s cartoon, Ray Djuff collection. with a big stomach, who liked to talk. lar space in the window that was not Part way down on the other side of filled by the bear. Miraculously, the the Pass he spotted a beggar bear along sandwich shot outside, and the bear the road and made an exclamation of pulled itself back immediately to lope interest. “Hey, look at that!” he cried after it. out, “A bear!” He screeched on the The instant that happened the shaken brakes and backed up the big boat man’s stomach almost audibly popped parallel to the beast. The bear reared back out to the steering wheel where on its hind feet and pressed its nose it had been before. Without a word against the window. he frenetically wound up the window The driver was charmed. “Have you and then floored the gas pedal. For got anything to feed him?” he chuck- the rest of the trip he did not utter a led. Heedless of my warnings he syllable, but he kept his eyes glued on rolled down the window! In no time the road, perspiration dripping down the bear had its head inside, right next on his white-knuckled hands. His to the driver’s throat. This caused him face had changed from chalk white to stiffen up with fear, and he released to bright red, and he was breathing the brake and started to inch the car heavily. forward. Thereupon the bear, walking I too was scared out of all small talk. sideways, put one of its great paws in After about twenty minutes he word- squarely on the driver’s huge stomach, lessly stopped the car to let me out squashing it down like a pillow against at the entry road to Lake McDonald

The driver was charmed. “Have you got anything to feed him?” he chuckled. Heedless of my warnings he rolled down the window! In no time the bear had its head inside, right next to the driver’s throat.

The Inside Trail ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ 25 Hotel. They looked as magnificent and colorful as they The Browning Rodeo On the 4th of July of 1948 I hitch- appear in Winold Reiss’s paintings. hiked with some other employees down to Browning for the annual they could lean against the corral posts and the more adventurous employees Indian rodeo. A Blackfeet family gave and take the sun and doze. Several made it up to Lethbridge and even us a ride back in the box of a truck, were famous warriors nearly a hun- Calgary. Others of us ventured in the and they stopped like a generous dred years old who had participated in opposite direction too, over Logan public conveyance to pick up all the buffalo hunts, fought pitched battles Pass toward Flathead Lake to Kalispell, other employees who were hitchhiking with enemy tribes, and stolen horses. which was a most appealing Montana along the road. By the time we pulled Many of them were bent over and town. feeble with age and some were blind. into St. Mary there were fourteen My memory of hitchhiking in the employees and seven little children I was struck by their air of great dig- Park in those days is a sort of cumu- piled into the back of the truck, a total nity, wisdom, and solemnity as the sun lative fused image of standing with of twenty-one. emphasized the pure white of their friends along a road urgently holding The rodeos at Browning were the best braided hair, their deeply wrinkled our thumbs out, sometimes making I ever saw, and I went to them every brown faces, their craggy features, imploring gestures, bounding gleefully year I could. The participants were and the brilliance of their beaded to the vehicles when they stopped for suicidally brave and reckless. There and feathered regalia. They looked us, spending many hours sitting, wait- was a small grandstand, but its occu- as magnificent and colorful as they ing, worrying, talking, and sometimes pants sometimes threw out firecrackers appear in Winold Reiss’s paintings. playing word games like Ghost. In them we were seeing the closing of that did not clear all the rows of seats. Only an occasional episode stands out, an era in history. They were the very It was far better simply to lean right if something really unusual happened. last Blackfeet warriors still alive who up against the rail fence of the corral, This was the case when I was hitchhik- had lived the traditional warlike and or sit on it, and get a thrilling ring- ing back from the Waterton townsite independent life of the plains Indians. side view of the carnage. We would with a fellow and his pretty, spirited Their daily lives, customs, religion, move back when the violent action girlfriend. We did not have much warfare, and hunts were described in got too close. At one of those rodeos luck for a long time, and they got into the works of James Willard Schultz a particularly ferocious Brahma bull an argument about something. To (Appekunny) who had lived among got completely out of control, bellow- my amazement she starting socking them as an Indian and was still alive ing and bucking and trying to gore and kicking him, landing some very himself in the 1940s. everything in sight with his massive audible hard punches on his face and head. Blinded by rage he crashed into A Battered Boyfriend kicks on his legs. In my non-violent the fence, and then with a terrible roar Although most of our hitchhiking was life I had never yet seen such fierce he splintered the top rail and jumped to get to a trailhead or back, we all fisticuffs visited by one person upon over it right into the crowd. They made sure to see what the other hotel another, and the one who was doing scattered for their lives in all direc- facilities were like at the Entrance it was a fine-boned, lithe girl! I was tions. (Glacier Park Lodge), Lake McDon- startled. He was quite a good sport At the Blackfeet rodeos the most ald, Two Medicine, the old Going-to- about it, and they continued to go memorable and impressive experience the-Sun Chalets high above the lake together afterward. before they were torn down, and the for me was seeing the immensely an- Friends, Gear and Weather Prince of Wales Hotel in Canada. The cient braves, dressed in their brilliant Starting right at the beginning in 1947 Waterton townsite, with its gift shops finery and set out on blankets where I fell in with a group of employees who and pubs, was a favorite destination, wanted to see as much of the interior The rodeos at Browning were the best I ever of the Park as possible. Some of them had worked at Glacier the previous saw, and I went to them every year I could. The summer when it reopened after World participants were suicidally brave and reckless. War II, or even before the war. We shared the powerful temptation always

