NPS History Collection

01/13/2026

Whistle up! We want to share the story of Max K. Gilstrap, the National Park Service's Whistling Ranger.

Gilstrap was born on July 9, 1911. He grew up in Oklahoma, graduating from Ardmore High School in 1928. He attended the 1929 World Boy Scout Jamboree in England where the "London Daily Mail" chose him as "the typical American Boy Scout." In 1934 he graduated from the School of Journalism at the University of Oklahoma, where he was a lieutenant in the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). He went on to complete some graduate work at Harvard University.

Gilstrap worked four years as a ranger at Yosemite National Park. While there, he taught himself to whistle and developed a remarkable ability to mimic bird songs. Naturally, he whistled while he worked and added that skill to his natural history talks. Newspapers began calling him the "Whistling Ranger" in a May 1933 story about a California woman who had attended one of his programs and later called him long distance on the telephone to whistle to her because she was lonely! Despite it being 2am, Gilstrap obliged and whistled until the anonymous woman thanked him and hung up.

Gilstrap was a gifted speaker, and he made many whistle-stop tours around the country giving lectures on national parks and the National Park Service—and, of course, whistling songs, imitating more than 50 bird species, and teaching his audiences how to whistle. He lectured for Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps, schools, and community groups. Gilstrap also worked as a ranger-naturalist at Grand Canyon National Park from 1937 to 1940. In 1938, US Senator Josh Lee said, "I think Max Gilstrap is the best lecturer in the country in his field." That must have been music to Gilstrap's ears.

In March 1941 he got a job with The Christian Science Monitor. During World War II he was stationed in England and worked as editor for the "Stars and Stripes" newspaper. After the war he continued his career with the Monitor until his death on December 20, 1957, in Boston, aged 46. In 1958 the vinyl album “Max K. Gilstrap Whistles” was released, providing a recording of his popular Adventures in "The National Parks, No. 1" lecture, recording his bird whistles and NPS lecture for posterity.



Photo: Max and Zilpha Gilstrap (Yosemite National Park photo)

01/05/2026

What better way to kick off the New Year than to catch up on our badge project? Our curator Casey shared the status of her XRF analysis of the NPS History Collection badge collection with Adam Savage's Tested.

The National Park Service was founded in 1916, so how is the first badge from 1895? At the National Park Service Museum Conservation Lab, museum curator Case...

09/29/2025

Another great Tested video has dropped. Check it out!

Note: The NPS Museum Conservation Lab's future is uncertain; it had its lease canceled by Doge, then extended by one year only. The Muse...

09/22/2025

Another Tested video to share! Check out our colleague Curtis talk with Adam Savage about reproducing Teddy Roosevelt's trunk.

Note: The NPS Museum Conservation Lab's future is uncertain; it had its lease canceled by Doge, then extended by one year only. Sometimes museums need to rep...

09/22/2025

🐻Get ready for Fat Bear Week 2025! 🐻We thought we would paws and mark the occasion by sharing the tubbiest teddy in the NPS History Collection archives.

In July 1931, as part of a wildlife survey of national parks led my George M. Wright, Joseph S. Dixon photographed a bear so rotund that it was infamously known at Yellowstone National Park as “Fatty.” Unbearably, fat shaming was a thing even back then.

Compared to modern Fat Bear Week competitors, “Fatty” was doing the bear minimum when it came to his paunch. In all fairness, a black bear like Fatty can't hope to outweigh the grizzlies at Katmai National Park & Preserve, but that didn't seem to stop him from trying!

Ranger Mike Fitz at Katmai came up with the idea for “Fat Bear Tuesday” in 2014, creating an online tournament where spectators could vote for a stout champion of the highest cali-bear. While “Fat Bear Week” as we know and love it was founded just over a decade ago, people have been admiring fat bears in national parks for much longer.

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but as cute and cuddly as these corpulent creatures look, they are wild animals that should be appreciated with great respect and even greater distance. Never feed wildlife.

Cast your vote starting Tuesday the 23rd at https://explore.org/fat-bear-week

Photo credits: NPS History Collection photos by Joseph S. Dixon (HFCA 1607)

09/19/2025

Our fabulous book and paper conservator Allison shows Adam Savage of Tested how to make "leather" for repairing losses.

Note: The NPS Museum Conservation Lab's future is uncertain; it had its lease canceled by Doge, then extended by one year only. In conservation, it's not alw...

09/19/2025

"Tie a fly for fishing and use it successfully to catch a fish. Make an analysis of the stomach of the fish caught, and make notes on the size, color, and other data concerning the fish."

"Make 8 all-day and 15 half-day hikes with the naturalist. Five of these must involve climbing peaks of over 10,000 feet, one of which must be Longs Peak, which latter must be done under leadership of a licensed guide or a Nature Scout counselor."

"Prepare a nature museum exhibit."

"Make an out-of-doors kitchen consisting of a stone fireplace, spit, and pothangers."

These are just a few of the 18 tasks that boys aged 12-18 needed to complete to earn the Mountaineer degree in the Rocky Mountain National Park Junior Nature Scouts program. (There was also a Girl Naturalist program). Organized by park naturalist H. Raymond Gregg and run from 1937-1942 and in 1945, the boys successively completed programs to earn Pathfinder, Trail Blazer, Hill-Topper, and Mountaineer degrees.

The program taught wilderness skills such as building a fire; cooking outdoors; camping; plant and animal identification and observations; first aid; and orienteering. Naturalist work such as studying insects, park geography, flowers, birds, glaciers, trees, mammals, and first aid (then passing exams!); specimen collection and preservation; museum exhibitions; and public lectures were also part of the rigorous programs.

What an amazing program! We're exhausted just writing about it. What do you think? Could you have made it to Mountaineer?

Photo credits: NPS History Collection

09/16/2025

The 1956 women's standard uniform included the men's field jacket, long-sleeve gray shirt, and a skirt. Although the superintendent could allow the shirt to be worn without a tie, a green four-in-hand time or a "draped bow of soft scarf material" were the preferred neckwear. An overseas style cap was part of the uniform as well but few photos from this time period show women still wearing the earlier style hat.

Photo credit: NPS History Collection

09/16/2025

Another great Tested video! Adam Savage learns about taxidermy conservation for our fabulous colleague Fran!

Note: The NPS Museum Conservation Lab's future is uncertain; it had its lease canceled by Doge, then extended by one year only. Adam Savage LOVES taxidermy, ...

09/15/2025

In addition to the A-line dress and pantsuit, the 1974 women's uniform included the "traditional uniform" option. It was prescribed for employees whose primary duties on a day-today basis require direct contact with the park visitors. The regulations noted that, "Employees wearing this uniform should be able to respond and handle any visitor requests for emergency assistance." Although it featured trousers and a dark green ascot, skirts and green four-in-hand neckties were approved options.

09/15/2025

In February 1974 another women's uniform design was implemented. A green A-line dress was approved for most women in administrative and public contact duties in offices, at information desks, in visitor centers, on speaking engagements, and for any formal occasions inside or outside the park. A pantsuit option was available for nature trails around visitor centers or during bad weather.

Photo credit: NPS History Collection photo

09/14/2025

The 1962 women's uniform regulations specify that the jacket, skirt, and hat were “the airline hostess type.” The uniform was modeled after those worn by American Airlines flight attendants and was manufactured by the Delta Uniforms company (unrelated to Delta Airlines).

Although the 1962 uniform regulations didn’t include trousers, we’ve found several photos in the NPS History Collection that document that some women did, in fact, where them when working outdoors.

Photo credit: NPS History Collection