Happy Birthday, Yellowstone and Grand Teton!
We’ve had not just one birthday, but two. And no, they’re not our employees, though we definitely love to celebrate them. And no, they’re not some famous squirrels or whatever, either. No, we’re talking about our two closest neighbors—Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Celebrate with us as we travel back in time to the years each park made its grand debut.
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone was the first national park in the nation, created by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872.
Notable World Event in 1872: The first international soccer match is played (Scotland vs. England).
Notable US Event: Susan B. Anthony is arrested for voting in the 1872 presidential election. She voted for Grant, in case you’re wondering.
Book Published: "Around the World in Eighty Days" by Jules Verne. (If the book were written today, it would be called A Couple Really Long Flights and would involve a lot of scrolling through Delta’s movie catalog. Good thing it was written in 1872.)
Famous Birth: Calvin Coolidge, future U.S. president. (In a fun bit of symmetry, he will be the one who makes Grand Teton a park.)
Average House Price: Around $700.
Fashion: Bustle skirts, corsets, and bowler hats are all the rage. (Unless you live Out West, obviously, where the dress code is cowboy hat, a long duster coat, and six-shooters.)
Grand Teton National Park
President Calvin Coolidge signed the executive order establishing Grand Teton National Park on Happy Birthday, Yellowstone and Grand Teton!
Notable World Event in 1929: Vatican City becomes an independent state. Before that, it was part of Italy. Also, the stock market crash later in October would lead to the Great Depression.
Notable US Event: Herbert Hoover is sworn in as President barely a week after Coolidge’s executive order.
Book Published: "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque.
Famous Birth: Actress Audrey Hepburn.
Average House Price: Up to around $7,000. (Yay, inflation! We don’t know anything about that these days.)
Fashion: Cloche hats (those bell-shaped hats you see on women in period pieces set in the ‘20s), dropped-waist dresses, and pinstripe suits ruled the streets.
How will you celebrate Grand Teton and Yellowstone? We hope you’ll come visit us at Flat Creek Inn and make us part of the party!
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Ryan Kunz is a copywriter and freelance writer who writes on a variety of topics, including media, the outdoors, and whatever else strikes his fancy. His birthday is in September, if you want to send him gifts.
