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I Married a Ranger
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
134 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1931
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 19, 2016
In 1921 our author applied for a job, got it, and was sent from Washington D. C. to Arizona, the first female to work in the Grand Canyon. Here are a few sentences from her boss, the man who sent her to her future:
. . .back in 1921, when the author came to my office in Washington and applied for the clerical vacancy existing at the Grand Canyon, no woman had been even considered for the position. The park was new, and neither time nor funds had been available to install facilities that are a necessary part of our park administrative and protective work. Especially was the Grand Canyon lacking in living quarters. For that reason the local superintendent, as well as Washington Office officials, were opposed to sending any women clerks there.
This book is a look back at those early years, when trails were still being built, just a few rangers were on staff, and tourists were not quite as plentiful as they are now. We see Smith learning to cope with her rustic living conditions, dealing with her nervousness about weird noises in the night, and other usual incidents of an Eastern tenderfoot in the Wild West.
She never really gives a proper timeline during her story, so I don't know how much time passed in real life before she married the Chief Ranger, whom she calls 'White Mountain'. But by the end of chapter two they are engaged and the next chapter is the wedding. We get to meet the ranger family, a close knit group of men who share the risks and rewards of life in the Canyon.
I liked the beginning parts of the book, but the last few chapters felt different, as if they were meant less like letters home and more like women's groups talks. Turned out those chapters had been previously published in Good Housekeeping magazine. They dealt with such topics as the life of the Native American woman as seen by our author, and a Hopi snake dance ritual.Still interesting, but the familiar, easy tone had disappeared for one more polished and therefore distant.
A few other things made me say 'humph' while I was reading along. While filling out the marriage license, the clerk asked our author what apparently was a standard question of the day: 'Are you white?' This for a Virginian to answer was quite a blow. First humph.
In one chapter while relating a trip along the Bright Angel trail, Smith told about the famous little burro Bright Angel, also known as Brighty. (Yes, the very same from the classic book by Marguerite Henry.) Brighty lived in the Canyon until 1922 when, according to Smith I added the bold. I never knew that little detail. Poor Brighty! Second humph.
Anytime Smith visits the Hopi and Supai people who live in the Canyon lands, she seems courteous, if a bit condescending. They walk around one village poking their noses into all the houses, trying to see what the families are having for dinner, what types of furnishings they have, generally being nosy and making no apologies about it. But in a later chapter she complains about the tourists in the Canyon who roam around the houses of the rangers, poking their noses in at all hours of the day, trying to see what the rangers are having for dinner, generally being nosy and making no apologies about it. She feels the annoyance but does not see the connection between what the tourists do to her and what she does to the Native Americans. Third, final (and very loud) humph.
. . .back in 1921, when the author came to my office in Washington and applied for the clerical vacancy existing at the Grand Canyon, no woman had been even considered for the position. The park was new, and neither time nor funds had been available to install facilities that are a necessary part of our park administrative and protective work. Especially was the Grand Canyon lacking in living quarters. For that reason the local superintendent, as well as Washington Office officials, were opposed to sending any women clerks there.
This book is a look back at those early years, when trails were still being built, just a few rangers were on staff, and tourists were not quite as plentiful as they are now. We see Smith learning to cope with her rustic living conditions, dealing with her nervousness about weird noises in the night, and other usual incidents of an Eastern tenderfoot in the Wild West.
She never really gives a proper timeline during her story, so I don't know how much time passed in real life before she married the Chief Ranger, whom she calls 'White Mountain'. But by the end of chapter two they are engaged and the next chapter is the wedding. We get to meet the ranger family, a close knit group of men who share the risks and rewards of life in the Canyon.
I liked the beginning parts of the book, but the last few chapters felt different, as if they were meant less like letters home and more like women's groups talks. Turned out those chapters had been previously published in Good Housekeeping magazine. They dealt with such topics as the life of the Native American woman as seen by our author, and a Hopi snake dance ritual.Still interesting, but the familiar, easy tone had disappeared for one more polished and therefore distant.
A few other things made me say 'humph' while I was reading along. While filling out the marriage license, the clerk asked our author what apparently was a standard question of the day: 'Are you white?' This for a Virginian to answer was quite a blow. First humph.
In one chapter while relating a trip along the Bright Angel trail, Smith told about the famous little burro Bright Angel, also known as Brighty. (Yes, the very same from the classic book by Marguerite Henry.) Brighty lived in the Canyon until 1922 when, according to Smith I added the bold. I never knew that little detail. Poor Brighty! Second humph.
Anytime Smith visits the Hopi and Supai people who live in the Canyon lands, she seems courteous, if a bit condescending. They walk around one village poking their noses into all the houses, trying to see what the families are having for dinner, what types of furnishings they have, generally being nosy and making no apologies about it. But in a later chapter she complains about the tourists in the Canyon who roam around the houses of the rangers, poking their noses in at all hours of the day, trying to see what the rangers are having for dinner, generally being nosy and making no apologies about it. She feels the annoyance but does not see the connection between what the tourists do to her and what she does to the Native Americans. Third, final (and very loud) humph.
June 6, 2016
A quick, easy read. If you want to read an authentic, early Native American novel, try Hopi Girl.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews