The Bear that Bit Paul's Finger

I finished labeling the envelope, then put my soft cotton gloves back on. Bits of crumbling black paper and smudges of adhesive residue clung to them, despite this being the third pair of gloves I had used this morning. I was removing old, yellowed photographs taken in the 1930s at Mount Rainier National Park from a scrapbook likely compiled over time in the 1950s or 60s. The scrapbook was transferred to Mount Rainier from Yellowstone National Park a few months back. The previous owners are unknown; however, it is likely the scrapbook belonged to former park visitors. The paper of the scrapbook was falling apart, but the photographs themselves could still be saved.

I took a length of dental floss and carefully squeegeed it under the corner of a photograph. By Working the floss back and forth between the thick, adhesive-soaked construction paper and the photograph, I was able to free the photograph with a satisfying pop. I placed the photograph carefully in an envelope.

Historical Photographs being Processed

Emma Rockenbeck
National Park Service - Workforce Management Fellow
in Partnership with Northwest Youth Corps

The scrapbook painted a story of an adventurous group of friends hiking and driving all over Mount Rainier National Park. They rode horses on the Skyline Trail, toured ice caves, and “nature slid” down a snowy slope in tin pants - all of which were activities offered to park visitors through the park concessionaires in the 1930s.

As I began to transfer the next photograph description from the scrapbook to an envelope, I did a doubletake. The label simply read The Bear That Bit Paul’s Finger. I tilted the blurry photograph into the golden afternoon light from a nearby window, but at first all I saw was a mass of trees and grass. Then, there, in the corner, peaking out shyly from behind a tree – a little black bear.

Photograph of the Bear that Bit Paul's Finger

Emma Rockenbeck
National Park Service - Workforce Management Fellow
in Partnership with Northwest Youth Corps

The mission of the National Park Service is to “conserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.” One way that the NPS preserves our natural and cultural resources is by keeping cultural and scientific artifacts in curatorial facilities across the nation.

Mount Rainier Curatorial houses every type of artifact you could imagine. The collections are broken into eight main categories: archaeology, archives, art, biology, ethnology, geology, history, and paleontology. The one factor all of these artifacts have in common is that they come from, or have significance to, Mount Rainier National Park. The mission of Curatorial staff and volunteers is to sort through all of these objects and records, then to preserve them as best we can in perpetuity.

The educational value of these artifacts is important to me. I have been a history nerd since I was a kid. I attribute this to learning history as stories full of interesting people, stories that are still happening, and we are an active part of creating. By being able to see physical, historical, and archaeological objects up close, history comes alive for the learner. The records and artifacts housed at Curatorial are a map – a story that provides us a glimpse into our interactions with Mount Rainier over time, giving context and meaning to the NPS mission.

When I saw The Bear That Bit Paul’s Finger photograph, I was both amused and delighted. In the 1930s, someone named Paul was bitten on the finger by a bear. Was the picture taken before or after the biting incident? Did a camera flash and approaching photographer frighten the bear into attacking? Did a quick-thinking friend snap a picture after the fact as evidence? I may never know. What I do know, is that the story of a group of friends on an adventure laid out in front of me somehow solidified, became real. The danger they encountered, the ridiculousness of their hijinks, the mistakes they may have made, it all brought these black and white photographs to life. These photographs are a part of the Mount Rainier National Park story – a story that I am now a part of as well.

1930s Tourist Activity at Mount Rainier

Emma Rockenbeck
National Park Service - Workforce Management Fellow
in Partnership with Northwest Youth Corps

Article written by Emma Rockenbeck
for "A Day in the Life of a Fellow" Article Series
National Park Service - Workforce Management Fellow
in Partnership with Northwest Youth Corps