Guadalupe Mountains An Administrative History

Since the establishment of the park in 1972, Guadalupe Mountains has been the scene of a number of special events. The dedication ceremony and celebration in September 1972, the opening of the new facilities at Dog Canyon in May 1982, and the tenth anniversary celebration and opening of the contact station in McKittrick Canyon in November 1982 were single-day events, sponsored by the Park Service with the assistance of civic organizations from nearby communities. Each year the park also had a spontaneous special event--the magnificent colors of autumn--which attracted many visitors. On two occasions the park was the staging ground for events that were not planned by the Park Service but captured widespread public attention: a flag ceremony on Guadalupe Peak in recognition of the U.S. bicentennial anniversary and a climb of Guadalupe Peak by small group of paraplegics who made the trip in wheelchairs. All of these events served to increase public awareness of and interest in the park. As such they are an important aspect of the administrative history of the park.

Events Sponsored by the Park Service

Dedication Ceremony--September 30, 1972

The year in which the park was established was also the centennial anniversary of the establishment of Yellowstone National Park, the nation's first park. For that reason, the Washington office of the Park Service participated more actively than usual in events taking place in the parks. During the centennial year, to bring the anniversary observance to as many parks as possible, national-level staff members and other significant people related to the government took part in such functions as the Guadalupe Mountains dedication. Julie Nixon Eisenhower, daughter of President Richard Nixon, and Nathaniel P. Reed, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, participated in the festivities at Guadalupe Mountains and were the principal speakers at the dedication ceremony (see Figure 40). [1]

Although the drawn-out legislative struggle to establish the park had generated much public interest, particularly in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, park managers were unwilling to rely on that interest to bring people to the dedication ceremony. To assure a good turn-out, they launched a major publicity campaign in advance of the date. The El Paso, Dell City, Van Horn, and Carlsbad chambers of commerce and the Carlsbad Caverns Natural History Association cooperated in the publicity effort and helped to make the day-long occasion a success. [2]

The dedication ceremony, attended by some 2,400 people, took place near the temporary office and information station at Frijole, a location that in 1972 had no other facilities that would attract visitors. That so many people were willing to travel the considerable distance to the park to attend the ceremony attests to the effectiveness of the publicity campaign as well as the high level of local interest in the park. The ceremony included all of the pomp necessary to properly initiate a new facility: a U.S. Army color guard from Fort Bliss, Texas, to present and retire the colors; the Van Horn, Texas, high school band to provide music; local clergy to lead the invocation and benediction; and Park Service Associate Director Stanley W. Hulett (see Figure 40) to serve as master of ceremonies. The speaker's platform was filled with people who had been instrumental in the establishment of the park: J. C. Hunter, Jr., and his wife, Mary (see Figure 41), former owners of the largest portion of the park lands; former Senator Ralph Yarborough and Congressman Richard White (see Figure 40), who had initiated the legislation to establish the park; and John Ben Sheppard, who had been chairman of the Citizens Committee for Guadalupe Mountains National Park. While the infirmities of age prevented Wallace Pratt from attending this occasion of which he had long dreamed, his seminal contribution to the establishment of the park did not go unrecognized. After speeches by Reed and Eisenhower, a welcome by Superintendent Donald Dayton, and remarks by White, Theodore Thompson, Associate Director of the Southwest Region, unveiled a special plaque honoring the Pratt family. [3]

After the dedication ceremony, Cavern Supply, concessioner at Carlsbad Caverns, prepared and served a free barbecue lunch for all who had attended. Park managers invited the public to tour McKittrick Canyon in the afternoon. [4]

Opening of the Facilities in Dog Canyon--May 22, 1982

In 1982, the beginning of the season of summer visitation coincided with completion of the ranger and visitor facilities in Dog Canyon and of the access road to the area. Hoping to generate more interest in the Dog Canyon area, which previously had received far less traffic than the southern areas of the park, management again initiated a heavy promotional campaign to encourage attendance at the ribbon-cutting ceremony and barbecue on May 22. For several weeks before the date of the occasion local newspapers carried announcements of the dedication and maps showing how to reach Upper Dog Canyon. Park managers invited newspaper, television, and radio people from Carlsbad, El Paso, Roswell, and Albuquerque to attend. They also sent individual invitations to people in Dell City and Carlsbad whom they considered to be special friends of the park. [5]

Figure 40. Distinguished guests at the dedication of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, September 30, 1972: (L-R) Donald Dayton, Stanley Hulett, Richard White, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Ralph Yarborough, Nathaniel Reed. (NPS Photo)

