John Otto (park ranger): Difference between revisions
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'''John Otto''' was the first park ranger at [[Colorado National Monument]]. A drifter and an [[anarchism|anarchist]], Otto broke into the [[Colorado]] Governor's office in [[Denver]] in [[1903]], armed with a candlestick. Governor [[James Hamilton Peabody|James Peabody]], who was out of town at the time, declined to prosecute. |
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On Colorado's magnificent Western Slope lies one of the supreme landscapes of the West, the monoliths and canyons of Colorado National Monument. Almost as legendary as this Mars-like setting, however, is the memory of John Otto, Colorado National Monument's founding father and truly one of the more eccentric characters to have found employment with the National Park Service. Tried three times for insanity (and found sane on each occasion), accused of attempting to assassinate the Governor Colorado (and later exonerated), and often dressed in a green shirt with colored stars for buttons, John Otto became the Monument's first custodian and most ardent booster. |
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Otto arrived in [[Grand Junction, Colorado]] in [[1906]] or [[1907]]. He occasionally worked odd jobs in town, but spent most of his time exploring the nearby plateau and canyon [[wilderness]]. He built trails in what most area residents had believed was an impenetrable wilderness. |
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His crankish sense of humor once prompted him to propose renaming the monument "Smith National Park" (the commercial possibilities were "stupendous," he wrote), a ludicrous suggestion made even more so by the fact the local newspaper took it seriously and endorsed it. |
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Because of his efforts, others took notice, and by [[1909]] the local newspaper was lobbying to make the area a national park. On [[May 24]], [[1911]] the area was designated [[Colorado National Monument]]. Otto was hired as the first park ranger. For the next 16 years he lived in the park and drew a salary of $1 per month. |
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An early women's rights advocate, he was married briefly and later awarded alimony from the bride who deserted him. For the residents of turn-of-the-century Grand Junction, John Otto -- "the world's greatest radical of the safe kind," as he described himself -- might as well have been from another planet. Nevertheless, his legend lives on as one who almost single-handedly built the trails that now traverse Colorado National Monument. |
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Books on the subject: "John Otto of Colorado National Monument," Alan J. Kania, ISBN 0-911797-04-01, cloth; 0911797-03-3 paper; 160 pages, Roberts-Rinehart Publisher, Boulder, CO; illustrated, out-of-print. |
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"John Otto: Trials and Trails," Alan J. Kania, ISBN 0-87081-384-6, cloth; 400 pages, University Press of Colorado, Niwot, CO; illustrated, out-of-print except through author. Third edition paperback due in Spring 2008 through Xlibris Publishing. |
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Revision as of 00:41, 28 April 2008
John Otto was the first park ranger at Colorado National Monument. A drifter and an anarchist, Otto broke into the Colorado Governor's office in Denver in 1903, armed with a candlestick. Governor James Peabody, who was out of town at the time, declined to prosecute.
Otto arrived in Grand Junction, Colorado in 1906 or 1907. He occasionally worked odd jobs in town, but spent most of his time exploring the nearby plateau and canyon wilderness. He built trails in what most area residents had believed was an impenetrable wilderness.
Because of his efforts, others took notice, and by 1909 the local newspaper was lobbying to make the area a national park. On May 24, 1911 the area was designated Colorado National Monument. Otto was hired as the first park ranger. For the next 16 years he lived in the park and drew a salary of $1 per month.
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