The Headstone Project: John Otto Honored Fifty Years After His Death
By Michael O”Boyle
It was June 19, 2002, along the back road of the Evergreen Cemetery in Yreka, California. About seventy-five people were gathered around the grave of a man who had died fifty years before. The reason for the gathering was to give tribute to an incredible American, a man who cared little for his own prosperity, a man who lived his life for the betterment of his community and his country. We all know the man’s name: John Otto. In my book he is one of America’s great folk heroes, and now he has been honored with a headstone as monumental as the man himself.
The “John Otto Memorial Headstone Project” began about ten years ago when I first started giving tours in the Colorado National Monument. I read up on the geology of the area and gained a decent layman’s knowledge on how the landscape was formed. I also read up on John Otto, the guy who dreamed up the idea that these canyons should be set aside as a national park, and then did something about it. I discovered that Otto, at age sixty-one, packed his bags and left the Grand Valley for Northern California to the hills around the little gold mining town of Yreka. He had lived there as a young man, and I guess he decided it would be a good place to retire. He could live cheap, camping out on a mining claim he had acquired and spend his time panning for gold. That’s just what he did for the last twenty years of his life until he died of a heart attack at the age of eighty-one.
The retired Otto was not the flamboyant, get things done kind of guy that he was while living in the Grand Valley. He lived simply, along the Klamath River about twenty miles from the town of Yreka. He didn’t pay rent; he set up camp at his mining claim. For the last ten years of his life, he moved on down the creek, closer to the river in an old abandoned one room post office. He used to say, “The less you’ve got, the better you are off.” He died with less than $150 to his name. Dan Girdner, the owner of the local funeral home, saw to it that Otto had a respectable burial, attended by a few local friends. A small metal marker was set over the grave. It gave his name, birth date, and date of death.
In the last chapter of Alan Kania’s first book on Otto, John Otto of Colorado National Monument, there is a photograph of the grave marker. I used to stare at that picture and wonder: What was it like in Yreka? Why did John Otto move there? Is there anyone around who remembers him? Is it possible to find the grave?
In the Fall of 1994, these questions were answered when on a trip to California, I found John Otto’s grave in the paupers’ section of the Evergreen Cemetery, a mile from downtown Yreka. Otto’s grave looks much like the hundreds of other pauper’s graves along the back road of the cemetery: A small stamped metal plaque, 4” x 6”. My first impression was “How insignificant! How small in comparison to the life of the man below it." I remember thinking, “John, we’re going to give you a decent headstone!” That moment, I guess, was the start of the John Otto Memorial Headstone Project.
A few weeks later I got together with Dave Fishell, historian, guide, and fellow John Otto fanatic, and talked about getting a headstone. We both agreed that it was a “Grand Idea!” We got together several times over the years, and we always talked about the headstone. Time passed and before long it was the Spring of 2001. The clock was ticking. Just over a year until the fiftieth anniversary of Otto’s death on June 19, 2002. We had been talking about the project for several years – it was time to get something done!
In May 2001, my girlfriend Karen Kllanxhja and I took a trip to Northern California. We met with the Yreka Chamber of Commerce and told them of our intention to place a new headstone in their cemetery. They said as long as we met all their criteria and didn’t do anything illegal, it was okay with them. We also found some folks in Yreka who remembered John Otto and shared their memories with us.
After getting permission to place a new headstone on John Otto’s grave, Karen and I returned to Grand Junction. Now we had to come up with a headstone, and not just an ordinary headstone! It had to be monumental, bigger than life, just like Otto himself. Since I had never designed a headstone, especially a monumental headstone, I turned to someone who turns dreams into reality for a living: artist and sculptor Lyle Nichols. Lyle recommended that I check with John Schmahl, who quarries rock at Unaweep Canyon. With John’s help we found a five foot wide by two foot tall, 3,400 pound, precambrian metamorphic boulder to use as the base.
Our next job was to find some red, monolithic looking sandstone to compliment the base. Karen and I took a trip to some rock yards in Lyons, Colorado, an area famous for Lyons sandstone, a hard and durable rock. Luck was with us! Just as our time and energy were running out, we literally stumbled upon a rock at the Luokenen Bros. Stone Company that looked just like Independence Monument in miniature. We never officially weighed it, but we estimate it would tip the scales at 600 to 700 pounds.
Lyle Nichols, who I cannot thank enough, agreed to help with the project. With his talent, tools, and heavy equipment he began to meld the base and the headstone together. Carlson Memorials offered to help with the engraving. Many thanks go to Dan and Kay Carlson and Donna Wiggins for making the time to put the finishing touches on the rock. The top stone reads, “JOHN OTTO DEC 30, 1870 – JUNE 19, 1952” The base is engraved with a quote from Otto: “DO YOUR BEST FOR THE WEST, THE BEST FOR THE WORLD, THE NEW DAY GET IT GOING” JOHN OTTO, PROMOTER AND FIRST CUSTODIAN OF COLORADO NATIONAL MONUMENT.
The project was progressing. We had moved from the idea stage to now being in possession of a two-ton headstone that was 1,100 miles away from the grave it was intended to rest on. Up to this point, we had survived on donated time and a few dollars, but things were changing. We needed money! The CNMA (thank you very much Denise and Renee) agreed to hold all money raised in escrow. So now all we needed to do was raise money! This is where the magic of this community came to light. First, the radio stations, television stations, newspapers, and periodicals got the word out and made everyone aware of the project. Then, individuals and businesses stepped up and donated money. I am happy and proud to say that we ended up raising $4,500. I also cannot say enough about Willy P. Chesterton, the singer-songwriter who wrote Man of the Canyon, a song about John Otto, that helped us raise $450 in CD sales. A few copies of the CD are still for sale at Triple Play on Main Street.
Special thanks go to the City of Fruita, which placed the headstone on display at Circle Park for two weeks at the end of May. Dan Hunt and Ryder Transportation Services gave us a great deal on a diesel flat bed truck that safely hauled the 4000 pound load. For me, it was not only an honor but a pleasure to drive the headstone out in Yreka. Special thanks also go to Palma Wilson and the National Park Service for donating the American flag that flew atop Independence Monument on Memorial Day and then was used in the memorial service in Yreka on June 19th.
There are so many people to thank, including all the folks in California who helped make it happen. On May 30, 2002, a large crane set the headstone in place over Otto’s grave. A little over two weeks later, on June 19, exactly fifty years to the day after he died, a group of about seventy-five people gathered around the grave for the official ceremony. About thirty came from Colorado, a few were from Oregon, and the rest were from Northern California. Some had just learned about Otto, others, like myself, had been reading about him for years. A select few were lucky enough to have known him.
It was a simple ceremony. Otto’s original pauper’s grave marker was removed from the ground, then the American flag covering the new headstone was removed, folded, and given to the town of Yreka. Yreka, in turn gave Colorado National Monument ranger Todd Overbye the original metal marker. The marker is now preserved in the Colorado National Monument archives.
I am proud to have done my part in giving John Otto a decent and well-deserved headstone. It was a lot of work, but it was all worth it. I learned a great deal, had some great experiences, and made some new friends. Many thanks to everyone who helped out. Whether your donation was in time, ideas, or money, you are part of the spirit of John Otto!