Verne E. Chatelain, First National Park Service Historian and Assistant Director, Historic Sites & Buildings.

As one looks at charts for 1933 and 1934 (see charts #10 & #11) it is apparent that functionally the Service was becoming more specialized. The CCC functions, although not specifically mentioned, were in a Recreational Land Planning unit under Conrad L. Wirth who was subsequently to become Associate Director and Director. Although not appearing on any formal chart, the decentralization of the CCC program and the decentralization of the Planning and Design functions into Eastern and Western Divisions with district offices (see chart #11) may well have been the genesis of the thinking to establish Regional Offices. The late 1934 organization (see chart #11) clearly reflects Executive Order 6166 and the needs of the organization to accommodate its increased functions or responsibilities. History achieved Branch status in 1935 with a supervising Assistant Director (see chart #12).

The organization formally approved in October 1938 [1] (see chart #15) did two things. It established a new way of of managing by creating Regional Offices. Additionally, for whatever reason -- internal politics or external politics or perhaps even a power struggle or, as suggested by George Palmer, a major funding problem -- all Assistant Director positions were abolished. The Conrad Wirths, Hillory Tolsons, Ronald Lees, etc, all became Supervisors of functions. It was not until July of 1943 (see chart #17) that Hillory Tolson would again become an Assistant Director in the Chicago office where the Service Headquarters was moved to during World War II, and it was not until 1949 (see chart #20) that an additional Assistant Director position for Conrad Wirth was again created. Newton Drury, although of the same era and same school system (University of California, Berkeley) as Horace Albright and Lawrence Merriam (Regional Director, Omaha, Nebraska, and San Francisco, California), was restrained by his stringent sense of bureaucratic propriety. Characterized as a "died in the wool purist," he espoused a caretaker role for the National Park Service as well as minimal development. He did not like the rough and tumble politics of Washington, which did not do either him or the Service any good. His preservation philosophy during the war years did serve the Service well as he was able to keep the Army and Navy from running away with the parks. Several historians view that even though Mr. Drury was constrained by the war years his administration was a clear shift of emphasis from that of Mather, Albright and Cammerer. It perhaps initiated a reversal from which the Service has never totally recovered as its functions became more diverse. His handling of the Echo Park Dam controversy in Dinosaur National Monument was divisive to the organization's external support.

An interesting organization was that in the Chicago office during the World War II years (see chart #17). Arthur Demaray as Associate Director remained in Washington while Director Drury and Assistant Director Tolson relocated to Chicago with the Headquarters office. Mr. Demaray remained in Washington because he was apparently the only experienced Congressional liaison person who could defend the Service's funding requests. It would appear that Mr. Tolson ran the day-to-day operations of the Service during this period. Organizationally, Branches were still the major entity with Divisions as a sub-unit, yet three Divisions and the Chief Clerk (appearing again after a 5-year lapse) reported to the Director's office. One would have to make the assumption that Finance, Personnel, Safety, and the Chief Clerk reported directly to Mr. Tolson who, by this time, had complete control of the administrative process of the organization while, at the same time, having direct influence over every other aspect of the Service's mission.

Thomas Vint in the Planning and Design Office.

An interesting sidelight: Regional Directors were moving between Regions and Washington Branches. A cadre of long-term Regional Directors was becoming apparent with Thomas Allen, Lawrence Merriam, and Minor Tillotson. By 1946, Mr. Vint had become "Mr. D&C" with the combination of his Branch with the Branch of Engineering into a new Branch of Development (see chart #18). Concessions as a Division had emerged -- looking at the timeframes this may well have been the organizational response to visitors again coming to the parks after the wartime hiatus. From a functional standpoint there were units for Planning & Design (Development), Lands, Concessions, Natural History, and Forestry which would eventually become Ranger Services.

Hillory A. Tolson.

It became clear in the 1948 organization that this structure clearly delineated who did what at the Directorate level. The Director (Mr. Drury) held to himself the Legal and Public Relations functions; at the time these were the areas that were important to Mr. Drury. The Associate Director was responsible for Lands & Recreation Planning, Development (Design and Construction), and Public Services. Assistant Director Tolson was responsible for administration, and some of the functions that would eventually become a part of today's operational directorate functions. When Newton Drury left as Director, Arthur Demaray was appointed Director; however, he had already informed the Secretary of his intentions to retire by year's end and the supposition can be made that the Directorship was a reward for long and faithful service to the organization. Mr. Demaray was an extremely popular Assistant and Associate Director, had an exceptional memory, was practical, and was apparently outstanding in his appearances at legislative and budget hearings. Ben Thompson, in a National Park Service Courier article, extolled Arthur Demaray's role in the develop ment of the Service and the National Park System. His knowledge of the budget was such that he would testify before the appropriations committee from memory with his budget book unopened on the table in front of him. It was quite clear that with the appointment of Conrad Wirth as Associate Director he was the heir apparent. The Demaray organization of May 1951 (see chart #21) bears this out. It was in reality the first Wirth organization. There was again a clear division of duties. Hillory Tolson had all the administrative functions and forestry, the Associate (Mr. Wirth) had Design and Construction, Lands, and Concessions, his personal interests, and Ronald Lee had the remainder. Many of Mr. Wirth's key advisors were in positions of influence. If you were to look closely at the 1933-34 CCC organization you would note that Mr. Wirth's "cabinet" consisted of largely the same people who were with him there. When Mr. Wirth became Director in December of 1951 the Directorate was organized with the Director and three Assistant Directors (see chart #22). Again, if one relates the personality of a Director to the organization, Mr. Wirth's organizations reflected his background as a landscape architect and a planner. Philosophically, Wirth was more akin to the earlier Directors. He was a use-oriented Director. Mission 66, promoting park improvement, access, and use, clearly bears this out. It has been said that Mission 66 was in part the completion of Mr. Wirth's CCC program for the Service that was interrupted by World War II. One hundred and fourteen visitor centers were built, the in-Service training centers (Mather and Albright) were built, and reservoir-based recreation was developed. Where Drury had good relationships with the conservation groups, Wirth had poor relationships and, unlike Mather and Albright, as a career civil servant, he did not have the business type associations for support of the Service as they did. His advisors had similar backgrounds or were former CCC staff from that period in his career for which he was recognized as a capable administrator. As an aside, a certain amount of influence was also exerted by Mr. Wirth's carpool of the late 1950's and early 1960's, which consisted of Raymond Freeman (who would be a Deputy Director under Hartzog), William Bahlman (who was Mr. Wirth's organizational advisor), Edwin Kenner (who was Chief of Maintenance), and Sidney Kennedy (who was a planner). Each of these individuals had positions of influence in the organization. The Design & Construction function reported directly to the Director -- a clear indication of the relationship between Vint and Wirth.

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