Gerhard Ernest Untermann was born on 6 August 1898, while his parents were in Berlin, Germany, on a visit. Nine months later the family returned to the United States. G. Ernest Untermann's first visit to the Vernal area was in 1919 when he assisted his father, Ernest Untermann, make a mining survey for a Chicago firm. During this visit he met Billie Ruple, a native of Vernal, then thirteen-years-old (she was born 29 July 1906). They remained in contact through the years and were married in San Francisco on 14 August 1925.
G. Ernest Untermann and Billie Ruple graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. G. Ernest received an M.A. from the School of Geology and, later, an honorary doctorate. Billie earned an A.B. in geology in 1929 and an M.A. in 1934. She was curator of the Geology Museum at University of California, Berkeley, between 1931 and 1936.
In the 1940s the Untermanns joined the National Park Service and returned to Vernal to work at Dinosaur National Monument in 1943. G. Ernest spent four years as a ranger-geologist, mapping the monument geology. Billie worked on the mapping with G. Ernest and between 1946 and 1948 was put on the payroll as a ranger-naturalist.
The Utah Field House of Natural History was completed in 1946. G. Ernest Untermann, who had been a strong supporter of the project from the beginning, was hired as director-curator. Billie joined him there in 1948 as staff scientist. They spent the following twenty-one years promoting and caring for the Field House. When they formally retired in 1969, Billie was rehired and G. Ernest continued to devote hours to the Field House without pay until 1974. Billie was voted "Outstanding State Employee" in 1972 for her work at the museum.
Billie died 30 January 1973 and G. Ernest died 12 November 1975. Both were honorary, lifetime members of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontologists and members of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. G. Ernest Untermann was briefly written up in
As coauthors they published
The G. Ernest Untermann papers (1893-1975) emphasize the scientific and public activities of Gerhard Ernest Untermann and his wife, Billie, both geologists and employees of the Utah Field House of Natural History in Vernal, Utah. Information regarding geological and paleontological contributions from Ernest Untermann Sr. are also included.
In the interest of chronology, the papers of Ernest Untermann Sr., comprise the first part of the collection. These two boxes include correspondence, reports, and clippings on the Washington Park Zoo, and published articles and scientific writings. Also included are biographical information and a brief autobiography.
The biographical information contained in the collection about G. Ernest and Billie Untermann has been placed in a section with their miscellaneous writings. These consist of articles written for the Utah State Parks employees newsletter, the
A small section on Dinosaur National Monument contains brochures, publications, and maps about the monument area. There are also two geological guidebooks written by G. Ernest and Billie, as well as field naturalist reports written by Billie during the years the Untermanns worked for the United States Park Service.
The Utah Field House of Natural History in Vernal, Utah, was the setting for most of the Untermanns' professional life. The information on the Field House begins with its concept and follows through to the functioning of a successful museum. Reports, clippings, correspondence, and other writings about the growth of the Field House are contained in a large scrapbook kept by the Untermanns. Also included are correspondence and clippings about the Dulany Hunter Foundation and the controversy about the future of the Field House, which was brought on by conflicting opinions between Sam A. Dulany Hunter and G. Ernest Untermann.
General correspondence is arranged by subject, covering, first, letters concerned with the Field House and/or the Untermanns' roles there. This section has correspondence with Arthur G. Nord, the assistant regional forester, and the family of Earl Douglass, who discovered the dinosaur quarry. Letters from friends and visitors to the musuem expressing their appreciation to the Untermanns are filed chronologically. A bound volume of congratulatory letters given to G. Ernest and Billie on their retirement from the Field House is included.
The central portion of the collection is concerned with the controversy over the Upper Colorado River Basin Project and Echo Park Dam, to be built within the confines of Dinosaur National Monument. The Untermanns were in favor of the project and these papers include their geological reasonings as to why the dam should be constructed. Correspondence about the Upper Colorado River Basin is quite extensive. Writings, speeches, and resolutions favorable to the project, as well as papers about the federal hearings, round out the picture given by newsclippings, magazines, brochures, and other publications.
Newspaper clippings by and about the Untermanns and miscellaneous subjects are filed together in rough chronological order. Included are speech notes, speeches, and writings which are not identified. Publications on geology and paleontology not written by the Untermanns have been included in the collection.
The last and largest portion of the collection consists of notes, research, and writings by Billie Untermann, including field notes about Utah. This portion contains articles and condensations of articles by other authors.
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library's
Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
Processed by Marlene Lewis in 1977.
Addendum (box 19) was processed by Betsey Welland in 2018.
