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The Developing Years
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National Park Service Uniforms The Developing Years 1932-1970 |
Number 5 |
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 National Park Service uniform button. This design originated in 1912 when Sigmund Eisner, the uniform supplier at that period, modeled it after the 1906 ranger badge. Early buttons had a lacquer finish which had a tendency to chip and peel. NPSHC |
In the beginning of 1935, the Waterbury Button Company (today known as the Waterbury Company) of Waterbury, Massachusetts, began furnishing buttons with an "acid treated" finish. They claimed that this type of button would hold its color and wear much better than the lacquered buttons previously furnished. They cost $7.50 per gross for the coat size and $4.75 per gross for the vest or pocket size, as opposed to $5.00 and $3.75, respectively, for the lacquered variety. This process is still used today. [9]
Office Order No. 321 was sent out to the Field Offices on March, 16, 1936. The cover memorandum states "that the employees herein authorized to wear the uniform may continue to use articles of uniform authorized by Office Order No. 268, now in effect, until such articles are worn out, provided such use shall not exceed beyond December 31 1936." Without a copy of Office Order No. 268, there is no way to determine just what "articles" were deleted from the new regulations.
There is some question as to when the following uniform regulations came into being. They probably originated with Office Order No. 321, but they could have been incorporated in Office Order No. 268 or possibly some earlier unknown Office Order issued between Office Order 204 revised (June 7, 1932) and 268. Since there are no known copies of these documents, the regulations' origination date can not be determined at this time. The only thing certain is that they were in effect by April 13, 1936 when Office Order No. 324 took effect.
The new uniform regulations now provided for three different uniforms: Standard, Fatigue and Winter Sports Patrol. The Standard uniform remained the same except for the following:
 Temporary Ranger Cosby, Sequoia National Park, 1935. Cosby portrays what the well-dressed National Park Ranger was supposed to look like. Unfortunately, not all rangers managed to hit the mark. NPSHPC-SEKI#76-116 |
 Roger W.[Wolcott] Toll, Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park (1929-1936) Toll was an active participant in the uniforming of the Service. During off-seasons, he was chief investigator of proposed park and monument sites for the National Park Service. Toll's image was lifted from the group shot of participants at the 1934 Superintendent's Conference and superimposed on a picture of the front of the old Interior Building to make this composite photograph. NPSHPC-Schutz photo-HFC#64-244 |
Hat - the brim width was now 3" to 3-1/2" and for the first time the crown was specified to be 4" to 4-5/8", depending on what suit the wearer. And for some unknown reason, the color was changed from "belly" to "side".
Cap - now to be worn only by rangers on motorcycle duty.
Coat - could now have either a three or four button front. (probably depending on the size of the individual)
Trousers - cuffs to be increased from 1" to 1-1/2".
Field boots - leather leggings were no longer to be worn. Shoes were to be worn when wearing trousers, but they were to be cordovan, not black, and were to be worn with dark brown socks.
Shirt - Gray shirt could now be gabardine or cotton, as well as flannel. White shirt was to be worn for formal occasions only. In addition a field shirt was added. It was to be steel gray and have an attached collar, shoulder straps and two large, pleated pockets fastened with buttons. It could also be made out of flannel, gabardine, or cotton.
Tie - Dark green barathea silk with full wool lining.
Raincoat - Color changed from "deep sea green" to forestry or olive green. It was to be made from 12 to 18-ounce waterproofed cloth such as "Alligater" (a forestry green cravenetted [10] gabardine).
The Fatigue uniform was prescribed for informal wear such as patrol or general field duty where the ranger would not be coming into contact with the public and where the standard uniform would be inappropriate. This was the introduction of the short coat, or jacket, the forerunner of that worn today. And apparently since a lot of the rangers were wearing them anyway, the Uniform Committee bowed to the inevitable and authorized the wearing of the lace up boot. The fatigue uniform consisted of:
Hat — regulation
Jacket - National Park Service field jacket: short jacket with 2" waistband with adjustable buckles at sides. Jacket fastens in the front with full-length talon fasteners (zipper). Two large plaited breast pockets with flaps fastened with small regulation NPS buttons. A double layer of material is applied from the top of the pockets, over the shoulder and the full length of back of jacket. Lower part of back provides a large pocket, (like some hunting coats) closed by zippers under each arm. Color not specified but was forest green.
Breeches - regulation
Trousers - regulation style made from canvas or any waterproof material of a forestry green or tan color.
Shirt - regulation wool or cotton.
Tie - optional, at discretion of superintendent.
Boots - Heavy 16" top, leather lace-up style or regulation field boot.
 Permanent Staff Naturalist Department 1934 [Yellowstone National Park]. They are standing in from of the famed Elk antler stack at Yellowstone. Crowe and Bauer are wearing the regulation "puttees" while Kerns has on the dress boots. Left to right: George Crowe; C. Max Bauer; William E. Kerns NPSHPC-YELL#130,199 |
 Jr. Landscape Architect Howard Baker, March 12, 1934. Unauthorized details, such as lapel buttonhole, were still creeping into the uniforms. NPSHPC-ROMO# 3280 |
Badges, collar, and rank insignia were to be worn on the field jackets and on shirts when worn without coats or jackets.
 Rangers Force at Sequoia National Park, c.late 1920s. Prior to the 1936 uniform regulations, belts of all descriptions were worn by rangers. Also note the variety of ties. Davis & Brooks are wearing unauthorized footwear. Left to right: Packard, Lew Davis, Kerr, Williams, Brooks, Cook, Peck, Dorr, Fry, Alles, Smith, Sprigelmyre, Gibson NPSHPC-HFC#86-246 |
 1934 uniform shirt & breeches. This image shows a ranger from one of the western parks without his coat. His breeches and service boots show very clearly. Even the fact that his boot laces aren't tucked in. NPSHPC-ROMO#11-15-1-3 |
The third uniform, the Winter Sports Patrol was for National Parks and areas with established winter sports seasons. It consisted of:
Cap - NPS ski style with adjustable earflaps and USNPS embroidered in gold on the front.
Jacket - NPS style
Trousers - Ski style with full length cuffs, 20", or larger leg and knit ankle cuff.
Boots - conventional ski boots
Socks - Heavy wool with dark green top or olive green or steel grey ski leggings.
Parka - Light weight, waterproof forestry green or steel grey material, with or without hood. It could be either waist or knee length.
The Regulations stipulated that only those "National Park and monuments employees whose duties are chiefly to attract and to contact park visitors and to protect the areas adminstered(sic) by the National Park Service" (rangers, superintendents, naturalists, police, etc.) were to wear the standard Service uniform. No one was to wear the uniform when not on a "duty status."
Possibly because the coat was usually worn with the uniform, belts do not appear as an article covered by the regulations until 1936. Earlier photographs confirm the prior absence of any standard belt or buckle. Probably the only thing covering belts was the stipulation that all leather would be of a cordovan color. The new regulations specified that a "Forestry green, web-waist belt, 1-1/8" wide, with buckle approved by the Director, [probably the web belt style buckle being worn by the military] is prescribed for wear when breeches are worn with or without coat."
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Last Modified: Wed, Feb 7 2001 11:30:00 pm PDT
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