[Geysers] Gazers, do you see yourself in this description?

[MA Bellingham]

With road opening upon us tomorrow morning I began to think of all of you
who will "move in" to Yellowstone, ready to record data, study your
favorites, or chance upon those rare eruptions of Link, Silex, Giantess or
others by virtue of "being there". 

 

Here is a GREAT description of a 1920's geyser gazer from Lee Whittlesey's
upcoming book, "Storytelling in Yellowstone: Horse and Buggy Tour Guides in
the Grand Old Park, 1872-1920". 

 

This segment was previously published in Transactions but I thought it was
worth repeating for some of the newer folk.  Thanks Lee!

 

Substitute typewriter for laptop or PDA, add some radios and a "floppy hat"
and much of it rings true today!  

Do you see yourself or your gazer friends in this description?


"Considerably more is known about "Geyser Bill" Ankrom who arrived in
Yellowstone in 1929. His biography, published in a newspaper in 1932, reads
as if he could have been one of today's geyser gazers, i.e. a person truly
possessed by thermal phenomena and willing to share his knowledge with any
visitor who straggles by. Here is the account in its entirety:

            

The      The only name by which he is known in Yellowstone National park is
"Geyser Bill." To him geysers are pets, hobbies, school, work, and play. He
considers a geyser like others might look upon a favorite dog or a book. He
cultivates them like one would a friend. He pampers, pets and protects them
as one would a child. He studies them as one might a favorite book.

 

            "Geyser Bill" eats, sleeps, and plays with the geysers in the
park. He knows their every mood, records their every impulse. A tall, gaunt,
weather-beaten man of sixty or more, he can be seen from early morning until
late at night on geyser hill near Old Faithful or at any other geyser basin
in the park. Unobtrusive, he is rarely singled out by park visitors, for his
garb is simple-an old army shirt, khaki trousers and sneakers.

 

            But let anyone lay a hand on a geyser cone or on any of the
sinter deposited about the geyser for centuries and old "Geyser Bill" goes
into eruption. He simply will not tolerate any tampering with or chipping
off any formation. To those who are really eager to learn about the geysers,
Bill will unfold a wealth of information gathered from his four years as a
geyser observer. He probably knows more about the habits and whims of
Yellowstone geysers than any man alive. He comes in long before the season
opens and stays long after it is officially closed. This spring he came on
May 20, and he declares that he will stay until the heavy snows drive him
out.

 

            An old army sergeant, retired from active duty in 1918, this
man, who admits to the name of T.J. Ankrom, calls his little car his home.
It is equipped with a cot and paraffined canvas, and many a night he sleeps
beside a geyser which premonition and close study tells him is about to
erupt.

 

            Geyser Bill awakes each morning to the reveille of the Daisy
geyser and his lullaby is the sizzling spout of Old Faithful or the
Riverside geyser, two reliable and regular vents.

 

            On a day when a number of prominent but irregular geysers choose
to play, "Geyser Bill" is a harrassed and busy individual indeed. Such an
occurrence brought him near a nervous breakdown recently when the Giant
geyser, Yellowstone's greatest spout[er], had hardly ceased playing before
the Giantess, consort of the big one, began an unexpected and mysterious
show of her own. She plays for nearly 36 hours, and it nearly broke "Geyser
Bill" up in business when the Beehive, the Grotto and several others began
their show while the Giantess was still in play.

 

            To understand his difficulty, it must be explained that Bill
keeps voluminous notes. With camera on one side of him, stop-watch on his
lap or in hand, and a typewriter placed on his knees or on a log used as a
temporary desk, he sits beside the geyser cone and waits. Meanwhile he pecks
away at his typewriter, recording every indicator offered by bubbling water,
steam, or overflow. His notes read like a statistician's diary, with minutes
and heights and distances packed together in a volume understandable only to
him.

 

            Like a mother with a restive child, "Geyser Bill" spends many a
night watching over his wards. When a geyser is overdue there is no sleep
for Bill. He wonders what is the trouble and will not rest until the spout
has resumed its regular breathing.

            

"Geyser Bill" Ankrom left detailed notes on his observations of geysers for
the years 1931-33 that repose today in the Yellowstone Research Library."

 

Quote courtesy of Lee H. Whittlesey, Yellowstone Park Historian.

 

See you at Grand,

MA

 

 

 

M.A. Bellingham

mabell126 at bresnan.net

http://yellowstonephotoworks.com/

 

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