26 ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ The Inside Trail to push on a little further in order to see what new views might be around The designers of the incomparable trail the next corner or on the next ledge, and curiosity and expectancy made network in Glacier were said to have hiking and climbing easy for us. numbered among them some of the engineers We were constantly seeking out new who had built the Great Northern. places to explore. With such compan- ions adventure came almost automati- the world. The Army-Navy stores provided sur- cally. They differed radically in age, plus boots, ancient backpacks, and ka- Most of us had no elaborate gear for backgrounds, abilities, and interests, pok sleeping bags for those who even even our most ambitious expeditions. but the mountains brought out the thought to supply themselves with We did not patronize big-time hikers’ best in all of them. these amenities. Most of us made do and climbers’ stores selling designer with tennis shoes and paper bags for All the free time that was available boots and all the present remarkable carrying our lunches. I once achieved to me in 1947 as a houseboy made it variety of outdoors supplies. The a degree of notoriety for using an old possible from the outset of my time most modern device we had was the college briefcase for that purpose! in Glacier to undertake ambitious useful little thumb and forefinger can There was no such thing as freeze- trips or take shorter ones close to opener that was designed for open- dried foods available to us, and some the hotel that would occupy only an ing K-Rations and the like during the of us ended up carrying ludicrously afternoon and maybe the early part of conflagration that was just over. an evening. This included several of the best-known hikes, such as those to Redrock and Bullhead Lakes, Iceberg Credit: (Glacier Park Lake, Ptarmigan Tunnel, Grinnell brochure, Ray Djuff Glacier, and Cracker Lake. collection.) Any one of these is a great first hike because it introduces you to matchless mountain scenery very quickly. The designers of the incomparable trail network in Glacier were said to have numbered among them some of the engineers who had built the Great Northern. They were not easily turned back by obstacles such as cliffs that had to have routes blasted across them, and they saw to it the hikes got up above Starting right at the timberline as soon as possible. the beginning With relatively little effort hikers on in 1947 I fell in these trails suddenly find themselves with a group surrounded by unobscured breathtak- ing views on every side. If you were at of employees all inclined to hiking you were auto- who wanted matically captivated by the fantastic opportunities for adventuring in the to see as much wilderness high country Glacier of- of the interior fered so generously and readily. There of the Park as were something under a thousand miles of good trails in the Park, which possible. made it one of the most extensive and daring networks of mountain trails in

