Charles Goff Thomson became park superintendent on February 15, 1923, and served for six years until February 15, 1929, when he was transferred to the superintendency of Yosemite National Park, a position he held until March 22, 1937. After graduating from Cornell University in 1907, he was appointed to the veterinary corps in the Philippines under the Department of Agriculture. Two years later he was appointed superintendent of the government serum laboratory. In 1911 he joined General Pershing, who was then civil governor of Mindanao, with the assignment of eliminating the outbreak of a lethal disease menacing the supply of work animals in the province. From July 1914 to April 1917 he served as assistant director of prisons in the Philippines, in which position he had executive control of 46 institutions with some 8,400 prisoners.
After returning to the United States in 1917, he joined the armed forces, being commissioned a captain in the remount service. He organized and commanded the remount depots at Camp Gordon, Georgia, and Camp Dix, New Jersey, before being promoted to major and assigned overseas. He advanced to lieutenant colonel in command of 2,600 officers and men at Lux, France, where he handled 76,000 horses and mules for the First and Third Armies of the Allied Powers. On July 19, 1919, he was cited for “exceptionally meritorious and conspicuous services as commanding officer, United States troops, at Lux, France.”
Thomson joined the National Park Service as superintendent of Crater Lake National Park. In December 1923, nine months after taking office, he declared that “the park service is the best in the world and that he expects to die in it.”
Thomson s avocation was free-lance writing. Among his published works were two books based on his experiences in the Philippines: Terry: A Tale of the Hill People(1921) and Time Is A Gentleman (1923). He also wrote short fiction pieces for such periodicals as Pictorial Review, Country Gentlemen, and Munsey and outdoor articles forField and Stream and Scenic America. [4]
Succeeding Thomson as superintendent was Elbert C. Solinsky who served from February 15, 1929, to September 1, 1934. Solinsky was born in the mountains of California and his childhood was spent in an environment of lumbering and mining around Mokelumne Hill, a small mining town on the western slope of the Sierra Nevadas. He attended Berkeley High School and the University of California where he studied mining engineering and played football for two years. In 1915 he was employed at Yosemite National Park, supervising all timber operations in the park and serving as representative of the government’s interests on the Hetch Hetchy water and power project. As assistant to the Yosemite superintendent from 1926-29, he supervised protection and control of the park forests and maintenance and development of roads, trails, and park facilities. [5]
Prior to offering Solinsky the position at Crater Lake, NPS Director Horace M. Albright described the type of person needed as superintendent of the park in a memorandum to Secretary of the Interior Roy 0. West. He stated:
The position of the Crater Lake Park Superintendent carries a salary of $5,800, less $300 for quarters. The position is very important because it is the only executive position in the park. There is no assistant superintendent and no resident engineer. Unless a National Park Service man is promoted to the position from another park, there can be no assurance that the work will be done satisfactorily, particularly the first year. Mr. Solinsky can do this.
The park is located on the summit of the Cascade Mountains. The snowfall is very deep. It is a terrific task to open the roads and trails even by the first of July. The superintendent should have experience in snow removal, repair and upkeep of roads and trails, and must be capable of selecting good men and holding them. He should also have experience in overhauling equipment, purchasing and handling Government supplies and materials and using them efficiently and economically. [6]
