By Robin Hunt
The John Wesley Powell River History Museum hosted the River Runners Hall of Fame on Saturday in Green River. This is an annual event that has taken place since 2014.
The Hall of Fame is part of the original exhibit concept with names added periodically between 1991 and 2014. The honorees this year include Dick McCallum, Martin Litton and Kim Crumbo.
McCallum started running rivers in 1957 with Georgie White and soon became a regular guide. He began taking young people on expeditions through the Grand Canyon with the founding of Grand Canyon Youth Expeditions in 1970, and he continued running rivers as an outfitter until the late 90s.
Litton’s early career was as a writer and he often wrote about the destruction of the environment. He joined the Sierra Club and helped defeat the Bureau’s plans to build dams in Marble Canyon and western Grand Canyon. In the early, 70s Litton founded Grand Canyon Dories, which still operates to this day under the ownership of OARS.
Crumbo began guiding in Utah during the early 1970s with Holiday River Expeditions and then started guiding in the Grand Canyon in the years following. Eventually, he worked with the park service as a river ranger and on the South Rim. After retirement, Crumbo dedicated his life to the protection and preservation of wild places and animals.
“John Wesley Powell is the first member of the River Runners Hall of Fame,” museum director Janet Smoak said. “His scientific objectives, bravery of journeying into the unknown and sheer sense of adventure defines every subsequent member.”
Smoak continued. “When more than 300 of us come together to induct Martin, Mac and Kim on Saturday, we’ll celebrate lives well-lived on the river. We’ll remember and resolve to continue their work for conservation, championing of youth and demanding protection for wild spaces. Gathering once a year to celebrate river runners re-energizes all of us in our work to share the unique and significant history found on the Colorado Plateau carved by the Green, Colorado, Yampa, San Juan, Dolores and so many other rivers, large and small.”
Activities to celebrate these honorees included a ceremonial boat procession, a silent auction, a dinner catered by San Rafael Works and the induction ceremony.