With the controversy over the planned Echo Park Dam in Dinosaur National Monument in the late 1940s and early 1950s, many people like Andrew Pfeiffenberger turned to Bus Hatch and his sons, Don, Ted, and Frank, to take them down the Green and Yampa Rivers. During the controversy, Hatch River Expeditions outfitted river trips for both pro-dam and anti-dam groups, trips that often included over 100 people. This was the true genesis of Hatch River Expedtions. After the controversy, and through the 1960s, the name Hatch became synonymous with river running, especially in the western United States. By the end of the 20th century, Hatch had become one of the best-known river outfitters in existence, and there are now 3rd generation members of the Hatch family who are still in the river running business.
The Andrew Pfeiffenberger river running video collection (1954-1955) consists of home movies taken by Pfeiffenberger of river trip vacations with Bus Hatch and Hatch River Expeditions on the Yampa River and Green River in Dinosaur National Monument in Eastern Utah and Western Colorado. The 3 16mm films in this collection have been digitized and are available for viewing on the DVD detailed in this finding aid.
The materials are arranged chronologically.
Audio-visual materials can be fragile and require specialized equipment to play back. For this reason, access to audio-visual materials is provided through digital copies, and it might take longer to provide access to items that are not yet digitized. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law, condition of the material, or by donor.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Andrew Pfeiffenberger river running video collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Multimedia Archivist.
Donated by Andrew Pfeiffenberger in 2010.
Processed by Molly Creel and Roy Webb in 2010.
See also the Hatch River Expeditions video collection (A0529), papers (Accn 1325) and photographs (P0781). Forms part of the River Running Archives.
The party convenes in Denver, Colorado in late June 1954 and prepares to launch raft on Yampa River, probably at Lily Park. Once the voyage is underway the film contains lots of footage of scenery and flowers and men in and out of boats and pontoons but relatively few shots of running through the rapids until the end of the film. This film features the following scenes along the Yampa and Green Rivers:
River rafters leave home and family in Denver in early June 1955 and drive across the Rocky Mountains (Berthoud Pass) to launch (1 pontoon, 1 ten man raft) into the Green River near Craig or Sunbeam, Colorado. Water is quite high for the duration of the trip. Lots of shots of scenery, rapids and camp activity. This film features the following scenes along the Green River: