Would there be more than one naturalist at the Community House? Was somebody on the piano leading the singing?
The only person on the staff who played the piano was Don Farner. He was a pianist of sorts, so he could play the songs that people sang at the programs. There were always two of us at the Community House. One to take charge and give the lecture and the other one to run the projector.
Did you lead the visitors in singing sometimes, too?
Yes. You were required to do it as a part of the regular routine. If you didn’t have any pianist there, you just went ahead and did the best you could.
Who had charge of the study collection at that time and where was it stored?
It was stored in the headquarters building (15). Probably in the same place it is now, eh?
It’s been moved over to the Ranger Dorm.
The person who had charge of it, I assume, would have been Don Farner.
When did Dick Brown show up? Was it that second year?
Yes, it was. He was brought in by Harry Parker. I think he had been associated with Harry Parker in Yosemite. He arrived with Harry and another man. The two of them came up with Harry Parker and both of them were very good. Of course, Dick Brown was simply terrific. An awfully good speaker and a highly intelligent individual as you can tell from his contributions to the publication. The other individual was awfully good too, but he would not contribute anything to the publication. I tried to put pressure on him, but didn’t succeed.
Did you stay in touch with Dick after you left Crater Lake?
I did indeed. Dick became a very close friend of mine. He became interested in the Eugene Natural History Society, and he attended some of their functions. During the time that Dick was head naturalist in the park, he would come up here each year to see if he could recruit people for summer jobs. He always stayed here in this house with me.
