Yosemite Memoirs

Yosemite Memoirs

by Philip A. Russell, Ph.D.

Copyright © 2008, 2012 by Philip A. Russell, Ph.D.

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For the many guest’s of Yosemite and traveler’s from around the world, my Mother and Father, the best friends that I’ll ever have, Gloria Johnson, who inspired me to experience California, Tina Glanzman, who inspired me to experience Yosemite, and Beulah Adams, who inspired me to write a book.

Table of Contents

Ackowledgements

Chapter 1

Heading toYosemite

Chapter 2

A new postion and great livelihood

Chapter 3

Centered and into my comfort zone

Chapter 4

The fires of 1990

Chapter 5

Blessed with many genuine friendships

Chapter 6

A year of reading, inspiration, and growth

Chapter 7

A wet winter and spring with a new concessionaire

Chapter 8

Traveling to the high country

Chapter 9

The year of the park closure

Chapter 10

The Yosemite rockslide of 1996

Chapter 11

The flood of 1997

Chapter 12

The rains of El Nino

Chapter 13

A year of change, growth, and travel to new destinations

Chapter 14

Completing a bachelors degree, on hold for many years

Chapter 15

Earning a masters degree

Chapter 16

My Father’s passing and earning a doctorate

Chapter 17

The passing of Everette, hiking, reading, writing, and traveling to Boston

Chapter 18

Traveling to Oregon

Chapter 19

Moving ahead with distance learning

Chapter 20

Writing and traveling back to Boston

Chapter 21

Daily budgets

References

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A number of friends from around the United States provided valuable and inspirational advice for this project. My warmest thanks go to those who are mentioned and to the many individuals whose teaching and contributions this memoir reflects, including:

Dr. John R. Adam, Jane Burnham, Charles Burtis, Father Maurice Chase, Michael & Michelle Cosgrove, Ken Cosgrove, Dr. John L. Cox, Mike Craigie, Spike and Kitty Cryderman, Bob and Esther Donavan Dick and Donna Doyle, Jim and Ann Faulkner, Virginia Ferguson, Ron, Barb, and Jeni Galli, Jona and Debra Goldschmidt, John & Virginia Grande, Franco Greco.

And Winslow Hancock, Ed and Janet Hardy, Bud and Elaine Hartigan, Mary Hayes, Dr. Dennis Herschbach, Rosemary Humphrey, Dudley Kendall, Susan Kessler, David Lindsay, Erik, Carolyn, and Becky Lund, James and Nancy Maness, Constance McAllister, Michael McAuliffe, Bob and Ann McPherson, Harry and Linda Meyer, Tim and Florence Miles.

And Barbara Miller, Mary Ann Noonan, J. Wally Pegram, John and Linda Poore, Ken and Jane Schwartz, Craig and Mary Ann Smith, William French Smith III, Dennis Steigerwalt, Conrad Walla, Leslie Whatley, and, Caleb Whitbeck.

Thank you all

Chapter 1: Heading toYosemite

Waking up around 4:30am on the morning of January 2,1997, I listened as drops of rain fell from the window of our cabin. Walking through the flood water to the rest room and shower, I noticed that many of the dorms were deserted and flooded. Returning to our cabin, I prepared to move, to a higher location, and, packed my clothes and belongings, as if I were leaving on a vacation. With all of the roads out of Yosemite National Park closed, and water rising, there was a high level of uncertainty, as the rain continued to fall: where the people who were evacuated from their rooms would sleep, how long the rain would continue, and, when it would be possible to leave the park? Meanwhile, I tried to accentuate the positive and continued to assist our guests with updates on the weather conditions, evacuations, and, places to sleep.

Located on 747,956 acres with 1,169 square miles, Yosemite was named after its Indian Inhabitants, the full grown grizzly bear. Recorded history began in October, 1849, when two gold miners, one of whom kept a journal, viewed Yosemite Valley for the first time. In the late 1850’s, many changes came to Yosemite. Men from the nearby Mariposa Estate came to survey for water rights. In 1855, Milton and Horace Mann built a fifty mile trail, from nearby Mariposa to Yosemite, which opened in 1856. The charge was one dollar for hikers and two dollars for horseman. The first stagecoach roads were completed from 1855 to 1874. In the fall of 1856, four miners built the first hotel in Yosemite, the Yosemite Valley Inn, also known as the Lower Hotel, which looked like a barn with its rooms resembling stalls, but the surrounding beauty was so great that few lodgers complained. On June 29,1864, President Abraham Lincoln authorized the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove areas to be granted to California, as a State Park.

In 1868, John Muir arrived in Yosemite. Scottish born and raised in Wisconsin, he worked as a sheepherder for one season and then as a carpenter and saw mill operator. Muir examined the biological, geographical, and aesthetic details of Yosemite and became a local expert on the natural features of the park. He published such writings as The Mountains of California, (1894), Our National Parks, (1901), My First Summer in the Sierra, (1911) and, The Yosemite, (1912), which helped him develop a national audience. Muir helped formulate bills submitted to Congress for enlarging the Yosemite and Mariposa grants, and, developing a great national park or reservation. In 1890, a two million acre park proposal was presented to Congress, and, on October1, 1890, President Benjamin Harris signed a bill establishing Yosemite as a National Park.

