The Ol’ Pioneer The Magazine of the Grand Canyon Historical Society Volume 23 : Number 4 www.GrandCanyonHistory.org Fall 2012 In This Issue Citizen Kane-yon ....... 3 President’s Letter The Ol’ Pioneer The Magazine of the Fall (or as I like to call it, ‘season of prime canyon hiking weather’) is finally Grand Canyon Historical Society here. The great 2012 Grand Canyon History symposium is now behind us and the work of publishing the proceedings is wrapping up. Aside from the sympo- Volume 23 : Number 4 sium, in the last year we have also revamped the society website and started of- Fall 2012 fered t-shirts and other gear with our new society logos. But now is the time for u the society to look ahead to the new year and beyond. On Saturday morning, Nov 17, the GCHS board of directors (a dedicated group of volunteers elected The Historical Society was established in July 1984 as a non-profit corporation by society members) will meet at the East Flagstaff Public Library for our an- to develop and promote appreciation, nual board meeting to review the events of the past year and plan for the next. understanding and education of the All members are welcomed and encouraged to attend as it one of the best ways earlier history of the inhabitants and to get to know the organization and have input on its direction. important events of the Grand Canyon. Among the items we will be discussing is what do we want the society to The Ol’ Pioneer is published by the do over the next couple of years. Will we have more outings, and if so, where GRAND CANYON HISTORICAL to? What about sponsoring talks or speakers? What stories and information do SOCIETY in conjunction with The people want to see in The Bulletin, website and Ol’ Pioneer? How can we encour- Bulletin, an informational newsletter. age new members to join and how can we interact better with existing ones? Both publications are a benefit of The discussions are always lively, but informal, and the participants friendly membership. Membership in the Society is open to any person interested in the and engaged. If all that is not enough, we usually go out for lunch afterwards. historical, educational, and charitable So please consider attending and having your say on your society. Even if you purposes of the Society. Membership is can not attend the meeting in person, I welcome your input via email as well on an annual basis using the standard ([email protected]). calendar; and dues of $25 are payable on the 1st of January each year, and mailed to the GCHS Treasurer, PO Box 31405 Erik Berg Flagstaff, AZ 86003-1405. The Ol’ Pioneer GCHS President magazine is copyrighted by the Grand Canyon Historical Society, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form without permission of the publisher. Editor: Mary Williams Submit photos and stories to the editor of The Ol’ Pioneer at: info@ marywilliamsdesign.com or 4880 N. Weatherford Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001. (928) 779-3377. Please submit written articles and photos electronically on CD or via email if possible. You may mail photos or slides for scanning if needed. NOW! Find us on Facebook. Submissions to The Bulletin should be sent to Karen Greig, [email protected] GCHS Officers Erik Berg, President COVER: Image top: Front of Grandview Hotel with Grand Canyon behind building. John Azar, Vice President Circa 1900. Photo–Grand Canyon National Park #06255 Keith Green, Treasurer Tom Martin, Secretary Image bottom: Photographic print on stereo card. Circa 1925. Man hath no Amy Horn, Pioneer Award part in all this glorious work—from Grandview Hotel, Grand Canyon, Ariz. Al Richmond, Awards Chair Photo–Library of Congress Paul Schnur, Membership Committee John Azar, Outings Coordinator Board of Directors Howard Asaki Amy Horn John Azar Tom Martin The Ol’ Pioneer submission deadlines are going to be roughly the first of Janu- Erik Berg Mona McCroskey Ellen Brennan Tom Martin ary, April, July, and October. Kathy Faretta Carol Naille Keith Green Wayne Ranney Karen Greig Paul Schnur 2 : Grand Canyon Historical Society Citizen Kane-yon by Don Lago voice of the rising progressive move- the NPS seized land through a con- ment. Yet as the years passed and demnation lawsuit. During the time hen the movie Citizen Kane Hearst had more and more wealth to that Orson Welles was filming Citi- came out in 1941, the offi- conserve, he became more and more zen Kane, depicting Hearst’s Faustian cials of Grand Canyon Na- conservative, until in the 1930s he lust for power and property, Hearst Wtional Park would have had a keen in- became the fiercest critic of Franklin was acting out this story at the Grand terest in seeing it. It was a story they Roosevelt’s New Deal. Canyon. knew all too well. William