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1916
1916 Publication of “Marooned in Crater Lake”, by Alfred Powers. A story about teenager Jim Turner of Portland who, through a series of mix-ups, gets marooned along the western shore of Crater Lake having been dropped off to enjoy a few hours of fishing. The boy realizes he is in serious trouble when it dawns on him that he had been on the last lake launch of the season. There will not be any more boats on the Lake this season to pick him up. Young Jim makes a kite from a newspaper wrapped around his lunch. (Sound familiar Mr. Steel?) Using yarn unwoven from his long woolen Knee Socks, Jim flies a kite high over Wizard Island after surviving the previous night with very cold legs. (Full text – craterlakeinstitute.com)
The story is written with such detail many people think the story is true, rather than a novel.
Winter 1915/1916 M.L. Edwards used snowshoes while serving as a Park Ranger at Crater Lake. Initially hired in 1915 as a temporary ranger, Edwards was one of the first few employees at the park, and it is believed that he was the first person to remain at the park through the winter. A clipping from the Mail Tribune, “Eleven Feet of Snow at Crater,” dated February 1916 documents that Edwards spent “a lonesome” winter at Crater Lake that year and that he came out of the park to Fort Klamath on snowshoes. (SOHS 1966.99)
From Steve Mark, Park Historian – December 2015: Based on what is in the Steel Scrapbooks, I don’t think I buy the idea that he was the first to remain in the park through the winter. I know that the copy is hard to read, but Momyer indicated that he had an “annual hibernation” in the park, something I can only surmise to have begun after the Bakowski disappearance several years prior to 1915/16. The records are admittedly sketchy on this question, but it is doubtful that Edwards was the first.
January 3 1916 Liquor permits canceled in the Park because Oregon goes “dry” two years before national Prohibition. Oregon remains dry until 1934, though some parts of Oregon remain “dry” until 2002.
June 3 1916 CLEAR AWAY SNOW AT CRATER LAKE Reports from Crater Lake indicate a depth of six feet of snow on April 26. Mr. Sparrow of the United States engineers is in the park near the Pinnacles entrance, arranging to start the road work. Road supervisor Grieve examined conditions to Waupeg camp on the 1st and reports it possible to go that far with a machine. On the morning of the 5th he will commence the work of clearing and repairing the road to the Medford entrance of the park, seven miles from headquarters. The season will be late and to harden matters Mr. Parkhurst will visit the park about the middle of the month with a crew of men who will try to open the roads so that a party of tourists, due to arrive at the lodge on the 29th, may be taken proper care of. Mrs. Memyer has joined her husband at headquarters, where he has been on duty since the first of February.
Mr. Steel visited the park two months ago, at which time the snow was eleven feet deep, and expects to go again in a few days to formulate his plans for the season.
May 4 1916 UNCLE SAM TO ENFORCE GAME LAWS IN CRATER LAKE PARK
Senator Chamberlain has introduced at the request of the department of the interior senate bill 5704 to accept cession by the state of Oregon of exclusive jurisdiction over the lands embraced within the Crater Lake National park, as provided by the last legislature. The bill reserves to the state the right to serve civil and criminal process within the park limits.
The park is made a part of the United States judicial district for Oregon and the federal district court is given jurisdiction within boundaries for all offenses committed. Among other provisions are the following:
All hunting or the killing, wounding or capturing at any time of any wild bird or animal, except dangerous animals when it is necessary to prevent them from destroying human lives or inflicting personal injury, is prohibited within the limits of said park, nor can fish be taken in any other manner than with hook and line, at seasons specified by the secretary of the interior.
Injury or spoliation of timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, boundary monuments, buildings, fences or improvements is forbidden, or scaring or capture of wild birds is prohibited. Possession of dead bodies of fish, birds or animals is made prima facie evidence of guilt. Stage companies and railroads are forbidden to transport the same. Fines of $500 maximum or imprisonment of six months are provided.
Guns, traps, teams, horses or means of transportation used within park limits by those engaged in killing, trapping or capturing animals or birds are declared forfeited and may be seized.
The federal district court is authorized to appoint a commissioner, who shall reside in the park and have
jurisdiction to hear and act upon all complaints, at a salary of $1500 a year. Fees, costs and expenses are disposed of as in the federal courts.
June 19 1916 PLAN OPENING OF CRATER LAKE INN BY JUNE 29
- C. Tuller, who will manage the hotel at Crater Lake the coming season, arrived in Medford Monday with a trained crew of hotel helpers and will leave Tuesday for the lake. He will open the hotel at Anne Springs at once and expects to have the inn in operation by June 29, the day the first party of tourists is scheduled to arrive from the east.
“The hotel will be able to offer first-class accommodations the coming season, for the first time,” says Mr. Tuller. “The building is now complete and well furnished. Heavy bookings for tourists have already been made, and we expect double the number of guests that we had in 1915.”
Word from the lake is to the effect that the snow is melting rapidly. Thursday there was but three feet depth at headquarters, and most of this has gone since.
