PIPE SPRING Cultures at a Crossroads: An Administrative History

Museum Collection

In October 1964 Olsen inventoried the museum's collection of 1,500 artifacts. Olsen treated leather items in the fort with neatsfoot oil that year as well as treated metal items for rust and wood items for rot. An exhibit plan was submitted to Superintendent Oberhansley for approval in March 1964. During 1965 several artifacts were removed from display and newly acquired pieces were added.

In 1965 the monument acquired by donation an old 1860s-era anvil from Reed Beebe. In April of that year, roadwork near Two Mile Wash Bridge, located two miles east of the monument, bulldozed a rock cairn. Inside the cairn was a hand-made rusted wagon clevis. [2093] The clevis was added to the monument's collection; its age was estimated to be 1872 or later as that was when the old roadway it was found along was first used. In April 1965 Regional Curator Franklin Smith and Museum Specialist Richard Anderson (Western Museum Laboratory) visited the monument and advised Olsen on cleaning and preservation work needed for some of its collections. Rella Hamblin Lee and Grace Hamblin De Armen presented a picture of Jacob Hamblin to the monument during their visit in October 1965. (See earlier "Reunions" section for additional references to donations.)

In February 1964 Bozarth reported at a Zion staff meeting that he needed storage for some of the monument's collection. He planned to crate up some of the unused items and bring them to Zion for temporary storage. Storage space had long been a problem for the museum collection. (A lack of place to store objects probably contributed to the displays' cluttered appearance when Heaton was in charge — he displayed just about everything!) As artifacts were pulled from exhibit to create a less crowded appearance, finding a space to safely store them became a challenge. In early 1966 Superintendent Hamilton arranged for a storage cabinet at Zion National Park to be designated for the monument's stored items. Not all items could be fit into the cabinet however. In August 1966 Olsen discovered the monument's mounted heads of a cougar and wild pig were damaged by rodents, due to improper storage.

Donations to the monument's collections in 1966 included a 100-year-old cello, four branding irons, old trunks, garments, a wagon chain hitch, a paper hook, and photographs of Mr. and Mrs. Anson P. Winsor, Jr. During the year, as in years past, a number of small artifacts were reported missing (presumed stolen) from fort displays. As much as they tried, guides could not always be with visitors, particularly if they were in the midst of a demonstration or with another group. On occasion and out of necessity, individuals were sometimes allowed to tour the fort on an informal basis without a guide.

Jean Swearingen's visit to the monument in May 1967 and her subsequent report to Regional Director Beard and Zion and Pipe Spring officials was referenced in an earlier section. (See "Monument Administration" section.) In May 1968 Ray Geerdes picked up a donation of the telegraph table used by Luella Stewart from the Stewart Robinson family in Kanab. In June he took the table and the fort's first telephone to Wesley McAllister in Kanab for refurbishing. That month Melva Whitmore Latimer, great-granddaughter of James M. Whitmore, donated some historic-period clothing to the monument.

In late April 1969, Charles S. Pope of the Park's Service Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C., inspected the fort and two cabins for wiring, heating, lighting, and moisture control. (See "Historic Structures" section.)