Randolph Hearst also had William Randolph Hearst first Citizen Kane was the thinly-dis- something to conserve at the Grand traveled through Arizona in 1886, guised story of William Randolph Canyon. In 1913, six years before at age twenty-three. Hearst’s first Hearst, the most powerful media mo- the establishment of Grand Canyon known visit to the Grand Canyon gul in American history. At his peak National Park, Hearst bought some came on October 16 1903. Hearst was Hearst owned twenty-eight news- beautifully forested land on the rim now a U. S. congressman from New papers in most of the major cities, a at Grandview. For the next quarter of York, and he was seeking the Demo- syndicated news service, a newsreel a century Hearst fended off the Na- cratic nomination for president in company, and some of America’s tional Park Service, which wished to 1904. In the fall of 1903 Hearst took leading magazines. His power was acquire Hearst’s land but lacked the a train trip through the Southwest, not due to his high journalistic stan- political muscle to take it away from with twenty congressional support- dards. Hearst invented some of the him. Then in 1939 the Roosevelt ad- ers of his candidacy. Hearst was fol- worst practices of tabloid journalism; ministration threw its full weight lowing the example of President his papers were full of sensational- into the effort to take Hearst’s land, Theodore Roosevelt, his would-be istic stories of murder and mayhem. and the result was an epic struggle. It opponent in the 1904 election, who For his political journalism, which would be the only time in the history had made a train trip through the included fabricating the stories that of Grand Canyon National Park that West earlier that year, including a aroused Americans to go to stop at the Grand Canyon, war with Spain, the phrase where Roosevelt made his fa- “yellow journalism” was in- mous “leave it as it is” speech. vented. Hearst was ruthless If Hearst said anything about at pursuing his goals, the fore- the Grand Canyon, the news- most of which was his own papers didn’t deem it worth power. Hearst ran for political printing. The Flagstaff news- office repeatedly, including for paper commented: “The president of the United States. Hearst party stopped here William Randolph Hearst Friday morning—for the en- did have genuine and strong gine to take water. They did political beliefs, which he not take anything else that we had absorbed from his father have heard of, but we probably George Hearst. George Hearst owe our escape to the early (7 1 had remained a struggling a.m.) hour of their passing.” working man until about age One of those accompanying forty. Then George Hearst Hearst was Arizona Senator had struck it rich, and soon Henry Ashurst, who would be he owned some of the rich- an important ally in defend- est mines in America—the ing Hearst’s Grandview lands Comstock, the Homestake, the against the NPS; years later, on Anaconda. Yet George Hearst the front page of Hearst’s New retained his sympathies for York American, Ashurst would the common man. In his news- credit Hearst’s support for his papers William Randolph re-election victory. In Prescott Hearst battled for the com- and Phoenix Hearst was giv- mon man against the power en a warm welcome, mainly of monopoly corporations like because Hearst was in favor the railroads. Hearst became a William Randolph Hearst, 1904. Photo–Library of Congress. of Arizona statehood. Hearst www.GrandCanyonHistory.org Grand Canyon Historical Society : 3 was far behind Teddy Roosevelt in view Hotel on five acres of land, and This section of the Grand knowledge about wildlife: the Phoe- further into the drainage was the 160- Canyon is undoubtedly the most nix newspaper said that Hearst want- acre homestead of Pete Berry. Hearst wonderful of all…[which] natu- ed to see “the wild Arizona ostrich on bought the Berry homestead and the rally convince[s] the casual ob- 2 his native heath.” Hearst failed to hotel site for $74,000. Years earlier server that the project is more win the Democratic nomination. Berry had sold Grandview Point and than one of securing a home on Over the next ten years Hearst the Horseshoe Mesa mining claims the brink of the Canyon... “visited this section repeatedly,” ac- to a mining company, and though Flagstaff and this practi- 3 cording to the Flagstaff newspaper. the mine was now inactive, its stocks cally unknown wonderland has In the fall of 1911 Grand Canyon were still active, and it would be 1927 needed someone with unlimited pioneer Pete Berry contacted Hearst before Hearst bought out those stocks means to make it the most sought with an offer to sell him Berry’s lands and obtained Grandview Point and land in the whole west, and with at Grandview.