Woman Of The River: Georgie White Clark, Whitewater Pioneer

16. Divorce, 1968–1971

'16 1>iv-f)rc~ 1268-1271 rln 1968 Georgie and Orville returned to Mexico and tried the Rio V Grande de Santiago again. They found part of one of the boats from the 1967 trip on the bank near a village and it still said "Georgie" on it. Orville said, "So when we showed up with additional boats saying 'Georgie,' there was a lot of excitement. And they had a party for us." The local people had cut up the boats and used them to patch knotholes in their canoes and make soles for their shoes. Orville said, "I thought it was a shame that they cut the boats up. They were perfectly good when we walked off and left them. The boats weren't bad. They were upside down."! Grand Canyon Friends In July 1968 Joan DeFato made her first of many trips with Georgie. She wound up doing a dozen trips with her, about half of them as a passenger and the others as a helper. On the 1968 trip, Georgie only took the big boat, and she was the only crew. A man ca]]ed "Bouncer" (George Price) was the only person on the boat who had taken the trip before, so Georgie had twenty-one rookies. She ran the boat all day, then made the meals with help from passengers to open the cans. When she got up in the morning, Georgie would gas up the boat, change the spark plug, go around and jump on all the sections. If they were not as hard as she wanted, she would pump them up by hand. She did all this herself; she had just a fantastic amount of energy. Joan said: She told me that she would wake up very early, before anyone else, and get washed and dressed and just sit there and watch 179 WO)l{(Ot oftAt J<.Jnr the sun come up on the rocks. She would meditate. She said she felt she was close to Indians in that way. She would just sit there and plan her day and be at one with the canyon. And then it would be time to go on shore and she would start lighting up the stoves.2 After lunch on July 8 they took off down Marble Canyon. Bouncer noted, "Even though I am the only one of the group to have gone through here before, I am just as excited as everyone else." Brian Dierker also met Georgie in 1968. He later said, "I've never had a bigger influence in my life than Georgie White and Bob Miller. They taught me how to take care of the dudes in the dude business." Bob Miller, who was originally from Wyoming, had a dude ranch in Tucson and in his late fifties decided he wanted to become a boatman. He took a number of trips with Brian and his brother, Dan Dierker. Brian said, "I think I've learned more in regards to my livelihood and my interests in life from Georgie and Bob Miller than anybody." He said Georgie had to be pretty hard to make it in a macho, man's world thing, but she just came on in. He thought it was pretty audacious that somebody would put "Woman of the River" on the side of their boat. "But," he said, "she's been like the center force, as far as my interpretation of what you do for the dudes. Her repeat clientele far surpasses any other percentage of repeat clientele. She had a love affair with her clients. She had an attitude. She had a spirit."3 Boatman AI Loewe made a trip with Georgie in June of 1968. During orientation at the start of a trip, he said Georgie would always have a roll of toilet paper and a book ofmatches. When everybody got off the bus, she would hold that toilet paper up and she would give them her little speech. She would say: I know you're all doctors and dentists and everything. Down here we're all river people. We all work together. When we leave a campground, there won't be any of this on the ground. You use it, you burn it. You dig a hole, you do your thing, you burn the paper. And then, probably the next time we come this should be a nice, clean camp.4 In 1968 Ken Sleight was president of the Western River Guides Association (WRGA). He contacted Georgie and asked if she would like him to nominate her for membership. In answer, Georgie wrote to him saying that she would be at the November 2 meeting and that 180 'bivorcc he could put her name in for nomination. She wrote, "But I can't attend over one meeting per year." Sleight said that the WRGA board turned down Georgie's application for membership "because she was a woman and got too much publicity."5 He said that she was accepted a few years later and that she was a responsible member. She would speak up, state her views, and work for needed change. In the spring of 1969 or 1970, Igor de Lissovoy and his wife, Lillian, went on a Grand Canyon trip with Georgie on her first run of that season. Igor reported their adventures in the Summer 1970 issue of The Donnelley Printer. Igor told of the wonders of Grand Canyon and the great prowess and skill with