Adopt-a-Boatman

Adopt-a-boatman bqr article | Adopt-a-boatman list (exel file) | Adopt-a-Howie letter

Charity for river guides? Well sorry, no, but the title got your attention, didn’t it? Adopt-a-Boatman is the name of a new fundraising program we’ve devised to produce additional oral histories of river runners in Grand Canyon. As you are most likely aware, the Colorado River Runners Oral History Project continually requires funding infusions in order to keep the program moving forward, and Adopt-a-Boatman seems an eminently sensible way to involve our members in that process. We realize that GCRG members like to make suggestions about possible interview subjects which can range from the more “historical” to the contemporary. This new program will enable you to put your money where your mouth is, so to speak.

We estimate that the average expenses associated with producing an oral history to be approximately $750 (travel, interviewer, equipment, transcription, editing for publication; curation, long-term storage, digitization, and online presence are gratis due to cooperation with NAU Cline Library Special Collections and Archives, http://www.nau.edu/library/speccoll/index.html). Through the Adopt-a-Boatman program, folks will be able to stipulate the interviewee if they donate $500 (self-nominations are acceptable too). Therefore, the initial $500 donation would set the stage while allowing other members to step up and become co-sponsors of that particular interview by donating funds in $50 increments to get us to that $750 level. Some grants require matching donations, so the Adopt-a-Boatman program will also allow us to leverage those funds more effectively.

Once the interviews are completed and published in the BQR, the primary sponsor and co-sponsors will be acknowledged. However, it is important to note that while we perceive the greatest value of oral histories lies in capturing those reminiscences, GCRG cannot always promise prompt publication. Both the interview process and the public presentation of these interviews in each issue of the Boatman’s Quarterly Review are at the discretion of our outstanding interviewer/sound recordist, Lew Steiger. Scheduling challenges both for Lew and the interviewees, responsibilities to other funders, and many other factors come into play. In order to address any possible lag time between the interview process and publication of the oral history, GCRG will also include the names of our sponsors and co-sponsors annually in the fall edition of the BQR as part of our Major Contributor List. Our goal is to produce, from start to publication, at least one interview per year.

You can credit Richard “Q” Quartaroli, GCRG past president and current Special Collections Librarian at NAU’s Cline Library, repository for the oral histories, both for the idea and the inaugural donation. The idea originated at last year’s GTS when Q was giving a presentation on the oral history project, and two folks shouted out “interview Martha Clark” (who had actually just been interviewed). Q has been donating $500 annually for some years, but without stipulation. As his new brainchild, the Adopt-a-Boatman program will provide focus and build interest through a cooperative program that challenges each of you to become involved in its success.

The first Adopt-a-Boatman subject will be Tim Whitney. Whitney ran his first Grand Canyon river run in 1973 with brother Bob on a Fort Lee trip. He worked for Fort Lee Expeditions and Sobek, and still runs with Arizona River Runners; he and his lovely wife Pam Manning Whitney (who managed ARR for Fred and Carol Burke) own Rivers and Oceans: A Travel Company, booking Colorado River trips. Whitney was a founding member of GCRG, an original rep for ARR, on the inaugural Board of Directors, and tied with Martin Litton for the 1992 Michael Jacobs Award. But way more than that, he can tell a story. Have you ever heard the one about Tim camped near Deer Creek, with the “scentless” spotted skunk and the ham steak? Well, when he tells the story, he plays all three parts! (The ham steak performance, itself, being worthy of an Oscar for Best-Supporting Actor.)

We’re absolutely tickled to report that the Adopt-a- Boatman project is off to a running start. The Tim Whitney oral history endeavor has already reached its $750 goal through the following generous contributions:

Richard Quartaroli Sponsor

Michael Denoyer Co-Sponsor

Neal “Bear” Shapiro Co-Sponsor

We will keep a running notation of names/donations on our website, www.gcrg.org so that you will know when we have reached our goal for a particular interview subject. We will also post a list of previous interviewees, along with their status. Our plan is to complete one Adopt-a-Boatman project before moving on to the next in order to simplify program management, but you can donate at any time. Since this is a new effort, we might need to tweak the policies as we go. Updates will be provided in the Boatman’s Quarterly Review as well.

Of course we realize that $500 is a chunk of change, so an alternate route is to get 10 or 15 friends together and sponsor an interview subject (10 X $50 = $500; 15 X $50 = $750). Co-sponsors can also give more than the $50 suggested donation as these fine fellows have obviously done. We’re flexible – our only goal is to continue the expansion of what has become one of the most extensive oral history collections in existence.

River running is both your passion and, for many, your heritage. Everybody is worthy of an interview, but lack of funding is the main obstacle. Adopt-a-Boatman affords you an opportunity to become personally involved in preserving those special memories before they are lost. Please help support the new Adopt-a-Boatman project today!

Lynn Hamilton

Back to GCRG Home