Photo of an all paddleboat river trip on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon at the confluence with Havasu Canyon in 1956, courtesy Duane Ekedahl
Welcome to Tom Martin's Oral History Project
One man's initiative to capture and preserve oral histories of the Grand Canyon and surrounding areas.
These oral histories are a fascinating recounting of activities on or around the Colorado River in Grand Canyon and its surrounding areas. They are all in the public domain and are archived at Grand Canyon National Park's Museum Collection.
They are posted here as a public service.
One man's initiative to capture and preserve oral histories of the Grand Canyon and surrounding areas.
These oral histories are a fascinating recounting of activities on or around the Colorado River in Grand Canyon and its surrounding areas. They are all in the public domain and are archived at Grand Canyon National Park's Museum Collection.
They are posted here as a public service.
Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable.
Courtesy The Bancroft Library Oral History Center, Berkeley Library, University of California.
"I like to think of oral histories as the spice in the stew of history. We can't live on spices alone but we can live on stew without spices. Keep that in mind and please don't use oral histories as your sole source for historical understanding."
Tom Martin
Courtesy The Bancroft Library Oral History Center, Berkeley Library, University of California.
"I like to think of oral histories as the spice in the stew of history. We can't live on spices alone but we can live on stew without spices. Keep that in mind and please don't use oral histories as your sole source for historical understanding."
Tom Martin
It all started in April of 2000. Grand Canyon National Park Museum Collection Archivist Kim Besom invited me to accompany her to conduct a few interviews. The first was with a Grand Canyon river runner named Susie Reilly. You can read the transcript of that interview here. We then interviewed Miles Burd and Daryl Strong. These two gents flew a helicopter to the TWA and United Airlines wreckage in June, 1956. Susie, Miles, and Daryl had amazing stories and I was hooked. You can read the transcript of the Burd and Strong interview here.
Back then I was working as a Physical Therapist at the Grand Canyon South Rim Clinic. Soon after those first interviews, Kim loaned me a small digital recorder and I started doing oral histories. In the fall of 2013, I started an Oral History Project with the Grand Canyon Historical Society. It was a simple concept. I continued to conduct Oral history interviews with people of all ages about their connection to the Grand Canyon region. Just like today, all my interviews use a public domain release form. This public domain form allows the National Park Service at Grand Canyon National Park's Museum Collection to store the interviews for the long haul. The release form also allows any website to put the interviews on the world wide web as free downloads. The Board of the Grand Canyon Historical Society and I parted ways in 2023. You can read all about that unfortunate event here. All told, I have conducted over 600 oral histories and over 300 have been transcribed. This website is an attempt to list all those oral histories and is a work in progress. Find a broken link? Please let me know HERE.
Back then I was working as a Physical Therapist at the Grand Canyon South Rim Clinic. Soon after those first interviews, Kim loaned me a small digital recorder and I started doing oral histories. In the fall of 2013, I started an Oral History Project with the Grand Canyon Historical Society. It was a simple concept. I continued to conduct Oral history interviews with people of all ages about their connection to the Grand Canyon region. Just like today, all my interviews use a public domain release form. This public domain form allows the National Park Service at Grand Canyon National Park's Museum Collection to store the interviews for the long haul. The release form also allows any website to put the interviews on the world wide web as free downloads. The Board of the Grand Canyon Historical Society and I parted ways in 2023. You can read all about that unfortunate event here. All told, I have conducted over 600 oral histories and over 300 have been transcribed. This website is an attempt to list all those oral histories and is a work in progress. Find a broken link? Please let me know HERE.
Tom Martin's Oral History Stats through April 24, 2025
Number of people interviewed: 202
Number of interviews: 619
Transcripts generated: over 300
Number of people interviewed: 202
Number of interviews: 619
Transcripts generated: over 300
I encourage you to conduct your own oral histories. It's easy, educational, and a whole lot of fun!
The following people have transcripts and or interviews on this website or other websites. Just click on their name to be directed to the appropriate page.
