Albert "Bert" Loper photograph collection

Collection

Identifier: P1136

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Albert "Bert" Loper photograph collection consists of 2 boxes containing 630 black-and-white photographs and negatives documenting Bert Loper's river running and family, spanning from 1869 to 1960.

Dates

1869-1960

Creator

Loper, Bert, 1869-1949 (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

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material from the Albert (Bert) Loper photograph collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator.

Biographical Note

Albert "Bert" Loper (1869-1949) was born July 31, 1869 in Bowling Green, Missouri. He came to Utah in 1886 and made his first trip down the Green river at age 24. Spending most of him time living on the banks of the Colorado River, at age 47, Bert met Rachel Jamison (1892-1975) an immigrant from Aberdeen, Scotland who shared his love for the rivers of the west. Rachel was born to William and Jane Grossic Jamison in Woodside, Aberdeen on March 11 , 1892. Rachel emigrated from Scotland, as young women, with her mother and other family members on August 14, 1914. Rachel and Bert were married in Loa, Utah on April 29, 1916. They had two children, neither of whom survived. Bert Loper was also a veteran of the Spanish-American war.

Bert Loper made many trips on the San Juan, Green and Colorado rivers and was said to have covered more miles over the Colorado than any other man during his lifetime. As one of the best known early river runners, Bert, "The Grand Old Man of the Colorado," continued to brave the rapids into his late seventies, piloting 32 seniors of the Salt Lake council of Boy Scouts, in 1947, down the Colorado River and brought them safely home. In an effort to make one more trip through the Grand Canyon of the Colorado for his 80th birthday, his boat capsized and he was lost in the water on July 8, 1949. His remains were found 26 years later in April 1975 and buried with his wife, who had died 2 month earlier on February 8, 1975. There were memorials erected in honor of Bert on the Colorado River at mile 41 where his boat was recovered, in Green River and Red Canyon. After Bert's death, Rachel moved from their home in Green River and worked at Tooele Ordinance Depot until her retirement in 1958. She lived in Salt Lake and continued to stay close to her sister's family, the Busenbarks. She died after a long illness in a Salt Lake nursing home in 1975.

Extent

630 Items (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Albert "Bert" Loper was one of the most well known early river runners. The Albert "Bert" Loper photograph collection contains photographs and negatives documenting Loper's personal life and his river running adventures.