Campaign & Results

Newspaper clips from the "Save Buffalo Park" campaign and the election results are below.
We will be adding more clips to this blog post in the near future.

Misleading billboards. Thu, Feb 13, 1986 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
Billboard brouhaha. Thu, Feb 13, 1986 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
Billboard article. Thu, Feb 13, 1986 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
Pre-election summary Sun, Mar 2, 1986 – 5 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
Misleading billboard. Fri, Feb 14, 1986 – 4 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com


The "pro" side of the coin. Sun, Feb 16, 1986 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
"Pro" side continued. Sun, Feb 16, 1986 – 3 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
"Con" side of coin. Sun, Feb 16, 1986 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com

"Con" side continued. Sun, Feb 16, 1986 – 3 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
A Gre!at Victory Wed, Mar 5, 1986 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
Election Results Wed, Mar 5, 1986 – 5 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com

Editoral post-mortem. Sun, Mar 9, 1986 – 14 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com

"Con" side of coin. Sun, Feb 16, 1986 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com

The Grassroots grew

The citizens initiative really took off in October 1985.

Buffalo Park Day. Thu, Oct 17, 1985 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
Mayor Moody signs petition. Fri, Oct 25, 1985 – 3 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
Asbestos underwear? Mon, Oct 21, 1985 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com

Petitions submitted

November 8, 1985 wa s Dear Diary Day for Buffalo Park!

Petitions turned in. Fri, Nov 8, 1985 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
Signature Success! Fri, Nov 8, 1985 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
What the petition said. Fri, Nov 8, 1985 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com

Save Buffalo Park gathers momentum

Everything really started coming together in early fall 1985 for efforts to Save Buffalo Park.
The process begins. Tue, Sep 17, 1985 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
The petition is born. Thu, Sep 19, 1985 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
Birth of initiative process Sun, Sep 29, 1985 – 4 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com

"Save Buffalo Park" beginnings

We're having trouble finding when the "Save Buffalo Park" movement began in the early 1980's.  It received mention in this February 1984 column so presumably the efforts began well before then, perhaps in late 1983.

"Save Buffalo Park" early mention. Sun, Feb 26, 1984 – 18 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
Below is a February 9, 1984 Letter to the Editor.  It's possible the Editor above was simply morphing the title that the newspaper itself wrote for this letter into the context used in the column above.
An early plea. Thu, Feb 9, 1984 – 4 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
Counterpoint to February 26, 1984 column. Sun, Mar 4, 1984 – 17 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com
Below is proof that Flagstaff runners took the lead in suggesting preservation of Buffalo Park! Runners in the lead! Wed, Jan 25, 1984 – 4 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com

"Jog" hadn't been invented. Thu, Jun 28, 1984 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com


First organized opposition. Sun, Feb 5, 1984 – 4 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com

Anita Wood opposed Gemini Parkway. Sun, Feb 26, 1984 – 3 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com

Straight from the horse's mouth

Buffalo Park had a good run for five years before failing to open for the sixth season.  Even in its fifth year of operation, Buffalo Park was still making the news on a regular basis.
Another celebrity at Buffalo Park Thu, Jun 13, 1968 – 2 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com

Randy Cowan's Story

On March 28, 2020, we received a short story from Randy Cowan sating: "My mom ran Buffalo Park in the 60s. I remember going to work with her every summer. I would hang out with the guy that drove the Stagecoach and I would sit up top with him. I remember one time mom made me stay and eat lunch boy was I made but lucky she did. On that trip out the horse's broke loose from the Stagecoach and drugged the driver across the rocks. He spent some time in the Hospital. A reporter from the Arizona Daily Sun came up to do a story and showed her where the Stagecoach was so she could take pictures and I got my picture taken and put in the paper standing by the Stagecoach."

After three hours of searching Newspapers Dot Com we finally found Randy's photo.  Thank You for the Story, Randy!  It is Much Appreciated!

Note that the accident happened on Tuesday August 13, 1968 and was featured on the front page of "The Arizona Daily Sun" Wednesday issue, August 14, 1968.

Randy Comer on front page! Wed, Aug 14, 1968 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com

A Star with Staying Power

Buffalo Park's iconic, stoic, photogenic concrete buffalo has starred in countless home movies, pictures and selfies.  In 1969, The Big Boy Buffalo helped shill Ramblers!  Although we couldn't find the ad in which this scene appeared, we did find a very funny 1969 AMC Rebel ad on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/ZER63EzKd2c
Buffalo Rambler Tue, May 21, 1968 – 1 · Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) · Newspapers.com

The Hollywood Connection

Students of Buffalo Park history know that it was designed by Warner Brothers Art Director William Campbell.  But how did Campbell become involved?

The Hollywood Connection to Buffalo Park is all about "The Distant Trumpet," a low grade B-movie western filmed in mid-summer 1963 at various locations including Leupp, Grand Falls and The Painted Desert.  The typical large legion of cast and crew were in Flagstaff most of August and stayed at the Sentry Hiway & Americana motels. Campbell was Art Director for the movie.