See also the
Autobiographical writings about boyhood in Germany. Two biographical sketches, one for eighty-fifth birthday article; obituary.
Biographical for ninetieth birthday.
Director's notes on animal lifespan and director's report on the Zoo.
Milwaukee radio broadcasts.
Lists of animals in the zoo, care and feeding, gestation times. Lists of officers of the Zoological Society.
Letters between Ernest Untermann, Sr., and geologists and paleontologists about accuracy of his paintings to make them more factual. Letter from Wallace F. Bennett congratulating Ernest, Sr., on his ninetieth birthday. Letter to G. Ernest from Milwaukee County Historical Society accepting remaining papers of Ernest, Sr.
Four small oil paintings depicting prehistoric subjects.
Newspaper stories, 1939: "The Luck of Gus" and "The Wreck of the Adam M. Simpson" Written by Ernest, Sr., from his experiences as a sailor.
Daily editorials about foreign affairs, World War II.
Daily editorials about foreign affairs, World War II.
Four stories: "The Luck of Gus," "The Wreck of the Adam Simpson," "The Winning of Ruth Northington," and "The Impact of Reality."
Two stories with factual basis: "When Bwana Nguvu Returns," and "A Debt to Oldeani."
"Art in the Natural History Museum."
Six papers: "The March of Events in Animal Classification," "Less Guessing, Please," "Mixed Mammals," "You Can't Get Away From Changes," and two untitled papers.
"Conservation, Practical and Utopian."
"Landscape Painting and Geology," and "Art and Economics."
Research used for story, "The Ghosts of Granite Mountain."
Five papers: "Logic in Mathematics and Society," "The Riddle of Life in Modern Science," "The Need of Coordination," "Past and Future Absolutes," and "Words Without Meaning."
Notes for lectures and research for articles.
Three papers: "Fossils in a Zoo," "Restoration of Uinta Fossils," and "Causes of Extinction."
Six papers: "History of the Uinta Mountain Uplift," "Jabberwocky in Geology," "Modern Problems of Geology," "Bailey Willis, Outlines of Geologic History," "Notes for an Analysis of the Theory of Drifting Continents," and "A Geological Comparison of South America with South Africa."
Chart: "How Old is the Earth?" Four papers: "What Climate, Past and Present, Did to Plants and Animals," "Travail of New Cosmogonies," "The Changing World of the Ice Age," and "How Continents, Oceans and Animals Changed."
Six papers: "The March of Events in Animal Classification" (lecture before staff of Marquette University Medical College), "Less Guessing, Please," "Mixed Mammals," "You Can't Get Away from Changes," untitled on great apes, and untitled on classification.
Five papers: "Discipline Among Animals," "Experiences with Wild Animals," "Animal Intelligence and Personality," "Hidden Faults in Zoo Animals," and untitled on teaching natural history through use of zoos.
Five papers: "The Unseen Billions," "Mimicry and Color Protection of Animals," untitled on why animals on different continents are so different, untitled on amphibian germ change experiments, and "Some Thoughts in Regard to Coloration of Animals," by G.A. Zeisler.
Six papers: "World During the Age of Reptiles," "Predentates and Reptile Birds," "The Origin of Birds" (on Cuvier's classification of fossils), "Mammal Teeth and Descent," untitled on predentate reptiles, and outline of
Lists of scientific name classifications, with notes.
Lists of development of mammals by scientific and common name classification, with notes.
Lists, by common and scientific names and of locations of mammals on earth.
Lists by common and scientific names of locations of birds on earth, with notes.
Classification by scientific and common names, facts about various birds, notes.
Two papers: "The History of Man," and "The Biologist Looks at Man," by Julian Huxley.
Three papers: "Problems of Eugenics in Modern Genetics," "The Issue in Modern Scientific Thinking," and "The Doctrine of Organic Evolution," by William Fay.
"About Plants," notes.
Brief biographical sketches, newspaper biographical notes, anecdotes about G. Ernest, rough transcript of taped interview with Billie about G. Ernest.
Business cards, programs.
The records concerning Billie R. Untermann include: "Notification of Personnel Action" forms and memoranda regarding Billie's work at the Field House.
"News Information Sheets" filled out by G. Ernest and Billie about the Field House for the State Parks employees' newsletter.
Utah State Parks and Recreation Commission newsletters--run incomplete.
Papers to be used as part of a report to be published in the Bulletin.
