Did you know Jim Tobin from before?
No, I didn’t. I had met Tobin on a number of occasions. I knew a little bit about where Tobin was coming from. There was no doubt, I think, that Tobin was uncomfortable with the manner in which I went about some of the things I did. There is no doubt about that.
Was his death a real setback to the program?
Not a bit. He and Briggle were at absolutely opposites ends on the scale. Briggle was Briggle, and Tobin was a far gentler man. There was absolutely no doubt, as it related to Crater Lake, what was necessary to be done at Crater Lake. There was also no doubt that Tobin was uncomfortable with the way I did things. But not the results. He liked that.
Had you ever had an assistant superintendent prior to arriving at Crater Lake? How has such a position worked at CRLA?
No, I had not had an assistant superintendent. Second, an assistant superintendent, at the time I was there [at Crater Lake], was a pretty good idea. I really like Elaine Hounsell. She’s a real gutsy lady and she did some things. I got along well with Elaine. The flip side of that is that we were an awful lot alike and probably that is a mistake. You probably don’t need two Elaines or two of me in a park at the same time.
Two different styles over the long run is an advantage?
Yes. Contrasting styles would have been a real advantage. I think, I don’t know where Odegaard is coming as it relates to his superintendents. He no longer has the mediating influence of Briggle. Whoever this new deputy is, as I understand it, is essentially a political hack. Odegaard does not need that. Odegaard needs, himself, some park people in there, and he didn’t have them when I left, except for Briggle.
As far as regional office support, were certain people really helpful, in operations or design/construction?
Okay. The operations folk, i.e. rangers, on a scale of value to Crater Lake from one to 10, were about a two. Interpretation was variable. Certainly they had some interpreters in there that were of some help. History. Toothman and some of her people in that section were of a lot of help (10). There was no doubt about that, The big one is the planning. The Dan Babbitts of the world (11). That was a tremendous asset of being at Crater Lake. No doubt about it.
