Crater Lake Special Events Log

The Smith Brothers' Chronological History of Crater Lake National Park

1981
1981: Harold Mark Huddleston, Hillsboro, Oregon is sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for stealing $100, 000 in traveler's checks and other valuables from campground cars. Huddleston and his gang hit Mazama campground at least 14 times. (See May 12, 1994)
Jan. 18, 1981: Paul Herron, age 77, longtime boat operator at Crater Lake, dies in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Paul began working at Crater Lake as an auto mechanic in 1933. He was placed in charge of operating the Lodge Company's boats two years later. Mr. Herron made "several thousand" hikes up and down the Caldera wall his 28 summers and Crater Lake. He retired in 1961 following a massive heart attack, but Paul continued to work part-time for the Lodge Company in an advisory position as a machinist until his death.
January 21, 1981: Over $10,000 in jewelry stolen from the Cafeteria during a midnight burglary. The case seems to be an inside job and has not been solved.
March 1, 1981: The second annual Dutton Creek Ski Race is won by Reider Pearson, 41, of Ashland, in the time of 31:55 minutes. Brian Smith, age 11, skis the race in 58.45, shaving 22 minutes from his 1980 time.
April 1981: Roger Rudolph enters on duty as the Park's new Chief Ranger, transferring from Yellowstone National Park. He is quoted a saying, "I couldn't be happier. I think I have died in gone to Heaven."
April 1981: Renovating Crater Lake Lodge will become number one on the list of jobs to be accomplished during 1983 in the Northwest Region of the NPS. The plans call for gutting the building's interior and then rebuilding from the ground up with new fire retardant materials, new plumbing and bigger rooms. Cost estimates run about $6.5 million. $150, 000 alone will be spent this summer on improving the fire alarm system.
April 2, 1981: Monty Hawk, 21, from South Dakota is found dead, inside his car at the Ponderosa Pine Picnic Area. Hawk committed suicide by asphyxiation from Carbon Monoxide. Monty's death note stated that since public schools were interested in allowing prayers schools it was "time to throw in the towel... I'm filled with much dispair for this perverse society in which we're forced to eek out the living. In one of the fundamental tenants our Constitution separation of church and state is so blatantly challenged, I can only hang my head in cry... There's a thin line between genius in insanity. I believe I've walked both sides of the line at times."... A quantity of porno and sado masochistic magazines were found in his car. A partial burned pile of porno magazines was found alongside the car. The vehicle had been reported stolen March 21st. The death note asked that Hawk's mother not blame herself or what happened.
April 3, 1981: The Oregon Legislature passes a joint memorial calling for the retention of the Lodge.
April 28, 1981: Nuckolls Construction, Inc. of Roseburg, is awarded a $306,965 contract for interim rehabilitation work on Crater Lake Lodge. Work is to include this shingling on the Lake side, construction of a south fire escape, rebuilding two other fire escapes, and the extension of a stairwell and the changing of inward swinging doors. Fire retardant materials will be installed in the halls and the large chimney, once the largest in Oregon, will be chinked to prevent smoke leakage. This will be the first replacement of the 60 year old shingles.
Spring 1981: Water year: Precipitation of 75.33 inches.
May 2, 1981: Stonehouse #24 is damaged by fire when a cardboard box placed, on the oil heater, bursts into flames. If the fire was spread around the first floor when an attempt was made to beat out the flames.
May 5, 1981: Crater Lake Lodge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Lodge's fireplace and chimneys are now exempt from the building codes because of the listing.
May 10, 1981: A biologist from the Predatory Bird Research Group at the University of California rappels down to a Peregrine falcon nest and removes 3 eggs and replaces them with two newly hatched chicks. One egg died during incubation, but the other two hatch after the shells were protected from drying out by special waxing process that thickens the shell. One female now "consorts" with a male from Yosemite.
June 24, 1981: Superintendent Jim Rouse and Reg. Hydrologist Don Barrett watched as a large timber wolf walks in front of their vehicle at Lost Creek Campground at 5:20 in evening. Attempting to photograph the animal, they approached within 20 yards.
July 1981: Due to budget problems, the resident YCC program is replaced with a nonresident Job Corps program.
July 8, 1981: Ranger Lloyd Smith physically arrests Lodge employee, Neil Neet of Eugene, Oregon for disorderly conduct, public drunkeness an assault in the Lodge Dorm after Neet threaten the life of several employees. Mr. Neet was lodged in the Jackson County Jail.
July 11, 1981: Ranger Marion Jack dispatchs (shoots) two domestic sheep found grazing at the Cloud Cap Viewpoint. The sheep had been observed living in the Park for the past two years.
July 27, 1981: Second latest opening of the Rim Drive. The snow is allowed to melt out, rather than be plowed because of the cost considerations.
Summer 1981: Teri Thomas spots cougar droppings and tracks along Sun Creek while studying her research plant plots. Two years previously Teri had collected cougar dropping near Lighting Springs. (The Back Country fire crew located and made casts of cougar tracks along the Pacific Crest Trail during the summer of 1964 or 1965.)
1981: Three more wolf sightings in the Park, mostly around Lost Creek. Two of the sightings were by Chief of Maintenance, Marion Clark.
1981: The Hillman Crater Lake Discoveries Living History Program is cut because the Park's budget can no longer afford Hillman's horse.
1981: An Inclinometer is installed on the Rim, near the Lodge. Readings do not indicate any significant movement of the Rim, but the meter did detect a small movement, putting the Lodge in some danger of eventually falling into the Lake.
1981: studies show that snow loads on structures in Munson Valley are calculated of 2500 pounds per score for.