which Georgie handled her big boat.6 In March 1971 Bill Jensen and Jim Falls took their first of many trips with Georgie. They hiked down to the river to join Georgie's party at Phantom Ranch. There was snow and ice along the rim and the wind was howling down through the inner gorge. Jensen said they would sit on the boat and shiver. But Georgie told them, "That's just the way we like it!"7 Falls said, "I think what impressed me on my very first trip with Georgie was how she was making us so aware of the environment." "Keep it clean," she said. Falls smoked at that time, and he said you had to carry two containers: one to keep the cigarettes dry, the second to put the cigarette butts in. "If she caught you throwing a cigarette butt-just overboard-into the water, it was a tongue-lashing that you didn't want to hear a second time!" There was less traffic on the river then. Other outfitters knew Georgie's schedule and knew she liked certain camp sites, so they would pass them by and leave them open for her. That gave her people more time to sight-see. Her trips were twelve days in length at that time. In the early '70s, it was almost a requirement by Georgie that a passenger should wear a hard hat on their hikes, not just one made of flimsy canvas to keep the sun off. When Georgie conducted the hikes she would say, "Okay, let's go up this pathway. I want to show you something." When they were under overhangs of rock she said, "Somebody above you could loosen a rock and it could come down and hit you on the head!" So they all wore their hard hats. Some people were afraid of heights. They would frequently say, "Oh, it doesn't bother me." Then they would get up on a high ledge, fEN look down three hundred feet, and freeze. When this happened Georgie would have the boatmen take ropes, go around the people, and anchor the ropes so the person felt safe with something to hang onto. At some of the big camps people might be spread out or away on short hikes. Georgie had a very loud air horn which she used to awaken the people each morning, or to call them to dinner at night. Mter years of bitter complaints and sabotage by the boatmen, she switched to blowing on a small brass horn. Georgie told her passengers, "If you see any snakes, if you see any ring-tail cats, if you see skunks, if you see anything, you get out of the way! You're in their territory." Jensen remembers: At night we'd be sleeping and we'd hear some rustling, 'cause we'd have little candies or nuts in packages sitting out. We'd hear rustling of the paper and somebody would say: "Is that you, Jim? Is that you, Diane?", or whatever. And we'd look and turn a flashlight on real quick and here were the ring-tail cats and they were in there! Gee, they were pretty! They were beautiful! Georgie always said: "If you ever see the ring-tail cats, you are really blessed." I didn't feel like I had to trust Georgie as much as I just wanted to be a part of her life. With those turquoise blue eyes and that leathery skin, Georgie gave people confidence, right from the beginning. Falls said "she could read the water like most of us could read a 'TV Guide'! She knew exactly where the currents would take her and how to escape serious problems." Famity Problems Unfortunately, her luck wasn't as good off the river. For Georgie, 1971 was a year of trauma and change. Jane Foster, owner of Marble Canyon Lodge at Marble Canyon, Arizona, said that for several years Georgie maintained a warehouse at Marble Canyon and made it her headquarters for the season. She said Georgie hired a Navajo by the name of Frank Black to work on the equipment with Whitey while she was away on trips. Foster said, "The morning of the day that Georgie would leave on a trip they would start in. And I don't think either of them got sober until the day before she was due back."B Patty Ellwanger, manager of Hatch River Expeditions at Marble Canyon, said that while Georgie was on trips, Whitey would sell some of her boats for money to buy booze. He would often sell one to Ted Hatch. Ted knew Georgie didn't want to sell her boats, so he would buy them and sell them back to her when she got home.9 Georgie's friend 1(my (Sylvia Tone) was almost the only one she would confide her troubles to. Excerpts from letters she wrote to Tony, most of them undated, reflect some of her woes:10 Whity still on cure. It is the longest he has ever went without a drink in the 42 yrs I have known him.... Paul my brother home for a week, health not so good, has blackouts. Mae Hansen going in June, wants heat.... [On November 4, 1970, Georgie W1'ote to Iony, saying in part,] I sure am glad I have Marie myself. I feel at times she needs less work & more of my company while she can enjoy it, I am so