Figure 41. Mary and J. C. Hunter, Jr., (right) at the dedication of Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The Hunters' 70,000-acre ranch was the largest parcel the federal government purchased to establish the park in the southern Guadalupes. (NPS Photo)

An estimated 300 people traveled the newly improved road to Dog Canyon on May 22. Much less formal than the park's dedication ceremony, a simple ribbon-cutting initiated the Dog Canyon facilities. William Dunmire, Superintendent of Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains, served as master of ceremonies. Donald Dayton, who by 1982 was Deputy Regional Director for the Southwest Region, gave the principal remarks. The mayors of Carlsbad and Dell City and the presidents of the chambers of commerce of both towns joined Dunmire and Dayton in the ceremony. After the ribbon-cutting the Eddy County Mountain and Desert Res-Q Squad prepared and served a Dutch-treat barbecue lunch. The public was invited to tour the campground, contact station, residential, and barn areas during the afternoon. [6]

Tenth Anniversary Celebration--November 6, 1982

Later in 1982 the McKittrick Canyon contact station was completed in time to be the focus for the tenth anniversary celebration of the park. Instead of taking place on September 30, the occasion was scheduled for November to coincide with the height of fall colors. The chambers of commerce of Dell City, Van Horn, Sierra Blanca, and Carlsbad exhibited their continuing interest in the park by their promotion of and involvement in the event. The Carlsbad Caverns Natural History Association provided all of the printing services associated with promotion. [7]

Approximately 1,300 people attended the Dutch-treat barbecue prepared and served throughout the day by the Dell City Chamber of Commerce. During the day-long event, park rangers led guided tours into McKittrick Canyon, and trails were open at all times for public use. [8]

The formal program to observe the park's anniversary and to dedicate the McKittrick Canyon contact station recalled the dedication ceremony of 1972. An address by Congressman Richard White, highlighting colorful persons and events related to the park, was the focal point of the program. An Army color guard from Fort Bliss presented and retired the colors, a resident of Van Horn sang the national anthem, and local clergymen gave the invocation and benediction. Superintendent William Dunmire was the master of ceremonies. Honored guests on the speaker's platform were Congressman Ronald Coleman, former Senator Ralph Yarborough, Judge Doyle Ziler of Hudspeth County, Judge John Conoly of Culberson County, and Deputy Regional Director Donald Dayton. Regional Director Robert Kerr presided at the ribbon-cutting to officially open the visitor contact station. [9]

Color Weekends

The "first annual fall color cavalcade" took place in October 1971; 135 people participated in three guided tours of McKittrick Canyon. [10] Each year thereafter park managers watched the development of fall colors and announced the weekends when they anticipated color-viewing would be at its peak. The number of visitors to the canyon during the two or three designated weekends gradually increased to approximately 700 in 1976, jumped to 1,450 in 1978, and nearly doubled again to reach 2,800 in 1979. Although fall visitation fell off in 1981 and 1982, by 1983 it had returned to the peak level of 1979. [11]

By 1986 visitors coming to see the fall colors in McKittrick Canyon had increased to such a point that management decided to institute a new policy for the color weekends in 1987: during those weekends McKittrick Canyon would be administered under an "incident command system" where the gate at the highway would be closed when a certain number of people had entered the canyon. A publicity campaign describing the new policy began early in October 1987. Managers advised the public to visit the park on weekdays if possible, then outlined the procedures for the late- October, early-November weekends. After the 110-car parking lot at the mouth of the canyon was full, additional vehicles would be permitted to enter the canyon only as other vehicles left and parking spaces became available. The news stories suggested alternative locations within the park for color-viewing; they also encouraged large groups, such as bus tours, to make reservations to visit the canyon. The publicity campaign was a valuable effort; park managers received strong public support for the limited access program initiated during the color weekends of 1987. [12]

Other Special Events

Bicentennial Flag Ceremony--July 28, 1975

As part of the Texas celebration of the bicentennial anniversary of the United States, eight Boy Scouts and two scoutmasters from Troop No. 3 of Abilene, Texas, climbed Guadalupe Peak to fly the flags of the United States, Texas, and the Bicentennial. The Boy Scout group assembled at the Pine Springs campground on July 27, 1975, where they were welcomed by members of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. A photographer and staff member from the Abilene television station, a photographer from the Abilene Reporter-News, an administrator from the West Texas Chamber of Commerce, and a Guadalupe Mountains Park Technician, Robert King, volunteered to climb with the Boy Scouts. [13]

Figure 42. Members of Boy Scout Troop No. 3, Chisholm Trail Council, Abilene, Texas, in Bicentennial flag ceremony atop Guadalupe Peak, July 28, 1972. (NPS Photo)