Ten papers: "Ancestors," ca. March 1968; "Oils from Land and Sea," ca. August 1968; "Whiterocks 'Caveman' Discovered"; "Early American Mammals"; "Strange Mammals of Long Ago"; "Field House Nature Notes: Tortoises"; "Ancient Life"; "The Thundering Herd"; "Mountains"; and "Earthquakes."
Seven papers: "Pity the Poor Politician,"
Tull, Patricia L., and Stites, Helena B., "Museums and Collections in Utah Open to the Public,"
Five papers: "Arnold Machinery Equipment Does the Job," "The Public Library," "Eastern Utah on the March," "The Great Diamond Hoax," and "Lost Mines."
Incomplete manuscript on Pat Lynch.
Pamphlets, information sheets about river-running on the Green and Yampa rivers through Dinosaur National Monument.
"Uintah County," 11 (April 1947):43. "Uintah County: Echo Park Dam," 4(June 1954): 32.
Mounted on cheesecloth.
Papers explaining how the Field House came to be, copy of the authorization law, dedication ceremonies, justification for maintenance.
Copies of budget requests, estimates, and monies spent on the museum--run incomplete.
Lists of exhibits and collections in the Field House, guides for museum acquisitions, list of contributions including cash values.
Promotional information, schedule.
Eleven papers: "Tragedy at the Field House" (about birds flying into glass windows); untitled satire on the scientific language used in the Field House (speech for Vernal Lion's Club), 27 November 1946; "State Museum Wins Public Favor"; "The Utah Field House of Natural History: Its Purpose"; "State Museum Shows Increase in Visitors," 1953; "Face Lifting at Dinosaur Quarry"; "Personnel Change at the Field House"; "Geologic and Fossil Wealth Attract Schools and Scientists to Uinta Basin"; "Field House Gets Dinosaur Model"; "Rebirth of a dinosaur," ca. May 1967 in
Information card, Dinosaur Hunting License, "Song of the Dinosaurs," and Dinosaur Motor Lodge folder.
Field House and paintings by Ernest Untermann, Sr.,
Papers by G. Ernest Untermann listing the problems Dee Hall (who as a boy worked in the Field House with the Untermanns) caused as the Museum director.
Minutes of the First Meeting of the Board of Trustees. At this time structure of the foundation was determined.
Legal agreements--gift and disposition of Hunter collection to the State of Utah and the Field House, commission for Millard Fillmore Malin to sculpt dinosaur groups, and agreement of 1964 which settled controversy and removed most of the Hunter collection from the Field House.
Letters between G. E. and B. R. Untermann and Captain Sam A. Dulany Hunter and his wife Mary. Cordial, before the Hunters left Virginia.
Letters between Untermanns and the Hunters. Cordial. Also some letters with regard to sculpting and casting quarters for M. F. Malin in Buehner Block Company.
Letters between G. E. Untermann; Aldin O. Hayward, director of Utah State Parks and Recreation Commission; and Governor George D. Clyde about Sam A. Dulany Hunter and his security demands. Attitude less cordial.
Letters between G. E. Untermann; A. O. Hayward; Harold P. Fabian, Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings and Monuments; Vernal community leaders; and S. A. Dulany Hunter about stricter security at the Field House.
Letters between G. E. Untermann, A. O. Hayward, and S. A. Dulany Hunter, including a lengthy description by Hunter of all his complaints against the Field House.
Letters between G. E. Untermann, A. O. Hayward, and S. A. Dulany Hunter. Concern expressed about settling the Hunter controversy with legal assistance.
Letters between G. E. Untermann, A. O. Hayward, M. F. Malin, and S. A. Dulany Hunter about Hunter press releases and legal squabbles and the dinosaur sculptures.
Letters between G. E. Untermann, A. O. Hayward, S. A. Dulany Hunter, M. F. Malin, and others about placement of the one completed dinosaur grouping and final removal of the parts of the Hunter collection not legally awarded to the state.
Dulany Hunter Foundation gift and controversy.
>Newspaper Clippings, Letters, and Writings
Letters between G. E. and B. R. Untermann and many others about the Field House and the Untermanns' role there.
Letters between G. E. and B. R. Untermann; Arthur L. Crawford, chairman of the Utah State Department of Publicity and Industrial Development; and others about the Field House development.
Letters between G. E. Untermann; John E. Doerr, chief naturalist of National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior; J. LeRoy Kay, curator of Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, Carnegie Museum; and others regarding duplicate fossils being transferred from the Carnegie Museum to the Field House and controversy about such a move.
A variety of correspondence about the Field House and paleontology.