A
Acosta, Rosie (1950's Harvey Girl)
Algar, Bruce (On the 1958 filming trip with Ernst Heiniger and Georgie White)
Anderson, Dr. Michael (Author of An Administrative History of Grand Canyon National Park) (5 part interview)
B
Baker, Ruth Stevens (First documented summit of Shiva Temple with Emery Kolb in August, 1937) (Transcript Only)
Baker, Tersh (One of Ruth Baker's children) (4 part interview)
Barrios, Frank (Bureau of Reclamation's Central Arizona Project) (6 part interview)
Benenati, Emma (1970s hiking in Grand Canyon) (2 part interview)
Bernhoft, Erik and Bikis, Paul and Franklin, Casey (Glen Canyon Slot Canyoneering)
Beus, Stan (Arrived in Flagstaff in 1962 to teach Geology) (4 part interview)
Bowman, Carl (Monitored Grand Canyon National Park air quality for many years) (15 part interview)
Branges, Gary (Grand Canyon High School recollections from 1976)
Braun, Joe & Carolyn (1978 Wilderness World oar powered Grand Canyon river trip with Larry Stevens)
Brazie, Joe (1973 river trip with Emery Kolb and Otis "Dock" Marston)
Brown, Peter (Paddled the full length of Grand Canyon on a tule reed raft) (14 part interview)
Buck, Sharon (Page AZ in 1957) (3 part interview)
Burd, Miles and Strong, Daryl (First on the ground at the TWA-United mid-air collision in June of 1956.)
Burgess, Martha "Muffin" Ames (Assisted in the 1970 excavation of Stantons Cave) (7 part interview)
Burleson, Winslow (30-day winter Grand Canyon river trip solo in an IK) (5 part interview)
Burnham Family (Sets record for youngest girl and boy to kayak the entire Grand Canyon)
Burns, Jennifer (Grand Canyon Burro eradication) (2 part interview)
C
Cameron, Gay & Buzz (Living at Phantom Ranch and Lees Ferry) (3 part interview)
Case, Josh and Amy and Rachel Fanton (Rowing a homemade dory in Grand Canyon)
Charley, Mike (Ironworker on the second Navajo Bridge construction in 1994)
Clark, Marcia (Grand Canyon School in the 1950s) (2 part interview)
Cockrum, Dan (Park Engineer and Chief of Maintenance at GRCA) (14 part interview)
Combs, Jay (Life at the Orphan Mine)
Cook, Christa and Ray (Remembering Ray's father David Cook who perished in the 1956 TWA United Disaster)
Cook, Ervin & Ray (Ervin and his nephew Ray recall David Cook who perished in the 1956 TWA United Disaster)
Cornelius, Bob (Career Law Enforcement Ranger at Grand Canyon and other Parks) (16 part interview)
Corson, Jim (Career NPS starting in 1950 at Grand Canyon) (8 part interview)
D
Davis, Donald (Grand Canyon caving in the 1960s-70s) (9 part interview)
Dayley, Jake (First recorded ascent of Grays Castle)
Donato, Clare (Mule wrangler at Grand Canyon) (6 part interview)
Dunagan, Dorothy & Bud (Dorothy worked at the Grand Canyon Hospital in the 1950s)
E
F
G
Greterman, Dale (National Park Service Surveyor)
H
Hudgin, Ellen Noreen (Lived at the Red Butte Grand Canyon Airport in the 1950s.)
Hudgin, Louis (The son of Ellen Hudgin, Louis grew up at the Red Butte Grand Canyon Airport in the 1950s.)
I
J
K
Karpiscak, Martin (Conducted campsite surveys on the Colorado River in 1974)
L
Ladd, Gary (His life as an award winning photographer and author in and around the Four Corners.)
M
Andy Martin and Tom Martin (The Martin brothers recount cave and mine exploration in the Grand Canyon, Southwestern United States, and Australia.)
N
Nash, Roderick "Rod" (Grand Canyon wilderness and Grand Canyon river trips)
O
O'Rourke, Mary Kay (1977 river trip and 1980 helicopter trip to Stevens Cave)
P
Pennington, Keturah (Leads us through Glen Canyon before Glen Canyon Dam)
Phillips, Barbara G. (Botanical studies in Grand Canyon)
R
Reilly, Susie (First Grand Canyon river trip was 1954.)
S
Shideler, Martha "Marty" (Arrived in Flagstaff, AZ for College in the fall of 1958)
T
Terzich, Michael (Project Manager for many Grand Canyon National Park projects.)