Park Supervisor Will G. Steel and Court Hall left Monday with a crew of men to work on the roads, where the road men will being clearing away the small trees and snowdrifts that obstruct the road from the government camp to the rim of the lake. As the cars can now reach a point within five miles of the rim, it is expected that regular service to the lake will be in operation by the 29th of this month.
Engineer Goodwin of the United States army, who has charge of the highway improvement, passed through Medford last Thursday en route to the lake. The war department has asked for $100,000 to pave highways the coming year, and the amount allowed will determine the quantity of work to be accomplished. (MMT)
Summer 1916 260 men and 40 teams are employed to maintain and construct new roads.
August 7 1916 Sleeping accommodations at the Lodge are pressed to the limit by 258 guests registering for the night. Some Guests end up sleeping in the Great Hall.
August 11 1916 CRATER LAKE INN HAS GOOD BUSINESS DURING SEASON
The Crater Lake lodge is enjoying big patronage despite the fact the season opened late. The smallest number registered so far this year was 42 and there were 104 at the lodge the night before the editors were there. Some of the prominent people at the lake this year have been R. L. Hedges, former owner of the St. Louis ball team, accompanied by his wife and son; John C. Hill of Chicago, hotel inspector in national parks; R. B. Marshall, of Washington D. C., superintendent of national parks; Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Strahord of Portland, railroad builder; C. Lombardie, president of the Dallas-Galveston Pub Co., accompanied by wife and son; Mr. Sells of Washington D. C., Indian commissioner; F. H. Green, city chemist of San Francisco; H. E. Noble and Preston Holton, Portland bankers; Peck Judah and Mr. Weston, tourist agents, also Mrs. Weston and son.
This party made the largest fish catch on any one day this year, 11 trout. Other visitors were Col. Chas. Moran of New York; Chas. Hamilton of Waco, Texas; R. M. Cox, Reno, Nevada, of prominent railroad men; Vice-President McCormick and General Passenger Agent Scott of the Southern Pacific.
The new road from the entrance of the national forest reserve to Steel’s camp was opened this year, which makes about 45 miles of road completed by the government in the national forest and park.
The Parkhurst Company has put three new power boats on Crater lake this year and have added several portable motors to the rowboats.
A special train comes from California the last of this week with excursionists for the lake.
All the supplies at the lake are hauled by auto from Kirk. Perry Ashcraft drives the stage and makes a round trip every other day.
- H. Parkhurst, president of the company and H. C. Tuller, manager of the lodge do all they possibly can for the comfort of the guests.
August 21 1916 President Wilson signs Representative Sinnott’s bill transferring exclusive jurisdiction from the State of Oregon to the Federal Government.
Congress prohibits further mining claims inside the National Parks. Commissioner’s courts are established to punish violators of park regulations.
August 21 1916 From the Ashland Daily Tidings. The obituary of Roxanna E. Brown. Born in NH on April 29, 1833, Died August 15, 1916 in probably Ashland. In 1861 Roxanna along with her husband Ozro (a Hebrew word meaning: God’s Helper) crossed the Great Plains with ox team to Phoenix, Oregon. They then moved to Klamath County and were prominently identified with the growth and development of that county. Mrs. Brown was the first white woman to go to Crater Lake was second to reach the shores, beaten by young Annie Gaines. From Steve Mark, Park Historian, July 2016: the only thing I can add is that her maiden name (something I learned in speaking with a member of the Brown family some years ago) was Grace.
August 25 1916 National Park Service established by Congress. Director Mather adopts a general policy of predator control.
September 15 1916 Roscoe Howard writes a letter to Oregon Representative, N. J. Sinnott complaining that the Rim Camp Trail to the Lake is exceedingly dangerous. The writer notes that the Lodge has no fire escapes and an imperfect water supply. The building is not complete and is illuminated above the first floor by kerosene lamps and candles.
November 20 1916 William G. Steel resigns as Superintendent and is appointed as first Park Commissioner. J.S. Diller names Steel Bay while Steel is superintendent.
November 22 1916 H.E. Momyer becomes the Park’s third superintendent.
December 6 1916 Cecil Hall, Herbert Kentner and Frank McKee will leave Thursday morning for Crater Lake, going as far as possible by car and tramping the remaining distance to the rim. They expect to have to walk about 20 miles. They will take about a week for the trip. MT
Season 1916 Rim Road built to Devil’s Backbone on the West and Cloud Cap on the East.
Park’s budget set at $25,000 per annum. Employee’s seasonal residence built at Annie Spring. The two-story, nine room frame structure was razed in 1953. White Horse Bridge built by the War Department at 14 feet wide and 40 feet long.
Cook house built on the rim of Annie Creek Canyon near Annie Spring Bridge. The building eventually became the Annie Spring Ranger Residence. Razed in 1984.
New road contracts have made many of the Park’s roads passable.
Season: 1916 11,589 visitors. (Internet says: 12,265)
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