Grand Canyon Historical Society

The Ol’ Pioneer magazine, contains stories of historical events and people at Grand Canyon written by members that share tales of Grand Canyon never found in history books.

The Ol’ Pioneer magazine has stories of historical events and people at Grand Canyon written by members who share tales of the region never found in history books.

The Ol’ Pioneer is one of the benefits enjoyed by members. Become a member now

Have an article to submit for consideration? Please e-mail articles@grandcanyonhistory.org

2024

Vol. 35 No. 1

Recollections, New Book: The San Francisco Peaks and Flagstaff: Through the Lens of Time by John L. Vankat, The Bailey Biological Survey of the Grand Canyon, Winter Rim-to-Rim 197, The Bulletin

Vol. 35 No. 2

Harry Rieseberg Takes the Santa Fe Railway For a Ride, Burning Love, Miles and Miles of Mules, Two Confusions, The Bulletin

Vol. 35 No. 3

The Early Years of the Grand Canyon Pioneers Society, Grand Canyon’s “Blue Dragon” Rises Again, Sara Lemmon and Jane Grey, Remembering Keith Green, Alignments, The Bulletin

Vol. 35 No. 4

Early Bird Studies, Meet Board Member Robert Lauzon, Whittlesley’s Albuquerque Connections, The Bulletin

2023

Vol. 34 No. 1

The first ever painting of Grand Canyon’s Inner Gorge, How to save Grand Canyon?, Indian Garden now officially called Havasupai Gardens, Chris Clark Oral History, The Bulletin

Vol. 34 No. 2

Grand Staircase or Great Stairway?, First Saunter — The Start of a Six Decade Love Affair, With Grand Canyon, The Bulletin

Vol. 34 No. 3

An Expedition in Winter, Riding the Rails 1901-1904, 6th GC History Symposium, Book Review: Canyon Crossroads by Dick Brown, Raven’s Perch Media, The Bulletin

Vol. 34 No. 4

A Mysterious Experience at the Lookout Studio, A Calamitous Exit From Supai Village, Dock’s Data of Navigational Numbers, The Town That Still Roots for John Wesley Powell, Who Was George Strole?, The Sole Survivor, The Bulletin

2022

Vol. 33 No. 1

Phantom Ranch Centennial, What’s In A Name?, Rees Griffiths, Ted Martinez, Remember the Alamo, Big, Great, Grand Canyon, The Bulletin

Vol. 33 No. 2

Historic Phantom Ranch Turns Thanks to Mules A Phantom Ranch Love Story Building the Transcanyon Waterline Crossword Public Engagement and Collaborative Archaeology at Apex, AZ The Bulletin

Vol. 33 No. 3

Remembering Roy Starkey, CCC At Phantom Ranch, Leonard Welborn: A Cemetery Mystery, Emergency Medical Evacuations, Crossword: Back to the Basics, The Bulletin

Vol. 33 No. 4

Phantom Ranch Stories, Sven Hedin 1923, Phantom Crew 1974, Employees of the Deep 1976, Millennium Gathering, Mary Ochsenschlager, The Bulletin

2021

Vol. 32 No. 1

George Dock’s 1916 Trip to Zion and the Kaibab Plateau, John Hance’s Visitors’ Book(s), Book Review: John Hance: The Life, Lies, and Legend of Grand Canyon’s Greatest Storyteller, by Shane Murphy, Introducing Board Member Mari Carlos, The Bulletin

Vol. 32 No. 2

Theodore Roosevelt at Grand Canyon in 1911, Jason Nez Oral History, Before Powell? Tule Reed Raft, Introducing Board Members Kevin Schindler & Jack Reid, A History of Trail Guides, Book Review: The Grand Canyon’s Uncle Jimmy Owens by Albert L. LeCount, The Bulletin

Vol. 32 No. 3

Harvey and Me. And Roomie, George Dock’s 1921 Trip to the Kaibab, Introducing Board Member Harris Abernathy, Regarding Tom Horn, Oral History: Rob Arnberger, The Bulletin

