Celebrating Yosemite
by Bob Roney

As the predawn light crept through the trees on the Valley floor, a 75-year-old man moved slowly and deliberately up the trail past Vernal Fall. The

Half Dome and the Merced River. Painting by Gunnar Widforss, ca. 1920. Courtesy of Yosemite Concession Services Corp.

trail was an old friend to him. He hiked it every year to celebrate the anniversary of his birth. Mid-day would find him pulling himself up the last 900 feet of cable to the summit of Half Dome, one vertical mile above his starting point. He would later descend into the twilight-filled Valley and head for his room at The Ahwahnee. Once showered and dressed, he made his way downstairs to the dining room just in time for his 9:00 dinner reservation. This was a ritual he repeated every year for decades.

Anniversaries celebrate important and meaningful events in our lives. You probably have many memorable occasions circled on your family’s calendar—graduation days, weddings remembered, the birthdays of children. The 75-year-old man was not only celebrating his birth and past ascents of Half Dome, but his love of Yosemite. This year, the park celebrates The Ahwahnee’s 75th anniversary, the 100th birthday of Ansel Adams, and the 100th anniversary of Best’s Studio because of what they have come to mean to those of us who love Yosemite today.

Diamond Ahwahnee
In June of 1928, local couple Lloyd and Elizabeth Graham honeymooned at Yosemite’s newest hotel, The Ahwahnee and were among its first newlyweds. Since then, they have returned year after year to celebrate nearly 70 out of 74 anniversaries. This year marks the 75th anniversary of The Ahwahnee’s opening, giving us cause to reflect on its place in history and the state of national parks at that time.

Ansel (in front) and Virgina (seated in back) in Yosemite, 1923. Photo courtesy of The Ansel Adams gallery.

The 1920s were amazing years. Advances in science and technology raced toward a bright future. Ford’s assemblyline production of automobiles made them more affordable and highly desirable to the common family. In Yosemite, tourist travel to the Valley and the Big Trees skyrocketed from 68,906 in 1920 to 461,257 in 1929—an increase of nearly 670%.

The Ahwahnee serves as an icon of the formative years of the National Park Service. In 1927, Stephen T. Mather marked his tenth anniversary of becoming the first director of the newly formed National Park Service. The Ahwahnee was built because Mather saw its value as a means to promote the importance of national parks. He knew

that in order to prevent Yosemite from becoming a “Coney Island,” large numbers of people (especially those with influence in Washington D.C.) would have to care about it in its natural state and want to see it protected for future generations. This meant making parks accessible to a wide range of people, and The Ahwahnee served this purpose for a targeted segment of American society.

Coincidental Centennials
Today, two pianos in The Ahwahnee—touchstones of nostalgia for many—are celebrating anniversaries of their own. Years ago, honeymooners were charmed by the music played in the Great Lounge. In the early days of The Ahwahnee, a local fellow destined to become a concert pianist practiced on the piano in the Great Lounge. He became a regular and guests looked forward to his music in the afternoons. This young man never did become a famous musician. Instead, we know him as the world-renowned photographer and conservationist, Ansel Adams. Just as The Ahwahnee helped promote national parks, Adams’ images resonated with those who might not otherwise visit Yosemite and underscored the importance of protecting wild places. The year 2002 marks what would have been his 100th birthday. (Incidentally, one of those pianos will also be 100 this year!)

The Ahwahnee under construction. Photo courtesy of Yosemite Research Library.

It’s the 100th anniversary for two other Yosemite events that would touch Ansel Adams’ life. In 1902, the year Adams was born, a man named James Mason Hutchings, one of the park’s early entrepreneurs, died in a carriage accident in Yosemite Valley. Hutchings had written a book entitled In the Heart of the Sierras which a young Ansel Adams read as a boy, piquing his interest and curiosity about Yosemite. Consequently, Adams’ first visit in 1916 solidified a permanent relationship with the park that would lead to his love of wilderness, his fame as a photographer, and even his eventual marriage.

Also in 1902, landscape painter Harry Best opened Best’s Studio in Yosemite Valley. When Adams moved to Yosemite Valley in 1920 to operate the Sierra Club Lodge, he became acquainted with Best and was allowed to practice on his piano. In his autobiography, Ansel Adams says, “I was first attracted to Mr. Best’s piano and soon thereafter to his daughter [Virginia Best].” In 1928, Ansel and Virginia were married in front of the stone fireplace in Best’s Studio, which they inherited upon Harry’s passing in 1936. Today it is known as The Ansel Adams Gallery and is the oldest familyowned business in the National Park System, currently in its fourth generation of operations.

Nature's Anniversaries
While living and working in Yosemite, Ansel Adams invented a special anniversary he called “Earth’s Birthday.” The date was obviously contrived, but the sentiment was genuine. In the same sentimental spirit, we might say that there are trees in the Mariposa Grove that centuries ago celebrated the 1,000th anniversary of their sprouting. Likewise, the granite of El Capitan will celebrate its 104 millionth birthday this year, and Yosemite Valley celebrates the some-teen-thousandth anniversary of its last glacier.

Come to think of it, this is the 35th anniversary of my first visit to Yosemite— a profound, life-changing event for me. I began my career in Yosemite the following year. It’s amazing how a visit to a special place like Yosemite has affected generations of people. Perhaps we feel a spiritual renewal or the awakening of a primal sense of our connectedness to our natural world.

Anniversaries are not so much about a date or event but the relationship of people to those dates and events. Whether it’s the 75th anniversary for a landmark hotel, the 100th birthday of a great photographer and conservationist, or 1,000th for the sprouting of a giant sequoia, everything about Yosemite is connected— its human history, its natural history. I hope you can become part of Yosemite by connecting with some aspect of it. Then by all means, come back and celebrate your Yosemite anniversary!

Bob Roney is a National Park Service ranger and Yosemite Master Interpreter. This article came from research he conducted in preparation for his Ahwahnee Anniversary interpretive programs.

This article first appeared in the Summer/Fall 2002 edition of the Yosemite Guide (vol. XXXI, no. 2).