The Inside Trail ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ 27 heavy loads of canned foodstuffs on When the storms descended on us wading through achingly cold water on overnight or longer trips. our minds were set to enjoy whatever painful and slick rocks. I usually liked nature threw at us. to use the support of a handy branch We fared forth on hiking trips re- picked up along the shore during these gardless of what weather our days off There are few things more thrilling crossings, after having had the unpleas- might bring, and we soon discovered and awesome than watching a mas- ant experience of slipping on the rocks that the stormiest, soggiest, cold- sive storm thundering across a val- and falling into the icy drink. est hikes could be as exciting and ley toward you if you have found a rewarding as hikes on sunny days. reasonably sheltered spot and have Surprising Novices The weather in Glacier is notoriously rain gear and perhaps an extra sweater. Some of the employees were stay-at- changeable. It was impossible to tell We soon found that getting wet was homes. To them the idea of walking what might happen, and frequently no calamity and threw ourselves with several miles anywhere seemed akin to a very unpromising blustery day can a certain amount of gleeful abandon madness. Set down as we were in that suddenly turn beautiful. Conversely, into wading through the saturating spectacular place that cried out to be on what started out as a flawless day, underbrush overhanging the trails explored, I could not understand them. terrific drenching and freezing storms and slogging ankle deep through the On the other hand, many of the young could come up out of nowhere. quagmires that the trails often became. people who would never have thought Nothing could be done about it of walking even a few blocks at home When the weather was sunny on the anyhow, and so the best thing was to if a car were available were surprised to eastern side of the Park it could be enjoy it. You could always get cleaned find that they could hike ten to fifteen all socked in, raining and blowing up later and wash the mud off your miles and find it a great adventure. ferociously on the west side, and vice feet, footwear, and clothing. versa. One of the first lessons all of us I was much impressed by the discov- who took hiking seriously learned was Even in good weather when bridges ery that some of the lightest and most never to step out on a trail without a were out or creeks swollen, or when fragile-looking girls, who had been slicker, regardless of how cloudless the we were striking out cross-country, we sheltered back home all their lives, skies might be. Several of us took a grew accustomed to taking off boots could gamely trip along on fifteen certain wild pleasure in fierce weather, and socks, rolling up trouser legs, and to eighteen-mile hikes in low tennis if we had our rain slickers along. shoes or even moccasin-like street shoes and return no more fatigued or worse for the wear than the rest of us. I have made it They would have regarded walking a a policy to pick mile or so as an intolerable hardship back in Minneapolis. All that was up backpackers required was youth and the idea that and employee it was a big adventure, and there were hitchhikers few prodigies of hiking and climbing whenever there they could not perform. is any room at all At times we did overdo it. There was in the car.... It an occasional bad experience with is enjoyable to over-exposure to the sun and heat, complicated by fatigue. And I have talk with them; looked with amazement at some of and a salute to the most massive blisters I have ever the good-hearted seen, covering practically the whole souls who gave of a tender heel and sole that was not yet hardened to the wear and tear of us rides a couple hikes on rough, steep trails. But the generations resilience of these young sufferers was earlier. remarkable, and sometimes in a week Photo courtesy of the Ray Djuff collection. they would be back on the trails again.

28 ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ The Inside Trail A Gearjammer’s Return By McNeil Seymour (St. Mary 1953, larly in Montana where we travelled in thinking about the consequences. On Gearjammer 1956) the daylight hours), and the food was arrival at Rising Sun, I found that the good. The sleeper made the trip much hot sun had melted and ruined the Over 50 years ago, two high school more comfortable and enjoyable. baked goods. I received a memorable friends from St. Paul and I were tongue lashing. (I asked the manager employed one summer for Hugh Neil and I stayed for four nights in if other gearjammers had made the and Margaret Black as filling station Glacier: two nights at Rising Sun and same mistake. I was pleased to hear attendants at St. Mary. Several years two nights at Many Glacier Hotel. that the answer was yes.) later, another friend and I worked for Our choices were limited, because the summer as “gearjammers” for the of the Howe Ridge Fire in the Lake Many Glacier has always been one Great Northern Railway. McDonald area. It not only caused of my favorite hotels in the world. On both of those occasions I took the I understand gearjammers now stationed every Great Northern train from St. Paul to East Glacier Park at the beginning of night at one home location, which means that the the summer and returned on the train “girl in every port” scenario is less possible. at the end of the summer. Most of the passengers on the outgoing trains did Lake McDonald Lodge to be closed, After two days at Rising Sun and its not know many other passengers, and but also closed traffic on the west side panoramic view of St. Mary Lake, we the trains were relatively quiet. On the of Going-to-the-Sun Road. drove to Many. We noted on the way return trip, however, the passengers had that the former Babb Bar has been On our first full day in the Park, we formed Glacier friendships, and the transformed into something much were picked up at Rising Sun by a red atmosphere on the trains was loud and larger and more respectable. noisy with little opportunity for sleep. bus driven by a jammer named Paul. He drove us to Logan Pass and gave us At Many Glacier, we found the lobby On one of those train trips back to an excellent talk about the Park and filled with people looking for bears. Minnesota, a jammer’s deception was related matters, including the reced- Some claimed to have seen a grizzly detected. The passengers included ing glaciers. Paul was nice enough and two cubs on a nearby mountain two girls who had worked at different to introduce me to his passengers as with their naked eyes. Others needed hotels. Both unknowingly had dated a former jammer and to give me an binoculars to see them, and others the same jammer, depending on where opportunity to comment. Although like me could not locate them with or he was stationed for the night. One of many of the current drivers are of without binoculars. That afternoon, the two girls happened to mention to retirement age, I was pleased to learn when we walked the trail around the other girl her bus driver boyfriend, that Paul was 22, or about the same Swiftcurrent Lake, we thought that and they then realized that they had age as I when I was a gearjammer. we saw bear scat. As Neil and I were the same boyfriend! That was the end walking along the trail about a mile Paul was far more versatile than I had of both relationships. I understand from the Lodge, a ranger approached been. Two days later, when Neil and I that the gearjammers generally now to tell us that a bear and two cubs had were in our room at Many Glacier, we are stationed every night at one home been seen and that we should be care- heard pleasant music from the lobby. location, which means that the “girl in ful. After the ranger left, and about We sought out the source, and there every port” scenario is less possible. 100 yards farther down the trail, a was Paul playing a guitar with lyrics person told us that he had seen a bear Since the 50’s, I had revisited the Park and commentary, and with a crowd and two cubs at a close distance. That on four occasions, but never by train. surrounding him. We were impressed. In 2018, however, my son Neil was was enough for me, and we headed willing to join me on a trip to Glacier While at Rising Sun, I told the man- back to the lodge. ager about an episode many years ago. from the newly-refurbished Union Sta- The next day we returned by train to On a trip from Lake McDonald to tion in St. Paul. I reserved a sleeper on St. Paul. I was sad to leave. One of Many Glacier, I was entrusted with the train leaving on a late August eve- my college songs includes the line: “It pies and other baked goods to drop off ning. We arrived in East Glacier about is the best old place of all.” I hope to at Rising Sun. En route, I rolled back 24 hours later. The trip was enjoyable, be back again next year. the scenery was interesting (particu- the canvas top on my bus without The Inside Trail ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ 29 Glacier Park Lodge Memories

