EDITOR’S NOTE
6 REMINISCE.COM * SEPTEMBER 2019
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK MUSEUM COLLECTION # HMARY-LIZSHAW
DEPUTYEDITOR,REMINISCEEmailstoriesandphotos:
REMINISCE.COM/SUBMIT-A-STORYIN THE NEXT ISSUE- The Moon Landing
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D
ad was an accountant, but I’m sure he harbored secret dreams
of being a backwoods fishing guide. His uncommon facility
with numbers doomed him to a successful career in an office.
Still, he lived out a version of his fantasy for two weeks every
August. We’d pack our yellow Dodge Monaco with camping
gear and escape north, away from the Toronto suburbs and into the central
Ontario hinterland, where we fished in the morning, played cards in the
afternoon and read by a Coleman lantern at night.
But in 1969 , the summer before I turned 7 , we didn’t go north. Instead
we headed southwest to Arizona and the Grand Canyon. Not a fishing hole
in sight, though waves of heat radiating from that poor Dodge, overworked
and without air conditioning, made it appear like we were floating. I can still
hear my mother’s gasp as I ran to the edge of that monstrous crater of pink
and gold and peeked over. I feel again the lurch in my gut as my 15 -year-old
brother, Terry, grabbed my waistband, yanked me backward and said calmly,
“At least wait until Mum isn’t looking.”
I know many others have made a similar pilgrimage to Grand Canyon
National Park, one of North America’s most popular destinations. Which is
why, in honor of its 100 th anniversary, we’ve
collected a few fascinating facts about the park
(page 40 ). We also have an account of a 1938
trip to Arizona and other points west by an
adventurous Virginian named Ridgely Jackson.
Her tale, told by her niece Louise Kleh, is on
page 48.
And whether you grew up camping in the
Canadian wilderness as I did, or under a
blanket in your backyard, you’ll enjoy our
tribute to Smokey Bear, the fictional firefighter
who turns 75 this year. Fun reader memories
of Smokey encounters begin on page 30. •Wild and Wonderful
ARTIST GUNNAR WIDFORSS captured the rugged
beauty of the Grand Canyon in the 1930 s.