Kolb and the Canyon (1980s?)

[Music] many people over the years have discovered the Grand Canyon have stood at various points on both the North and South Rim and have been unable to withstand the culture shock of the event itself thus prompted by an immense curiosity Prospectors explorers Daredevils ordinary tourists have all made an effort to learn more about the Grand Canyon hory and Ellsworth col were two such persons brothers who investigated the mysteries of the canyon and have become part of the history of the [Music] canyon in 1901 Ellsworth colb one of four brothers left his his job in a Pittsburgh steel mill and headed west working at odd jobs along the way to pay his train Fair the Santa Fe railroad had just reached the Grand Canyon before his arrival and it was at this end of the line that Ellsworth decided to put down Stakes after a year of guiding tourists for the Bright Angel Lodge Ellsworth returned to Pittsburgh for a visit full of excitement and a new Vitality his younger brother Emory was especially intrigued with ellsworth's stories of the canyon and soon he too made the journey West upon arriving in nearby Williams Arizona Emy located a small photographic studio being an avid photographer he went inside to buy needed dark room supplies and learned the studio was for sale after conferring the brothers bought the studio and all of its equipment on credit for $425 I stayed there a year worked that out in the meanwhile I would come out at the weekends to the canyon and take pictures of the trail parties going down while they were waiting for the train in Williams they would come over to the studio and purchase those pictures through the generosity of the bright angel Ang Trail's owner Ralph Cameron the Cs were able to relocate their Studio at the head of the trail with not so much as a tent to sleep in they set up an outdoor studio in October of 1903 water for developing the photos had to be hauled from a muddy cow Pond 11 M out in the woods while the final wash was done in water brought up from Indian Gardens on mules 196 we built our finished room at Indian Garden so we had plenty Clear Water I used to run down there every day to finish our pictures I would take the pictures 300 ft below the rim run up develop the plate we had no films in those days we all glass plates Ry the plate make a proof but I would always beat the party to in gardens take orders for the pictures while they were on the way to the river in back I would leave Indian Gardens every day when they were halfway up but I would always beat them to the top with my pictures finished it was not unusual for Emory to make this 9M round trip two or three times a day this daily demonstration of his strength and stamina continued for 32 years fresh water finally became available at the Canyon Rim in 1932 Emory was most proud that he could run up the trail a 3,000 ft rise in altitude in only 1 hour and 5 minutes fully loaded with his equipment it took the mules over 2 hours to cover the same distance the cols built their permanent studio in three principal stages the first edition in 1914 provided a small Auditorium and two bedrooms while the second edition in 1926 enlarged the auditorium to its present size as well as creating additional office space and living quarters it wasn't long before the trail pictures became only a small part of the cul's business as the demand grew for photographs of the canyon itself the brothers began to spend more time exploring mapping and photographing the depths of the canyon they gained their first knowledge of the river and its currents during these Explorations Emory constructed a small canvas covered wooden frame boat with much practice he learned to use the currents and whirl pools to move the boat Upstream Emory was quite proud of his strength and orans considering he only weighed 110 lb by 1911 the cold Brothers felt confident enough to embark on a river Voyage only four other Expeditions had succeeded before them and they were to be the first to record the adventure in Motion Pictures both the Expedition and the motion picture footage were major triumphs considering the crude boats and the bulky primitive extremely fragile motion picture camera they used meanwhile news of their Journey traveled quickly to the East and they became instant celebrities ellsworth's account of the river trip was published and widely read Emory was frequently invited to lecture and show films of the trip to various societies noted Scholars and dignitaries in 1915 before the National Park Service was created as a branch of the US Department of the Interior to administer the parks and before the Grand Canyon became a National Park Emory colb was credited with producing the grand Canyon's first interpretive program as his film and lecture became a part of the daily routine at his Studio overlooking the canyon the program itself was updated frequently as Amor spent his lifetime first exploring and then photographing the wonders of the Grand Canyon the film ran regularly until 1976 with Emory personally delivering over 30,000 of the lectures during this 74e span Emer photographed some 3 and A2 million visitors and mule Riders the culbs were also called upon to help look for missing explorers in the canyon some were found others were not so fortunate these currs drag you sideways Upstream in every other direction millions of world pools and boils thousands of these expose rocks thousands D under the surface which are worse Emory and Ellsworth like to be the first to go where no other had been before Gail Buck Emory's housekeeper and companion for many years speaks of the culs they like to go into a place that was a challenge and of course shy Ava Falls is an excellent example of that they weren't content just to stand at the bottom of Clear Creek Canyon and look up at it and take pictures of it they had to find a way around the rim to get to the top and build a winch and work their way it was a weeks long operation with a great deal of physical discomfort as as well as danger to them in 1905 Emory married blanch Bender he described his new bride as a pretty girl others spoke of her as a gracious Hostess who liked to play bridge and live life to the fullest 2 years after their marriage the Cs own only child a daughter named Edith was born for the first 3 years of her life she was one of only two or three children living at the Grand Canyon Edith often accompanied her parents on Canyon trips packed on one side of a burrow with Emory's camera and her little dog packed on the other side as the years went by resentment developed between Emory and Ellsworth with Ellsworth eventually leaving the canyon for Los Angeles in in 1924 a decision made by the toss of a coin as Emory won too straight there was quite a bit of of ill feeling unfortunately between the two brothers in the later years I am sure that both of them would have been difficult to live with in close proximity they were both dominant men and they were both assertive they had both done very much in their lifetime but they just didn't make it together Emory's Family Life deteriorated in the 60s as his brother father and mother and his beloved blanch all died within a short period of time Amor remained a vital energetic man through the rest of his years he spent much of his time inventing things to make his work easier and to safeguard his Studio his intricate scaffolding allowed him to paint the building suspended precariously over the canyon below and I'm sure that his old age creeping up on him was a source of much mental anguish because he wasn't able to do all the things he still had that desire to do at 93 Emory wanted to make one more river trip Gail Buck continues took him on a trip down the river from the little Colorado through the crystal Rapids and it was mainly because emry wanted desperately he was so anxious to do that one last New Rapid the newest rapid in the in the canyon he done them all before but uh before the 1966 flood Crystal rapid was just another little uh easy one to shoot through and not think twice about Emory wrote this tremendous New Rapid with a group of young new explorers this time in a modern river raft which he exclaimed took a lot of the danger out of the trip young people became very much a part of Emory's final years he was constantly amaz Amazed by the interest they showed in his work and Adventures and by the great respect they showed him one young man asked Emory to describe the Grand Canyon there's many articles many books many writings on the canyon and all of them claim they can't explain it so why should I try [Music] oh [Music] [Music] Emory col died in December 1976 at the age of 95 the man who had seen more of the Grand Canyon than any other man oh [Music]