I never worked at this hotel, nor really spent much time there. A couple of years ago, we stayed there for a couple of nights with my son, Greg, and his wife, Tracy. The hotel is a National Historic Landmark, and features what I consider a National Treasure, Tom Bopp. Tom plays the piano five nights a week in the lounge. He is not only an excellent musician, but is the unofficial historian of the Wawona area, the music written over the years about Yosemite, and the park's history in general. To learn more about him, click on the link on the left side of this blog page. (Photo of Tom Bopp by L. Radnvch)
Here's one of the most delightful hikes in Yosemite. You start from the Tioga road above Toulumne Meadows, pass through fields of wildflowers, and soon arrive above tree line.
This famous Yosemite tree was photographed thousands of times during its lifetime. It died during a drought period several years ago, and I think all that is left today are pieces of dead wood.
51 years ago, I climbed Half Dome. And I did it in one day -- 16 miles round trip from Yosemite Valley. Why in one day? Well back in 1957, concessionaire employees only got one day off a week!
During the summer months prior to 1962, each evening featured the "firefall" off of Glacier Point.
Late each afternoon, company employees from Glacier Point Hotel would build a fire of red fir bark at the edge of Glacier Point. Over the course of the evening, it was allowed to burn down to a pile of embers.
Directly below Glacier Point at Camp Curry, there was an evening live stage performance of various musicians and music groups. At 9:00 p.m., a designated caller would shout out, "Hello Glacier", and Glacier Point called back, "Hello, Camp Curry". The Curry person would then holler back, "Let the Fire Fall", and Glacier would respond, "The Fire Fall". The glowing embers would be pushed over the edge, and instead of a waterfall, there would be a "firefall". The firefall would only last a few minutes, but it was something to behold.
The two winters I stayed in the park, I worked here. First as cafeteria manager 1958-59, and then as the Lodge assistant manager 1961-62. Being cafeteria manager quickly convinced me that I never wanted a career in food service. That particular winter, the Lodge cafeteria was the only facility serving food besides The Ahwahnee. So, 95% of all the visitors ate in the cafeteria which was open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m, and if anything could go wrong, it did! The only saving grace was the chef, Earl Pierson, who ran the kitchen part of the operation (by the way, his brother, Fred, was the chef at The Ahwahnee). Anyway, Earl was an old hand, and kept me from going insane when things went to pieces before my very eyes!
During my tenure as assistant manager, I gained one distinction: I was the first person to have the radiant heat turned on under the walkways between the buildings. Normally when it snows on the Valley floor, the temperture is around 35 degrees, and the snow is heavy and wet, and doesn't blow around. On this particular day, it was a dry blowing snow, and the temperture was in the mid-20's. The snow blew into the walkways, and was turning to ice as visitors walked on it. Big safety issue. The answer: Turn on the heat!
I never worked at this hotel, and sadly it caught fire in the 1960's, and by the time the fire trucks arrived from Yosemite Valley, it had burned to the ground. The fellow who ran the Yosemite Ski School at Badger Pass in the winters, Nic Fiore, was the manager of this hotel in the summers (it was only open during summers).
I worked here in a variety of jobs: room clerk, host in the dining room, and even a busboy at The Bracebridge Dinner* Some employees working at the hotel had meals as part of their salary. We ate in the "sidehall", a dining room off of the dining room kitchen. And Wow, what great meals being the same food the hotel guests received, although sometimes from the day before. But, sure enough, some employees complained . . .
