Whtie Sands Administrative History

With the Garton project set for construction in 1936, Tom Charles could plan that winter for maximizing visitation. His efforts would result in a forty percent increase (to 48,000), and NPS would in turn change Charles' status (to permanent custodian), and increase his salary, from $384 per year to $540. White Sands was the theme of a float in the Sun Bowl carnival parade in El Paso on New Year's Day, winning first prize in its category. The Rock Island railroad wanted to include the dunes in its promotional literature for a circle tour through the Mescalero reservation, Cloudcroft, and Alamogordo. The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) wanted to reprint Charles' July 1932 article in New Mexico Magazine in the July 1936 issue of their own national publication, which had New Mexico as its theme. Always eager for wider coverage of the dunes, Charles rewrote the piece to reflect changes since the NPS took over White Sands. Elsie Aspinwall, DAR officer for the state, marvelled at Charles' helpfulness, and promised to send house guests to the monument as part of their tour of the Grand Canyon and Carlsbad Caverns. [45]

Charles' notoriety as a publicist for his monument also attracted the attention of the WPA, which in 1936 inaugurated the Federal Writers' Project (FWP). As part of the larger goal of WPA artistic and cultural programs, the FWP had two major emphases in New Mexico: preparation of the state travel guide (published in 1940), and organization of the "Historical Records Survey." Ina Sizer Cassidy, director of the state FWP, asked Charles for his advice on developing a data base of public and private materials for research on New Mexico's past. She also acknowledged Charles' role as a promoter of history in southern New Mexico by asking him to serve on the survey's advisory board; an honor which Charles had to decline, citing his growing work load at White Sands. [46]

The tradition of special visitation at White Sands added Easter services in March, when some 300 residents of Otero County came to the dunes to pray at sunrise. By day's end an additional 1,200 visitors had converged upon the monument. This built momentum for Play Day, with attendance at 3,500. Among the activities appealing to the crowds were "Camp Fire Dances" by the "Mescalero Boy Scouts." Charles Lindbergh Shanta Boy, aged seven, drew much applause for his efforts. Other dancers included Wendell Chino, who twenty years later would commence his long tenure as the Mescalero tribal president. Then on July 4th, White Sands hosted an Independence Day picnic that lured all the state's major political leaders (Governor Tingley, Senators Chavez and Hatch, etc.), each eager for voter recognition in the campaigns that year. Senator Chavez then returned with Hatch and Tingley in early August to speak at the dedication ceremonies for completion of the U. S. Highway 54 project (from El Paso to Alamogordo). Among his remarks at the dunes, Chavez called the park service "one of the finest groups in the employ of the Government." [47]

Praise for NPS work came in conjunction with planning for the permanent facilities that would enhance visitors' experiences. The NPS branch of plans and designs had difficulty agreeing upon the location of the visitors center, museum, and headquarters complex. Frank Kittredge rejected the White Sands master plan in 1935 and 1936 because of these differences of opinion. Kittredge wanted the entire compound back in the dunes, so that visitors had to venture into the monument and thus engage its distinctive ecology. The presence of WPA workers made it imperative for NPS staff to draft their final plans. John Happer also took charge of the headquarters work, but could not use his full allotment of WPA funds until design figures were in place. Tom Charles wrote to Pinkley warning of the loss of "50 to 60 percent of the money set up for that project." Then Happer learned that he would use all his funding before July 1, and had to negotiate with the NPS and WPA for access to other revenues. The U.S. Department of Labor then set wage rates from 20 to 25 percent higher at White Sands, based upon application of the Davis-Bacon Act rules to the Alamogordo area (Davis-Bacon adjusted wages on federal projects to align local rates to national standards). NPS auditors took note of the excessive costs at White Sands, but believed that it could not interfere at present. Said George Collins of the regional NPS office: "[The] history of RDP work at White Sands and general relationship down there would, we think, bring out a good deal of local controversy not unmixed with politics." [48]

Contributing to Happer's woes at White Sands were the unexpected legal delays caused by the mineral-rights leaseholders at Garton Lake. Happer solicited testimonials from NPS and state officials to the scarcity of oil on the property, hoping that this would suffice to release federal funds. Tom Charles also asked for monies for road construction in the monument, as three accidents at the park entrance in February and March caused two fatalities and serious injury to nine other passengers. The failure of the well casing also harmed plans for the bird sanctuary, as muddy water and botulism (alkali poisoning) killed fish and fowl alike. Then the leaseholders either refused to deed their claims to the NPS, or tried to get more money from the government than the appraised mineral value. [49]

Figure 10. Grinding stone unearthed at Blazer's Mill on Mescalero Apache Reservation (1930s).
(Courtesy White Sands National Monument)