The Life of Bob Marshall
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Chapter 2. An Activist Father--Bill
DeLuca
This chapter is on Louis Marshall, Bob's father. He grew up in
Syracuse, NY. He also graduated high school and passed his bar exam
there. He then moved to New York City to become a constitutional lawyer.
He fought many cases before the supreme court. He soon fought for the
rights of minorities, especially that of Jews(his own heritage). After
becoming very successful he married and had four childeren, James, Ruth,
Robert, and George. Louis began fighting for the conservation of the
Adirondacks and the Catskills. He realized their importance in the water
supply of New York City and relished at their beuty. After they were
officially conserved he fought for their protection against pochers and
railroads which started many fires. Louis and some friends bought a large
track of land at Lower Saranac Lake. This is where Bob first met these
mountians. Bon and Louis were very close, they shared a common bond, the
love of nature.
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Chapter 3. A Young Romantic (1901-1920)-Stephanie
Delude
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Chapter 4. Pond Seeker (1920-1924)-Sunshine
Fisk
After the summer of 1920, a shy Bob Marshall enrolled at New York State
College of Forestry at Syracuse University. This was after he had
graduated in 1919 from the Ethical Culture School and had then spent a
year at Columbia. Louis Marshall, Bob's father was responsible for
creating the school at Syracuse and was instrumental in supporting Bob
through his first year. Bob was known as being different from his
classmates because of his shaggy hair and wrinkled cloths. Because of
this and his exceptional grades he won the respect of his professors
before his peers.
In the summer of 1921 Bob and his brother George decided to climb all of
the 4,000 footers in the Adirondacks. There were 42 and Bob succeeded.
This along with being on Junior Varsity Lacrosse and Cross Country earned
him the respect that he deserved from his peers. One of Marshall's great
fascinations was with rating things. This included anything from orations
at school to civil war officers. The love of rating things was a great
asset to the Sophmore Summer Camp which he attended. This was a three
month intensive study in the Adirondacks. Here Bob took it upon himself
to inventory and rate all of the ponds and lakes in the Cranberry Lake
Region. This earned him the nickname of "Pond Seeker". He was able to
document over 94 lakes and ponds. Marshall relected while in the study
that the Adirondack wilderness was in a state of demise. He joined the
Adirondack Mountain Club and wrote for the "High Peaks of the
Adirondacks". This was the club's first publication and was much like the
present day guide books, except that it included a rating from Marshall
for each peak. Marshall came out of Syracuse with an impressive resume.
He had been elected to two Honorary Forest Socities, was Senior Class
Secretary, and Associate Editor for the yearbook. This was in addition to
his academics and sports.
Bob Marshall's main belief was that one could not live in the city
continuously without decaying morally, mentally, and physically. He
believed that the forests should be preserved for " recreation and
inspiration" and brough this view into public debate. In 1924 he
graduated fourth out of fifty-nine in his class and then scored first in
the nation on the Civil Service test for Foresters.
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Chapter 5. Bee Stings and Broiled Eggs
(1924-1925)-Paul
Knight
This chapter begins with a recollection of Bob Marshall some
forty-two years ago by Leo A. Isaac. In the summer of 1924, Bob Marshall
was hired to be Isaac's "feild assistant" at the wind River Forest
Equipment Station near Carson, Washington. It was here that Lewis and
Clark had tangled with the Chinook Indians. Isaac described Marshall as
being enthusiastic and very happy individual, but that there was something
odd about him. Bob was a fanatic about walking his forty miles a day, and
this apparantly got on Isaacs nerves.
Bob was assigned to a new job. Richard McArdle of the Forest service became his new boss. McArdle thought Marshall was amusing. Marshall told McArdle that he was studying the eating habits of Forest service officials. Bob showed him his statistics of pancake consumption by the members in the group. McArdle also thought it amusing that Bob wore tattered old clothes to work in rather than the clothes that were issued to him. The men did not know what to make of him. Bob cursed like a girl, made some awful salmon-lemonade souffle for dinner one night and hard-boiled fried eggs that were not penatratable with a knife for breakfast.
Summer was over and Bob Marshall returned to the Harvard Forest to
continue his degree. The guidlines of purpose for the Harvard Forest at
this time were:
1. Sustained yield forestry practices
2. Research
3. Provide a place for advanced students
People here knew Marshall as a humorist, and Bob had friends here.
