National Park Service National Park Service Uniforms The Developing Years, 1932-1970

1 Drawing: National Park Service History Collection, Record Group Y55, "Raincoat", Harpers Ferry Center, Harpers ferry, West Virginia (Collection hereinafter cited as HFC/Drawings).

2 The Army dress uniform at this time consisted of a dark green coat with light colored trousers with a pinkish tint, commonly called "pinks".

3 Memorandum, Cammerer to all superintendents and custodians, Feb. 23, 1935, National Park Service History Collection, Record Group Y55, Harpers Ferry Center, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, General uniform correspondence (Collection hereinafter cited as HFC/GC).

4 Monthly reports, 1934: March, pp. 142-145; April, pp. 203-207; May, p. 260, Southwestern Monuments Monthly Reports, National Park Service Archives, Record Group Y55, Harpers Ferry Center, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. (Collection hereinafter cited as Southwestern)

5 Jodhpurs originated in India (c.1899) and became popular through their use by the British Army. They are a riding breeches cut full through the hips and close fitting from the knee to the ankle.

6 Memorandum, Cammerer to All Field Offices, Jan. 14, 1935, HFC/GC.

7 Memorandum, Tolson to All Field Offices, Aug. 9, 1935, ibid.

8 Memorandum, Hillory A. Tolson to all National Park Service Offices, Mar. 2, 1935, ibid.

9 Monthly report, April, 1935, p.208, Southwestern.

10 Fairchild's Dictionary of Textiles, 1979, defines cravenette as a "Registered trademark of Crown Metro Inc., The Cravenette Company Division, for a durable and renewable water repellent treatment applied to woolen and worsted fabrics and apparel. The term was coined by a Bradford, England, manufacturer named Wiley who, for want of a better name, used the street on which he lived, Craven Street, London. The original method was discovered about 60 years ago."

11 Memorandum, Arthur E. Demaray to All Field Offices, May 26, 1936, HFC/GC.

12 This was a shortening of "Belgian Belly", named after the beautiful pastel reddish buff color of the underfur of the Belgian hare from which some of the finer hats were felted.

13 Memorandum, Tolson to all Field Offices, Sept. 16, & Oct. 8, 1936, ibid.

14 Memorandum, Tolson to All Field Offices, Oct. 9, 1936, ibid.

15 Memoranda, Demaray to all field officers, Sept. 3, 1938, ibid; Tolson to all field officers, Nov. 10, 1938, HFC/GC.

16 Memorandum, Washington Office to All Field Offices, July 27, 1939, National Park Service History Collection (Record Group Y55), Harpers Ferry Center, National Park Service uniform regulations (Collection hereinafter cited as Regulations/(date)).

17 Letter, John W. Emmert to Preston, April 10, 1940, National Park Service History Collection (File 455) Yellowstone National Park, "Rangers-Misc Reports, Part 2, Jan. 1, 1940-Dec.31, 1943" (Collection hereinafter cited as Yellowstone/MR); Memoranda, Preston to Emmert, April 15, 1940, & July 18, 1940, ibid.

18 The color change was probably due to the realization that the darker color would negate much of the insulation qualities afforded by the pith helmet.

19 Memorandum, John C. Preston to Lemuel A. Garrison, 21 May, 1941, National Park Service History Collection (Record Group Y55), Harpers Ferry Center, National Park Service Uniform Committee, Personal file of Lemuel A. "Lon" Garrison, File A-66 (Collection hereinafter cited as Garrison)

20 Memorandum, Garrison to Lawrence C. Hadley, May 28, 1941, ibid.

21 Letter, Tolson to Preston, May 7, 1941, ibid; Memorandum, Preston to Director, NPS, May 28, 1941, ibid.

22 Letters, Region I parks to Garrison, Oct. to Dec., 1941, ibid.

23 Memorandum, Preston to Uniform Committee, Mar. 27, 1942, ibid; Letters, Fechheimer Brothers Company to Preston, Mar. 24, 1942, ibid; Fechheimer to Preston, Mar. 28, 1942, ibid.