By Jay Brain (Glacier Park Lodge home had long distance charges so behind the Lodge, rappelled down 1966-69) not many were made), no comput- the laundry wall, had water fights on ers, no internet – and we were not the front lawn when we got the hoses This picture, taken in June 2018, is allowed to have cars. We watched out for the monthly fire drill, had a of former employees of Glacier Park the first landing on the moon in the rivalry football game each summer Lodge who worked there in the late Lodge bar in 1969 on a small 12 against Many Glacier employees, 1960s (plus a spouse or two that inch black and white TV with tin went to Bison Creek Ranch occasion- were acquired in the years since). foil on the rabbit ears that someone ally for a steak dinner when we could Glacier has that magnetic effect on brought to the Lodge from East afford it and found ways to travel to you – one visit is not enough, you Glacier. Truthfully, we did not see Waterton, the Calgary Stampede, and have to return. There is no way to much but “snow” on the screen. The Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper in the see everything the Park has to offer news we got was by newspaper and Canadian Rockies. The Lodge had in one visit. Back in the 1960s there radio signals were pretty weak and a Miss Glacier Park Lodge pageant were approximately 150 employ- non-existent most times. each summer and a Christmas in July ees at Glacier Park Lodge, most of party with a decorated Christmas tree whom were college students from all So what did we do? We worked and in the lobby. We even managed to over the United States. We were all looked forward to our days off. We have dances in the employee cafeteria hired by filling out a paper applica- hiked, we camped overnight when a few times a summer. tion, attaching a photo and mailing possible, we climbed mountains, it to Mr. Ian B. Tippet at Glacier fished, rafted, hopped freight trains It’s safe to say that our summers at Park, Inc. in Arizona. He was smart from East Glacier to either Whitefish Glacier were some of the best and enough to hire all of us; each of us or Cut Bank (nothing more exhila- most memorable times in all of our worked in Glacier at least two years rating than sitting on top of a box- lives. Thank you Mr. Tippet, for and some four years. car riding through the mountains), bringing all of us together. True hitchhiked everywhere we went in the friendship never dies. We are return- Each of us had revisited the Park a Park since we had no cars, had Pow- ing to Glacier again in 2019 to cre- few times over the years individually. Wows (campfire, guitars and singing) ate some more memories together. In July 2013, Glacier Park Lodge had a reunion to celebrate its 100th anni- versary. We all attended and reunit- ed with our fellow former employees and friends. Strong bonds were formed when we all worked there be- cause we were together pretty much 24/7. We worked together, played together, and lived in the dorms and ate in the employee cafeteria togeth- er. The key word is “together,” and we became like family. Glacier is a special and magical place; those strong bonds and friend- ships that were formed made Glacier even more special to all of us because Avalanche Lake, June 2018. From left to right, East Glacier Lodge Employees of the memories we all have. There from 1965-71: Teresa Cooksey, P.J. Gardner, Penny Boelins, Adele Cox & daugh- was no TV, no cell phones (calls back ter, Jay Brain, and Terry Tucker. (Photo courtesy of Teresa Cooksey.)

