Scotts Bluff Administrative History

PART II:
Operating The National Monument (continued)

COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION: OREGON TRAIL MUSEUM ASSOCIATION (OTMA)

The Oregon Trail Museum Association (OTMA) was formed on June 20, 1956, and incorporated in 1959 as a nonprofit organization to assist the NPS interpretive effort at Scotts Bluff. Before the OTMA was formed, the Rocky Mountain Nature Association operated a sales counter in the visitor center lobby beginning in June 1943. The nonprofit cooperative association uses funds from the sale of postcards, pamphlets, and other souvenirs to help the NPS enhance its library and interpretation programs and pursue land acquisition and visitor education programs. [97] Since the establishment of Agate Fossil Beds National Monument in 1965 and its administration by the Superintendent of Scotts Bluff, the OTMA serves both parks.

Around 1960, the OTMA and local contributors acquired an original Conestoga wagon which, for unknown reasons, was not kept at the monument following the superintendency of John Henneberger who left in January of 1962. Henneberger recalled:

In 1959 or 1960, we (the town of Gering and the OTMA) obtained an original Conestoga Wagon (circa 1825) from Pennsylvania. It was displayed at the monument through my tenure and driven in the Gering Oregon Trail Days Parade. It's a shame (really criminal) it was not kept at the monument. [98]

The decade of the 1970s was a period of phenominal growth for the OTMA. Sales exceeded $10,000 for the first time in 1972, the year a new sales desk and publication display shelves were built for the visitor center lobby. The new display "greatly improved the appearance and efficiency of sales" and thus spurred an increase in sales.

Because most Scotts Bluff Volunteers in Parks (VIPs) are usually OTMA members, a ready reserve of cooperative association members are available for the VIP program. [99]

In 1973, the loss of the original Conestoga wagon was ameliorated. The OTMA purchased and donated to the museum a replica Conestoga wagon from Ozark craftsmen at Silver Dollar City, Missouri, for $2,500. The Conestoga has since become the focal point of the living history demonstrations along with a Murphy wagon purchased in 1979. Indian crafts made by Nebraska panhandle Sioux Indians and purchased through the Platte Valley Lakota Association of Gering were added to the OTMA sales items in 1973, [100] but were later discontinued.

An operation evaluation report (OER) in 1975 noted that Chief of Interpretation and Resource Management Al Haeker, the Executive Secretary of OTMA, spent nearly 35 percent of his NPS work time dealing with OTMA-related business. With an annual budget of more than $11,000, the OER recommended that, in the absence of a business manager, the OTMA hire a part-time bookkeeper to reduce the non-NPS workload on the I&RM chief. [101] In 1977, the OTMA did hire a business manager in addition to a summer sales clerk.

Gross sales in 1978 totaled $20,334. Thirteen hundred dollars were donated to the park for its interpretive program. The living history program's daily operating needs and the rental on films shown at the weekly evening programs were funded by the organization. OTMA operations were rearranged and redesigned in 1978 to present a "more businesslike format of operations." [102]

In 1981, a new exhibit was added to the Oregon Trail Museum, a replica Mormon handcart. It was purchased and donated by the OTMA in conjunction with other local individuals and local businesses. The production of the handcart was assisted by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. [103]

A 1981 meeting of the board of directors revealed that sales exceeded $31,000 during the year and that the OTMA was launching a program to achieve two principal objectives over a five-year period. The first goal required $10,000 to assist the NPS in historic object protection and preservation at the Oregon Trail Museum. The funds would be used to install adequate fire and theft alarms, nondestructive lighting, and an advanced climate control system. The second goal called for $5,000 to fund historical research concerning all Agate Fossil Beds-related paleontological studies. The research grant would be jointly funded with the NPS.