Bob recieved his Master of Forestry degree in the Spring of 1925.
Bobs research into the growth of softwoods in a cut section of
deciduous hardwoods in the Harvard Forest led to an important discovery.
The result had occurred because of the manner in which the trees had been
cut. Bob also believed that clear-cutting ruined the aesthetic value of
a forest. While working on his masters thesis, he developed a theory
about the effect of weather on political history. He showed that poor
growth in trees could be detected from the tree's rings and that there was
a corralation between poor growth, and election years. He reported his
data in a 1927 article for THE NATION, entitled,"Precipitation and the
Presidents."
Bob Marshall is further known for having started the 46ers club.
Aclub that is dedicated to climbing the forty-six 4000 footers in the
Adirondacts. He did succeed in climbing all of these. However, some of
these peaks no longer measure that high.
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Chapter 6. Rocky Mountain Greyhound
(1925-1928)-Tomasz Mars
During the three year time period, Marshall worked at the Northern
Rocky Mountain Forest Experiment Station in Montana. He was placed in
charge of research relating to forest reproduction after a fire. However,
in the first several months he assisted in one of the worst forest fires
ever recorded in the Kaniksu National Forest. He made himself the
timekeeper, chief of commissionary, chief of motor transportation, camp
boss, cook and a general handyman. Not only did Marshall go out of his
way to provide the best food possible for the 109 men fighting the fires
but he also knew every one by name. As the fires died down, Marshall
begun his tree seedling studies while still keeping the good cooking
going. In the winter Marshall settled in a government building doing
office work.
After about a year of work for the Forest Service, Marshall
developed an ulcer in the summer of 1926. He missed four months of work
and lost 35 pounds. Marshall then decided to pursue his doctoral degree,
but his boss, Robert Weidman, did not think he was experienced enough,
yet. Marshall decided to work around the Priest River branch station,
where the food was more healthy.
In Sept. of 1927, Marshall was chased by a grizzly, escaping
injury by playing dead.
During the three years, Marshall wrote 7 articles, 3 of which were
technical pieces regarding his research on tree growth and precipitation
cycles. Others were based on his observations of loggers. He wrote about
their habits in eating, profanity and conversations. All supported by
statistical analysis.
By April 1928, Marshall decided to return to school at John
Hopkins. He would mainly study plant physiology but also some physics and
chemistry.
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Chapter 7. Baltimore Liberal (1928-1930)-Dale
McCarthy
In the years of 1928-30, which this chapter discusses, are filled
with meaningful
events that occurred in the life of Bob Marshall. Bob, not MR. Marshall
please, received
his PhD inn plant physiology from Johns Hopkins University. He received
the degree, after
completing an extensive and laborious experiment with evergreen seedlings,
and the effects
upon them, when their soil is dried out. This experiment required him to
wake up 3 to 5
times a night to moniter and record data.
There was also an adventure to a section of unmapped territory
in
Alaska. He was
accompanied by a guide named Al Ratzen, who Bob took a liking to for all
the energy that he
possesed. He was also a very experienced guide of the land, and in fact
saved Bob from a
terrible disaster when the flood waters over-ran their camp. Their narrow
escape motivated
Bob to write, "A glorious conclusion to a glorious adventure." He then
returned home to
Baltimore, where he described his life as miserable, except for his social
activities that
he had for the first time in his life he participated in.
Bob wrote in his journals about the wonderful shows, concerts
and
dances he had
visited during these years. He even spoke of the many, "pleasant and
comely women," that
accompanied him on these events. He even recorded some stats of the
numbers of dates he
went on. This was a drastic change, from the "shy old Bob," as the other
states, to this
new socialite of the Baltimore area.
There were many published articles by Bob during this period.
None
more important
than the article he published in Feb. 1930, that expressed for the first
time that the
wilderness had an aesthetic beauty that no other place had, and that there
should be an
organization of spirited people to unite for the preservation of the
forests. This in turn,
bore The Wilderness society. The end of the chapter speaks of another
pklanned adventure to
Alaska.
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Chapter 8. Wiseman Winter (1930-1931)-David
Means
This chapter was all about the 12.5 months Bob spent in Wiseman Alaska.
