Inflatable Raft "Georgie", Grand Canyon Village

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-82. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon vicinity, Coconino County, Arizona Inflatable Raft Georgie is located at longitude: The point represents the building housing the Grand Canyon National Park Museum Collection. It was obtained from Google Earth on April 22, and there is no restriction on its release to the public. Date of Construction: Prior to Manufacturer: Unknown Original Owner: Georgie White

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-82. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Inflatable Raft Georgie is significant for its association with Georgie White, the first woman to operate a commercial rafting enterprise in the Grand Canyon. She revolutionized the business by utilizing inflatable rafts she lashed together, known as a G-rig , allowing adventurers to run the rapids instead of portaging. Description: This inflatable ten-person neoprene raft named Georgie is just over 15' long.1 At the time of the documentation, it had been semi-inflated with Styrofoam beads to provide structural support for conservation reasons. The raft is painted silver with Woman of the River and Georgie painted in red letters on each side. The body of the raft is comprised of an irregular, oval-shaped tube with three inflatable thwarts running perpendicular.

Each thwart had a valve while a single valve was used to fill the remainder of the raft with air. The raft also features a block on a sheet of rubber that was glued on the sides of the boats to serve as oar locks. In November the valve on the main tube was cleaned, and a hole was patched on the bottom front thwart. The original perimeter rope was replaced with a triple twist nylon one. History: Born in as Bessie DeRoss, Georgie married Harold Clark while still in high school and moved across the country, from Oklahoma, to New York, to California. She later divorced him in and married James 1 Inflatable Raft Georgie has been accessioned as Catalog Number INFLATABLE RAFT GEORGIE HAER No. AZ-82 (Page 2) White.

After the tragic death in of her 15-year-old daughter, and only child, Sommona Rose due to a drunk driver, Georgie appears to have found solace on the Colorado River. Her friend and fellow Sierra Club member Harry Aleson invited her on a hike to the Colorado River in followed by floats down in the river wearing only life jackets in and In Georgie White purchased an Army surplus seven-person raft for use on river runs and established Georgie s Royal River Rats. These inflatable rafts were readily available at military surplus stores after World War II. By lashing together three ten-person rafts, known as G-rigs (with the G standing for Georgie) starting in Georgie could bring more tourists to the canyon.

The motorized rafts also allowed her to run the rapids rather than having to portage, as was common practice. She was quoted as saying, the difference between me and the men was I plowed through the rapids while the guys carried their boats around the rough water. Life magazine described her in as an iron-nerved mermaid and contemporary accounts and videos provide insight into the experience of a trip with her Royal River Rats. Famous for wearing a leopard leotard and subsisting primarily on tomatoes, cheese, and Coors beer, she employed Los Angeles firefighters as guides. Travelers could expect spartan conditions and dining from cans of food rather than a cooked meal. But the price was right: for twelve days. This affordability increased tourism in the canyon.

Over her forty-five year career, Georgie s business alone brought visitors. She was also viewed as somewhat reckless and was known for being rude to customers. At the end of the trip, Georgie performed an initiation that included hitting her customers with an oar, dumping water on them, and then giving them brandy and a pin designating them as Royal River Rats.

She died of cancer at the age of 81 in The 24-Mile Rapid was officially renamed Georgie Rapid in her honor in 2 Biographical Note for Georgie Clark Collection, Northern Arizona University, available at accessed April Megan Michelson, The Rabblerousing Queen of Grand Canyon Rafting, May 24, available on the Outside website at accessed April Adventure on a Great River, Life (August 4, 55, Federal Geographic Names Board Oks Georgie Rapid , October 24, Williams-Grand Canyon News, accessed April and Tom Martin, Chapter 11 Georgie Raft, video, available online at https://vimeo.com/492287448, accessed April There is a biography of Georgie White by Richard E.

Westwood entitled Woman of the River: Georgie White Clark, White-Water Pioneer (Logan: Utah State University Press, This video provides some insight into a trip with Georgie: Georgie White Clark, accessed April INFLATABLE RAFT GEORGIE HAER No. AZ-82 (Page 3) When White donated the raft to Grand Canyon National Park, park staff were initially hesitant to display it for fear it would look like they were endorsing White s rafting business. According to correspondence in the accession folder, Georgie offered to bring a can of neoprene paint and cover the lettering.

The boat was on display on the Visitor Center courtyard from until December Western Archeological and Conservation Center (WACC) conservator Bender helped move the boat to the Science Center Warehouse in June for conservation as part of the Save Our Boats historic boat conservation project. From October to December the raft was housed in the Maintenance Warehouse. The Grand Canyon historic boats including Inflatable Raft Georgie were moved one more time to a new storage area in the Powell Building in December

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-82. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The report is based on information from the Grand Canyon Museum Collection and the following additional sources. Adventure on a Great River. Life. August 4, Biographical Note. Georgie Clark Collection, Northern Arizona University. Available at, chunk.id=0, accessed April Georgie White Clark, YouTube, accessed April Martin, Tom. Chapter 11 Georgie Raft. Available online on Vimeo, https://vimeo.com/492287448, accessed April Michelson, Megan. The Rabblerousing Queen of Grand Canyon Rafting. May Outside website at accessed April

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-82. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Inflatable Raft Georgie was documented as part of the Historic American Engineering Record s Maritime Recording Program. The Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) is part of Heritage Documentation Programs, a division of the National Park Service. Todd Croteau, HAER Architect, served as project manager. Ryan Pierce produced the measured drawings in Grand Canyon National Park staff provided the information for the historical report, which was formatted by Justine Christianson, HAER Historian, in