Ninetieth Anniversary Celebration Opens Door to New Perspective
Verkamp family members with Superintendent Martin in front of the new Verkamp's Visitor Center. From left to right: John Verkamp III, Mike Verkamp, Jane Verkamp Pritchett, Kelly Verkamp Wadsworth, Susie Verkamp, and Park Superintendent Steve Martin.
Grand Canyon, AZ. – On Thursday, February 26, park staff, partners and friends gathered at the new Verkamp’s Visitor Center on the South Rim to celebrate Grand Canyon’s 90th year as a national park and to commemorate the re-opening of an historic structure as a park visitor center.
As Park Superintendent Steve Martin noted in his remarks, the Grand Canyon was designated as a national park when President Woodrow Wilson signed Senate Bill 390 on February 26, 1919. That date, 90 years past, seems like a long time ago when viewed through the narrow lens of a human lifespan. Yet, a mere stone’s throw from where the Superintendent was speaking, the depths of the Grand Canyon yawned. According to geologists, almost two billion years of Earth’s history lie open and exposed in the canyon; and according to archeologists, along the river where the oldest rocks are found, so too, is evidence of human activity in the park, some of it dating back almost 12,000 years. Clearly, the history of the canyon needs to be viewed through a wider lens.
As each speaker rose to share his or her thoughts on the importance of the park’s 90th anniversary, it became apparent that a broader perspective is also needed to conceive of the many values and meanings that people attribute to the park. In a pre-event interview available on the park’s web site, Superintendent Martin said of the park, “we are a World Heritage Site, we are a national park, we are one of the seven wonders of the world.” To some, the park is a tourist destination, an economic driver, a business partner or a neighbor. To others, it is a natural shrine, a wilderness, a classroom or even a playground. In remarks read by his Congressional District Director Ruben Reyes, Representative Raul Grijalva refers to the canyon as “a natural treasure.”
Yet, for all of those perspectives, few who visit the park think of it as a place to live, or raise a family, or go to school. Did you know that it takes more than 2,500 people to provide all of the services that the park’s approximately 4.5 million visitors require each year? Because of the long distance to the nearest community where housing is readily available, almost 1500 of those people live their day-to-day lives inside the park. They have potlucks and walk to the grocery store here; they send their children off to school each morning and attend school board meetings at night here; they work together to build better lives for themselves and for their families in a place others view as only a temporary destination. Another definition for the Superintendent’s list could be, “we are a community.”
That is the story that the interpretive displays at the new Verkamp’s Visitor Center tell. The building itself used to house not only Verkamp’s Curios, but the Verkamp family; and the structure, the curio shop and the family are all indelible parts of the canyon’s history. Several members of the family were present for the celebration; and some even took the time to share snippets of their family’s history during the ceremony. What better place to celebrate the park’s first 90 years of history or to introduce the visiting public to a different perspective on the Grand Canyon than those they may have contemplated before? If there is evidence of 12,000 years of human activity in the park, then people have lived and died here for thousands of years; and all of them probably participated in the types of community activities that we take for granted in our day-to-day lives. That means that the story of community at the Grand Canyon is really very old, it is only the telling of the story that is new.
The next time you visit the Grand Canyon, or any national park, take a moment to stop and consider the many people who have come before you, not just as travelers, vacationers or passers-through, but as residents, people who made their homes and lived their lives there. The story of community is, in reality, a story inherent in almost every landscape, so why wait for a special anniversary to explore it.
See below for links to audiocasts of Superintendent Steve Martin's pre-event interview and Susie Verkamp's and John Verkamp III's post-event interviews. To learn more about visiting Grand Canyon National Park or about the park’s history, please visit the park’s web site at www.nps.gov/grca, or call 928-638-7888.
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The 90th Anniversary of Grand Canyon National Park - Park Superintendent Steve Martin
On February 26, 1919 President Woodrow Wilson who signed Senate Bill 390 creating Grand Canyon National Park. Superintendent Martin discusses why that was import at that time and the important role that Grand Canyon Park is taking today. (Recorded on February 20, 2009 by Park Ranger Patrick Gamman)
Patrick: Welcome to Grand Canyon’s 90 birthday podcast. This is Ranger Patrick Gamman and here with me today is my special guest Park Superintendent Steve Martin. Welcome to the podcast.
Steve: Well, thanks. This is a really exciting time in the history of Grand Canyon and we are very excited about the upcoming events.