30 ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ The Inside Trail Because of a Reunion

By Patricia Wykstra Johnson that I first visited in 1962. He drives Richard became a lifetime member (Glacier Park Lodge 1967) Going-to-the-Sun while I take photos. of the Glacier Park Foundation. Logan Pass parking is full, so we He loved everything about Glacier A girl never forgets her first kiss. picnic at St. Mary’s. Richard attends National Park and devoured each Mine was in July 1962. I was 15 and the GPL Reunion and meets my 1967 publication of The Inside Trail. Sadly vacationing in Glacier National Park. roommate and her husband. We and unexpectedly, Richard was felled Richard was working at the Village listen to amazing lectures and explore by a heart attack working in his Inn on Lake McDonald where my Glacier again. Missoula yard this winter. parents and I always stayed. After a summer romance week, I returned to Since our reunion in 2013, we emailed The spark of a first kiss only improves Kentucky. At the end of the summer, or talked almost every day. Once with time. My heart hurts, but I have Richard returned to Missoula. We or twice a year, I flew from North many happy memories. If the Glacier corresponded for three years until he Carolina to Missoula. We explored the Park Lodge Reunion had never wrote in 1965 that he was getting Park and Montana, attended festivals happened, I would never have found married. and concerts, rode his motorcycle, Richard again, and had those six years toured other national parks, went to of fun and adventures. RIP, Richard When my parents and I visited Glacier his fraternity brothers’ gatherings, Lee Alderson, September 1945— in the late 1950s and early 1960s, played dominoes with friends, or just February 2019. we used to pick up college student sat on the deck of his cabin absorbing hitchhikers. Finally, I was a college the beauty of Lake McDonald. student and could apply to work in the Park. I received that special letter from Mr. Tippet and was assigned to Reservations at Glacier Park Lodge for the summer of 1967. Fast forward to 2012. I am notified of a July 2013 reunion of Glacier Park Lodge employees to celebrate If the Glacier the 100th anniversary of the Lodge. Park Lodge I make plans to visit friends in Whitefish, attend the reunion, and see Reunion Banff, Lake Louise, and Jasper again. had never Fifty years have passed since that happened ... first kiss. However, when I think of Glacier, I always remember 1962. The internet now exists and I find Richard in the White Pages living in his hometown of Missoula. I send him a note. He writes back that he remembers me, wants to see me, and has no wife. We catch up by email over the next several months and meet again in July 2013. We share a kiss in the same spot under a now very old Village Inn tree. I see the family Lake McDonald cabin

The Inside Trail ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ 31 Diane Steele Sine worked at Many Glacier Hotel as a pantry girl and waitress 1980-1983. She has worked for the NPS as a seasonal ranger since 1984 and currently supervises the interpretive division at Many Glacier.

Audience in the lobby of Glacier Park Lodge This photo is a tribute to the people who have supported the Glacier Park Hotel musical efforts over the decades.

JOIN THE GLACIER PARK FOUNDATION All friends of Glacier Park are invited to join the Glacier Park Foundation. Membership includes a subscription to The Inside Trail and the right to vote for directors. Please download a membership form from our Web Site (www.glacier- parkfoundation.org) or send your name, address, phone number, and park experience to Glacier Park Foundation, Box 15641, Minneapolis, MN 55415. An annual membership in the Foundation costs $10. A “Friend of the Park” membership costs $25 annually, cumulat- ing to a Lifetime membership in five installments. A Lifetime membership paid in one installment costs $100. The Glacier Park Foundation is a § 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent per- mitted by law. (Panorama by Christine Baker)

32 ☐ Spring 2019 ☐ The Inside Trail