The Murie Legacy: One Man’s Experience

I grew up in Louisiana during the 1950’s.  In 1952, my family spent three weeks on vacation traveling across the western United States.  We spent several days and nights in a tiny log cabin at the X Quarter Circle X Ranch in the newly expanded Grand Teton National Park.  This was my first exposure to mountains, cold-water creeks, the smell of cottonwood trees, firs and spruce.  It was June in Jackson Hole, and the Tetons were still white with snow!  I was immediately struck by the beauty and tranquility of a place that seemed somehow magical to my seven-year-old mind.  I was already fascinated by the natural world and this place captured my heart as well as my imagination.  I informed my parents I would live here when I grew up which, at the time, I feel certain they thought was amusing.   

In the winter of 1963, my senior year at Baton Rouge High School (I was 19 at the time), I wrote to as many places as I could locate concerning summer work in Grand Teton National Park.  I was determined to fulfill a boyhood dream!  One of the ranches I found listed was the STS Ranch in Moose.  I was terribly disappointed when I didn’t receive a reply from any of the places I had written.  However, I did receive a 2-page hand-written letter from Olaus Murie, who was in Arizona, telling me that the Ranch was now his and his brother Adolph’s private residence…they did not have any jobs to offer me.  He also stated that should I find employment for the summer, he and his wife, Mardy, would like me to contact them and come to the Ranch so they could meet me.  

I was absolutely amazed that Olaus Murie would take the time to write when he didn’t have a job to offer, especially when none of the other places I contacted had written.  I had, in my research on Jackson Hole, read about the Muries and the Craigheads, as well as others whose work had been important in the Valley, so this only served to increase my astonishment that Olaus Murie would take the time to write to me.    In hindsight, I realize that he was in Arizona for some kind of treatment for the cancer that would take his life in November of that same year.  This fact alone makes the idea that he would answer my letter seem even more improbable…it certainly is a testament to the kind of man he was!  

I never did secure employment in Jackson Hole prior to graduation, but I was determined to use the money I received as graduation gifts to buy a one-way bus ticket to Jackson Hole.  Graduation was the end of May.   I was packed and ready to leave on my big adventure the following morning.  

Upon arrival in Jackson Hole I was thrilled when, as the result of a sympathetic person in the Personnel Department of the Grand Teton Lodge Company, I got a pot-washing job at Jenny Lake Lodge.  I wrote to the Muries informing them of my good fortune, and a short time later Mildred Capron, who was living at the Murie Ranch, arrived at Jenny Lake Lodge for lunch.  She sought me out to inform me that the Muries had received my good news and though Olaus was bedridden at the Ranch, they still wanted to meet me and show me their home.  I did not feel comfortable imposing on them at such a difficult time in their lives, but once again, I was in awe of people who would be so kind as to invite a 19-year-old “kid” who had barely managed to graduate from high school to come into their home under the best of circumstances!  I vowed that if Olaus were to get better before the end of the summer, I would definitely make the effort to meet them.  Later, I was informed that Olaus had been taken to the hospital in Jackson and Mardy was working there so she could be close to him.  I was informed she still wanted me to come to the Ranch if I could arrange to do so in the early morning hours before she left for the hospital!!  I declined to take her up on the offer until the very last day I had off that summer.  I had no transportation, but a friend had invited me to travel to Dubois, Wyoming and kindly offered to take me by the Murie Ranch on the way out early the following morning.   

I will never forget that first visit, meeting Mardy, then 61, on the spacious front porch of the Murie’s rustic log home. The gracious manner in which she made me feel welcome in spite of the fact that her husband’s health was rapidly deteriorating in a hospital bed just 12 miles away.  She took me through the house, showed me their wonderful ivory collection in the back corner of the living room, the kitchen with the windows over the sink looking out on a wooden platform feeder where chickadees flitted back and forth…telling me of the pine martins, and other creatures who frequently were seen there.  The warmth of her smile, the honesty, the genuine way she extended her hand by way of introduction…everything about her bespoke of a gentle but powerful advocate for anything she might believe in…it was the beginning of a nearly 40 year friendship that I continue to cherish.  I have never met another human being who embodies the meaning of grace, courage, and wisdom the way she does…she is certainly the most charismatic human being I have ever met and had the good fortune to call my friend   Her dedication to, and love for the natural world, as well as her willingness to fight for its preservation have always served to remind me of what any person can achieve if they believe in something deeply enough and are willing to place themselves in the line of fire of those who may disagree.  Over the years I have learned much from Mardy’s magnetic personality…how to listen, how to accept what can’t be changed and fight for what can, how to honor honest emotions, how to laugh and be joyous…but perhaps most importantly, how to pursue dreams through the curious nature of the human spirit.   

