Cover Page

Foreword

Introduction

Badges

Insignia

Arrowhead patch

Belt

Buttons

Cap insignia

Collar ornaments

Hat

Hatband & straps

Nametags

Service insignia

Sleeve brassards

Tie ornaments & pins

Optional

Conclusion

Photofile

Notes

National Park Service Uniforms Badges and Insignia 1894-1991	Number 1
Notes

Abbreviations

The National Park Service uses synonyms to identify the various parks within its jurisdiction. For brevity, below are a list of these synonyms that are utilized in the notes.

CAGR — Casa Grande National Monument, AZ
GLAC — Glacier National Park, MT
LAFA — LaFayette National Park, ME (now Acadia National Park)
LAVO — Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA
MEVE — Mesa Verde National Park, CO
MORA — Mount Rainier National Park, WA
NAVA — Navajo National Monument, AZ
NPS — National Park Service, Washington, DC
NPSD — National Park Service, Denver, CO
SAFE — NPS Southwest Regional Office, Santa Fe, NM
SAFR — Office of General Superintendent of National Parks, San Francisco, CA (now Western Regional Office)
SEQU — Sequoia National Park, CA
USDI — U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC
WICA — Wind Cave National Park, SD
YELL — Yellowstone National Park, WY
YOSE — Yosemite National Park, CA

Endnotes

1. Jack R Williams, "History of the National Park Service Uniform", 1968, p.21

2. Frank F. Liebig, "Early Days in the Forest Service", 1944. USDA FS Northern Region, Missoula, MT, vol.I, p.130

3. National Archives, Record Group 79, "Uniforms of the Park Service 1907-1925" (hereafter referred to as NA/RG 79) Letter from Carmi A. Thompson, Assistant Secretary, USDI, to Sigmund Eisner, Red Bank, NJ, 4 January, 1912

4. National Park Service Archives, Record Group Y55, Harpers Ferry Center, Harpers Ferry, WV (hereafter referred to as NPS/RG Y55) Letter from John E. Kell, SAFE, to Jack R. Williams, 12 July, 1965, NAVA

5. NA/RG 79, Letters from Stephen T. Mather, director, NPS, to Washington B. Lewis, superintendent, YOSE, 14 June, 1920; Horace N. Albright, superintendent, YELL, 15 June, 1920

6. NA/RG 79, Memorandum from Sam T. Woodring, chief ranger, YELL, to Horace N. Albright, Superintendent, YELL 27 December, 1922. It was customary for the uniform committee to request input from the field whenever a uniform change was contemplated. Often these requests were forwarded by the superintendents to the rangers for answers. In the questionnaire dated December 2, 1922, question 5 asked: "Are the various insignia specified in the present regulations in your opinion satisfactory as to:

(a) Superintendent's Badges
(b) Ranger's Badges
(c) Collar Devices
(d) Sleeve Insignia
(e) Service Insignia"

7. Williams, p.22

8. NA/RG 79, Letter from Stephen T. Mather, Director, NPS to Horace M. Albright, Superintendent, YELL 15 June, 1920

9. NA/RG 79, Letter from George E. Goodwin, civil engineer, NPSD, to Director, NPS, 7 January, 1921

10. Ibid

11. NA/RG 79, Specification sheet forwarded with contract to F.J. Heiberger, Washington, DC 5 April, 1922

12. NA/RG 79, Letter from Jesse Nusbaum, Superintendent, MEVE, to Director, NPS 28 April, 1922

13. NA/RG 79, Letter from Stephen T. Mather, Director, NPS, to Washington B. Lewis, Superintendent, YOSE 13 April, 1921 Custodians were site managers at Southwestern parks that didn't warrant a Superintendent due to their size or visitation.

14. NA/RG 79, Directive from Stephen T. Mather, Director, NPS to all NPS personnel. 13 June, 1922.

15. NA/RG 79, Letter from Arno B. Cammerer, Acting Director, NPS, to George B. Dorr, superintendent, LAFA. 16 June, 1922

16. Ibid

17. NPS/RG Y55, Conference", p.91. National Park, AK. "Minutes of the twelfth National Park This conference was held at Hot Springs 3-8 April, 1932

18. NPS/RG Y55, "National Park Service Uniform Committee Records, 1941-1942", Lon Garrison - File #A66. Memorandum from Hillary A. Tolson, Acting Director, NPS, to John C. Preston (uniform committee chairman), Superintendent, LAVO. 7 May, 1941

19. NPS/RG Y55, Memorandum from John C. Preston, Superintendent, LAVO, to Director, NPS 28 Nay, 1941

20. Williams, p.24.

21. NPS/RG Y55, Letter from Lawrence F. Cook, Chief of Ranger Activities, NPS, to Director, NPS 12 October, 1960

22. Williams, p.30.

23. NPS/RG Y55, Letter from Conrad L. Wirth, former director, NPS, to David Nathanson, Librarian, HFC 30 March, 1985

24. Williams, p.28.

25. David Nathanson, "The Arrowhead Symbol of the National Park Service", 1989.

26. Ibid

27. Ibid

28. National Park Service Administrative Manual, Release No.41, 12 June, 1963, p.1.

29. Ibid

30. National Park Service Uniform Regulations, 1969.

31. NA/RG 79, Letters from Carmi A. Thompson, Assistant Secretary, USDI, to park superintendents. 20 April, 1911

32. NA/RG 79, Letter from Clement S. Ucker, Chief Clerk, USDI, to Major William R. Logan, Superintendent, GLAC 2 June, 1911