The board meeting also saw some important by-law amendments approved. Two NPS employees were awarded seats on the board as non-voting, ex-officio members. The park coordinator of the association, usually the chief ranger, and the Superintendent of Scotts Bluff, respectively became the eighth and ninth members of the OTMA Board of Directors. [104]

COOPERATIVE AND MUTUAL AID AGREEMENTS

A meeting in Denver between NPS officials and representatives of the Bureau of Reclamation in January 1969, resulted in both parties agreeing that the transmission power lines through the monument should be removed and buried. NPS officials insisted that the cable, which would be buried along the shoulder of Nebraska 92, not be allowed to cross or disturb the Oregon Trail. The Bureau of Reclamation estimated that the cost of the project would be $100,000. The meeting marked the first serious attempt to resolve the 40-year-old problem, but both sides agreed that there was "not much hope for funding" the project. [105]

Undaunted by the bleak funding outlook, Superintendent Rouse pledged to continue negotiations with the Roosevelt Public Power District (RPPD) and the local chambers of commerce to obtain the above-ground removal of the "obtrusive 34.5 kv overhead power lines." [106] Success came in 1977 when a letter of agreement was signed with RPPD to remove and bury the transmission lines, and for the NPS to build the "Emigrant Substation." The lines, which supply the park with electricity, were buried leaving only one set remaining on the power poles. [107]

Success on the removal of the remaining power lines began on September 12, 1979, with the signing of a letter of agreement between the NPS, the Wyrulec Company, and the Department of Energy/Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) . The three-party agreement called for the removal of WAPA's 34.5 kv Lyman to Gering Transmission Line in and near the boundaries of Scotts Bluff National Monument. The NPS agreed to pay $100,000 to move the WAPA line and transformer, and to build a new line. The removal of the lines was scheduled for the spring and summer of 1980. [108] Midwest Regional Director Dunning, commenting on the cooperative agreement, stated:

Speaking strictly from the standpoint of economics, this proposal is by far the best for all parties concerned, especially the National Park Service, as it appears that we can achieve the goal of removing the transmission line from the monument, eliminate the necessity of an underground transmission line through the historic area, and most importantly, save the government over $200,000. [109]

Because of contract troubles, the project was delayed three years. Details concerning transmission lines outside the monument were renegotiated and price estimates readjusted. [110] (The lines were removed in the spring of 1983).

During the 1960s and 1970s, no cooperative agreements existed between the monument and the Gering and Scottsbluff Volunteer Fire Departments. Only informal, verbal agreements existed with the fire departments despite the efforts of past superintendents to negotiate agreements based on NPS-20 guidelines. Superintendent Bob Burns wrote in 1978 that "We know from past experience that none of these departments will enter into a formal written agreement as outlined in NPS-20." [111]

The impasse was overcome, however, in 1980 when a Mutual Fire Assistance Agreement was signed between the Park Service and the Gering Volunteer Fire Department on September 23, 1980. The agreement is for five years with the option to renew, and provides for "mutual assistance in preventing, detecting, and suppressing fires" as well as "search and rescue assistance." [112]

A Mutual Aid Agreement signed in March 1980 between the park and the Scotts Bluff County Sheriff's Office enhanced the law enforcement program at the monument. Two NPS employees, Chief Ranger Chris M. White and Park Ranger Lawrence A. Blake, were both deputized as county law enforcement officers. [113] This important step symbolizes the close cooperation that exists between the local community and the National Park Service.

SPECIAL USE PERMITS

Very few special use permits are issued at Scotts Bluff. In 1969, a five-year agreement was signed with the Union Pacific Railroad for use of the pedestrian trail across the right-of-way and through culvert number 148.65. The agreement contained a one-year extension clause and was negotiated in connection with the newly-opened Environmental Study Area. [114]

In 1975, a special use permit was reissued to the Gering Industrial District (GID) for the continued use of a ditch riders residence. The permit allowed for the use of one acre of land along the Gering Irrigation Canal upon which a two-bedroom house and storage shed is located. Problems with the house--neglect, late-night drinking parties, broken windows, and trash and weeds in the vicinity--were duly noted a few years later by the superintendent in a protest letter to the GID. [115]

On August 1, 1975, a ten-year special use permit was issued to the State of Nebraska, Department of Roads, for an 80-foot right-of-way within the monument to operate Nebraska 92. This permit followed a previous one issued on February 20, 1956, for a period of 20 years. Nebraska 92, originally Highway 86, was built from 1937 to 1940, and was realigned in 1953. In all of the issued permits, the NPS has never surrendered any legal authority over the 80-foot right-of-way, and the Director retains the right to rescind the permit at any time. [116]

