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Grand Canyon Historical Society |
2005 Hall of Fame Award for Community Service
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The Grand Canyon Pioneer Society and the National Park Service also inducted three people into the Grand Canyon Hall of Fame for Community Service. Kenneth G. Talakte and Reeta P. Talakte (living) and Elmer Nelson (deceased) were the 2005 inductees.
The eighth awards name three individuals who have shown exemplary service to the Grand Canyon Community. The recipients have made personal contributions of money, time, and work over a period of many years. One recipient is deceased and happily the other two are still with us.
These folks were recommended for their community service by previous recipients of the award. We rely on their recommendations as they know better than anyone who has been involved in community service at the Grand Canyon.
For the last thirteen years Ken and Reeta Talakte have become a team working to improve the social environment at Grand Canyon. Both are heavily involved in school programs such as presentations of the Americanism Program and the working on Christmas Partyies for the grade school. They are always available to clean the cemetery and participate in the Memorial Day observance. at the cemetery and 4th of July parades. Their family also helps to make the area presentable for residents and visitors by regularly cleaning a section of Highway 64.
Born on the Hopi reservation, Ken was raised at the Canyon and graduated from the High School. After a tour of duty in the Army with the 82nd Airborne Division, he later returned as a DPS officer and served here for twenty years until his retirement. His service to community has contined through the American Legion’s John Ivens Post #42 where he recently completed four years as Post Commander. Reeta also serves in the Legion Auxiliary Unit #42. Ken regularly assists area veterans with transportation to the VA hospital in Prescott and Phoenix.
Ken has always been an active member of the community as a child, DPS officer, and Veteran. Reeta has joined with him and together they devote much time and energy to improving the community.
Elmer Nelson was known to everyone at Grand Canyon Village for the first half of the Twentieth Century as “Pop.” He came to the Canyon as a Santa Fe employee to work on the power and heating plant construction for El Tovar. By 1908 he had risen to the position of facilities engineer which he held until his retirement in 1953. He not only was responsible for all of the Santa Fe facilities at the Village he worked to improve social conditions in the community. Pop served on the school board, spearheaded the building of the rodeo grounds and baseball field, maintained a Victory Garden during World War II, and donated money, time and materials to community projects.
Elmer not only believed in being a good engineer and providing the best services to the Village and National Park, he also believed in the community and its people and worked hard to improve the social quality of life for them.
We are deeply indebted to folks like Elmer, Ken, and Reeta for helping to make the Grand Canyon Community a better place in which to live and work.