33. NA/RG 79, Letter from Sigmund Eisner to Secretary, USDI 13 December, 1911

34. NA/RG 79, Letter from Carmi A. Thompson, Assistant Secretary, USDI, to Sigmund Eisner 4 January, 1912.

35. NA/RG 79, Letter from Sigmund Eisner to Secretary, USDI 10 January, 1912

36. NA/RG 79, Letter from Walter Fry, Ranger in Charge, SEQU, to Secretary, USDI 22 October, 1911

37. NA/RG 79, Letter from Stephen T. Mather, Assistant to the Secretary, USDI, to Mark Daniels, General Superintendent of Parks, SAFR 3 November, 1915

38. NA/RG 79, Letter from Bo Sweeny, Assistant Secretary, USDI, to Sigmund Eisner 12 June, 1915

39. NA/RG 79, Letter from Sigmund Eisner to Secretary, USDI 6 October, 1915

40. NA/RG 79 208.30, Memorandum from Horace M. Albright, Superintendent, YELL to Arno B. Cammerer, Acting Director, NPS 17 March, 1927

41. NPS/RG Y55, David Ebersole, Museum Curator, Waterbury Company, Waterbury, CT: telephone conversation with author. 11 January, 1991.

42. NA/RG 79, Letter from Washington B. Lewis, Superintendent, YOSE, to Director, NPS 5 September, 1919

43. NA/RG 79, Letter from Arno B. Cammerer, Acting Director, NPS to Washington B. Lewis, Superintendent, YOSE 20 September, 1919

44. NA/RG 79, Letter from Horace N. Albright, Acting Director, NPS, to Thomas W. Brazell, Superintendent, WICA 24 April, 1919

45. NA/RG 79 208.30, Letter from Arno B. Cammerer, Acting Director, NPS to D.R. Hull, Chief Landscape Engineer, NPS. 13 December, 1926. NA/RG 79 208.30.

46. NA/RG 79 208.30, Letter from Thomas C. Vint, Associate Landscape Engineer, NPS, to Director, NPS 12 January, 1927

47. NA/RG 79 208.30, Telegram from Owen A. Tomlinson (uniform committee chairman), Superintendent, MORA, to Director, NPS 13 January, 1931

48. NPS/RG Y55, Letter from James E. Neal, Beach Supervisor, Atascadero State Beach, CA, to Jack R. Williams 26 January, 1966

49. NA/RG 79, Letter from Carmi A. Thompson, Assistant Secretary, USDI, to Edward S. Hall, Superintendent, MORA 10 April, 1911

50. NA/RG 79, Clement S. Ucker, Chief Clerk, USDI, to Sigmund Eisner 16 January, 1912

51. Williams, p.1.

52. NPS/RG Y55, Memorandum from Hillary A. Tolson, Acting Associate Director, NPS, to all field officers, NPS 8 October, 1936

53. NA/RG 79 208.30, Letter from Owen A. Tomlinson, Superintendent, NORA, to Director, NPS 23 December, 1929.

54. NA/RG 79 208.30, Letter from Arno B. Cammerer, Associate Director, NPS, to Tomlinson 16 January, 1930

55. NA/RG 79 208.30, Memorandum from Tomlinson, to all NPS superintendents. 23 January, 1930.

56. NA/RG 79 208.30, Letter from Tomlinson to Director February, 1930.

57. NA/RG 79 208.30, Arno B. Cammerer, Assistant Director, NPS, to Tomlinson 25 February, 1930

58. Ibid

59. NA/RG 79 208.30, Letter from J. Ross Eakin, Superintendent, GLAC, to Tomlinson 31 May, 1930

60. NPS/RG Y55, Memorandum from Stanley T. Albright, Associate Director Park Operations, NPS, to NPS regional directors 9 March, 1984

61. National Park Service Uniforms Handbook, 1959, Chapter 2, p.18. Although this handbook was written in 1959, its provisions were not to be fully implemented until January 1, 1961. Even so, a lot of the items were instituted in 1960. (name tags, badges, etc.)

62. NA/RG 79, Letter from Samuel F. Ralston, Supervisor, GLAC, to Secretary, USDI 15 September, 1915

63. NA/RG 79, Frank Pinkley, Custodian, CAGR 18 December, 1922. This was included in his answer to the annual uniform questionnaire sent out to the parks concerning uniform revisions .

64. Williams, p.30.

65. NA/RG 79, Contract with F.J. Heiberger & Sons, Inc. 5 April, 1922. These descriptions are from the instructions included with the April 5, 1922 contract with F.J. Heiberger and Sons, Inc. for sleeve brassards

66. Williams, p.31.

67. National Park Service uniform regulations, 1947, chapter 6, section 2. p.1.

Bibliography

Nathanson, David, THE ARROWHEAD SYMBOL OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, 1989, library handout, National Park Service Library Archives. Record Group Y55. Harpers Ferry Center, Harpers Ferry, WV

National Archives, Washington, DC, Records of the National Park Service. Record Group 79, "Uniforms of the Park Service 1907-1925 "

National Archives, Washington, DC, Records of the National Park Service. Record Group 79 208.30, "Park Service Uniforms 1925-1932"

National Park Service Archives, Record Group Y55, "Uniforms of the National Park Service", Harpers Ferry Center, Harpers Ferry, WV

Williams, Jack R., HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE UNIFORM, 1968, unpublished manuscript, National Park Service Library Archives. Record Group Y55. Harpers Ferry Center, Harpers Ferry, WV

Last Modified: Thurs, Jul 28 2000 07:08:48 am PDT
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