Bob went there to gather data for a book he was writting called the
"Arctic Village". While ha was in Alaska, he spent a lot of time
Exploring gorges and valleys that had never before been explored. He also
climbed several mountains whose summit was never before reached. Marshall
spent a lot of time with a man named Ernie Johnson. He and Ernie traveled
the unexplored country making maps. While he was in Alaska, he made it a
habit of being very friendly with the towns people. He really enjoyed
listening to their stories and studying their culture. When it was
finally time to leave Alaska, Bob began to think about the great
depression. He realized out in the Arctic Wilderness, he had seen "no
unemployment, no starvation, no slums, and no warefare." It wasn't going
to be easy for him to leave this place.
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Chapter 9. Writer and Socialist
(1931-1933)-Benjamin
Nevejans
In 1931 Marshal returned to the east coast (Baltimore) whee he
finished his book on the Koyukuk people. The total amount of money he
received for the book was $3,600.00 of which he kept half and sent checks
for $18.00 to each Koyukuk he knew and remembered. He also saved a little
for the Koyukuks that had not come of age yet. In addition to this he
also sent each Koyukuk a copy of the book.
It was at this time that he became very upset with the
various forestry publications. He felt they were not addressing the
problem of deforestation enough so he began writing letters on the subject
himself. He also drafted a statement of National Forest Policy
recommending forest aquisition to President Roosevelt. He was asked to do
this by Gifford Pinchot, who was at this time the Govenor and knew that he
no longer possessed
adequate knowledge of forestry to write such a document himself. The
statement was not accepted by Roosevelt so Marshal took it upon himself to
write a book on the need for forest reform.
In May of 1933 Marshal became jaundiced, perhaps caused by a bout
of
Hepatitis. This kept him laid up until mid July. However although
this was a "time consuming ailment," Marshal was up and going strong by
August when he was appointed to the head of division of Forestry and
Grazing by John Collier where he was paid $5600 a year.
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Chapter 10. The Wilderness Society
(1933-1935)-James Nolan
At this time Bob Marshal is between thirty-two and thirty-four. He has
recently been named the Director of the Indian Forest Service. The
issues that were being addressed were the problems with forestry, range,
fish and game. The main goal of Marshall, in this chapter, was to
improve the quality of life for the Indians and restore some of their
pride and culture. The Indian New Deal was the means by which Marshall
used to change the American Indian policy. Previous legislation had
attempted to transform the Indians into European White men. The Indians
were deprived of religous ceremonies, customs and traditions. Land was
set aside for the Indians and timberlands were reacquired to logging and a
source of income for tribesmen. During the dealings with one of the
tribes in CA, Marshall took a plane back to Washington D.C. instead of a
train and this upset his boss. A drawn out battle ensued in which the two
men battered the others name continually, but the fact was that Marshall
saved time and also money by returning more quickly. Marshall proposed the
Wilderness Planning Board which would not include any "stuffed shirts" in
order to get some quality work done. He was publishing in The Journal of
Forestry and remained busy with other writings. Marshall
began to voice disapproval with the Society of American Foresters because
they were condoning forest depletion. He loved hiking and helped in the
forming of the Applachain Trail. Marshall also brought the wilderness
movement to the national level. Others had focused on regional movements
or focussed solely on wildlife. Marshall on the other hand had a good
grasp on the big picture of how to help the movement in a major way.
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Chapter 11. Indians and Wilderness
(1935-1937)-Nick
Panarella
Bob Marshall was one of the leaders of the Wilderness society.
Between the years of 1935 and 1937 Marshall worked on the Olympic
Peninsula and Olympic National Park. He worked on these projects trying
to preserve the forests and create fewer roads as possible through these
areas. He emphasized the aesthetic and spiritual values of the large
forests.
He was also director of Recreation and Lands and part of the
Indian Bureau. Marshall was responsible for protecting the Indians
reservations. Several times like the Quinalt Reservation and the New
Deal, conservation efforts conflicted with the goals of Indian
self-sufficiency. The Bureau wanted the Indians to be self sufficient by
harvesting their own timbers. The land had been given to these allotees
but could not put it to commercial use. What it comes down to is
that the government basically gave them the land and wanted them to sit
back and continue to roam the lands the way they had been. Well the
Indians were not dumb they saw what the white man was doing and wanted to
start some of the same business but were discrimianted against.
He was also part of the Forest Service. He worked on executive
orders proposing that certain areas be preserved. He had a list of 16
places totalling 4.8 million acres on 13 reservations.
