PIPE SPRING Cultures at a Crossroads: An Administrative History

Introduction

As the 1960s progressed, more and more emphasis was placed on re-creating the "historic scene" at Pipe Spring National Monument. [1885] This had long been of some concern to management, but the restoration and maintenance needs of the historic buildings had always taken precedence. Now that Mission 66 programs and funding had taken care of the immediate needs of the historic buildings, attention turned to their setting. In addition, monument staff put into effect some earlier suggestions made by interpretive specialists to improve the interpretive program and came up with ideas of their own. The seeds for developing the monument into a "living history ranch" were planted during this period, as evidenced by the gradual changes in exhibits and the increasing use of demonstrations during guided tours. It would not be until 1968, however - when government-sponsored youth training and employment programs became available - that the supply of personnel would even begin to approach the demands of a full-fledged living history program. From the monument's perspective, the long-awaited completion of State Highway 389 in May 1967 was probably the most important event of the decade, not only for the monument but also for neighboring communities.

Events transpiring at the highest level of government had eventual repercussions at Pipe Spring National Monument. President John F. Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963, left the country in a state of shock. Vice-president Lyndon B. Johnson became president and remained in office until 1968, when Richard M. Nixon won the White House. National political and social turmoil over the war in Viet Nam and civil rights issues during the 1960s did not touch the remote site of Pipe Spring National Monument, but President's Johnson's "War on Poverty" most certainly did. Announced in his State of the Union Address on January 8, 1964, Johnson's War on Poverty called for legislation that would attack the multiple causes of poverty: illiteracy, unemployment, and inadequate public services. Under the Economic Opportunity Act of August 30, 1964, $947.7 million was authorized for 10 separate programs overseen by the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), including Job Corps, Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), and work-training programs, such as the Neighborhood Youth Corps (NYC), Youth Conservation Corps (YCC), and Operation Mainstream. These programs would be for Pipe Spring National Monument what the CCC camp had been, only with far fewer administrative headaches. Additional "warm bodies" working at Pipe Spring enabled the monument to carry out a number of programs and projects that had been on its wish list for many years. During this period, the Zion Natural History Association also offered generous financial support to help the monument reach a number of worthy goals related to its living history program and native grass restoration project.

Beginning about 1964, there were many changes in Park Service management personnel, from the monument level to the Washington office. Management Assistant Hugh H. Bozarth was hired to oversee Pipe Spring National Monument in October 1963. He was the first manager from Park Service ranks to take charge of the monument since its establishment in 1923. Bozarth remained there until September 1967. James M. ("Jim") Harter served as acting management assistant from Bozarth's departure until April 1968. Supervisory Historian Raymond J. Geerdes succeeded Harter and remained at Pipe Spring until February 1971. In August 1965 Zion National Park's Superintendent Francis R. Oberhansley retired; Warren F. Hamilton succeeded him. Hamilton left Zion in late April 1968, succeeded by Karl T. Gilbert (1968-1969) and Oscar T. Dick (1969). From April 6, 1969, to September 18, 1971, Karl T. Gilbert was general superintendent of the newly established Southern Utah Group (SOUG) in Cedar City, Utah, which administered Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Capitol Reef national parks, and Cedar Breaks and Pipe Spring national monuments. (SOUG was later abolished on July 8, 1972.) Robert I. Kerr was made superintendent of Zion in 1970. At the Southwest Regional Office, Regional Director Daniel B. Beard succeeded Thomas J. Allen on August 6, 1963, and served until September 9, 1967. Frank F. Kowski succeeded him at that time. In Washington, D.C., Director Conrad Wirth left his position in January 1964 and was succeeded by George B. Hartzog, Jr. The longest continuous presence during the decade was Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall who served in his position from January 21, 1961, to January 20, 1969. (Udall had direct family ties to Pipe Spring National Monument. His grandmother, Eliza Luella Stewart, was the Deseret Telegraph Office's first telegraph operator at Pipe Spring during the early 1870s.) On January 21, 1969, Walter J. Hickel, who served only until November 25, 1970, succeeded Udall.

The federal government's efforts to terminate its obligations to Indian tribes in the 1950s (mentioned in the introduction of Part VIII) led to a growing backlash in the 1960s. Coinciding with a new Democratic administration that professed concern about the plight of the poor, federal aid to tribes greatly expanded during this period and reservation governments were made eligible as sponsoring agencies for numerous federal economic opportunities. In the late 1960s, the Department of the Interior received an appropriation of $1 million to carry out an Indian assistance program. [1886] Half of this amount was allocated for the Southwest Region. In addition, the Paiute received $1 million as a result of the aboriginal land settlement. The money enabled the Kaibab Paiute Tribe to pursue its desire to develop a tourism complex, the primary objective being to create jobs for its members. [1887] All at once the monument and regional office staff were catapulted into an unprecedented working relationship with the Tribe. In response to the Tribe's planned developments, the Park Service rallied to reduce the visual impact of developments on the "historic scene" while protecting the tri-partite water agreement of 1933. In anticipation that the Tribe might challenge this agreement, a great deal of historical research was conducted in 1969 to bolster the Park Service's case for legal ownership of the land and springs. Talk of an interdepartmental land exchange was also thrown into the mix, reviving the possibility of expanding the monument's boundaries.

The Indian occupation of Alcatraz Island on November 20, 1969, according to one historical reference, "signaled the rise of Indian activism." [1888] It could be argued that the 1953 Termination Resolution and its effects led to this increase in activism, however, at least laying the foundation for Indian activism during the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. The American Indian Movement (AIM), founded in 1970, soon emerged as the most militant voice for radical change in federal-Indian relations, setting the stage for future political confrontations in the early 1970s. By the end of the decade, Park Service officials administering park units adjacent to reservations could not ignore the increasing economic and political power of Indians. Amidst a backdrop of an increasingly tense environment in many parts of the country, the cooperative efforts and relatively smooth working relationships between the Kaibab Paiute, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and Pipe Spring National Monument in the late 1960s are all the more noteworthy. Both the Indians and the Park Service stood to benefit from maintaining harmony, and — at least at Pipe Spring — both succeeded in doing so.