It’s got a new title apparently.
Right, so we took that and you would wait two to three years to be called up, depending upon your rating and all that stuff, you know. It took about two years, I worked for the paper for a year and then I decided I would go into government work. I went to work for the Bureau of Reclamation. I had a permanent assignment there as a surveyor, working on the All American Canal in California.
That would have been in about 1940..?
About 1950. Then I was offered a job at Coulee Dam, a permanent position with the Park Service so I transferred from Reclamation to Park Service.
And that would have been in ’51?
’51 or ’52, I not sure somewhere right along in there.
So, about the time Wirth became Director? He was Director at the time.
It was after the episode at Dinosaur with Drury?
I was in at that time, ‘cause I remember we couldn’t say boo to the newspaper or delegations. It was a Secretarial decision [Oscar Chapman] and thou shalt not question the Secretary.
[Ron] It was a gag order.
Yeah, very specific on that.
That hasn’t been brought out before that there was a gag order.
I don’t recall whether it was a written order. I think it was, if I remember. But heck, I was a lowly beginning Park Ranger in those days and I had a lots to do, without being worried about the Secretary. But I did actually meet the guy. He came out to Coulee Dam and dedicated part of what was called the equalizing reservoir. He was the one that said no, the Park Service couldn’t have it.
Oscar Chapman?
Yes, so you run into those folks. As a seasonal at Petrified Forest I met Director Drury, which was very interesting because later on at the Redwoods. He was a very prominent person and we became real good friends. He remembered the Dinosaur experiences. It was still very important to him even just a couple years before he passed away. He felt very strongly that Dinosaur was the trigger. His problem, as he explained it to me, was that he didn’t like recreation areas. He didn’t think there was any place in the National Park Service for that. Of course I came in through the recreation areas, and was involved with several. So I took the other side and we had some great discussions.
I can imagine.
[Ron] Was he a very easy man to talk with?
Just as easy as sitting here. We used to have dinner quite frequently. I believe he was President of the Save the Redwood League at that time.
