Processed in May of 2019
USU Special Collections purchased these materials from Back of Beyond Books in 2019.
No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Edmund B. and Sarah Vaille Rogers papers must
be obtained from the
Edmund Rogers was born in Denver, Colorado on December 28, 1891. He was selected as the Superintendent of Rocky Mountain National Park in 1929, and served there until 1936, when he transferred to Yellowstone National Park as its Superintendent until 1956. He then transferred back to Denver, Colorado “to be the assistant to the Director of the National Park Service”, according to the Employees and Alumni of the National Park Service Newspaper, Vol. 1, Issue 2. During his time at Yellowstone, he was called to Washington, D. C., in 1940 to serve as acting superintendent of the National Capital Parks while the department was undergoing some transition. He coordinated directly with Eleanor Roosevelt on her programs for the Park Service, and presented about Yellowstone to the Department of the Interior. While he was the Superintendent of Yellowstone, Horace Albright resigned as Director of the National Park Service. When his service as Superintendent of Yellowstone ended and his duties in Denver began, he helped initiate the Mission 66 Project, which built roads connecting the National Parks to each other, as well as visitors’ centers, roadside museums and observation spaces. He was a guest of honor at the 1972 Yellowstone Centennial Celebration, and died in Denver that same year.
His wife, Sarah (“Sally”) Vaille Rogers, was born on December 29, 1893. They were married on June 5, 1926 in Denver, Colorado, just three years before his appointment. She was just as involved in the Park as her husband, and collected all of her husband’s correspondence and memorabilia. She was involved in the Estes Park Woman’s Club in the 1930s and encouraged her fellow members to support N. P. S. efforts and employees. She often convinced her friends to hold dinners for the National Park Service. Sarah died on November 21, 1979.
At the end of their service, which concluded in 1960, both Edmund and Sarah were given awards at several celebrations in their honor, some of which occurred as late as 1972. Both public servants were given lifetime credit at stores in Yellowstone and lifetime admission to the Park.
This collection ranges from 1912 to 1972 and deals with the professional and social lives of Edmund Rogers and Sarah “Sally” Vaille Rogers. Correspondence, news clippings, conference programs, brochures and more documents serve as evidence of the work Edmund Rogers performed as Superintendent of the Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone National Parks, acting Superintendent of the National Capital Park Service in 1940, and assistant to the Director of the National Park Service. In addition to professional and administrative correspondence, the Rogerses kept letters and memories from their friends throughout the years from Denver and Wyoming. Several guest books are included in the collection, as well as many letters. Correspondence from Edmund to Sally while he was in Washington, D. C., were also kept and show a unique perspective on the workings of federal government. Directories and club minutes show the activities and efforts of Sally Rogers to involve women in the work of maintaining National Parks and supporting employees of the National Park Service.
The documents in this collection were arranged by document type and then chronologically by year.
The Yellowstone Fires of 1988 thesis research materials
1951 Yellowstone Park Album collection
F. Jay Haynes photograph collection, 1882
John W. Meldrum papers, 1861-1944
Purchased from Back of Beyond Books in 2018.