August 1981: Visibility studies in the Lake with an 8 inch white disc reach 29.1 meters. In the 1930s and the 1960s, an 8 inch white disc was visible in the Lake to a depth of 39 to 40 meters. A one meter white disc is visible down to 32.5 meters, while in the 1960s, the one meter disk was visible down to 44 meters, or 106 feet. Rather than scattering ashes of fame via geologist Howell Williams over Crater Lake as first requested by the family, Park Superintendent Jim Rouse places the ashes in a silver container and drops it into the Lake near the water gauge at Cleetwood Cove.
August 7 & 8, 1981: Two consecutive days of 91 degree temperatures set a new record for Park headquarters. Local temperatures in Medford reach 114 to 115 degrees.
August 8, 1981: 538 runners take part in the sixth annual Rim Run. Many runners shorten anticipated distances because of the record heat.
6.5 Pat Fox beats his time from last year 34:29.7; Karen Bushey of Klamath Falls 45:47 (number 47 overall); 13.1 Matt Cody of Merlin, Oregon 1:23.10; Ellen Chang of Sacramento; 26.2 Richard Stewart Arcata, California 2:51.26; Bob Jones, Crater Lake Lodge 2:52.03; Joan Reiss of Sacramento, California 3:28.26 (a new woman's record)
August 8 & 9, 1981: The mean temperature in the Panhandle weather station reach 99 degrees F.
August 10, 1981: Following a period of record heat, the Lake warns to new record highs near the Wineglass.; Top inch: 19.4 degrees C.or 66.72 degrees F.; One foot down: 15.2 degrees C. and; 10 feet down:14.2 degrees C.
August 12, 1981: Crater Lake Lodge is former owner, Ralph Peyton, wins his $1,082,205 lawsuit against the U.S. Government and the National Park Service in Federal Court with U.S. Magistrate Edward Leavy issuing the award. The Lodge was sold in 1976 for $1.6 million, but had been valued at $2.6 million prior to the water contamination crisis.. Leavy ruled that, "the Park Service was negligent in its design, location, construction and maintenance of the Park's water system."
August 13, 1981: Zoeanne Olsen, P.O. Box 2022, Fremont, California, 94536, great-great granddaughter of a Annie Gaines, visits the Park and takes a boat ride. Annie Gaines died one month after giving birth to Mrs. Olsen's great grandmother.
August 19, 1981: A camper caused fire spreads to 1/8 of an acre near the summit of Garfield Peak. Three men spend the night on the peak working to extinguish the blaze in a small growth of 400 year old White Bark Pine.
August 22, 1981: Bob Hillman, Pasco, Washington, great great great grand nephew of John Wesley Hillman visits the Park.
August 22, 1981: Roger Wade, 33, 1245 W. Almas, Fresno, California, reports seeing an upright type of Sasquash animal cross 50 yards in f ront of his car, 3 miles west of Annie Springs, on the West Entrance road. Roger described an animal as being upright, 6 foot tall, with light brown and cinnamon hair. The animal crossed the road from south to north, left to right. Written statement from Roger Wade: I back tracked to confirm this morning's 9:00 sighting of something running across Highway 62. I discovered what appeared to be large footprints. One of the foot prints seemed to give the impression of a middle toe being the longest, which is characteristic of Sasquashes. I marked off a couple of footprints with sticks and stones. While tracking through the woods, I found human footprints where someone had run down a hill. I don't know whether this is significant or whether these two incidents are related. But here is the information anyway. The clothes are still lying where I found them, 50 yards or so from the roadway, on the same side is the turnout. A large footprint or located near,15 yards before, the first turnout on 62 after you leave the Park Entrance and head toward Union Creek. (Just about exactly 4 miles from the Park Entrance.)
August 27, 1981: A Jeep Wagoneer and travel trailer are completely destroyed by fire on the North Road between North Junction and Pumice Desert.
August 27 & 28, 1981: A 2800 acre Klamath basin forced fire burns the Park Electrical Transmission lines. Park runs on emergency generator power for two days until the overland lines are re-connected.
September 4, 1981: Edmund Heinz, age 62, of Fremont, California, dies of a massive heart attack in cabin F. behind the Rim Cafeteria. CPR was administered for 45 minutes on the way to the hospital, but to no avail.
September 5, 1981: Seasonal Ranger Lloyd Smith "retires" from the Crater Lake National Park after working 21 summers for the NPS. Lloyd worked:4 summers on maintenance, one summer as a trail boss at Rocky Mountain National Park, one summer and the North Entrance, was the park's first campground patrol ranger working in Mazama Campground for one summer, and then he worked 15 summers as a law enforcement Patrol Ranger. Lloyd set the Park Seasonal Housing record of 11 summers in the same house, Stonehouse #30.
September 6, 1981: 11 year old Brian Smith runs of the Cleetwood Trail in 10 minutes flat. (Brian later sets a new long distance running record at his school.)
November 24, 1981: Dennis Dalton of Klamath Falls pushes his 1980 Chevette auto into 300 feet foot deep Annie Creek Canyon, 1.5 miles inside the South Park boundary. Claiming that the car had been stolen earlier in the day, Dalton hoped to obtain insurance payments because he had fallen behind in his car payment. A PP&L electrical repair crew spots the car in the canyon and Dalton's fraud scheme is exposed.
December 11, 1981: 480 acres of the new park extension is proposed for transfer back to the Winema National Forest because the timber had already been sold, prior to the 1980 boundary extension. The legislation also includes $31,000 to fund a Lake study to find out why the waters of Crater Lake is becoming cloudy or less clear. Congress adjourns before action is taken and the land swap is still pending.
Season 1981