Warner Brothers built a large set near Leupp that depicted "Fort Delivery" in the movie.

It's obvious from the archived material that Campbell produced some design drawings for Buffalo Park.  We learned more from an "Arizona Daily Sun" newspaper special edition published for the 1964 Pow Wow.

Source: "Arizona Daily Sun" June 26, 1964, Page 81.

Campbell's design work survives today with the iconic Buffalo Park entryway.
Above clipping courtesy Arizona Historical Society North Division
Buffalo Park archives via NAU Cline Library Special Collections. 

"The Distant Trumpet" was loosely based on a 626 page tome of the same name by Paul Horgan.  Although Horgan's 1960 book received good reviews, the movie was resoundingly panned by reviewers.  A "New York Times" writer said: "A deadly bore...so dull you even lose interest in watching the horses and the stunt men doing their stuff...Seldom has there been a Western picture on which so much money was spent...from which so little excitement, energy or colorfulness exudes. It's as though Mr. Walsh and everybody were bitten by tsetse flies and went through the business of shooting the picture in a state of drowsiness."

(Editor's Note: The Times review above makes mention of "money".  The film's budget was $3-million.  That's the inflation-adjusted equivalent of over $24-million in today's dollars.)

A modern reviewer went even farther: "It's like the director was making a big movie that was suitable for preschoolers; no sex, no realistic violence, no believable fighting, limited dialogue. In fact the plot and dialogue was so limited that preschoolers could have played the parts." This reviewer speculated, "This was director Raoul Walsh's last film, he was 77 years old; maybe his age, health, mental and physical stamina had something to do with the lackluster result of this final production."

"Arizona Daily Sun" September 27, 1963, Pg. 2

Obviously, we will never know how Campbell and his cohorts connected with Flagstaff Buffalo Park but they were in the city long enough to make a historic difference in the layout and visual appeal of the facility. From the inferences of the reviews and the age of the Director, we'd speculate perhaps Campbell and other crew members were bored and looking for something fun and interesting to do during their short sojourn in Flagstaff. The Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors visited the Fort Delivery set on August 5, 1963, and that's most likely when the connection to Campbell and crew was established.  "Arizona Daily Sun" Reporter Paul Sweitzer said the Chamber members shared lunch with cast and crew and "to a certain extent the visit was like the traditional 'old home week' ".

Sources:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058019/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Distant_Trumpet

The Hiway House was one of two motels occupied by cast and crew for "The Distant Trumpet."
An August 23, 1963, note in an "Arizona Republic" Page 10 column by Bill Nixon said,
"Approximately 500 persons spent more than a month in Flagstaff this summer on location." 

Additional photos regarding "The Distant Trumpet" follow the page break.  All were found on eBay.

Buffalo Park Aerial Views

Fortunately, there is at least one aerial view of Buffalo Park that we know of.  It is the color postcard shown below.  We are currently bidding to buy the postcard from an eBay seller.  If we can obtain the postcard, we can learn much about the actual "as built" layout of the original Buffalo Park in the mid to late 1960's.

Also, fortunately, Buffalo Park Power User Neil Weintraub has taken a liking to our project.  On March 15, 2020,  Weintraub used his drone to capture two aerial views of the park.  Once we have the 1960's aerial view in hand, we will be better able to work with Weintraub to create meaningful "then & now" views how the original park layout compares to today's alignments and facilities.

 The eBay scan for this postcard is very low resolution.

 Weintraub's drone is capable of high resolution, wide angle photography.

Weintraub's drone photography will allow us to inspect specific areas of the park.

Prop. 200 1986 Election

A major milestone in Buffalo Park history took place March 4, 1986 when Proposition 200 appeared on the ballot of a City of Flagstaff initiative election. Voters approved the proposition 3,538 to 2,278.

We wish to Thank Flagstaff City Clerk Stacy Saltzburg for finding and sharing the original Resolution, Publicity Pamphlet and results from that pivotal election.  We also Thank Laurel Matsuda, Staff Assistant for the Clerk of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors for her assistance in forwarding our request to Ms. Saltzburg.

Official Title:
1-85-1 A Measure to Maintain Buffalo Park Solely as a Public Park, Proposed by Initiative Petition.

Text of the Initiative:
The City of Flagstaff shall maintain Buffalo Park solely as a public park. No other use or incompatible development shall be allowed in Buffalo Park, including but not limited to, paved roads or highways for use by motorized vehicles. The undedicated fifty-five (55) acres adjoining the eastern portion of Buffalo Park is hereby dedicated as an addition to Buffalo Park and is described as follows: That portion of Lots 2 and 3, including the SW 14 of the NW 14 of Section 11 owned by and located in the City of Flagstaff. Taken from the McMillan Heights Record of Survey, Recorded in Case 1 Map 149 of Coconino County Records.

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Platt Cline's Role & Account

Platt Cline circa 1961
See Photo Source below.