24 Memoranda, Preston to NPS Uniform Committee, Mar. 27, 1942, ibid; Tolson to Preston, Mar. 31, 1942, ibid.

25 Memorandum, Preston to Director, NPS, July 2, 1942, ibid.

26 Memorandum, Preston to NPS Uniform Committee, Oct. 20, 1942, ibid.

27 Memorandum, H. Maier to All Region IV areas, Aug. 20, 1942, ibid.

28 Memorandum, Tolson to Regional Director, Apr. 1, 1943, Yellowstone/MR.

29 Conversation between Nash Castro and author, June 23,1998.

30 Memorandum, Tolson to All Field Finance Offices, June 19, 1956, National Park Service History Collection (Record Group Y55), "Federal Employee Uniform Allowance", Harpers Ferry Center, Collection hereinafter cited as FEUA)

31 Processed sheepskin that has been sheared and dyed to resemble beaver or seal.

32 Webster defines a bodkin as "A blunt needle with a large eye for drawing tape or ribbon through a loop or hem." However, I believe in this case, they refer to the wire clip used quite often to secure buttons on coats.

33 An acetal (waterproofing compound) of butyraldehyde.

34 Raglan is a coat with sleeves that extend to the neckline with slanted seams from the underarm to the neck.

35 This jacket was based on a similar style made popular by General Dwight David Eisenhower while he was supreme commander of allied forces in Europe during World War II.

36 Pima cotton is a fiber of exceptional strength and firmness that was developed in the southwestern U.S. by selection and breeding of Egyptian cottons.

37 Memoranda, Lawrence F. Cook to Director, NPS, March 10, 1960, HFC/GC; Cook to Director, August 30, 1960, ibid.

38 Memorandum, Cook to Director, NPS, March 20, 1961, HFC/GC.

39 This disparity was due to the woman's uniform, at that time, being less expense than that of the man.

40 Memorandum, Clarence P. Montgomery to All Field Offices, Jan. 13, 1966, FEUA.

41 Memorandum, Robert R. Lovegren to All Field Offices, Jan. 13, 1966, FEUA.

42 As in 1918, women were hired to fill the vacancys left when the men joined, or were drafted into the military. These were usually the wives of rangers or locals.A number of women were employed as fire guards throughout the Park system.

43 Pamphlet, MISSION 66 in Action, National Park Service, 1957.

44 This term was used to denote a member or fan of "Star Trek", a popular TV program of the period.

45 Vince Gleason, then chief of Publications, National Park Service had suggested the hands motif as an abstract symbolizing that the Nation's natural resources were in good hands. The derogatory appellate "Good Hands" or "Allstate" badge resulted from its resemblance to the Allstate Insurance's showing an open pair of hands with the slogan , "You're in good hands with Allstate."

46 Memorandum, Hillory A. Tolson to All Field Offices, Aug. 9, 1935, National Park Service History Collection, (Record Group Y55) General Correspondence.

The information contained in this volume was gleaned mainly from the National Park Service History Collection (NPSHC) housed at the Harpers Ferry Center Library. This collection contains many textual sub-collections, such as monthly reports, personal histories, published and unpublished materials, etc., as well as an extensive collection of artifacts, all relating to the history and culture of the National Park Service. Definitions extracted from dictionaries covering specific subjects, along with personal interviews served to flesh out the information obtained from the NPSHC.

Fairchild's Dictionary of Textiles, 6^th Edition, 1979, Dr. Isabel B. Wingate, Fairchild Publishing Co., New York

National Park Service History Collection, Document Group Y55, "Uniforms of the National Park Service", Harpers Ferry Center, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

National Park Service Pamplet, "MISSION 66 in Action", 1957

Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1987, Merriam-Webster Inc., Springfield, Massachusetts'