V
W
Z
A
Acosta, Rosie (1950's Harvey Girl)
Algar, Bruce (On the 1958 filming trip with Ernst Heiniger and Georgie White)
Anderson, Dr. Michael (Author of An Administrative History of Grand Canyon National Park) (5 part interview)
B
Baker, Ruth Stevens (First documented summit of Shiva Temple with Emery Kolb in August, 1937) (Transcript Only)
Baker, Tersh (One of Ruth Baker's children) (4 part interview)
Barrios, Frank (Bureau of Reclamation's Central Arizona Project) (6 part interview)
Benenati, Emma (1970s hiking in Grand Canyon) (2 part interview)
Bernhoft, Erik and Bikis, Paul and Franklin, Casey (Glen Canyon Slot Canyoneering)
Beus, Stan (Arrived in Flagstaff in 1962 to teach Geology) (4 part interview)
Bowman, Carl (Monitored Grand Canyon National Park air quality for many years) (15 part interview)
Branges, Gary (Grand Canyon High School recollections from 1976)
Braun, Joe & Carolyn (1978 Wilderness World oar powered Grand Canyon river trip with Larry Stevens)
Brazie, Joe (1973 river trip with Emery Kolb and Otis "Dock" Marston)
Brown, Peter (Paddled the full length of Grand Canyon on a tule reed raft) (14 part interview)
Buck, Sharon (Page AZ in 1957) (3 part interview)
Burd, Miles and Strong, Daryl (First on the ground at the TWA-United mid-air collision in June of 1956.)
Burgess, Martha "Muffin" Ames (Assisted in the 1970 excavation of Stantons Cave) (7 part interview)
Burleson, Winslow (30-day winter Grand Canyon river trip solo in an IK) (5 part interview)
Burnham Family (Sets record for youngest girl and boy to kayak the entire Grand Canyon)
Burns, Jennifer (Grand Canyon Burro eradication) (2 part interview)
C
Cameron, Gay & Buzz (Living at Phantom Ranch and Lees Ferry) (3 part interview)
Case, Josh and Amy and Rachel Fanton (Rowing a homemade dory in Grand Canyon)
Charley, Mike (Ironworker on the second Navajo Bridge construction in 1994)
Clark, Marcia (Grand Canyon School in the 1950s) (2 part interview)
Cockrum, Dan (Park Engineer and Chief of Maintenance at GRCA) (14 part interview)
Combs, Jay (Life at the Orphan Mine)
Cook, Christa and Ray (Remembering Ray's father David Cook who perished in the 1956 TWA United Disaster)
Cook, Ervin & Ray (Ervin and his nephew Ray recall David Cook who perished in the 1956 TWA United Disaster)
Cornelius, Bob (Career Law Enforcement Ranger at Grand Canyon and other Parks) (16 part interview)
Corson, Jim (Career NPS starting in 1950 at Grand Canyon) (8 part interview)
D
Davis, Donald (Grand Canyon caving in the 1960s-70s) (9 part interview)
Dayley, Jake (First recorded ascent of Grays Castle)
Donato, Clare (Mule wrangler at Grand Canyon) (6 part interview)
Dunagan, Dorothy & Bud (Dorothy worked at the Grand Canyon Hospital in the 1950s)
E
F
G
Greterman, Dale (National Park Service Surveyor)
H
Hudgin, Ellen Noreen (Lived at the Red Butte Grand Canyon Airport in the 1950s.)
Hudgin, Louis (The son of Ellen Hudgin, Louis grew up at the Red Butte Grand Canyon Airport in the 1950s.)
I
J
K
Karpiscak, Martin (Conducted campsite surveys on the Colorado River in 1974)
L
Ladd, Gary (His life as an award winning photographer and author in and around the Four Corners.)
M
Andy Martin and Tom Martin (The Martin brothers recount cave and mine exploration in the Grand Canyon, Southwestern United States, and Australia.)
N
Nash, Roderick "Rod" (Grand Canyon wilderness and Grand Canyon river trips)
O
O'Rourke, Mary Kay (1977 river trip and 1980 helicopter trip to Stevens Cave)
P
Pennington, Keturah (Leads us through Glen Canyon before Glen Canyon Dam)
Phillips, Barbara G. (Botanical studies in Grand Canyon)
R
Reilly, Susie (First Grand Canyon river trip was 1954.)
S
Shideler, Martha "Marty" (Arrived in Flagstaff, AZ for College in the fall of 1958)
T
Terzich, Michael (Project Manager for many Grand Canyon National Park projects.)
V
W
Z