(Article) A Yankee Interloper in the West: Tracing Zane Grey’s Footsteps through Arizona

A Yankee Interloper in the West: Tracing Zane Grey’s Footsteps through Arizona

           

            There are many ways that people discover Zane Grey’s Arizona. Some deliberately seek out the idealized West depicted by “the father of the western novel” in his twenty-four works set in the copper state. They can be seen on Oak Creek Canyon waysides clutching tattered paperbacks attempting to resolve the scenery before them with the written descriptions or the settings of over 116 iconic movies and television programs based upon his work. Or they may stumble upon a reference to the prolific author while ascending the creaky time-worn steps to the third floor Zane Grey bar of the historic Hotel Whetherford in downtown Flagstaff and begin the same journey in reverse as they investigate its namesake. Whatever the path to discovery, the result is often the same; a profound love for the man who did more to share the West with the world than any other; Zane Grey.

            You might say that Pearl Zane Grey was born with frontier spirit running through his veins. His family pioneered the country’s “First West,” the historic Ohio Valley of the early nineteenth-century. His family’s remarkable experiences during the American Revolutionary war prompted young “Zane” (he dropped the Pearl early on) to fashion his first three novels. This brought much contention between Zane and his father who often tried to “beat the writer out him” hoping he would follow in his footsteps as a dentist. He attended the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship (another love of Grey’s) where he reluctantly earned a degree in dentistry. Now, Dr. Zane Grey hung out his shingle in New York City, pulling teeth during the day but writing each evening. There he was inspired by visiting lecturers from the “New West” like Charles “Buffalo” Jones who came to New York sharing from his many exploits in the Arizona territory. Grey was mesmerized by the stories. Jones spoke of mountain lion hunts with only a lasso, a vast untamed country in the Southwest, meeting the infamous Pat Garrett, and fighting off a hungry wolf pack. The die was cast. Grey soon made plans to hunt with Jones along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, always bringing a notebook and camera along to document his travels.

            In his first ventures into the Arizona country, Grey discovered an immeasurable wealth of material that would give new direction to his writing. He wrote, "Surely, of all the gifts that have come to me from contact with the West, this one of sheer love of wildness, beauty, color, grandeur, has been the greatest, the most significant for my work." He finished his first truly “Western” novel in 1909 entitled The Last of the Plainsmen which was rejected by a Harper’s editor saying to Grey, "I do not see anything in this to convince me you can write either narrative or fiction." A rather dejected Grey would not be deterred. He shared, “I am full of stories and zeal and fire.” He wrote his all-time bestseller Riders of the Purple Sage soon thereafter which was also rejected by the same short-sighted editor. Grey instinctively knew its worth and went over the editor’s head to appeal to Harper’s vice president who eventually accepted the work.

The rest is history; to use a well-worn cliché. As one of the most prolific authors in history, Grey published more than 90 books, mostly Westerns, but various genres that explored his other loves, included topics of fishing, baseball, hunting, and even several children’s books. It is estimated that he had written over nine million words over the course of his career, a truly phenomenal feat for Dentist who was discouraged (to put it mildly) by his family, rejected by publishers early on in his career, and often wrestled with self-doubt and depression.

As the emerging film industry evolved simultaneously with Grey’s publishing, it was only natural that the two would intersect. Over fifty of his novels were interpreted by a script-hungry Hollywood resulting in over a hundred and thirty movies based on his works; many were filmed in the Arizona locales he described. Countless adaptations of Grey’s writing found receptive audiences in other media like television and radio. His novel, The Lone Star Ranger inspired the iconic radio and television serials The Lone Ranger. Many famous directors and actors perfected their crafts through Zane Grey stories set to film. Director John Ford’s greatest films used Grey’s Western locales as settings. Gary Cooper, Buster Crabbe, even Shirley Temple gained notoriety through adaptations of Grey novels. He even created his own studio for a short time before selling the venture to Paramount Pictures.

Although Grey traveled the world pursuing his great affinity for adventure, he always held Arizona in high regard. He was a frequent guest at the historic Hotel Whetherford in Flagstaff. In fact, he wrote The Call of the Canyon in an upstairs bedroom there that is now part of the Zane Grey Ballroom. Literary pilgrimages are often made here by fans wishing to walk in the footsteps of their favorite author. They can rent a restored room very much like Grey’s complete with period fixtures, furnishings, and claw-foot tubs. Bring a Grey novel up to the outside balcony upstairs where you can sample local fares and libations while imagining yourself at the very table Grey might have sat. This is one of my favorite places when visiting Flagstaff and I’m sure others will agree.

            Wanting to set roots somewhat more firmly in this region, Grey built a rustic cabin on three acres near Tonto Creek in 1921 for a writing retreat where he spent a few weeks a year until 1929. The structure fell into disrepair until it was purchased and restored by Phoenix air-conditioning magnate William “Bill” Goettl in the 1960’s. He negotiated with Grey’s family and other collectors to secure artifacts for his envisioned museum and even worked alongside the carpenters he hired on weekends to restore the cabin to its original state. He made the space available free-of-charge and by 1989 over 20,000 Zane Grey pilgrims were making the trip to the remote location each year. Sadly, the 1990 Dude Fire destroyed the cabin but not the love local residents have for the writer. By consulting hundreds of photographs, The Zane Grey Cabin Foundation rebuilt the structure next to the Rim Country Museum in Green Valley Park at Payson. The park has much to offer those who come from all over the world to find Grey’s West for themselves. You can walk the four miles of paved trails, fish the 13 acres of various lakes, or find your own shade tree among the 17 acres of grassed parkland by which to read from your favorite Grey novel. Open every day except Tuesday, you can get a guided tour of the Zane Grey Cabin and visit the Rim Country Museum at the park for the same small fee.

            Zane Grey’s legacy continues to resound within his beloved Arizona. He was able to introduce the Northern Arizona settings to millions of fans worldwide and by doing so became America’s first millionaire writer. Yet, he never lost sight of the simplistic grandeur of the Grand Canyon State whether seen from the wrap-around porch of his Mogollon Rim cabin, from the banks of Oak Creek, or from his window overlooking downtown Flagstaff at the Whetherford. As an “adopted Arizonian,” Grey probably did more inadvertently to promote the Western imagination to the world than any other person in history. He created twenty-four books in which Arizona was featured as the primary setting; fourteen of which are set around the Mogollon Rim. Pick up a copy of one of his 90 books still in print, or better yet, bring it with you as you explore the region and you’ll soon discover your visit enhanced in ways you never thought possible.