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Marshall returned to work for the Forest Service in 1937. Between 1933 and 1939, more than 2000 campgrounds and a myriad of hiking trails, ski areas and swimming areas were built in National Forests. In 1939, 34.8 million people visited these areas. Marshall's focus was helping the Forest Service declare its philosophy regarding recreational use.
Marshall was a very liberal thinker. He wanted to subsidize transportation so low income people could also visit National Park land. He worked hard to stop discrimination against minorities. Marshall wanted to acquire more land to preserve as much wilderness as possible and he was a supporter of the Wilderness Society.
Marshall's ideas sometimes upset the very organizations he was trying to help. He clashed with H.H. Chapman, a Yale Forestry Professor, over the issue of the Rocky Mountain Tunnel (water reclamation) to the point that it became personal. Mr. Chapman went on to attack the Wilderness Society because of Marshall's involvement with the organization.
Marshall disagreed with Olaus Murie- who thought that visitors to the backcountry should be limited to keep down the number of facilities required. The addition of facilities would bring more and more visitors, and the solitude of the pristine wilderness areas would be disrupted. Marshall thought that everyone who wanted to should be able to see the wilderness. On a hike with Joel Hildebrand (then the President of the Sierra Club), Marshall encountered 53 people on the trail. He felt there were indeed too many people on the trail at one time. Marshall became one of the first Forest Service Officials to research carrying capacities of wilderness areas and to manage the areas in such a way that encourages visitors but does not disturb the wild condition of the area.
Marshall disagreed with the use of planes to reduce the Elk population. He was afraid a precedent would be set if hunting were allowed from planes. He was successful in keeping planes out of an area now part of the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Another nearby airstrip- the Schaefer, was used by hunters and it became established with hunting levels maintained at levels reached in 1978.
Marshall became very ill in 1937. He thought he had food poisoning, the official word was sunstroke. It didn't slow him down at all. He was taking 30 to 40 mile daily walks just days after being released from the hospital. He began writing very blunt, offensive letters to people at about this time- which cost him some friendships. It was speculated that he did this either because of poor health or a broken heart. Georgia Engelhard refused his offer of marriage.
He remained active in social causes combatting racial and religious discrimination. Resorts that were located on National Forest Land had to obtain permits from to Forest Service so that they could operate. Some of these resorts openly advertised that they refused service to Blacks and Jews. There were campgrounds in the South that refused to admit Black campers. Marshall felt very strongly about using public land to cater to the whims of the elite- these lands were for everyone to use, and he protested vociferously.
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Chapter 13. Two Last Flings (1938-1939)-Dennis
Wilkens
This chapter mostly speaks of his life in Alaska. Marshal was determined to conquer many of the peaks in the forbidden Brooks Range. Many of the names of peaks, valleys, and rivers are attributed to his experiences. Marshal became quite familiar with a small town in northern Alaska which he visited on a few occasions. Marshall was a roamer as he traveled from Alaska to Washington and many other places in the country. He was also a leader among the Forestry department.
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Chapter 14. He Never Rested (1939)-Larry T.
Spencer
"Young man of 39 found dead on intercity train." is not the obituary
notice one might expect to register the death of Bob Marshall, but a police
autopsy indicated "myelogenous leukemia" and "coronary arteriosclerosis"
as two possible causes of his death while aboard the overnigth train from
Washington, DC, to New York City. He had had in the past few years some
indications of less than good health, but that didn't seem to stop him
from mantaining
the frenetic pace of his schedule. It didn't even stop him from doing
his 30 and 40 mile hikes. Did he know he was sick and about to die? Was
this the reason why he had tried to pack so much into his short life, or
was that just Bob Marshall, the man who couldn't rest? In any case, his
friends and relatives were stunned by his death. Although he had made progress
in adding areas to the wilderness system of the forest service, he had through
visitations in the west, visions of additional acreage to be added. His
friends in government service and in the Wilderness Society were to spend
the next decades on this matter, finally resolving the formality of wilderness
in the forest service by the Wilderness Act of 1964. As to the Wilderness
Society, this group received a third of Marshall's estate. The money, roughly
$500,000, probably did more in terms of support for wilderness, than when
Bob was alive and had it in the bank. The somewhat elitist vision of wilderness
held by Bob Marshall in the 20's and 30's set the scene for our modern
conception
of wilderness and it is for this contribution that he is held in such high
regard today.