Vol. 32 No. 4

Understanding Mary Colter’s Contributions in the Context of Architectural Practice, Elvira Arnberger, Charles Gebler, Warning, Warning, The Bulletin

2020

Vol 31 No. 1

Why is a Japanese Name on the American Legion Memorial?, George Dock's 1905 and 1910 trips to Grand Canyon, The Bulletin

Vol 31 No. 2

What I learned About Grand Canyon at Creation Museums, Nikki Cooley, Aunt Eva Visits Ganado & Getting Even, David Schaller, The Bulletin

Vol 31 No. 3

Corrections to "Aunt Eva Visits Ganado", Mary Dean Powell at Grand Canyon, Setting the Record Straight, Kristen Luetkemeier, Frances Allison, Grand Canyon Heiress, GCHS Archive Digitization Process, Rich Turner

Vol 31 No. 4

Suff's Campaign Gains Steam at El Tovar, The Saga of Louis D. Boucher, Helen Ranney, The Bulletin

2019

Vol 31 No. 1

Nooner Cave, Why Not, History Timeline, Raven's Song, The Bulletin, Trails of A Canyon Kid

Vol 30 No. 2

Corrections & Omissions, Famous Figures, The Bulletin, The Genuine Genesis of Hopi House

Vol 30 No. 3

Wanda Nevada, The Bulletin, 1540 Encounter With Grand Canyon, Dock's Letter to Marshall

Vol 30 No. 4

Supai Mary, The Bulletin, Henry Fountain Ashurst Tells A Story, Trails of an Early Canyon Kid

2018

Vol. 29 No. 1

Ralph Cameron's Early Years, Interview with Dave Mortenson, Louis Schellbach's Log Books #14, The Bulletin

Vol. 29 No. 2

Grand Canyon's 1924 Whodunnit, The Bulletin

Vol. 29 No. 3

John Hance and the Dovetailed Joints, Celebrating 100 Years of the National Park Service, The Arizona Pioneer, Collections Update, The Bulletin

Vol. 29 No. 4

Demons at Farlee Hotel, Where Are Harvey Meadow and Uncle Jim's Shelter?, The Bulletin

2017

Vol. 28 No. 1

Louis Schellbach's Log Books XIII, The Arizona Pioneer, Dick Brown, GC Mystery Redux

Vol. 28 No. 2

Uncle Jim Owens - Grand Old Man of the North Rim, Board Member Slim Woodruff, The Night the Kolb House Burned Down

2016

Vol. 27 No. 1

The Grand Canyon Like We've Never Seen It, And Then There Was Time, Swimming in Bright Angel Creek

Vol. 27 No. 2

The Men from Bass Station Again Introducing William Dunn Grand Canyon Mystery

Vol. 27 No. 3

Recollections, A Few Words from Cap'n Hance, The Voyage of the Driftwood, 60th Anniversary Air Disaster

Vol. 27 No. 4

Louis Hinchliffe Louis Schellbach's Log Books XII Old Pipe Creek Cabin Old Hance Trail Vintage Harvey Car Oral History Program

2015

Vol. 26 No.1

Recollections The Men from Bass Station vs. Glen Canyon Dam

Vol. 26 No. 2

The 1919 Trans-Canyon Aerial Tramway Survey

Vol. 26, No. 3

Horse Feathers, Louis Schellbach's Log Books XI, Bil Vandergraff Retires, Annual Picnic, About that Dinosaur in Havasu Canyon

Vol. 26, No. 4

Eighty Pounds of Bronze, The Court-Martial of William Hawkins, Where in the World is the Grand Canyon

2014

Vol. 25 No.4

Trapping the Midwest’s Deadly Bandits, Louis Schellbach’s Log Books X, Steam Car Replica run

Vol. 25 No.3

A Record, Louis Schellbach's Log Books IX, Spot Fire, 58th Anniversary, National Historic Landmark Dedication

