Whtie Sands Administrative History

Lost in the furor over the entrance fee was Johnwill Faris' unique request for additional staff. Since Pinkley had no men to release from other parks, Faris suggested the hiring of a woman as the White Sands museum attendant. "Ordinarily I am very much opposed to a woman ranger," said Faris, "but somehow feel that in this particular instance it would be wise to consider a museum attendant being a girl." He predicted that White Sands' visitation "will have many women and children and it is surprising how many [women] are alone," or who were accompanied by "groups of children," The ranger could not articulate his logic clearly, but did suggest: "It would be much less embarrassing to have a woman attendant than perhaps any man." [88]

Pinkley's response was immediate and characteristically abrupt. "First, we don't check with you in getting a woman attendant," said the superintendent. Because White Sands was "particularly undermanned," a male employee could work "on any of the dozen or so outside jobs which always will be coming up, whereas the woman's capacity to handle any but the museum work would be limited." Not able to envision a time when the park service included women in many formerly all-male positions (including superintendent), Faris nonetheless acknowledged the essential fairness of his proposal: "Perhaps I haven't the picture as clearly as I should, but I believe in our eventual scheme we will still be wise to consider a woman in that connection." [89]

Johnwill Faris predicted a different future for White Sands, and for women in the NPS, in part because of the unfolding plans for the visitors center and museum. The park service had received much more funding for the facility than many thought possible, and the story line of the dunes traced by Charlie Steen was quite tasteful and sophisticated. One issue that echoed this, and also revealed the competing visions of the local chamber of commerce versus the park service, was the depiction of scenes on the museum walls. Painting of murals had been a highlight of the Federal Artists Project (FAP), and the chamber wanted the journey of Cabeza de Vaca memorialized at the dunes, calling him "the earliest European to visit this part of the continent." Charlie Steen preferred to represent the multiculturalism of the region, showing daily life in a Mexican village, Anglos on a wagon train or at a ranch, a Mescalero Apache camp scene, and American soldiers stationed at a desert fort. Steen then criticized the prevailing artistic style found on many public buildings (train stations, post offices, etc.): the impressionistic art work of Thomas Hart Benton. "I would not like to see [at White Sands] a set of murals of muscle-bound pin-heads," said the exhibit designer, "which is the usual FAP artist's concept of the human body." Steen called upon Pinkley to "ask that a realist be put on the job," to which the NPS regional director in Santa Fe appended in the margin to Steen's letter: "He is right!" [90]

Whether because of content or style, NPS officials debated the representations to be painted at the White Sands visitors center for several months. Aubrey Neasham, Santa Fe regional historian, warned that "no one person . . . can have the last word on a subject, especially in this day of a fast-moving world." Federal employees, said Neasham, should "try to find certain general principles or fundamental truths" about telling the story of the West. For the regional historian, "Hispanic-American history has been my great interest," and he promised: "Wherever I can push Spanish history, I shall do so with all of the enthusiasm possible." Neasham was responding to charges that the park service had discarded the notion of murals about Cabeza de Vaca, and that it preferred Anglo scenes of ranching or outlaws like Billy the Kid. Dale King wrote to Neasham explaining this latter emphasis: "We were going on the assumption that a great number of White Sands visitors are rather provincial Texans . . . exposed to little Southwestern history other than that of Texas." [91]

The Cabeza de Vaca-Billy the Kid debate underscored the inherent ethnic tension in a state whose central corridor (the Rio Grande basin) and northern mountains were predominantly Hispanic, while its southeastern quadrant was known as "Little Texas" for the migration of ranchers and farmers into its river valleys and high plains. The park service sought compromise on this issue by including other ethnic groups in the museum, most notably the Mescaleros and the black (or "buffalo") soldiers of the U.S. 9th and 10th Cavalry, stationed at nearby Fort Stanton. Charlie Steen despaired of locating Mescalero objects for the museum, suspecting that "for some peculiar reason the Mescalero stopped making many of their old artifacts as soon as they were placed on a reservation." Then the NPS wanted an aerial photograph of the dunes that showed Indian ruins and fire rings. The Colorado Air National Guard, which flew training missions in the Tularosa basin, agreed to take such a picture for the museum if the park service reimbursed the squadron for expenses. [92]

Ranger Faris, as he had done with the suggestion of a woman museum attendant, also demonstrated vision with his ideas for the murals. He did not share Tom Charles' views on Cabeza de Vaca, nor the sentiments of Texans about Billy the Kid. "Our area being a playground," said Faris, the monument "naturally attracts many children." He believed that "we certainly cannot make that type [outlaw] a hero in the eyes of our younger generation. " Compounding the problem were plans by the private, Santa Fe-based School of American Research to rebuild the old court house in Lincoln, "scene of the famous Kid escape" during the Lincoln County Wars. "To more than mention [Billy the Kid] in our museum, " Faris concluded, "might lay us open for criticism and future antagonism from the School of Research." [93]

In place of Vaca, Billy, or some other male historical figure, Faris offered instead an idea so novel that NPS officials wrote their superiors in Casa Grande and Santa Fe for advice. In early March, Faris accompanied Dale King and Aubrey Neasham on a tour of White Sands to envision an acceptable theme for the museum murals. The park ranger informed Pinkley: "White Sands in its very peculiar way presents an angle of having visitors probably without parallel in our entire Service." In order to highlight the dunes' distinctiveness, Faris urged the NPS to "give deep and earnest consideration to capitalizing . . . on the child angle." Too often the park service spoke only to adults with sophisticated exhibit, interpretation, and education programs about science, history, and culture. Focusing on youthful impressions of the dunes would "present a new line of thought in our education program for which the Park Service is so well known." Faris then wondered: "I cannot but shudder in the realization of how much I might have done had I talked more to the youngster and less to the adult. [94]

To emphasize his point about breaking free of NPS stereotypes of visitation, Faris, the father of a three-year old son (James), noted the inordinate popularity of the animated feature films of Walt Disney, and how important to children were his " characterizations of even inanimate objects. " Citing the recent Disney release, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937), Faris saw "no reason why we as an education unit could not present outstanding features . . . that might become equally as famous as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pop Eye, etc." The murals at White Sands could depict " struggles of plants for mere existance [sic]," and "even the rains, evaporation, disintegration, etc., that through the centuries likely produced our area. " The ranger also suggested inclusion of such scenes in all park service educational materials ("slides, reels, etc."). Then aware that he might be judged harshly by the stern Pinkley, Faris concluded: "If this is an utter impossibility, blame it on my desire to put my unit across rather than on indication of too much insanity." [95]

To Faris' surprise, he found allies in the NPS officials who echoed his thoughts about the murals. Dale King suggested painted tiles with scenes of plants and animals fighting the forces of nature. "Perhaps Walt Disney himself could be interested in the project," King wrote to Pinkley. The park service would not want "the desired art [to] be cartoonish," but Disney, whom King identified as "good enough to rate the Metropolitan Museum of Art, could conceive and execute the wide-eyed tender animal and plant figures which would appeal to both adults and children." King realized that '' execution must be adequate or the whole idea would look silly.'' Yet he judged White Sands as "probably the biggest 'play' area, so far as use is concerned, that the Service possesses. " As for Disney (who would be preoccupied with making his classic film, Fantasia [1940]), regional officials thought that White Sands might intrigue him. Said Hillory Tolson: "Disney spends much time in Yosemite [National Park], and Yosemite animals have furnished much of his inspiration." [96]

Figure 25. Oliver Lee ranch house, Dog Canyon (1930s).
(Courtesy White Sands National Monument)