Last updated: March 10, 2024
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Irene M. Wisdom
Irene Mable Horton was born on December 28, 1888, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Howard Horton and Margaret Leaden. She was one of six children and grew up in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1900 she was attending grammar school. The 1910 US census records that she was working as a laborer for the D & W Fuse Company.
By 1916, when she married Roby Roy “Tex” Wisdom on October 13, she was living in Bozeman, Montana. He had worked at Yellowstone National Park since 1908. It’s not known when or why she moved to Montana. Her obituary recalled that she was a nurse with the US Army when it patrolled Yellowstone, but no evidence has been found to support that. Forms that Wisdom completed, which are stored in her official personnel file, make no reference to that experience.
If she did work as a nurse at Yellowstone, it might explain both why she was there and how she met her husband. However, a 1965 Billings Gazette article, which included interviews with the Wisdoms, stated that they met in 1915 when she visited the park and doesn’t mention her working as a nurse. It does note that “following the ceremony, the newlyweds loaded a wagon with provisions and moved to Tex’s station at West Gallatin to set up housekeeping. Their only visitor that winter was an old trapper.”
Like many rangers’ wives, Irene Wisdom worked beside her husband without pay. Her official personnel file notes that “prior to her first seasonal appointment in 1924, she virtually performed the duties of a ranger during several seasons without compensation.”
This may account for Tex’s comment in the 1965 Billings Gazette interview that he thought “she was the first woman ranger.” He was likely referring only to Yellowstone National Park—women rangers were hired as early as 1916 elsewhere. He suggested that she pre-dated Isabel Wasson (typically credited as the park’s first woman ranger hired in 1920), noting that “there were lady ‘naturalist’ rangers later on.” Her unpaid work with her husband was listed as her qualification for her temporary ranger position when she was hired in 1924.
It’s possible, however, that he was referring to an earlier position. The 1965 Billings Gazette article is confusing in places. It’s unclear whether the statement “In 1918 Wisdom was hired as an automobile checker as Sylvan Pass. In those days, 35 cars might go by in a busy day” refers to Tex or Irene. If the 1918 date refers to Irene Wisdom, that would corroborate two earlier accounts that there were five women rangers hired in 1918, and one of them was at Yellowstone (see Rangers, Not Rangerettes). Although the possibility is tantalizing, it is not supported by documents in her official personnel file from the National Archives in St. Louis. The Annual Report for Yellowstone National Park (1918) recorded that there was “great demand for labor everywhere on account of the World War” and “many excellent permanent employees have been lost because they have been drafted.” Given the circumstances, it’s possible that she was hired as day labor, a common practice at the time. However, it’s impossible to prove given available records.
We know that she was hired as a temporary ranger on June 24, 1924. Based on available records, four other women rangers preceded her at Yellowstone. In late June 1924 she served as “official hostess” for the ceremony marking the dedication of Camp Cody, “typifying the part women are to perform in promoting the wholesome life of the out of doors.” Her salary that first season was $1,200 per year, when actually employed. The rent for her quarters was initially paid in addition to her salary. Later, the cost of it was deducted from her wages.
The Billings Gazette reported a couple weeks after she was hired that she had “been commissioned as a ranger, and as such has all the authority, wears a badge and uniform the same as any other officer in the ranger service. Of course, this ranger’s uniform differs slightly in style from those worn by the sterner sex, but it is olive drab cloth, the same as worn by her husband.” The slight difference probably referred to Wisdom wearing a skirt rather than breeches with her standard NPS uniform.
Wisdom held paid temporary positions each summer (usually mid-June to mid-September or about 90 days each year) from 1924 through 1930. She received pay increases each year. By 1930 her salary was $1,680 per year less quarters and other allowances, when actually employed.
She was described as “mature, capable, efficient, and well informed concerning the history and natural features of the park.” She was also described as having “good appearance and pleasing personality and is otherwise splendidly qualified for the work.”
Wisdom’s duties consisted “primarily of checking entrance and exit travel, the sale of automobile and motorcycle permits, and the keeping of statistical records of travel.” She also performed “special services to the public” by working at the Sylvan Pass Lodge each day during mealtimes “to increase the points of contact between the Service and women travelers and improve the opportunities for service.”
Her personnel file notes, “Park rangers are subject to duty at all hours of the day. Although they are rarely called for service between the hours of 10pm and 6am.” Wisdom recorded working 84 hours per week during the summer of 1928. She noted that she was on duty from 6 am until 9 pm each day. Sixty percent of her time was spent on checking cars, described as “the permit number is taken, and a record is kept of same, guns are sealed, and questions answered.” She estimated that 20 percent of her job was “giving information to all tourists” about the park. The remaining 20 percent of her time was described as “between the hours of 12 and 2 meet the tourists traveling on the buses of Yellowstone Park Transportation Company at Sylvan Pass Lodge where they stop for lunch. Asking them about their trip around the park and getting a general idea of what the trip has meant to them. Answering all questions to the best of my ability.”
The Wisdoms overwintered in the park. It was usually early to mid-May before they could get out of the Sylvan Pass area by car. The lonely winters were her only complaint about working at Yellowstone. When they were stationed at the East Gate, mail came once a month. When there was snow, they would ski up to 13 miles in sub-zero temperatures to pick up it up at one of the lodges. Friends saved them magazines throughout the year, so they had reading material for the winter.
Wisdom’s last season with the park was 1930. Tex resigned in April 1931. Together they ran the Black Water Lodge outside Cody until May 1942. In the 1960s they began wintering in Arizona, returning to Cody each summer.
Tex Wisdom died in 1978 as a result of injuries sustained in a hit-and-run accident. Two years later, Irene Wisdom died on June 5, 1980, at age 91, in Cody. Her obituary doesn’t mention that she was one of the early women rangers.
Sources:
Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
Ancestry.com. Montana, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1865-1993 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
Ancestry.com. Montana, U.S., County Marriages, 1865-1987 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT. USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.
-- (1924, June 29). Casper Star Tribune (Casper, Wyoming), p. 1.“East Entrance to Yellowstone Dedicated.” (1924, June 29). The Billings Gazette (Billings, Montana), p. 17.
Fendrich, Anne. (1965, August 1). “The Ranger Was a Lady!” The Billings Gazette (Billings, Montana), p. 45.
“Obituary for Irene M. Wisdom.” (1980, June 7). Casper Star Tribune (Casper, Wyoming), p. 16.
“Obituary for R. R. “Tex” Wisdom. (1978, October 15). The Billings Gazette (Billings, Montana), p. 14.
“Livingston.” (1924, July 10). The Augusta News (Augusta, Montana), p. 7.
“Snow Lighter This Year on Sylvan Pass.” (1928, May 20). Casper Star Tribune (Casper, Wyoming), p. 12.
Wisdom, Irene file in Dorothy’s Huyck’s Papers in the NPS Oral History Collection (HFCA 1817). NPS History Collection, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
Wisdom, Irene M. personnel file. National Archives & Records Administration, St. Louis.
“Woman Forest Ranger.” (1924, July 5). The Billings Gazette (Billings, Montana), p. 4.
“Woman Forest Ranger on Job in Wyoming.” (1924, June 29). Casper Star Tribune (Casper, Wyoming), p. 5.
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