Patrick: On February 26, 1919 it was President Woodrow Wilson who signed Senate Bill 390 creating Grand Canyon National Park. Can you tell our audience what was import about the creation of this national part at that time and what important role is the Grand Canyon taking today?
Steve: Well, leading up to the designation of the park by President Wilson in 1919 Grand Canyon had been recognized by Teddy Roosevelt and other dignitaries and explorers as one of the most remarkable places on Earth. When President Roosevelt came out was he so impressed with Grand Canyon he made several statements including, “Be sure that we do nothing to mar the beauty of this wonderful place.” That actually helped outline what would become the creation of the National Park Service and later the creation the park. Ninety years ago the canyon was recognized as a remarkable place and if anything, over the last century it is more appreciated today.
Patrick: In just 10 years, Grand Canyon National Park will celebrate its 100th anniversary - what is the state of the park today and what do you think the state of the park will be on the 100th anniversary? Steve: I think it has certainly gone from a national park that has been recognized after the turn of the last century as an incredible treasure to the people of the United States to one where it is a treasure to the people of the world. Also, the challenges of managing national parks in present day United States in many ways is much more difficult then when the park was created in 1919. With Climate change, water issues, and concerns over land development there are pressures on the park that never would have been imagined ninety years ago. However, I will say that with the focus on protection of parks and the incredible staff that we have that we feel we’re up to those challenges and on it’s 100th anniversary Grand Canyon will be in better shape then it is in today.
Patrick: You have set many goals for Grand Canyon National Park in your short tenure here...and you have already accomplished many of these goals. What do you hope to accomplish in the next 10 years to ready the park for the next centennial?
Steve: I think we have many challenges. Some of those are actually stepping up to accommodate the visitors that come from all over the world and also to embrace the changing demographics of the country reaching out to youth, reaching out to the diverse cultural mix that makes up the population of the Untied States. Also working in the larger landscape within the Colorado plateau to come up with strategies to protect Grand Canyon. But not just Grand Canyon, work with the Indian tribes that surround us, the communities, and make sure that we are part of a vibrant community effort to take care of these wonderful assets that the country has.
Patrick: Here is a “big picture question for you”: Grand Canyon National Park is a world heritage site, one of the seven natural wonders, an international icon and the economic engine for the Colorado Plateau. However, the park is facing many issues and economic shortfalls. The National Park Service is entrusted with protecting one of the world's most spectacular landscapes and internationally renowned destinations - What is the National Park Service doing that will help preserve the park's multifaceted environment and maintain Grand Canyon's status in the world and as a park?
Steve: The first steps that we are taking are to make sure we really understand the park. It is interesting that, even though we have been here and managing the park for ninety years that there are still many aspects of the natural environment that we do not fully understand. The first steps are to continue with research program and evaluation that really allows us to understand, what are the requirements to take care of the Grand Canyon? Not only the scenery, but the incredible ecosystem that it protects. Also, I think that it is important that we step up to the challenges that have been placed on us with all of these national and international titles that we have received. Since we are a world heritage site, we are a national park, we are one of the seven natural wonders of the world it raises the bar. We have to look at all of our facilities, we have to look at our programs of interpretation and education, and how we live up to this incredible standard that has been set. I think to do that we have to take some really bold steps to speak out on what is required to take care of the park. Also to make sure we are taking care of our employees because they are the stewards of the park over the next hundred years.
Patrick: For over the last 100 years the Verkamp family has run a curio shop on the south rim of Grand Canyon national Park. Just a few months ago the National Park Service bought the building from the family and now with our park partner, Grand Canyon Association it is being opened as a visitor center. What can you tell us about the role the Verkamp family had during the first century of the park’s history and how will their history be preserved in this new visitor center?
Steve: The Verkamp family moved to the park and began to be a part of the history of Grand Canyon before we became a national park and they chose after all of this time to not continue the family business on the rim. We were very fortunate as the park to purchase to be able to purchase the building and open what is really only our second visitor facility that is on the rim of the Grand Canyon. The theme of that building is the history of Grand Canyon the settlement of the people that who came to take care of the tourist and the people who live here. So we are really excited to have this opportunity and we are sad that the Verkamp family is moving on to other enterprises and undertakings. We think that the Verkamp name is will be well preserved there as well as the history of the Grand Canyon. It is something we can share with our visitors who come here and want to learn about what has gone on at Grand Canyon for the last ninety or one-hundred years.
