A. Oscar Olson digital photograph collection

Collection

Identifier: P1089

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The photographs in this collection are digital scans of slides put together as a slide show by A. Oscar Olson. Most of them were taken during a Glen Canyon river trip with SOCOTWA Expeditions in May, 1962; while the rest were taken on later visits to Lake Powell in the 1960s through 1990s. He took the later photographs in order to show the changes in the original locations brought about by the filling of Lake Powell reservoir behind Glen Canyon dam. The images depict the usual scenes of a SOCOTWA river trip, including the launch, days and events on the river, visits to attractions such as Hole In The Rock and Rainbow Bridge, camp scenes, and other events. All but a few of the images were made on 35mm Ektachrome film, which later faded to red. Mr. Olson asked Nelson Wadsworth, an archivist at Utah State University, to adjust the color digitally to return the images to their original color, which was largely successful. The images, however, were taken out of their original order during this process and thus are out of sequence. This is noted where applicable in the register. All photographs were taken in May, 1962, unless otherwise noted. All information for captions supplied by Oscar Olson on June 25, 2003.

Dates

1962-1990s

Creator

Olson, A. Oscar (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Biographical / Historical

History of the Glen Canyon photographs of A. Oscar Olson

A. Oscar Olson, a native of Salt Lake City, always wanted to go on a river trip through Glen Canyon of the Colorado River. In 1960, however, he found himself in the US Army, stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. In 1962, with Glen Canyon Dam all-but completed, he realized that he would have to take the trip that year if he was going to do it at all. Accordingly, he signed up for a trip sponsored by SOCOTWA Expeditions, a local river-running group. The trip was in May 1962 and was for seven days, leaving from Hite, Utah, and ending at Kane Creek landing, near Crossing of the Fathers. During the course of the trip, Olson fell and, as he found out later, suffered a fracture of his left leg. This was common on these trips, and although it gave him quite a bit of pain, he continued on without treatment. The pain was sufficient to keep him from the long climb up Hole In The Rock, but it did not deter him from the 14-mile round-trip hike to Rainbow Bridge (although he did not climb to the top of the bridge like many of his party. After the trip, when he returned to duty at Fort Lewis, he reported for sick call and only then discovered that he had the fracture. Olson became a member of SOCOTWA and went on other trips with the group, and indeed became a bus driver for many of their overland expeditions to LDS historic sites, the Seattle and New York World's Fairs, and other journeys. In later years, he began traveling with his family to Lake Powell, and took a number of photographs in the same locations as his Glen Canyon pictures, by way of comparison.

Extent

1 Box : 102 photographic prints, 100 digital items

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The A. Oscar Olson photograph collection consists of digital scans of slides put together as a slide show by A. Oscar Olson. Most of them were taken during a Glen Canyon river trip with SOCOTWA Expeditions in May, 1962; while the rest were taken on later visits to Lake Powell in the 1960s through 1990s. He took the later photographs in order to show the changes in the original locations brought about by the filling of Lake Powell reservoir behind Glen Canyon dam. The images depict the usual scenes of a SOCOTWA river trip, including the launch, days and events on the river, visits to attractions such as Hole In The Rock and Rainbow Bridge, camp scenes, and other events. Other events include University of Utah History tours in the Southwestern United States

Arrangement

Mr. Olson asked Nelson Wadsworth, an archivist at Utah State University, to adjust the color digitally to return the images to their original color, which was largely successful. The images, however, were taken out of their original order during this process and thus are out of sequence. This is noted where applicable in the register.