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1921
January 19 1921 A vigorous protest from the Roseburg Chamber of Commerce was sent to Congress opposing the inclusion of Diamond Lake into the boundaries of Crater Lake National Park. “The area is now devoted to grazing purposes and for pleasure purposes and its incorporation would be a tremendous loss to Douglas County and to the people who hunt and fish without restriction…”
May 1921 The Crater Lake Betterment Committee raises $20,000 for park improvement in exchange for options to buy the park concession for $80,000.
June 1921 Regular mail service established between Medford and the Park.
June 28 1921 Standard Oil begins gasoline service in the Park. They spend $51,000 advertising the service in 256 daily newspapers.
July 1921 The Lake launch, The Sparrow, is assembled from parts carried down the Old Lodge Trail. Named for Park Superintendent, Alex Sparrow The boat was burned on Wizard Island in 1971.
July 16 1921 The Medford Mail Tribune reports: The launch made the first trip around the lake today. The lodge is full and overflowing every night. Beds have been put up in the former woodsheds and in the office and cots put where there is a place for them. The tent houses are being rushed as fast as possible and everything possible is being doen to accomadte the extra guests.
Airplane number 22 of the fire patrol service was forced to land about 15 miles northwest of Crater Lake this afternoon because of motor trouble, in the Pumice Desert. Mr. Fisher was the pilot and Mr. Parsons the observer. The plane is a Eugene plane that was in Medford. They were drawn off the regular course by what appeared to be a fire just east of Crater Lake, but what proved to only resemble a forest fire smoke. The engine firest missed when the plane was passing over Crater Lake over Crater Lake and got rapidly worse, forcing a landing. The plane made a safe landing and neither pilot nor observer was hurt. Mr. Parsons walked 15 miles to the lodge. (This is the true story of the plane going down at Crater Lake. See July 14, 1921 entery below)
July 12 1921 Construction of the Fred Kiser studio begins, over the objections of Superintendent Sparrow and other NPS officials. The little building is now the Park’s Visitor Center. During the 1920’s families employed by the Kiser Studio, lived in the top story apartment above the studio and used a kitchen on the first floor. At times, Rim Rangers and their families also shared quarters above the Studio.
The studio became a visitor contact station in 1929 and fully NPS property in 1932. Much of the friction was between Fred Kiser and Col. Thomson, at least this is the sense one gets when reading letters between Steel and Kiser. FK left for Los Angeles in 1929 after going bankrupt and mostly stayed in So Cal between then and his death in 1955 (I believe). From Steve Mark.
The cornerstone of the Kiser Studio at Victor Rock, on the rim of Crater Lake, was laid July 12, 1921, by Will Steel. A crowd of 100 people gathered around as F.P. Salter the contractor, and his men, swung the lava block into place and Kiser took a motion picture of the ceremony. The structure was to be the headquarters for Kiser s photographic expedition in this part of Oregon, and the studio/salesroom for his hand-colored pictures of Crater Lake and the Northwest, for post cards and photographic supplies, and for literature about scenic beauties and encouraging their preservation. The studio was to be a story and a half, facing the lake, built of stone and timber, with a veranda across the front and a large plate glass window framing a vista of the lake. After the studio was completed, Kiser planned to surround it with a small rock garden and flower beds containing specimen plants and flowers of the Crater Lake area. Present at the occasion were Mr. and Mrs. Walter Prichard Eaton of Sheffield, Massachusetts. Eaton was visiting Crater Lake with Kiser to secure material for a Boy Scout book about the park and to obtain data for magazine articles about Oregon.
July 14 1921 Cadet pilot Raymond Fisher and his observer, R.M. Parsons, were on a routine fire patrol of Oregon’s forests on July 14, when the engine on their De Haviland aircraft “started to act badly.” Fisher made the decision to bring his plane down approximately five miles northwest of Crater Lake, near Oasis Butte, about four miles west of Pumice Desert. “Due to the skillful handling of the machine, neither man was hurt. It was determined that the problem was caused by faulty sparkplugs, so a replacement was flown up to the Park and dropped by parachute. After the repairs, Lt. Eugene Batten “made a get-away, in spite of the rough soft characteristics of the pumice ash and high altitude.”
A photograph of the biplane sitting disabled near Oasis Butte has been found in the Sparrow Collection at the Southern Oregon Historical Research Library. Two horses are in the foreground. One of the horses is Superintendent Sparrow’s famous horse Imp. (Imp – Imperitor – German for “emperor.”
Editor’s note: In 2003 a mangled version of this story appeared in veteran ranger Butch Farabee’s “Death, Daring and Disaster – Search and Rescue in the National Parks.” According to Mr. Farabee the plane had landed on Wizard Island and that radio contact had been made with the Medford Airport and replacement spark plugs were flown down inside the Caldera and dropped by parachute to the waiting flight crew. The repairs were made and the plane was flown off the island. The landing and take off would have been impossible because Wizard Island is made up of numerous aa lava flows.