Few 1960's small city projects developed without support of the local newspaper. Back then practically every small American community boasted a thriving newspaper and Flagstaff was no exception. "The Arizona Daily Sun" enjoyed a robust readership thanks to a diligent Staff directed by Publisher Platt Cline.  Cline's boosterism for "all things Flagstaff" remains forever legendary. He was named "Citizen of the Century" in 1994 by the City of Flagstaff Centennial Committee. So it is not surprising that Platt Cline was one of the six members of The Buffalo Park Committee. (See "Buffalo Park Story" ephemera below.)

What is surprising is Cline's account of Buffalo Park as it appeared in Cline's landmark book about the history of Flagstaff's first century.  The account takes up less than a page of the 626-page book and numbers only 256 words.  Although Cline was renowned for his obsession with accuracy, his account of Buffalo Park contains errors, a key omission  and a misleading statement. Most surprising is Cline's omission of his own name from the roster of Committee members! Likewise, Cline's mention of Ivo Poglein's assertion doesn't square with available accounts of early promotion for the Buffalo Park Project. Poglein's purported assertion was not mentioned in any archived press coverage of early Buffalo Park development.  In fact, "The Arizona Daily Sun" was an active, eager, enthusiastic, relentless promoter of Buffalo Park, something that could have only taken place with the blessing of the Publisher...Platt Cline.

We have no way of knowing why Cline's account of Buffalo Park does not square with the facts.  Perhaps he harbored after-the-fact misgivings about the project.  Perhaps his memory of the project written about 30 years later simply morphed facts into generalities.

Buffalo Park began being promoted in 1963 but was not formally established until 1964. The park clearly occupied 217 acres as stated in the city lease. The park made money in the early years.  Admission was not by car but per person by age. Cline's grammar implies the park opened in April 1964.  The buffalo arrived in April but the park opened in late May that year.

We do know Cline himself used Buffalo Park later in his life and is said to have considered the woods and the mountains as his church.  Below is Cline's verbatim account of Buffalo Park as it appears in his book (cited below).

 "Buffalo Park was established in 1963 on 163 acres of city-owned McMillan Mesa land, part of more than 700 acres acquired by the city in a trade with the Forest Service in 1958. Mayor Wheeler and the council gave blessing to Chamber of Commerce President James Potter's proposal that a wildlife park be established there as a tourist attraction, and a committee was named, including Potter, John Babbitt, Bob Prochnow, Ernest Chilson and, for a time, Wheeler.
Funds for a chain link fence were solicited, and work was underway by September. There were to be stagecoach rides and "holdups" at certain hours; a visit with the "Old Trapper,” O.T. Gillette; some Navajo hogans with part-time occupants; and herds of elk, deer, antelope and buffalo. In spite of the fact that Ivo Poglein, director of the Albuquerque Municipal Zoo, pointed out that there had never been buffalo in Northern Arizona in old times, and that the site was not suitable for the big animals in view of the altitude and sometimes severe winters, eight bison arrived for the opening in April 1964. Costs were to be met by a fee of 50 cents per car, but the take was far below expectations and expenses far higher, and the record-breaking snows of 1967–68 were disastrous. By spring, fences were down and animals wandered around yards in the north part of town seeking feed. In October 1969, when the five-year lease expired, the city declared that the animals must be removed in two weeks. The debt was around $12,000."

Cline, Platt. Mountain Town - Flagstaff’s First Century. Northland Publishing, 1994. Pages 445-446

Cline photo by unknown photographer from Page 25 of the 1961 Flagstaff Pow Wow Program.  Cline served on the Pow Wow Committee.

The ephemera below is courtesy of the Arizona Historical Society North Division as archived at the NAU Cline Library Special Collections in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Platt Cline Encounter

Flagstaff's legendary newspaperman Platt Cline played a role in the creation of Buffalo Park. He was listed as a member of The Committee. It's reasonable speculation that Cline helped provide ample coverage for the fledgling Buffalo Park project in "The Arizona Daily Sun." Late in Cline's life he had a chance encounter with renowned author Mary Sojourner. Sojourner described those fleeting moments in a March 10, 2020 email:

See credit below.

"For decades I walked nearly every day in Buffalo Park - in part to be close to the Mountain. For many of those years, I worked with Save the Peaks activists to stop Snowbowl from making fake snow with reclaimed water on the sacred mountain. One day I started out on my walk and saw an old man walking slowly down the central path in the park toward the entrance. When he reached me, he stopped, turned and held his arms out to the mountain. "That is my cathedral," he said. I realized the old man was Platt Cline. "And, it is mine," I said. He nodded and walked past me to the exit."

In Cline's obituary, his Grandson Robert H. Cline II confirmed, "The woods and the mountains were his church." It's quite likely that Cline's personal affection for those woods and mountains helped shape his support and boosterism for the Buffalo Park project.


Platt Cline's Obituary can be found here:
https://azdailysun.com/mr-flagstaff-dead-at/article_3f700343-0875-55ff-b2d1-a286f045f2a0.html

Portrait of Platt Cline ©1994 by John Running from dust jacket of Cline's book "Mountain Town - Flagstaff's First Century"  Northland Publishing Company 1994. (ISBN 0-87358-569-0)