busy. Whity hopeless 112 mind-a Real Problem. ... All OK except Whity & he is a mess most of the time, really slipping.... Whity still on wagon.... I am having quite a bit of difficulty with Whity. I hope to convince him to live by himself. He could drink and have no one to yack at him. I would sure miss him, but would have piece [sic] of mind and that is worth a lot. Also I just can't have any friends here (as you know). Slowly I have dropped everyone , but of course I won't drop Marie. Whity has been in hospital a lot. First an infected arm, then he was operated on last Monday for a ruptured bowel, still in hospital, hopes to get out next week. Marie will take care of getting him and etc.... I don't have much hope, but just maybe he will stay from drink for a while. It seems good to see him with clear eyes and a clear brain. It is so rare. Thanks to you, Medicare is sure a great help. Rooms at Lorna Linda run around $70 per day. ... Whity's drinking put him so far out I had to put him in a AA hospital for 3 days to dry out. He can't stay here anymore, so I will put him in a trailor [sic] out in small town somewhere. I can't have him at Page anymore so will have peace there. I really feel sorry for him & he is too old to just walk out on. He threatens me when he is drunk & then is like a lamb when dried out. We all have problems but nothing equals the drinking problem. Orville Miller said, "He [Whitey] was in some of these alcoholic care homes. And he got so violent they kept kicking him out, and so 183 he'd go from one to another. And then he started threatening Georgie's life; he was going to kill her and so forth." Georgie would not say much about this, but she ended up hiding out from Whitey. Orville said she would not let people know where she was, and was using a false name for her address so Whitey would have trouble finding her. He was still husky and strong and could have harmed her any time he wanted to.II On March 3, 1971, Georgie wrote the following letter to her customers from her home in Midway City, California: Dear River Rat: I feel terrible telling you this but I am not going to be able to run the river this coming summer. Personal problems, completely beyond my ability to cope with and do anything else at the same time, have come up and I will just have to be at home most of the time for a few months to take care of them. Also, as many of you know, my river running has been more or less of a hobby. Naturally it had to pay its way but I have not cared about becoming a big commercial operator. In order to continue as I have been in the past, I do have to have a concession and go along with many new rules and regulations regarding river running thru the canyon. This would naturally require a lot more time, attention to details, and work which I do not wish to take on at this time. I appreciate your companionship over the past years and I plan to take some trips on a lesser scale next summer. Trips wiH be more exploratory and less demanding. I do plan to make a Mexico trip this year so if you are planning that trip please let me hear from you. I love every one ofyou, Sincerely, (Signed) Georgie White I enclose my check refunding all money received for deposit on a trip and any expenses regarding same.12 In addition to her problems with Whitey, who was in and out of institutions, Georgie's brother Paul was in the hospital, and she expected she would have to pay the bill. Also, Marie was not well. 184 Georgie was not interested in the business end of the operation; she leaned heavily on Marie for that. Georgie would say, "Just give me the numbers and give me the names and leave me alone."13 Marie kept track of reservations and worried about getting everyone on the bus and headed to the river. It was a perfect partnership. Jane Foster said Georgie would come into the lodge the last minute before leaving on a trip and call Marie to check on the welfare of her dogs and cats and to see if everything else was all right. Orville Miller said it was amazing what Georgie and Marie could do in the warehouse. "They'd get these 700-pound pontoons up on end and paint them and roll them up and put them on the truck. Just the two women." In a letter to Sylvia Tone, though, Georgie wrote: Marie has pains in her chest and shoulders. New deal, I don't know what it is. Paul my brother legs seem to get worse and he is a big man. I probably will have to take care of him complete in time. Marie and I do now, but her savings are running out and since she has doctor bills her husband will have to pay so it sort of will come to me. Please say nothing of this to anyone.14 Paul DeRoss died on July 20, 1971, at Harbor General Hospital in Torrance, California, from complications with a perforated