Patrick: This visitor center will be dedicated during our 90th Anniversary Celebration and the opening of the Verkamp Visitor Center will on February 26th, 2009 and 1:30pm. So, Steve thanks for joining us on the podcast.
John Verkamp III - "A day in the life..." Remarks:
TRANSCRIPT John Verkamp Interview Recorded February 26, 2009 at Grand Canyon's 90th Anniversary Celebration and the Grand Opening of Verkamp's Visitor Center
Shannan: Welcome! This is Ranger Shannan; and on Thursday, February 26, 2009, Grand Canyon National Park celebrated its 90th anniversary; and in conjunction with that celebration, the park commemorated the opening of the Verkamp's Visitor Center. John Verkamp the 3rd , grandson of the founder of Verkamp's Curios, was invited to speak during the celebration and chose to tell a beautiful story. I would like to thank John for agreeing to repeat his telling of “a day in the life of the Verkamp children” during our interview.
Shannan: You shared a quick story when the ceremony was going on for the 90th anniversary. Do you mind sharing really quickly just part of that? It was a really cool story and I was wishing I were standing right there with you.
John: Well, I still have my notes. Rustling papers.
Shannan: All right! Go ahead.
John: Well, I thought it might be more interesting to just have people know what it was like living here as a you boy. So, I was talking about the five of us; and we're now in the bedroom where the five of us lived….
Shannan: Twenty… is that even twenty feet?
John: I don't know what it would be.
Shannan: That's maybe fifteen by twenty feet…that's a lot of kids!
John: So, there were five of us in here; and then I mention that…and I mentioned that the tourists would often times wake us up because they'd all be out laughing and talking on the rim, them not realizing that we were living up stairs, and thinking it was just a store. And that's how we'd wake up a lot of mornings. So, I tried to take it from the day…from the time we woke up until the time we went to bed. So, have you seen the little bathroom that we have in here?
Shannan: Yes, I have.
John: Then you've seen how small it was for seven people. I mean you can't…you can barely fit one person in there at a time. So having seven people have to share that bathroom every morning was quite a…like I said logistically very tricky.
Shannan: Was there like a schedule?
John: No, but there was a lot of….
Shannan: Oh…Whoever got there first?
John: Hurry up! Hurry up…cause my dad always got first crack at it since he had to open the store. So, we were all out there waiting for him, sayin‟ “come on dad hurry up!” and we either had to do that or run downstairs and use the little restroom downstairs. So, it was kind of crazy for seven people And then, we'd have our little breakfast of Cheerios; and then dad would have us all go down and put up the American flag. That was the first thing we had to do every morning—make sure that was done.
Shannan: Was that one Childs responsibility, or a group?
John: I think we kind of shared it. And then we had to put out the rugs—the Navajo rugs on the different balconies, and then just put heavy rocks on them; and they'd sit out there all day; and then at night, we'd go back and retrieve them. Did that and then we'd…I described policing up the area which meant, for my dad, everybody had to get out there and work like crazy for a half hour or so and pick up all the cigarette butts, all the Kleenex, do all the cleanup for the whole area out in front of the store so it looked nice next day; and we'd go probably half way down to the Hopi House just to make sure that everything looked nice up in this area. In his own way, it was kind of an environmentalist type situation. So, we did that then we used to have to also shovel snow all the way down to the Hopi House. Otherwise people would get to the Hopi House and stop „cause there was no path up here. So, to keep people coming we'd shovel…which is a long way! It's a lot of path there. We had two Hopi guys that worked for my dad. One's name was Donald Longhoma and one of them was David ?...; and they worked for us for years. So, they used to teach us the Hopi hoop dance and they taught us how to spin tops with a stick and a leather strap attached to the stick. Phyllis is his granddaughter and I had that in my notes, but….
Shannan: And that sounds like a very traditional game to me.
John: Yeah! Yeah, and they taught us how to do that.
Shannan: Take a lot of skill?
John: It was….