Vol. 25 No.2

Some Things Change, Sam W. Stockton, Haunted By Time

Vol. 25 No.1

Louis Schellbach’s Log Books VIII, Le Conte Plateau, No Time for the River

2013

Vol. 24 No.4

Schellbach’s Log books VII, Panda Tracks in the Grand Canyon: Tales of the Ancient ,Chinese

Vol. 24 No.3

Extirpation of the Havasupai from Indian Garden Schellbach’s Log books VI Schoolhouse at 100

Vol. 24 No.2

Bright Angel Tavern? Who Named the Grand Canyon?

Vol. 24 No.1

Citizen Kane-yon (Part Two)

2012

Vol. 23 No. 4

Citizen Kane-yon (Part One)

Vol. 23 No. 3

Devoted Member of the Grand Canyon Historical Society ,Passes On, The Life, Death, and Afterlife of Brighty

Vol. 23 No. 2

That's One Small Step…in the Grand Canyon, Park Naturalist Louis Schellbach's Log Books, Part 5

Vol. 23 No. 1

Pop Go the Egyptians The Impeachment of John Wesley Powell

2011

Vol. 22 No. 4

Hopi Indian Dances circa 1947-1956: A Boyhood ,Recollection, Lost in the Grand Canyon, Book Review: Shadows of the Canyon, Park Naturalist Louis Schellbach's Log Books, Part 4

Vol. 22 No. 3

The Great Grand Canyon Pigeon Races, Park Naturalist Louis Schellbach's Log Books, Part 3, These Infinities of Beauty and Terror: Poets and Writers Discover the Grand Canyon, Park 2

Vol. 22 No. 2

Book Review: The Butterflies of Grand Canyon These Infinities of Beauty and Terror: Poets and Writers Discover the Grand Canyon, Park 1 Park Naturalist Louis Schellbach's Log Books

Vol. 22 No. 1

An Anecdote: Shorty Yarborough, The Tail That Wagged The President

2010

Vol. 21 No. 4

The First Fiberglass Kayak Run Through Grand Canyon, 1960, "There will never come an end to the good that he has done:" Stephen Mather Memorial Plaques The Demise of The Lost Orphan Mine, Roger Miller Update

Vol. 21 No. 3

Park Naturalist Louis Schellbach's Log Books, Part 2, Tall Cliffs and Tall Tales: The Origins of John Hance

Vol. 21 No. 2

Mules: A Dying Species at Grand Canyon, The Yellow Brick Road

Vol. 21 No. 1

School Days: The Race is On!, Park Naturalist Louis Schellbach's Log Books, Part 1, The Visible Boundary Between the Forests of Kaibab National Forest and Grand Canyon National Park, With God and Teddy at El Tovar

2009

Vol. 20 No. 3

Archaeological Expedition on the Second Scientific Expedition to Shiva Temple, 1972, GCHS Presentation, On the Rim of Creation

Vol. 20 No. 2

"Looks Like a Mulhatton Story:" The Origins of the Grand Canyon Egyptian Cave Myth

Vol. 20 No. 1

Letters, Tropic of Canyon, Grand Canyon Book Club

2008

Vol. 19 No. 2

Five Generations Down the Bass, King of the Road, Dave Rust: A Life in the Canyon, A Hardy Welcome, Historic Boats Tour, It Happened at Grand Canyon

Vol. 19 No. 1

Through the Grand Canyon…, John H. Riffey, Last Words Before the Launch, Grand Canyon Celebrates CCC Anniversary

2007

Please note that in 2007, there were only two OP's. The second issue "should have" been Vol. 18 No.2 but was mislabeled No. 3.

