OREGON'S HIGHWAY PARK SYSTEM: 1921-1989 An Administrative History

Enactment of a mounting number of state and federal laws relating to scenic, recreational and cultural resources broadened the scope of the State Parks mission and made the organization a regulatory agency as well as a steward of state-held assets. Programs for outdoor recreation, access to ocean shores and the Willamette River, historic preservation, and programs for scenic waterways and recreation trails made their appearance in rapid succession in the 1960s and 1970s. Like many of his colleagues in other states, the Parks superintendent was called upon to administer an increasingly diverse bureaucracy. His title changed accordingly, first to State Parks administrator, ultimately to department director.

Through all the momentous change of the past 28 years, the State Parks organization was guided by one chief executive, David G. Talbot. A native of Oakland, California, Mr. Talbot was educated at the University of Oregon, where he was among the first graduates of a new program in parks and recreation management offered by the Department of Health and Physical Education. He received his baccalaureate degree in 1958 and later earned a master's degree in the same field. After a few years' seasoning as park director for the city of Grants Pass, he came to the state capital as director of recreation in 1962. Within two years, he was named to succeed Harold Schick as Parks superintendent, and he has served in that capacity to the present day. His enduring tenure spans the administration of six governors and exceeds the 21 years served by the original superintendent, Samuel Boardman. In length of service, he is now the senior state park official in the nation, and he has been duly honored for his leadership in the profession, both at the state and national levels. In his memoir based on a series of recorded interviews, Director Talbot provides a personal view of what it has been like to lead his organization toward independent status.

Oregon's Highway Park System would not have been completed without the generously volunteered service of Lawrence C. Merriam, Jr., professor emeritus and former coordinator of the Recreation Resource Management program of the University of Minnesota. Professor Merriam, a native of Portland, Oregon, was raised in a forest protection environment. His grandfather, Dr. John C. Merriam, was a conservationist. His father, Lawrence C. Merriam, was a National Park Service official.

Professor Merriam earned his baccalaureate degree in forestry at the University of California at Berkeley in 1948. He ultimately gained master's and doctoral degrees in the field at Oregon State University. Early in his career, through the 1950s, he was employed by the State Highway Commission as a park planner and forester working under the direction of Parks Superintendent C. H. Armstrong and the Highway right-of-way engineer. During this period he was advised on occasion by the retired superintendent, Samuel Boardman. His is a rare perspective that has been welcomed by the current generation of Parks employees who participated in this project.

The authors wish to acknowledge the many who contributed their time and thought to the project, most particularly Elisabeth Walton Potter, long-time Parks historian who outlined and coordinated the work and was its general editor; Monte Turner, Parks information officer who was invaluable as editorial adviser; Kev Kohler, Parks art director who handled all aspects of graphic design; Lupe Rodriguez, who performed in its entirety the massive amount of word processing leading to the finished product; and Susan Q. Haylock, who transcribed the director's interviews. The thanks of all concerned are owing to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission for supporting the publication.

Valuable assistance was provided by the Department of Transportation Photo Services Section, whose staff located photographs in its working files and, with kind permission of the editor of VIA, provided a number of illustrations originally published in the ODOT employee publication.

Personal interviews were relied upon to round out the documentary record. Chief among those who provided helpful insight to past events were former State Parks superintendents Mark Astrup and Harold Schick; Helen Boardman Hammond, daughter of Samuel Boardman; Luther Cressman, University of Oregon Professor Emeritus of Anthropology; George Henderson, former Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee vice chairman; Laurance Espey, Oregon Parks Foundation coordinator; Frank McKinney, former Highway Commission legal counsel; and former head of the State Parks advanced planning unit, Richard I. McCosh. Whenever possible, the agency's field and central office personnel, ODOT associates and others were consulted to verify points of information. In addition to the above-named, the following are acknowledged for their assistance:

Fig. 1. Columbia River Gorge, State Parks Region 1. Aerial perspective view downriver, to the west, overlooking Crown Point State Park on the Columbia River Scenic Highway and the west tip of Rooster Rock State Park on Interstate Highway 84. The parks are primary attractions within the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The Union Pacific Railroad lies between the old and new highway corridors. In the foreground is Vista House overlook on Crown Point. 1981. Oregon Department of Transportation Photo #A791-202.