Letters between G. E. and B. R. Untermann; Julian D. Sears, United States Geological Survey; Mrs. Dorothy H. Radbruch, U. S. Geological Survey; and Douglas M. Kinney, U. S. Geological Survey, in connection with geological maps and reports.
Letters between G. E. and B. R. Untermann; Aldin O. Hayward; J. D. Sears; F. C. Koziol, director, Utah State Parks and Recreation Commission; and others on a variety of subjects.
Letters between G. E. and B. R. Untermann, F. C. Koziol, and others. Most related to the Untermanns' retirements.
Letters from Charles Kelly on Untermanns' retirements.
Letters between G. E. Douglass (Earl's son), Pearl C. Douglass (Earl's wife), and the Untermanns about recognizing Earl Douglass for his discovery of the dinosaur quarry and about recognizing the value of the quarry. Also a copy of a clipping (G. E. Untermann, "Professor Earl Douglass and the Field House of Natural History,"
Letters between G. E. Untermann, Arthur G. Nord (assistant regional forester, United States Department of Agriculture), and others about the Field House.
Letters between G. Ernest Untermann and A. G. Nord about the Field House.
Letters between G. E. Untermann, A. G. Nord, and others about progress and support of the Field House.
Letters circulated between G. E. Untermann and A. G. Nord to and from others about obtaining duplicate fossils, which were taken out of the Jensen Quarry, from the Carnegie Museum.
Letters circulated between G. E. Untermann and A. G. Nord to and from others about support for the Field House and the Upper Colorado River Basin Project. Also Nord's tribute to Ernest Untermann, Sr.
Letters circulated between G. E. Untermann and A. G. Nord to and from others. The varied subjects include the controversy over the securing of duplicate fossils by the Field House from the Carnegie Museum.
Correspondence continued about the Carnegie fossils.
Correspondence continued about the Carnegie fossils and other subjects.
Letters to the Untermanns expressing appreciation for their sympathy upon the death of A. G. Nord.
Letters expressing condolences at the death of Ernest Untermann, Sr.
Notice of his death from Fort Hays, Kansas State College,
Letters about geologic maps of Dinosaur National Monument.
Letters about elections for director of the Chamber.
Letters from industries and power companies about the Untermanns' geologic work.
Variety of personal and professional letters.
Variety of personal and professional letters.
Survey letter about Utah recreation.
Two second pages, one signed by Billie, the other by G. Ernest.
To the Untermanns for assistance and materials, including copies of their geologic guidebooks, sent in connection with the Field House.
From friends and associates on the Untermanns' retirement.
These letters are evidence of efforts to get the Upper Colorado River Basin Project approved by Congress. The Project incorporated a series of dams on the Green and Colorado rivers to provide irrigation waters which would allow reclamation of then worthless lands. The controversy between the group favoring the dams for power and irrigation and those opposing the dams on ecological grounds centered on Echo Park Dam. This dam was to be built within the bounds of Dinosaur National Monument.
G. Ernest Untermann corresponded frequently with John Geoffrey Will, secretary of the Upper Colorado River Basin Commission; George Dewey Clyde, Utah State Commissioner of Interstate Streams; and Frederick P. Champ, president of Cache Valley Banking Company. Many of Untermann's letters set forth the problem as he saw it from geological and paleontological views. Untermann, Will, Clyde, and Champ, all of whom favored the project, circulated letters and information among themselves and anyone else they thought might be persuaded to help their cause. There are letters to and from Utah's Senators Arthur B. Watkins and Wallace F. Bennett, and Representatives Reva Beck Bosone, William A. Dawson, and Walter Granger, all of whom backed the project. Letters were also written to LeRoy Johnson, representative, California; Ken Regan, representative, Texas; John P. Saylor, representative, Pennsylvania; and Hubert H. Humphrey, senator, Minnesota; who had voiced adverse opinions.
John E. Doerr and Devereaux Butcher, both of the National Park Service, and Oscar L. Chapman, Secretary of the Interior, opposed the project on the grounds that it was an invasion of the National Monument and therefore a dangerous precedent.
Correspondence to, from, and about the Sierra Club and other wilderness groups is less cordial than other letters. Although there are not many letters from these groups, the few in the collection and references to such groups give a clearer, if slanted, idea of this side of the issue. It was the view of the group working for Echo Park Dam that the Sierra Club and other wilderness clubs were seeking only to save the water of the Colorado River system for southern California, where many of them had their headquarters.
Men in the United States Bureau of Reclamation--John R. Riter, E. O. Larson, and R. D. Goodrich--favored the project, as did Harold E. Thomas, a hydrologist with the U. S. Geological Survey, and Arthur L. Crawford of the Utah Geological Survey.
