 OWAA Legends
'Coyote Ed Park'
By Sue Hansen
“I was born at a very early age.” So stated Ed Park after being informed of my
intention to interview him for this “OWAA Legends” series. Despite his quick wit
– well known in our organization – Park’s modesty made him reluctant to talk
about five decades of professional accomplishments. Reminding him that he
suggested to his good friend Glenn Titus to feature legends still living, Park
remarked, “Glenn is just getting back at me for eating cheeseburgers at
breakfast when we worked together years ago in South Dakota.”
Changing strategy over the phone, I decided to pursue a more personal profile,
instead suggesting we get together to swap stories, secretly hoping to squeeze
out a few facts regarding his remarkable outdoor career. Like a cunning coyote,
Park wasn’t fooled by this ploy, though I was permitted to bring a tape recorder
to his place in Prineville, OR.
His home, shared with his lovely wife Lois, is a testament to time spent
outdoors. A bobcat pelt draped over the couch. Wildlife prints on the walls.
Mounted big-game heads from bygone hunts. When asked where he shot his Rocky
Mountain bighorn sheep, Park replied “right about here,” pointing to a spot
below his own right shoulder.
Aside from amusing answers, Park’s lifelong love for wildlife and wild places
led him to Oregon State College in Corvallis – now Oregon State University –
where he earned a bachelor’s degree in fish-and-game management in 1955 and a
master’s in wildlife management four years later. During this time, Park wrote
articles on local wildlife for the college newspaper. “I started out to be a
wildlife biologist, then got sidetracked,” he said.
Park’s path to photojournalism began atop Black Butte lookout, a U.S. Forest
Service fire tower. Alone in the remote area of Oregon’s central Cascade range,
he hand-wrote a story, submitted it to Outdoor Life and received his first
rejection. “I still have that letter.” (Park is hesitant to reveal his
publication numbers, but he’s produced thousands of articles and photographs
printed in numerous newspapers, magazines and books throughout North America,
Europe and Asia.)
Before leaving the lookout with his letter, Park left a lasting legacy by
engraving “Bearded Bachelor of Black Butte” on a large stone. “Since the Forest
Service didn’t allow beards at the time, I decided to grow one. When beards
became popular, I shaved mine off.” The stone is still there; its faded message
a tribute to Park’s rock-solid individualism.
In 1959, Park applied for a position – along with Titus – in the Information and
Education division at South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department. When the
department couldn’t decide which man to hire, they both got the job – Park doing
still photography and Titus doing movie photography. Park also hosted a radio
program for the department, his trademark: “Hi there, this is ‘South Dakota
Outdoors’ and I’m Ed Park.”
Becoming a full-time free-lancer in 1961, OWAA soon benefited from his
membership beginning in 1964. Closemouthed about his many contributions, his
presence is an important part of our organization’s history.
After serving one term on the board, Park was talked into running for third vice
president by past president Tom Opre. “I agreed only because Norm Strung was
also running and I knew Norm would win. However, when I arrived at the Rapid
City conference, Judd Cooney told me that I had won and my face fell. I couldn’t
understand how that happened, but that’s the way life goes. Fortunately, Norm
was elected the following year.”
During his term as president (1983-84), the “Phoenix Phiasco” took place,
resulting in Park taking on the executive director’s duties as well. At the
time, OWAA headquarters was located in Arizona and our Executive Director Bob
Honke resigned for health reasons. Another executive director was hired, but
quit after a couple of days.
“It was a very serious situation with things in disarray. In February, the OWAA
board met in a long conference call that resulted in the hiring of Sylvia
Bashline. However, prior commitments prohibited Sylvia from taking over until
July. So the board hired me as executive director from March through June 1984.
Two days after the call, I left Bend, OR, for Phoenix where I spent four months
until Sylvia could take over and move the office to State College, PA.”
A stroke in 1991 temporarily sidetracked Park. His physical fight to get back on
his feet put new meaning into his nickname “Coyote.”
“That title was given to me at a mountain-man rendezvous because of my superb
hunting skills and not because I howl at the moon. But when I had a stroke, I
thought of a coyote’s struggles against man and nature and decided if it can
survive, so could I.”
From 1990 to 1996, Park hosted the western edition of the “In-Fisherman Radio”
show based in Brainerd, MN. He continues to tape interviews and write text for
the program’s current host, collecting material at sportsmen’s shows with help
from Lois. He also writes a weekly outdoor column for Prineville’s Central
Oregonian newspaper. Not surprising for a man who helped organize Northwest
Outdoor Writers Association in 1973, Park also started OWAA’s Scavenger Hunt
Photo Contest in 1980. In 1993 he won OWAA’s prestigious Ham Brown Award.
Regarding the photo contest, Park said: “Norm Strung suggested calling it the
‘Ed Park Memorial Scavenger Hunt’ after assigning 10 subjects and someone said I
should be assassinated for my diabolical mind in thinking of it in the first
place.”
Knowing an OWAA legend is a learning experience and, in Park’s case,
entertaining as well. His reflections and recollections on his outdoor life
enrich the lives of those who know him. For those who haven’t met Park, stop him
as he cruises conferences in his electric scooter and ask about his first OWAA
conference (Duluth 1969) where he shared his first breakfast with Durwood Allen,
a legend in the wildlife world. During another breakfast, ask how he received a
$900 assignment by sitting with Bill Colby, former camping editor of Outdoor
Life.
Encounters with Park will also result in OWAA stories of your own. For Eric
Hansen and I, spending six days on the road with him – driving to and from the
Sioux Falls conference – left us amazed at his ability to stay awake the entire
2,700 miles. “Too much to see along the way,” he said. On that note, I just want
to say, “Where’s the windmill, Ed?”
Before turning off my tape recorder, I asked Park to summarize 50 years as an
outdoor communicator. He simply said, “I love observing life and photographing
it. And as for OWAA, it has evolved into the biggest group of friends I have.”
Free-lancer Sue Hansen writes for Northwest Travel, Heartland USA, Oregon
Outside, Wyoming Wildlife, Wild Outdoor World and others publications. Hansen
lives in Corvallis, OR.
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