I never had the opportunity to thank Olaus personally for the kind interest he showed in me through that remarkable letter he wrote to me.  I have since come to know him from Mardy’s stories, his writings, and his art.  I did have the opportunity to meet and get to know Adolph and his wife, Mardy’s half sister, Louise.  Adolph’s quiet, soft spoken ability to expose nature’s mysteries to an eager and inquisitive young Southern boy gave credence to all that I had come to understand the Muries stood for.  I had many opportunities, especially in 1968 when I lived in Moose, to deepen my understanding and friendship with Mardy.  As the years progressed her enduring ability to make me feel her caring and concern for me as a human being, and as her friend, continued to grow.  She introduced me to many fascinating, never to be forgotten individuals who had come into her own life…her letters to me over the years always were a testament to her positive outlook on life and her unfailing belief that good could come from just about any set of circumstances.    

When I learned that my daughter had cystic fibrosis, Mardy was there to comfort and inspire courage in me to make the best of what seemed an impossible situation.  When we adopted our son and faced many difficult decisions concerning how best to deal with his needs, she again was able to provide insight and wisdom that helped me overcome some of my own self-doubts.  When I was writing my first and only book, she read each essay and offered suggestions and corrections, but most of all she provided encouragement.  I was so proud to see a copy of the book on her coffee table throughout the summer of 1969.  I always felt I could share anything with Mardy without fearing she would not understand or offer her own unique perspective on whatever it might be that was troubling me.  The bond of friendship I felt in her presence continued to grow stronger over the years and I have come to treasure it.  I could never enumerate all the good things that have come to me in my life that do not in some way relate back to my friendship and admiration for a remarkable lady I call Mardy…and this is why each and every Christmas Eve I give myself the birthday gift of a visit with her in that wonderful old log home where we first met in August of 1963…the Grand Teton towering high above the tall, tall spruce trees at the edge of the meadow in front of the house…Mardy and the Tetons…the magical quality of her life matches the magical quality of the wild and wonderful land and creatures that surround her and both continue to influence, inspire, and teach me the important lessons of life, how to live it to the fullest as well as the importance of sharing what I have learned with those around me.

I have been fortunate enough in my life to have had a number of careers that each in their own way allowed me to share my love for and knowledge of the natural world…as a teacher, as a seasonal naturalist in Grand Teton National Park, a ten year period when I served as a tour director to some of the most remarkable environments on our planet (including Mardy’s beloved Alaska!), and now as a freelance photographer.  In each of these wonderful opportunities I was deeply influenced by the lessons of life I learned from Mardy.  

I will be forever grateful for whatever it was in my letter to the STS Ranch in early 1963 that caused Olaus Murie to take the time to respond and encourage me to come there to meet him and his wife Mardy.  The two of them had always dedicated themselves to encouraging young people, and I am simply one of…who will ever know how many…who was inspired, encouraged, and uplifted by the great generosity of their spirit.  We may not all be as influential as the Muries were able to be, but we can all aspire to a higher standard and expect of ourselves only the best our individual selves are capable of.  The legacy we leave behind each of us can be collectively our most important contribution to future generations.  Wilderness was their cause, but they both knew there were other worthwhile causes that all required highly motivated, committed individuals who would need to be nurtured, guided, supported, and inspired to pick up the torches and carry them forward into what they unfailingly continued to believe would be an evolving future whose destiny would be left in the hands of our youth!  Their mentorship is now ours to emulate.   Their lives, their love, their hopes, their dreams, their legacy are the gifts they have given to us.  May we honor the memory of all they stood for and be emboldened to believe in our own abilities to make a difference that will inspire future generations as they did ours!  

As Mardy approaches her 100^th birthday in August of this year, I can think of no greater gift I can give her than to share the story of how the Muries influenced my life.  She deserves to know that, as John Denver said it so well, her life has made an “enormous difference,” even if she, herself, does not believe it to be so!