After the publication of the his book, Mr. Farabee was send a photo of Wizard Island showing that the rocky aa lava would have prevented any type of safe air landing, let alone a successful takeoff. Mr. Farabee sent back to this author a news clipping, complete with drawings, taken from the San Francisco Examiner reporting that the plane had indeed landed and taken off from the Island. For some reason the SFE reporter got the story terribly mixed up. And Mr. Farabee stands by his mangled version of the story and not the real story of the plane landing at Ossis Butte.
July 18 1921 Senator McNary again introduces legislation for the extension of Crater Lake National Park to include the Diamond Lake area. Some groups are pushing for the inclusion of the Union Creek area as well.
July 25 1921 Air service to the Park is proposed. Edward High of Ashland is negotiating for an airplane with which he expects to establish air service to the Park every two hours.
July 22 1921 Violin selections are played at the Lodge in the evenings with the Great Hall beautifully decorated with greens. Will Steel gives evening talks at the Lodge.
July 27 1921 Mrs. Vera A Norric is appointed the Park’s fourth Postmaster.
August 1921 George Collins, Secretary of the Park Company drives the first car ever, a Peerless, 14 miles from Crater Lake to Diamond Lake, breaking down all obstacles in his path and crashing through a huge log blocking the course.
August 6 1921 Mazama Club outing party is held up by two bandits on the Diamond Lake road. Posse is organized to capture the culprits.
August 13 1921 200 men start work on the forest road into the Oregon Caves.
August 24 1921 Outside fireplace dedicated by Mather, Secretary Fall, Olmsted and Southern Pacific President McCormick. Fire burns so hot in the new fireplace that the Lodge’s roof is set on fire.
September 3 1921 The Mail Tribune reports an “impossible” feat is accomplished. An automobile is driven over the wagon road from Crater Lake to Diamond Lake. A dusty distance of about 20 miles.
Only a horse trail connected Diamond Lake and Crater Lake National Park in 1921. That was before the superintendent of the park, Alex Sparrow, invited the vice president of the Southern Pacific Railroad, E.O. McCormick, to ride the trail. Their ride convinced them it was time to build a motor car road between the lakes.
After park rangers blazed a trail, cutting down small trees that got in the way, McCormick got George Collins of Medford to drive them in his Peerless car on the first automobile trip on the shortcut joining the two lakes.
Starting on Sept. 2 from Crater Lake’s North Rim Road, the men headed in the Peerless across the pumice desert and followed the rangers’ blazes. They only stopped a couple of times to clear some brush. McCormack was so impressed by the fishing, camping and scenery that he agreed to have Southern Pacific promote both lakes in its advertising.
Three days later, Jean Steel and her friend Miss Humphrey, accompanied by Will Steel, became the first women to drive from Crater Lake to Diamond Lake on the new cutoff.
The shortcut would become the north entrance to Crater Lake National Park.
Sources: “Record Motor Trip Made to Diamond Lake.” Medford Mail Tribune 3 Sept. 1921: 6. Print. “Miss Steel Drives Car from Crater to Diamond Lake.” Medford Mail Tribune 6 Sept. 1921: 3.
September 1 1921 A photo of Will Steel is hung over the mailbox in the Lodge and an electric light is placed over the picture.
September 21 1921 Record auto run to Crater Lake from Medford of 3 hours and 20 minutes. “This record will stand for years.”
1921 The Crater Lake National Park Company, with Mr. Eric V. Hauser of Portland as President, is organized. Mr. R.W. Price, manager, invests more than $20,000 in improvements. Mr. Price became manager of the Lodge after it went broke under Mr. Parkhurst’s ownership. The new manager had slowly acquired control of the company’ stock. The new company needs $60,000 for construction of the new wing, $20,000 for repairs, and $40,000 to buy Parkhurst out.
PRICE, RICHARD WILLIAM
Vice-President, Managing Director, Crater Lake National Park Co.
- Portland, Oregon July 9, 1880; educated public schools Portland; Minnie Struble of Portland; three daughters, Mrs. Joseph P. Price, Mrs. Jane McConkle, Ruth Catherine; began as apprentice harness maker; later in harness business, Portland; over fourteen years manager Mallory Hotel, Portland; now and for several years active as vice-president and managing director Crater Lake National Park Co. and Crater Lake Lodge; Rotarian; address Sept. 20th to June 15th 3966 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd., Portland; summer Crater Lake.
Capitol’s Who’s Who for Oregon 1948-49, page 455
Man dies in fall near Lake Trail.
Season 1921 Visitation: 28,617
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