Print Friendly

Some of the work that I did on the rim in 1931 as crew boss for the planting crew was right at the start of the trail down to the lake from in front of the cafeteria (1). The cafeteria was built at that time. We started under the direction of Merel Sager, the landscape architect. I should say Merel encouraged me to become a landscape architect back in 1930, when he and Tom Vint (2) told me that the future in the Park Service for landscape architects was better than if I had graduated in Forestry, which I was in at the time. Merel Sager was directing the work on the planting at the Rim area. It was started in 1930, along with the curbing to define the roadway and the parapet walls. We had an Italian stonemason (3) along with two All-Coast football tackles for the University of Oregon, George Christianson and Austin Coburn. And after the two of them left to go back to Eugene for football practice, they had to hire a couple of mules to take their place, because there wasn’t anybody big enough and strong enough to wrestle the rocks around. Those two fellows really got quite a ribbing from everybody that they were replaced by a couple of mules. At any rate, that work had progressed along the area in front of the cafeteria and at the head of the trail going down to the lake. Of course, that trail has long been closed because in the first place it was facing north and the snow never melted until well along in the summer. Then there were a lot of rock slides on it while the snow was melting. Later it was built over on the north rim where the sun and light would get to it (4).