In 1975 the trail to the peak had not been improved. It covered a 3,500-foot rise in elevation in three and one-half miles. (The improved trail, completed in 1980, reduced the steep gradient by increasing the length of the trail to five miles.) The group made it to the top, however, and flew six flags: three flags of the United States from the Capitol in Washington, furnished by Senators John Tower and Lloyd Bentsen and Congressman Richard White; three Texas State flags from the State Capitol in Austin; and the official Bicentennial flag (see Figure 42). The filmed ceremony appeared on KTXS, a television station in Abilene. [14]

Climb of Guadalupe Peak by Members of POINT--July 12-17, 1982

In July 1982 Guadalupe Peak was the site of another noteworthy climb. A group of six paraplegics, members of a Dallas-based organization known as POINT (Paraplegics on Independent Nature Trails), set out to climb Guadalupe Peak in wheelchairs. Jack Grimm, a noted oilman from Abilene, developed the idea of the climb only a week before it happened. He conceived it in connection with a fund drive for the West Texas Rehabilitation Center in Abilene. Park managers, who were aware of the potential dangers of the climb, and the advance scout for the group, who examined the trail, expressed concern for the safety of the climbers. Park personnel foresaw a number of special difficulties for the climbers, including the need to carry enough water for a five-day trip and the fact that there were no suitable places along the trail where they could camp overnight. In addition, the regular occurrence of severe electrical storms in the high country during July, and the 15- to 30-percent grades the climbers would encounter prompted park personnel to suggest an easier route to a different destination. The men refused, however, and remained dedicated to the challenge of climbing the highest mountain in Texas. [15]

Illness reduced the originally planned group of six men to five: Michael Powers, Robert Leyes, Donny Rodgers, Joe Moss, and Dave Kiley. By the third day of the climb Powers and Leyes had to turn back because of physical difficulties. The two "grounded" climbers stayed in radio contact with the three who continued, offering them moral support until the last day of the climb, when the trail took the climbers behind a ridge that blocked radio reception. Although the men asked that they be left on their own, park personnel checked in with them regularly to obtain information for progress reports being carried by the news media. Park Ranger Jon Jarvis also stayed with the climbers the last two nights and accompanied them the last mile to the summit. During the last few hundred yards the men had to leave their wheelchairs and push or drag them as they crawled to the summit. The three men reached the top on the evening of July 16 (see Figure 43). [16]

Public recognition of the accomplishment of the climbers came on July 17. The men spent the night of July 16 on the peak and were lifted off the following morning by three U.S. Army helicopters from Fort Bliss. For safety reasons, the climbers did not try to make the descent in their wheelchairs. Later that day the climbers were the honored guests at a press conference and public reception at the Civic Center in Carlsbad. The nation-wide attention the men had attracted became apparent. During the press conference the men received telephone congratulations from President Ronald Reagan and New Mexico Governor Bruce King. Texas Governor William Clements sent a telegram with his congratulations. [17]

Figure 43. (L-R) Donny Rodgers (behind monument), Joe Moss, and Dave Kiley on Guadalupe Peak after a five-day climb in wheelchairs, July 12-16, 1982. (NPS Photo)

The special events that have taken place at Guadalupe Mountains show some of the ways in which management has worked or cooperated with others to increase public awareness of the park. The Park Service-sponsored events also provide evidence of the good relationships that have existed between the park and the neighboring communities and the park and the media. The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce was involved in the movement to establish a park in the Guadalupes as early as the 1920s; its continuing support was particularly creditable since the park is in Texas, not New Mexico. In the years since the park was established, the Dell City and Van Horn chambers of commerce also have had strong relationships with the park. Cooperation with these organizations undoubtedly has been enhanced by membership of park personnel in the groups. Similarly, the park has had a particularly good relationship with the Carlsbad Current-Argus. The even-handed treatment by the newspaper of park controversies has permitted its readers to understand both sides of issues and has made clear the legal constraints under which park managers must operate.

The work of Bobby Crisman in the area of public relations also cannot be overlooked. Crisman has been involved with the administration of the park since its establishment and has served as Acting Superintendent during the interim periods when new Superintendents were being selected. His participation in local civic organizations as well as the public activities associated with both Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns, plus his longevity in an agency in which personnel may change as often as the seasons, have made him a valuable liaison between park and community. Crisman's production of hundreds of news releases, coordination of special events, and long-time participation in civic affairs have been invaluable in establishing the positive public image of Guadalupe Mountains.