gastric ulcer. Move to Las Vegas and Divorce Shortly after Paul died, Georgie moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. Her nephew, Paul DeRoss,Jr., said, "I only know that he [Whitey] was in a state institution and they wanted to bill her, so she went to Nevada."15 Georgie filed for divorce on August 20, 1971. She gave "Whitey's address as Riverside County Hospital, Riverside, California. Georgie wrote Tony: I accepted concession-Hope Califdon't bother me-Divorce should be 0 K Last of November-Took my daughter's name back Georgie Clark = Sheriff couldn't locate "Whity in Hospital to serve warrant. Said he was discharged-gave old address but they couldn't find him so we have adv. paper here in Las Vegas 21 days-then 21 day wait & all is well-For me this really is great as I was afraid "Whity would raise a mean {liS WOlH.tlX ojfAt J{inr stink-I really kept quiet when told this.... Glad 1971 is almost over.16 When she accepted a concession from the Park Service to continue to run trips in the Grand Canyon, Georgie could no longer throw empty cans in the river. An trash had to be carried out, and there was no more burying human waste in the sand. A portable potty had to be taken along for that purpose. She was also limited as to how many passengers she could take through in a season. On November 17, 1971, at Las Vegas, Nevada, Georgie obtained her divorce and took back the name Clark. Despite her statements to Sylvia Tone regarding her sadness at the state of Whitey's life, her animosity soon became apparent. In addition to changing to her previous married name of Clark, she blacked out his name on every newspaper or magazine article written about her that was in her scrapbooks. Memorial to Ge01-gie In the fall of 1971 a group of seven people headed by John Kel1y of Glendale, California, decided to memorialize Georgie while she was still alive. Kelly's letter to River Rats read: Bob Pearson and I got to talking this summer; I mentioned that there was a memorial to John D. Lee near Lee's Ferry ... a lake was named after John Wesley Powell ... and a plaque was put up near Navajo Bridge for Nevills. Of course the major trouble with these recognitions is that they were all given after the people involved were dead.... Therefore, and inasmuch as Georgie's trips provided an immeasurable amount ofpleasure and a large sense ofappreciation of the wilderness to a great many people, Pearson and I decided that the least we could do was to put up a plaque for her while she is still very much alive and running rivers. Bob said that it should be put in Moki Canyon because Georgie's first dog [Sambo 1, who used to go along on all of the Glen Canyon trips wearing his "dog" life preserver] always had a ball in Moki Canyon and that Georgie said if ever there was a paradise on earth for animals, and particularly Sambo, it was Moki Canyon. So that's the reason for the inscription on the plaque, "Sambo's Paradise." ... 186 7J/yorct Six of these great friends who were actually responsible for putting the plaque in place were Chuck and La Costa Sweet, Mary Tinley, Joe Yott, Margaret Rybak and my wife, Marge. We seven got there on a Sears 15' rubber boat and a canoe, all with 3 H.P. motors.... The plaque has been fastened to the sandstone wall in a spot where it is conceivable that the proposed lake elevation of 3700' could eventual1y cover it. However, we seriously doubt that the lake will go above 3620' for several good reasons. Ifit appears that the lake will rise above 3620' we'll go back and relocate it, although that may require moving a piece of sandstone wall.... I have written Georgie a long letter telling her who, what, why (along with some color enlargements) and also that perhaps many River Rats would be interested in a Georgie operated Lake Powell trip .... However, there is a good possibility that she may consider Lake Powell the graveyard of hundreds of needlessly drowned animals and not want any part of such a trip. If by chance she does go, I'm sure that some of us will want to go with her. Ifshe does not, you are certainly welcome to go next year with the seven of us for one or two weeks.17 Keep your sleeping bags dry, (signed) Kelly This bronze plaque was placed in Moki Canyon September 6, 1971: THIS IS AN EXPRESSION OF AFFECTION AND ESTEEM FOR GEORGIE WHITE WOMAN OF THE RIVERS A VALIANT PIONEER OF THE COLORADO. A FRIEND OF THE WILDERNESS. AND AN INSPIRATION TO THE LEGION OF RIVER RATS. EVERYTHING IS JUST THE WAY WE LIKE IT. SAMBO'S PARADISE, 197I. 187 Although she mentioned the plaque to others, Georgie never went to see it. She was never one to look back. To Georgie, Glen Canyon was in the past, its beauty buried forever beneath six hundred feet oficy water. 188 ...