A long succession of "temporary" special use permits concerns the former Scottsbluff Country Club golf course. In the mid-1970s, a local industrial development corporation asked the NPS for a lease on the three holes and two fairways totaling 5.5 acres in the "beehive" area of the monument. The initial response was negative, but upon an appeal to the Secretary of the Interior, the NPS relented and issued a one-year permit. [117]

Ownership of the business soon changed hands. The private Scottsbluff Country Club was divided and sold. The National Park Service purchased most of the facilities located within the authorized boundaries. The city of Gering purchased most of the golf course to operate as a city facility called the Gering Country Club. [118]

The Mayor of Gering appealed to the NPS to grant the city an interim special use permit to develop the golf course. The permit was granted on April 15, 1976, for a three-year period, but only on an "interim basis with no renewable clause...." On October 30, 1978, the mayor requested yet another extension, and an additional year was granted. In late 1979, course holes one and nine were relocated outside the boundaries, but tee number two, green number eight, and the access road remained within the monument. The course holes were reorganized and holes one and nine became holes three and four respectively.

In April 1980, the final special use permit was awarded to the city of Gering for use of 92 yards of fairway and green for number three, 73 yards of fairway and tee box for number four, and the access road to the clubhouse. The agreement was for seven years, or April 14, 1987. The Secretary of the Interior noted:

We believe the National Park Service has given the City of Gering more than ample opportunity to accomplish the terms of the Special Use Permits, especially with the current one extending through April 14, 1987. In summary we have issued Permits covering the period April 15, 1976 through April 14, 1987, a total of eleven years. [119]

The 1980 permit allowed for use of the "beehive" area for seven years and a grassy area adjacent to the clubhouse for two years. No golf carts are allowed to damage the terrain, thus golfers are required to retrieve their balls on foot. Gering officials pressed for a long-term agreement, but the NPS was adamant that management goals of restoring the area to natural conditions would prevail. To refuse the seven-year extension, Superintendent Burns reasoned, the enterprise might fail and then be sold to private developers whose interests could diametrically oppose those of the NPS. To deny the extension might also impair traditionally good relations with the city of Gering. [120]

A petition to allow hang gliding at Scotts Bluff in 1977 was rejected for two reasons. First, NPS management policies for historic areas and the protection of the historic scene forbids it unless otherwise posted in designated areas. Second, safety considerations preclude such activity. Winds can exceed 50 m.p.h. eight months of the year, and reach 80 m.p.h. during two other months. The turbulence of the 10.6 m.p.h. average winds over the sheer cliff walls makes hang gliding at the monument extremely dangerous. [121]

CONCESSIONS

Before a cooperative association began serving the needs of the monument, the only concession permit, then called a Miscellaneous Service Permit, was awarded each year from 1940 to 1944 to Downey's Midwest Studio of Scottsbluff. The firm was allowed to "sell picture post-cards, colored photographs, Kodachrome transparencies and moving picture prints of views pertaining to Scotts Bluff National Monument, and neighboring Oregon Trail sites." [122]

Since 1944, there have been no concessions awarded at Scotts Bluff, nor is there a need for any such operation because of the proximity of the monument to a full-service community. [123]

FEE COLLECTION

An entrance fee to the summit road was first collected in the early 1940s at a temporary toll booth. According to former Custodian Merrill J. Mattes:

It was required by the Bureau of the Budget that some of the parks produce a little revenue. . . . A little place like Scotts Bluff, they said to collect a fee from people going up this road. We started out charging two bits a car, and they've collected it ever since even though it was uneconomical. It costs far more for personnel to do the collecting than the revenue, but it is still required by the Bureau of the Budget [Office of Management and Budget]. [124]

(Presently, the fee returns more revenue than it costs to collect by a ratio of about 1.5 to 1).

Today, a special use fee of one dollar per visitor vehicle is collected at a permanent booth at the entrance to the summit road. The fee is collected every day during regular operating hours, but is not collected during the winter months when visitation drops dramatically. A decision pending in 1983, however, may result in the fee collection being instituted on a year-round basis.

