When David and Courtney Reeder Jones moved into two rooms reached by ladder in a northern Arizona Indian ruin, they had been married only two weeks. Except for the ruin's cement floors, which were originally hardened mud, and skylights instead of smokeholes, the rooms were exactly as they had been 800 years before. The year was 1938, and the newlyweds had come to Wupatki National Monument as full-time National Park Service caretakers for the ruin. Remote in time and place, their story as described in Courtney's letters will take readers into a dramatic landscape of red rocks, purple volcanoes, and endless blue sky. Here, some 60 years ago, two young people came to terms with their new life together and with their nearly total reliance upon each other and their Navajo neighbors. "They helped us in any way that a neighbor would, and we helped them as we could," wrote Courtney in her memoirs years later. Vivid and engaging, her letters home spill over with descriptions of their friendship with local Navajo families, their sings and celebrations, and her good luck in being able to be a part of it all. Letters from Wupatki captures a more innocent era in southwestern archaeology and the history of the National Park Service before the post-war years brought paved roads, expanded park facilities, and ever-increasing crowds of visitors. Courtney's letters to her family and friends reflect all the charm of the earlier time as they convey the sense of rapid transition that came after the war. Tracking those changes in the development of Wupatki National Monument and the National Park Service, the letters also—and perhaps more important—reveal changes in the Joneses themselves. Of particular interest to anthropologists and historians, their story also gives the general reader captivating glimpses of a partnership between two people who only grew stronger for the struggles they shared together.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Inside Flap
When David and Courtney Reeder Jones moved into two rooms reached by ladder in a northern Arizona Indian ruin, they had been married only two weeks. Except for the ruin's cement floors, which were originally hardened mud, and skylights instead of smokeholes, the rooms were exactly as they had been 800 years before. The year was 1938, and the newlyweds had come to Wupatki National Monument as full-time National Park Service caretakers for the ruin. Remote in time and place, their story as described in Courtney's letters will take readers into a dramatic landscape of red rocks, purple volcanoes, and endless blue sky. Here, some 60 years ago, two young people came to terms with their new life together and with their nearly total reliance upon each other and their Navajo neighbors. "They helped us in any way that a neighbor would, and we helped them as we could," wrote Courtney in her memoirs years later. Vivid and engaging, her letters home spill over with descriptions of their friendship with local Navajo families, their sings and celebrations, and her good luck in being able to be a part of it all. Letters from Wupatki captures a more innocent era in southwestern archaeology and the history of the National Park Service before the post-war years brought paved roads, expanded park facilities, and ever-increasing crowds of visitors. Courtney's letters to her family and friends reflect all the charm of the earlier time as they convey the sense of rapid transition that came after the war. Tracking those changes in the development of Wupatki National Monument and the National Park Service, the letters also—and perhaps more important—reveal changes in the Joneses themselves. Of particular interest to anthropologists and historians, their story also gives the general reader captivating glimpses of a partnership between two people who only grew stronger for the struggles they shared together.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
About the Author
Courtney Reeder Jones grew up in Columbus, Nebraska, and now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she continues her lifelong involvement in writing, politics, and community organizing.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderful Life in Wupatki,
By Teri Anderson (Peoria, Arizona) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Letters from Wupatki (Paperback)
After a recent visit to the 800 year old Wupatki ruins in Northern Arizona, I was fascinated to find that modern man had actually lived there in the 30's and 40's. This book recounts life at the ruins of the ranger in charge and his new bride. Letters written by Courtney to her family and friends reveal a simple and exciting life in Arizona, while living in two rooms of an actual Sinagua ruin. This book would probably be especially fascinating to those who live in Arizona or visit frequently.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not Steven King, but not a book you'd regret reading,
By
This review is from: Letters from Wupatki (Paperback)
This little book is no page turner, but if you're interested in diary writing or if you're an armchair archaeologist (like myself) you'll get a kick out of it. The writer of the letters actually spent a number of years living on what is now the Wupatki grounds, just north of Flagstaff, AZ. Wupatki is a great place to visit--it's an amazing scattering of those magical stone dwellings left by some of the original inhabitants of the southwest. She is a somewhat naive writer...and that is both the charm and the downfall of this little book. You can get a lot through her, that you might be filtered out by a more experienced writer. On the other hand, there is much of the mundane in these letters. This is somewhat mitigated by the situation in which the mundane occurs. Read it to learn more about the inhabitants of the grounds, read it to learn a bit about our governmental custodianship of the land and read it to learn a little about life during wartimes. Just don't expect Garcia Marquez.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Park Companion,
This review is from: Letters From Wupatki SIGNED (Paperback)
I bought this for my wife during a visit to Wupatki National Monument and she enjoyed it so much I read it as well. It was a fast and fun read. Afterward I found myself planning a return trip to see all the things we had missed and a chance to re-visit the locations mentioned in these letters.These are actual (lightly edited) letters written by the wife of a former custodian of the monument and covers the period just before, during and just after World War II. At the time they actually lived in, and later beside, the monument itself. If you love the Flagstaff area of Arizona, or the southwest in general, or are just an armchair adventurer, you'll probably enjoy it just as much. Also, I beleive this is a "must read" for National Park aficionados.
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