Vol. 18 No. 3

Cowboys, Indians and the Grand Canyon, The 1864 Explorations of Octavius D. Gass and Company, A Note About William Chesley Richmond, Hats Off to Bishop Leithead, Harvey and Tom, Feedback from the 2007 Grand Canyon History ,Symposium

Vol. 18 No. 1

Life at River Mile Zero by Traci Wyrick, 2007 History Symposium Abstracts

2006

Vol. 17 No. 4

Ruth Stephens Baker by Betty Leavengood, Grand Canyon Entertainment Circa 1931 by Beverly ,Brown Wilson

Vol. 17 No. 3

Witch Pool by John S. Azar, Memories of Dad at the Canyon in 1941-1946 by Barbara Stephens Odderstol, Centennial Celeration a Tribute to a Family's Strength by Jacie Brown

Vol. 17 No. 2

Early Arizona Camerons by Alex W. and Burton W. Cameron, The Grand Canyon Bridge by Harriet Chalmers Adams, This Day in History; The Painted Canyon by Todd R. Berger Grand Canyon Association Opening Event at Book Festival

Vol. 17 No. 1

Red Wolf by Dove Menkes After 33 Years, Aiken To Retire by Jackie Brown, A Gathering Of Historians by GCA A Grand Canyon Christmas by Dama Margaret Smith

2005

Vol. 16 No. 4

Hopi Turtle Dance by Nancy Green, "In Our Opinion" Visits The Grand Canyon Of The Colorado River by Tracy Wyrick, Lillian Wilhelm Smith by Nancy Green, On Arizona's San Francisco Peaks by Gale Burak

Vol. 16 No. 3

Bert Lauzon Gets His Man by Jeanne Schick, The Family Next Door by Gale Burak, A Historic Landmark or an Eyesore?, Orphan Mine by Nancy Green

Vol. 16 No. 2

A Dream Realized by Two Brothers (Kolbs) by Bill Suran The Other El Tovar by Al Richmond That Rim Connection by Traci Wyrick Toll Roads & Trails by Mike Anderson

Vol. 16 No. 1

Greenlaw Photo Collection, How Pipe Creek Received its Name by Ranger Naturalist Hugh H. Waesche, Big Events Remembered by Gale Burak, The Old Geezer Hike by John S. Azar; A 75th Birthday Celebration by Lee Albertson; Padre Garces' "Puerto de Bucareli" by Jim Knipmeyer

2004

Vol. 15 No. 4

Family Treasurers, A Pioneer in the Canyon by Merrel Clubb, Georgie -- As A Climber by Bob Cates and John Ripley

Vol. 15 No. 3

Cheyava Falls by Emery Kolb Great-Granddaughter Proud of Kolb Legacy by Jackie Brown Ross Wheeler Update by Richard Quartaroli No Boat Left Behind? by Grand Canyon Historic Boat Project Advisory Committee; Move the Boats; The Future of the Canyon's Boats by Brad Dimock & Tom Moody; American History with Fire in its Eye Presentation by Dr. Stephen Pyne by Nancy Green; Writing Down the River: Into the Heart of the Grand Canyon by Nancy Green

Vol. 15 No. 2

A Time to Live in Grand Canyon by Traci Wyrick The Westering Star of Jack Sumner by Don Lago Back in the Early Days by Bill Suran Excerpts from "Personal Impressions of the Grand Canyon" submitted by Gale Burak

Vol. 15 No. 1

Kolb Studio: Images of the Past First View by John Oesdean Andy Hall by Michael Ghiglieri; Ode to the Canyon by Sibyl Suran

1996

Vol. 07 No. 10

Footprints, Hooray for the Red White and Blue by Gale Burak Scrapbook of Memories Around and About A Walk Through Flagstaff Dear Editor Memo on Monte Video Santa Is Just Around the Corner The Ol'Pioneer Goes Hi-tech Special Program for October 19th

Vol. 07 No. 07

Around and About On Being a Hermit Ranger by Gale Burak A Wild and Woolly Town Pioneer Footprints, A Brave Adventuresome Woman Dear Editor Something Special Can Anyone Help? (Monte Video) by Gene Wendt It Happened Again 1996 Meetings