Letters from these prominent individuals and groups, along with correspondence from Utah's clubs and general population, combined with the unfavorable correspondence, give an interesting view of behind-the-scenes work on both sides of the issue.
Reports and proposals on dividing the Colorado River water.
Meeting minutes, press releases, statements to Department of the Interior.
Agreement between Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming to share the waters of the Colorado River.
Increased area of Dinosaur National Monument, 1938; decision of Secretary of Interior Oscar L. Chapman not to authorize Echo Park Dam, 1950.
Favoring Echo Park Dam (not Untermann).
Opposing Echo Park Dam.
"Realism and the Dinosaur National Monument Controversy," various drafts for different sessions of the hearings.
Statement of G. E. Untermann before Congress, May 1954. Includes, "Realism and the Dinosaur National Monument," letters and statements from river runners, and professors of anthropology, geology and mineralogy from University of Utah.
Speeches, writings, and notes about the hearings, including a brief of the Untermann testimony.
Satirical writings on Representatives John P. Saylor of Pennsylvania and Craig Hosmer of California, who opposed the project.
Untermann on varied aspects of building Echo Park Dam and on the opposition to the project.
Papers on the views of various groups both in favor of and opposed to Echo Park Dam.
Reports, facts written by G. E. Untermann.
Statistical, geological, and paleontological facts supporting Echo Park Dam.
Statistical, geological, and paleontological reports supporting Echo Park Dam.
Favorable position papers by Utah groups and clubs.
Favorable resolutions of Utah groups.
Favorable papers by George D. Clyde, B. H. Stringham, E. O. Larson, John Geoffrey Will, and others.
Favorable speeches by Frederick P. Champ.
Mainly by conservation groups.
Papers presenting unfavorable aspects of Echo Park Dam Project.
Collection of fact sheets, note cards for speeches, suggestions for letters to congressmen, and other information for use by "water vigilantes" to convince others the Echo Park Dam and UCRB Project were necessary.
Most unfavorable to Echo Park Dam.
Articles by Bernard DeVoto unfavorable to Echo Park Dam, and articles written in rebuttal.
Congressional hearings favorable and unfavorable.
Articles unfavorable to Echo Park Dam from National Park Service point-of-view.
Favorable to Echo Park Dam
Articles unfavorable to Echo Park Dam project.
Unfavorable to Echo Park Dam.
Gives both opinions, side by side.
Repayment plan bulletin, annual report.
Many printed by UCRB Commission. Favorable to Echo Park Dam.
By wilderness clubs, including the National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, and the Sierra Club. Unfavorable to Echo Park Dam.
Favorable to miscellaneous water and power projects.
Water and power project articles.
Newspaper articles by and about.
Newspaper clippings.
Newspaper clippings.
Newspaper clippings on water, power, and development projects.
Newspaper clippings.
Materials used for geology study.
G. E. Untermann's recollections about Douglass, typed from taped interview.
Poetry, "Monarch of the Desert."
Correspondence between Billie R. Untermann, Utah congressmen, and President Lyndon B. Johnson; reports and petitions about FDA's and the American Medical Association's intention to restrict sales of organic foods and food supplements.
Outline on development in western North America.
Author not identified. Variety of subjects.
Author not identified but assumed to be one of the Untermanns. Note cards on variety of subjects, mostly scientific.
Correspondence and notes on geology of Dead Horse Point, Goosenecks of the San Juan, and Coral Pink Sand Dunes.
Creation of Utah State Park and Recreation Commission.
State laws related to.
Regulations related to use of government vehicles.
Report on activities, attendance.
The material for this paper was taken from "Mammals of Utah," by Stephen D. Durrant.
Two photocopy pages of a manuscript.
Seven papers with articles on homo sapiens fossils.
Publications on dinosaurs and fossil animals.
Mertie, Jr., J. B.,
Varnes, D. J.,
Two notebooks.
Two notebooks.
Notebook.
Single sheet notes.
Notebook, single sheet notes.
Notes.
Single sheets.
Sketches and figures.
Notebook.
Loose sheets.
Typed sheets.
Typed and handwritten notes.
Compiled by Billie R. Untermann for use in seminar on paleontology.
Typed notes and condensations of articles by others.
Typed notes and condensations of articles by others.
Typescript.
Typescript.
Typescript of general conclusions and summaries on article.
Typed and handwritten reference notes and article condensations.
Reference notes and article condensations.
Reference notes and article condensations.
Reference notes and article condensations.