From the Collection of Stephen Studebaker
In June of 1928, Guy Emerson Studebaker, my husband's grandfather, and his wife Ella Mae Funderburg, along with Drue Funderburg, his brother-in-law, and his wife Ethel Forrest Delinger embarked on a train trip to Long Beach for the annual conference of the Church of the Brethren. Drue was a minister in the church and a professor at Bethany Theological Seminary in Chicago.
It is unknown if Grandpa Guy had planned his Grand adventure before he left Ohio. My guess is that he had. By Jun. 25, Guy was at the Grand Canyon, on the back of a mule, fourth from the top, at the head of the Bright Angel Trail. He was a farmer, owned mules, and was probably more comfortable with the animals than the other dudes in this photograph. But of course, what do I know of any of their backgrounds?
One of the Kolb brothers from the famous Kolb Studio photographed this group at the head of the Bright Angel Trail. Other families across the country have similar treasured mementos in their homes. Thousands of these photographs were made, but their survival from this period is remarkable. My husband's grandmother gave him this photograph because he was a national park ranger at the Kolb Studio and on the Bright Angel Trail. The Kolb brothers made photographs from this spot for 75 years.
Kolb Studio. Public Domain
By 1903, the brothers had gotten permission from the trail owner, Ralph Cameron, to start their photography business. They took photographs at various locations in and around the canyon. They would photograph the riders as they set out on their adventures and have the pictures ready for sale by the time they returned to the rim. They even filmed a motion picture of their 101-day run of the Colorado River. They built the present studio in 1906. The studio was saved from Park Service demolition in 1966 when Congress passed a bill to preserve historic Park Service buildings.
These intrepid riders were guided into the canyon by way of Indian Gardens to the overlook for the inner gorge by wranglers, one who rode in the front and one who rode in the rear of the group. It was a 13.3-mile round trip ride from the canyon's rim to Plateau Point. It took approximately 7 hours to go down and back. Each returning rider was undoubtedly filled with stories of their day's adventure.
Guy Studebaker's grandson, Stephen, was a National Park Ranger at the Kolb Studio in 1980. The Park Service used it as a visitor contact station at the time. His grandfather would have never guessed that his oldest grandson would someday hike more than 1500 miles in the Grand Canyon and climb 18 towers and buttes below the rim, including two first ascents.