Visitors on buses are charged a special use fee of 50 cents a piece. Buses present a special problem for the monument staff. Demands on NPS manpower become critical especially during peak operating times because park personnel must first close-off the summit road to all on-coming traffic to allow room for the mobile leviathans to negotiate the narrow curves. Vehicles pulling trailers are required to unhitch and leave their trailers in the visitor center parking lot. [126]

COOPERATION WITH THE NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND THE NORTH PLATTE VALLEY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

A Memorandum of Agreement signed June 21, 1956, between the Department of the Interior, the Nebraska State Historical Society (NSHS), and the city of Bayard, Nebraska, resulted in the joint administration of Chimney Rock National Historic Site. Chimney Rock, an important landmark on the Oregon Trail, was not officially designated a national historic site until August 9, 1956. The three-party agreement provides a direct working relationship between the Park Service and the NSHS at the historic site which is 23 miles east of Scotts Bluff National Monument.

The State of Nebraska owns the 83-acre site, but the NPS pledged in the 1956 agreement to erect a historical marker, publish informational literature, give technical advice and assistance, and provide funding "within limits of available appropriations." The agreement also designates the Superintendent of Scotts Bluff National Monument the official local NPS representative to cooperate with the NSHS and the city of Bayard "in all matters related to the protection of Chimney Hock." Inquiries from the public are directed either to the Superintendent of Scotts Bluff or to the Director of the NSHS. [127]

The Nebraska State Historical Society held its annual spring meeting at the Scottsbluff Town Park Hotel in May 1964. The "Gering-Scottsbluff Rendezvous" marked the first time that the NSHS held a portion of its seasonal meeting at Scotts Bluff National Monument, a co-host of the event. The highlight of the meeting was the dedication of Rebecca (Burdick) Winters' grave marker. Winters was one of the many pioneers who died en route along the Oregon Trail and whose gravesite has been protected. At the monument, NSHS members were addressed by Park Historian Earl R. Harris on the centennial of Fort Mitchell. Park rangers, stationed atop Scotts Bluff, pointed out such historic sites as Laramie Peak, Fort Mitchell, Ficklin Springs Pony Express Station, Mitchell Pass, the Oregon Trail, Dome Rock, Courthouse and Jailhouse, Rocks, Chimney Rock, the Wildcat State Route, and Scotts Spring. [128]

Initial contact was made with the NSHS in late 1979 to have the Society microfilm all correspondence dealing with the administrative history of the monument, an estimated 10,000 pages. [129] Former Custodian and Midwest Regional Historian Merrill J. Mattes requested that records from 1934 to 1946 be declared surplus and added to the "Merrill J. Mattes Collection" deposited at the NSHS in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Mattes Collection began in 1976 when the Midwest and Rocky Mountain Regional Directors agreed that the papers of the Regional Historian in Omaha from 1946 to 1966 be declared surplus and given to the NSHS. The NPS donation amounted to 60 boxes of documents. The NSHS archives provide a permanent repository for the Mattes papers, which document the first active decade of development at one of the "major historical areas of the State of Nebraska." [130]

The documents to be microfilmed covered the period from 1932 to 1976. The correspondence, which totaled more than 10,000 items, was inventoried and shipped to the NSHS in April 1980. By mid-1981, the microfilming process was complete .The NSHS archivist organized the Scotts Bluff papers into four series:

Custodian's Correspondence, 1932-1936
Special Subjects Correspondence, 1934-1967
Reports and Research Data, 1933-1967
News Clippings and Printed Material, 1932-1976

Seven reels of microfilm were produced and the original papers were retained by the Society. The monument maintains two copies of the microfilm, [131] but curiously does not have a microfilm viewer.

An archeological survey of the monument, conducted for the NPS under contract with the NSHS in 1966, is discussed in the next section titled "Archeology."

Cooperation with North Platte Valley Historical Association (NPVHA) has largely involved its museum. Until the early 1970s the NPVHA Museum was housed in an old store building in downtown Gering. The structure was inadequate and the exhibits were cluttered and disorganized. Plans for a new building were drawnup in mid-1971, and construction soon followed. NPVHA officials solicited and received NPS advice on design plans.

The NPVHA Museum exhibits depict the settlement of the North Platte Valley from 1885, a historical period which the monument's Oregon Trail Museum does not portray. The facility does not, therefore, duplicate the monument's museum. NPS contact is on an unofficial basis and has largely been characterized by "neighborly" visits by the Scotts Bluff Superintendent or other monument personnel. [132]