The first well known concessionaire in Yosemite was David Alexander Curry, who had taught school, and was the principal of Sequoia High School, in Redwood City California. David Curry left Redwood City in June, 1899, to open Camp Sequoia in Yosemite National Park. Named after his school in Redwood City, the camp had been operated the previous summer by William Thomas, an attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area. Camp Sequoia consisted of guest tent cabins, a bathhouse, and a cook’s tent, which was operated by a Chinese Chef. Curry changed the name to Camp Curry during the summer of 1899 and added more tents and facilities to accommodate additional guests. He handled many phases of the operation, wherever his expertise was needed, and would personally greet the guests with a Welcome and Farewell upon their arrival and departure from Camp Curry. The Curry family worked as waiters, waitresses, bussers, front desk clerks, and in various management positions as the Curry Company continued to grow and was eventually merged with another park concessionaire, the Yosemite National Park Company, to become the Yosemite Park and Curry Company. Many relatives and close friends of the Curry family were employed at Camp Curry, and, a number of them were professors and students at the University of California/Berkeley and Stanford University, spending their summers in Yosemite with some moving into year round management positions. The Curry family remained active in the management of the Yosemite Park and Curry Company until 1969.

I was living and working in Illinois when I learned about an opportunity to live and work in Yosemite National Park. Walking through the student union at the University of Illinois, I noticed a flyer that was posted about a summer job fair. Attending the next morning, I noticed that many of the booths were for resorts in the Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. As I got closer to the exit, I noticed a large booth with a sign above it for Yosemite National Park, in California. I walked up to the booth where a male student was sitting, answering questions, taking names with phone numbers on a legal pad, and handing out applications. I visited with this individual who had worked in Yosemite. He shared his experiences with me, wrote my name and phone number on his legal pad, and handed me an application for employment. Leaving with a good insight on the housing situation, working conditions, meal program, and transportation, my initial reaction was that, having lived in Southern California, I could return to the west coast, work in Yosemite for a few years, and eventually, find a position in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a recession in the Midwest and finances shrinking, I drove home, completed my application for employment, sealed it in a stamped and addressed envelope, and mailed it from the nearest mailbox. Within a week, I received a call from a very nice individual, a senior at the University of Illinois, who had lived and worked in Yosemite during her summer breaks from college and would graduate in May. She explained many of the details about living and working in Yosemite: the meal plan, living conditions, working conditions, and many outdoor activities available in the park, and suggested that I call the Human Resource Department to confirm that my application had been received. Following her advice, I phoned the next morning and spoke with a very nice lady who confirmed that my application had arrived and explained the entry level positions that were available. I expressed my interest and received a letter of acceptance within a week. Discussing this opportunity with my folks, my mother did some research on transportation to Yosemite with a good friend, a travel agent. My mother put together all of the information that she had taken the time to research, purchased airline tickets, paid for one night’s stay at the Best Western Pine Cone Inn, en-route to Yosemite, located in Merced, California, and made it all possible for me to pursue this once in a lifetime opportunity.

I packed my personal items and arranged to have the mail forwarded to my post office box. With most of my belongings packed, Mom and Dad came over to our apartment with their van. We loaded the van and my car then headed for their townhouse where most of the items were stored. On the day before I left for Yosemite, Dad came over with the van and we transported the final load to their home, where I spent my last night in Champaign.

We left around 5am the next morning, and drove to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, where I would board a flight for Houston, en-route to San Francisco. We arrived around 8am with Mom and Dad dropping me off at the terminal. I thanked them for all of their assistance and driving me to Chicago as we said goodbye. Checking in for my flight, it seemed like I was in a mental daze with the joy of returning to California and uncertainty that comes from a new job and living in a place where one is not familiar. Arriving at the boarding gate, I boarded the plane and enjoyed breakfast en-route to our first stop in Houston. With a layover of approximately one hour, I walked through the terminal and boarded my next flight to San Francisco. Relaxing with a nice snack, I enjoyed our arrival into San Francisco with a great view of the bay and Oakland Bay Bridge. After we’d arrived at San Francisco International Airport, I walked to the baggage area, claimed my luggage, rode the escalator up to the next level, and checked in for my final flight, to Merced, California. Completing the check in process, I walked through the terminal and stopped at a food court for coffee. Observing the people who were dining there, I was amazed how relaxed they appeared to be with a casual disposition. It was great to be back in California again.

Walking to the boarding gate, I boarded my final flight for Merced. A much smaller plane than my previous flights, I enjoyed the trip from San Francisco to Merced which lasted for approximately thirty minutes. Arriving in Merced, I was literally amazed by the agricultural setting and smaller airport, similar to Central Illinois, where I was born and raised. I spent the night at a Best Western motel in Merced. Recovering from an ear infection, I checked in, showered, took my ear drops, ordered a pizza, enjoyed dinner, and went to sleep.

Waking up early the next morning, I checked out of the motel, phoned for a taxi, and rode to the Greyhound Terminal, in downtown Merced. There, I purchased a one way ticket to Yosemite, for a total of five dollars, boarded the VIA Bus, and rode to Yosemite National Park. Leaving Merced, we traveled along highway