Twenty-one years after Bryce Canyon became a national park, a “coming of
Age” party was celebrated at Bryce Canyon on September 15, 1949. The
Utah Parks Company acted as host. The Park Service cooperated by
inviting to the celebration all those that could be found who were
present at the dedication in 1928.
The guests began arriving at Bryce Canyon the day before the
celebration. A group that met in the dining room that evening included
M. R. Tillotson, Regional Director of the Park Service; P. P. Patraw,
Assistant Director and former Superintendent of Zion and Bryce Canyon
National Parks; Dr. Harold C. Bryant, Superintendent of Grand Canyon
National Park; Dr. Angus M. Woodbury, Professor of Zoology, University
of Utah, formerly Park Naturalist of Zion and Bryce; their wives and Mr.
Victor Petrosso, formerly manager of El Tovar Lodge at Grand Canyon.
Others arrived next day including B. J. Finch, formerly District
Engineer of the U. S. Bureau of Public Roads; W. P. Rogers, Manager of
the Utah Parks Company; Joel L. Priest, Jr. and E. C. Schmidt of the
Union Pacific; Mr. and Mrs. David Rust of Provo, Utah; Mr. and Mrs. M.
V. Walker, Naturalist of Zion and Bryce National Parks; Jack Christensen
of Cedar City; D. C. Dix of the Salt Lake Tribune; and other officials
of the Park Service and Utah Parks Company, making a total of 41. Many
other invited guests expressed regret at not being able to attend. Those
that were present at both the 1928 and 1949 celebrations included the
Tillotsons, Finch, Woodbury, Christensen, Schmidt and the Rusts.
Festivities started at noon with a luncheon in the Lodge dining room,
after which, about 40 guests were taken on a tour in an ultra modern
luxurious Utah Parks bus by Park Naturalist M. V. Walker along the Bryce
Rim as far as Rainbow Point and Yovimpa View where everyone enjoyed the
friendly greetings of old acquaintances, the superb natural sculptures
and the marvelous vistas from the high points where the Aquarius
Plateau, the Henry Mountains, the Kaiparowits Plateau, Navajo Mountain
and the Kaibab were all to be seen in the unsurpassed landscape.
At 7 p.m., the group converged on the superintendent’s residence where
Mr. and Mrs. Smith held open house and dispensed hospitality lavishly.
At 8:15 p.m., the group moved to the lodge dining room where a sumptuous
banquet given by the Utah Parks Company was followed by a program at
which Superintendent Smith presided and interestingly introduced the
speakers. Ranger in charge, John G. Lewis gave the address of welcome.
Reminiscences of the early days in the Utah National Parks were related
by Dr. Woodbury, who also referred to the outstanding work which Mr. B.
J. Finch, formerly of the Bureau of Public Roads, did in pioneering the
Zion-Mt Carmel Highway and Tunnel.
[Illustration: Lean-to Natural Bridge overlooking Springdale in Zion
Canyon. _Courtesy U. S. National Park Service._]
Mr. Tillotson gave the main speech of the evening, in which he called
attention to the great growth in travel into Bryce from 21,977 in 1929
to 189,493 in 1949, and pointed to the fine work of the Utah Parks
Company in making this possible. He also reported that Dr. Thomas H.
McDonald, Commissioner of the U. S. Bureau of Public Roads, who had been
present in 1928 but could not come in 1949, wrote that “Bryce Canyon,
since I first saw it, has been to me one of the most delightful places
in the West. I have long felt that a vacation road from Southwest
Colorado crossing the Colorado River and coming into Bryce Canyon
through Escalante, if properly developed and controlled, offers the best
opportunity in the west ...” and thus kindled a fire under the hopes of
all Bryce enthusiasts for it would open up the heart of the great scenic
area of southeastern Utah, of which, Zion, Bryce and Wayne Wonderland
are on the outskirts.
Mr. W. P. Rogers responded with a witty talk about old times, spoke of
the fine cooperation of the Park Service and proposed a further reunion
in another five years.
The next day, the writer retraced old trails in Zion Canyon and visited
the museum and park headquarters where Naturalist Walker explained the
developments taking place. Especially prominent was the great increase
in the literature available to the public provided by the Natural
History Association that had been organized by the writer in 1929. This
included pictures, colored slides and publications, among which the
works of Dr. H. E. Gregory on the geology of the region were
outstanding.
[Illustration: (uncaptioned)]