Shannan: It sounds hard to me. Laughter
John: I don't think we ever really learned. They taught us how…I mean they showed us how but I don't think we ever really learned. And then I talked about when the snow melted, and the roof leaked a little bit; and we had to run around with buckets trying to catch the water from each leak; and all of us were running around with buckets in different directions to catch the water. (Two laughing) And then the fact that when we had dinner we used to have dinner right…we had just a real plain old dining room table right there. It was just on two saw horses and kind of a flat door was all it was. A very simple table, Not a whole lot of space there. We had a little walkie-talkie that was from downstairs to upstairs and they'd say…they would just yell in “rush”, and that would mean that the Indian dance has just ended and everybody was heading‟ our way so that we'd all have to put our meals in the oven and go running downstairs and help out while there were some people there and that happened just about every night. Then there was no TV whatsoever. So…and the radio was just real erratic. I mean, at least now they have TV here. We had no…I grew up with no TV whatsoever. Then Mom would bring us in here and she'd read us a few little stories, say a little nightly prayer that she made up on her own; and then she'd leave, and we'd begin scrambling around and laughing and joking until finally she'd get fed up and throw her moccasin over against this door; and once that moccasin hit the door, we knew we'd better get to sleep. So, I was just trying to convey…just kind of a day in the life
Shannan: That's perfect. That's the Verkamp family story. John: Yeah!
Shannan: That's great!
Susie Verkamp on being part of the Grand Canyon community
Susie Verkamp Interview Recorded February 26, 2009 at Grand Canyon National Park's 90th Anniversary Celebration and the Grand Opening of Verkamp's Visitor Center
Shannan: This is Ranger Shannan here at the Verkamp's Visitor Center where we are celebrating the 90th anniversary of Grand Canyon National Park and the grand re-opening of the Verkamp's Curio Shop as Verkamp's Visitor Center. It's a little noisy in here. So, we're gonna move to a quieter space; and then, we'll meet up again. We found ourselves a quieter spot to sit and talk to some folks. With me right now, is Susie Verkamp. She actually grew up in this building; and for those of you who haven't seen it: they've created displays in the building that talk about the sense of community, the concept of people using this as their home for literally thousands of years. So, one of the first things I want to ask her is, “when you think of the Grand Canyon as home, what is the first thing, the first story that comes to mind for you?”
Susie: Well, there's so very many stories, um…but I do have a…a memory of something that to me really characterized a lot of what it was like growing up here when I grew up here. There were just so many things that we…that the whole community did together. We would go sledding on the various streets. They would actually close off a couple of the streets for sledding; and everybody would go sledding, the whole community! We had over in the community building…um…there were many community events, talent shows, the school programs…. In many ways, like a lot of other, you know, small towns in the US. One of the things that I think about is that we had all the kind of benefits of a small town growing up and… the benefits AND detriments of living in a small town. But we also had the entire world, you know, passing by the front door and around all the time. So, it is this interesting combination of things. And I think one of the unique things about Grand Canyon village as a community that makes it very unique is that we do have schooling, one through 12. To my understand it's the only high school inside of park boundaries and so…so much of life revolved around the schools, you know, the activities of the schools support the sports. And I remember when I was in high school our basketball team went down and won state; and the tournament was held down at NAU in flagstaff; and I don't think there was ANYBODY left in Grand Canyon, you know, the entire… Laughter.
Shannan: Who was running the park?
Susie: Yeah…the entire…the entire town was there, you know; and so, I think that's a unique…a unique thing. To me one of the real blessings, too, was, like I said, just growing up and just going to school all through the years with primarily Supai, Hopi and Navajo people, and you know, just a really pretty diverse population for such a small community. And we were all just in involved in everybody's life, day in day out, and…uh…sort of this commonality, I think, of the community itself; and then, you're constantly, like I said, interacting with a larger public and…and that…there's something about that that gives a unique personality to the in-park comm.
Shannan: Nice. OK.
Susie: …„cause they're not just like an insular community.
Shannan: Yeah. Susie: …in the middle of Kansas or something.
Shannan: No. They're very exposed.
Susie: Yeah. I think there's a quality here, I'm sure it's still true, where you have this interesting flux in this community between people, especially like Native American people who have traditionally lived in this area literally for thousands of years and many of whom are employed in the park and work in the park and then, like, the park staff come to the park and then leave and come from other places and then the seasonal employees who come in; and all of that blends to make this a really unique community. But when I tell people that I grew up… I'll say, “I grew up in grand canyon.” And they'll say, “what do you mean grand canyon? Is there a town there?” And I say, “yes, you know…”
Shannan: Yes
Susie: “Well, where did you go to school?” And, “well, there was a high school there.” I think this concept of park communities as places where people live and raise their children and all that is…is something that really peaks people's curiosity because for most people they're just a place they come to visit and not live. Um…So those are some thoughts.
Shannan: Thank you so much!
Susie: That good enough? Laughter
Shannan: It's great! Thank you! Those are awesome! There's so many wonderful things in there.
