World War 2 brought out the best in Americans. From the men who willingly volunteered to the women who drove the rivets and ferried the planes. The country hung together like never before – and never since. There is a lot be said for calling them the “greatest generation.” The war took its toll at Yosemite National Park as well. Most of the workers at the Curry Company entered the service. Visitation decreased as food and gasoline was rationed. In 1943, the US Government sought a western recovery center for the many injured soldiers coming home. They leased the Ahwanee Lodge for naval personnel to convalesce back to health. As result all the furnishing of the hotel had to be stored away to make room for the multitude of beds, doctors and nurses. The Grand Lounge in the Ahwanee was wall-to-wall with recovering Navy patients. Many were stressed with the effects of battle fatigue. Pretty good setup, huh? Well, it turns out that being in the middle of the steep canyon walls caused many to suffer claustrophobia! I can imagine that feeling of being sandwiched between Half Dome and El Cap. I’ve heard that some seasonal workers experience this feeling if they don’t get out in a long time.
*Carpe Diem Experience– Rick Deutsch–www.HikeHalfDome.com*
Comments
4 responses to “Yosemite in World War 2”
I can attest to “valley fever”. Sometimes I have to get out from between the walls, go someplace where I have an unimpeeded view of the sky. I usually go up to the high country when that happens, and in the winter, down into the central valley.
Edie
That’s something us “flat landers” don’t think about. We’re in awe when we gaze up at the cliffs….but I guess you kinda get “island fever” when you live there.
Rick
http://www.HikeHalfDome.com
I loved being so isolated while I lived in the valley. There is so much to do that I never found myself being bored. Without a radio, tv, or internet, I was able to escape the world in a way that I only found out what was going on outside if I wanted to. I would usually pick up a paper once a week and that was fine for me. I guess you could say that the key to survival in the valley is to keep yourself busy with things that you love to do.
When I think of my first visit to Yosemite Valley (arriving in darkness in December 1972) I can’t help but think of how I felt upon awakening the next morning to the awe-inspiring sights that the morning light revealed. I may as well have been Lafayette Bunnell himself when describing his initial impressions back in 1851, to wit:
“It has been said that “it is not easy to describe in words the precise impressions which great objects make upon us.” I cannot describe how completely I realized this truth. None but those who have visited this most wonderful valley, can even imagine the feelings with which I looked upon the view that was there presented. The grandeur of the scene was but softened by the haze that hung over the valley, –light as gossamer–and by the clouds which partially dimmed the higher cliffs and mountains. This obscurity of vision but increased the awe with which I beheld it, and as I looked, a peculiar exalted sensation seemed to fill my whole being, and I found my eyes in tears with emotion.”
I still feel this way and am humbled during each visit.
For those who may wish to steep themselves in the history of the new Yosemite experience as seen through Bunnell’s eyes, look at this link to his journal of the day:
http://www.abovecalifornia.com/lib/Houghton/index.php