Online Finding Aid Available for the Karl C. “Sunny” Allan Papers

The Allan Papers document 20th century- outdoor recreation.

Karl C. “Sunny” Allan (1886-1978) was born in Ogden, Utah. He worked as a telephone lineman in the early 1900s, and was part of the Bureau of Reclamation crew that built a telephone line from Ashton, Idaho to Moran, Wyoming. In 1913, he joined the U.S. Forest Service and worked in the Targhee National Forest building telephone lines to fire lookouts. In 1918, he became a district ranger at Camas Meadows, Idaho. He worked at the Black Rock ranger station in Wyoming from 1930-1938, and the Jackson Lake ranger station in Wyoming from 1938-1942. From 1944-1956, Allan worked as a ranger in Grand Teton National Park (Wyo.) and managed the Rockefeller Wildlife Range. He and his wife, Esther, lived in the Jackson Hole area for more than 40 years.

The Allan Papers also document wildlife management in the national parks. This image is from Yellowstone.

The Karl C. Allan Papers contains correspondence, much of it connected with the U.S. Forest Service, biographical information, government documents and other printed material mainly regarding the Jackson Hole and Yellowstone areas of Wyoming, manuscripts, notebooks, and maps. A large portion of the collection consists of photographs of the Allan family and many other Jackson Hole residents and visitors, work and life of park rangers, wildlife, and scenery in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, as well as Targhee National Forest, Wyoming.  You may view the collection inventory here.

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