Thirteen years before Grand Canyon was designated a National Park, John
George Verkamp built a pioneer family enterprise that celebrated its
100th anniversary on May 18, 2006.
Verkamp’s dream of a successful tourist venture at the Grand
Canyon probably began in 1898 when he sold canyon souvenirs from a small
tent perched on the South Rim. He saw early visitors come to the Canyon by
horse-drawn wagons or stagecoaches before the Santa Fe Railroad reached the
Canyon in 1901. Travel by automobile began in the early 1900s and increased
every year afterwards.
Verkamp built the permanent store in 1906 with plans from
architect Charles Whittlesey, who also designed the nearby El Tovar Hotel,
which was completed a year earlier.
During his first day of business on January 31, 1906, Verkamp began
keeping a ledger for his business venture and developed plans for his family
to live above the store. The upstairs family living quarters included a
large living room with a fireplace, a bedroom at each end of the building,
and a kitchen to serve the needs of his family of six. When he eventually
moved his wife, Catherine, and four children from Flagstaff to the Grand
Canyon in 1936, the family found comfy quarters in this remote location,
complete with one of the world’s most spectacular views.
Due to the scarcity of water in the
arid climate at the South Rim, Verkamp built the store with a roof that
would funnel rainwater to an underground cistern to provide drinking water
for his family and park visitors.
As
National Park visitation skyrocketed from 300,000-400,000 tourists in the
1940’s to more than five million in 2005, Verkamp’s has expanded its
merchandise and continues to this day to purchase items directly from Native
American artists and from traders at Arizona and New Mexico trading posts.
Four
generations of Verkamps have worked
in the store. The founder’s son, “Jack” (John George Verkamp, Jr.)
managed the store for 55 years, surviving the
lean years of two World Wars through the boom years of increasing travel on
Route 66 when it seemed like everyone was packing up the kids and heading
west. Destination - the Grand Canyon.
Jack
and his sister, Peggy, managed the store by offering the magical combination
of both high quality Indian arts such as rugs, pottery and jewelry with the
“something for everyone” souvenirs of curios, postcards, and novelties.
Jack
and his wife, Mary, lived above the store and the entire family took part in
the operation of the store. Jack and Peggy trained all of Jack’s
children—John, Mike, Steve, Jane, and Susie—and later Kelly and Lisa from
his second wife, Betty—to do most of the tasks involved in running the
store. This third generation of Verkamp’s were clerks, stockers,
maintenance workers and inventory takers, but their most important job was
to treat every guest as a member of the family. If Verkamp’s showroom
overflowed with tourists, the Verkamp kids came running at the sound of
“Help” on the family’s intercom.
All of
the Verkamps attended Grand Canyon Public Schools and were involved in
student government, sports, academics, yearbook and newspaper writing,
hunting, and the school band. All are still devoted fans of their beloved
Grand Canyon School Phantom teams. Five graduated from the University of
Arizona in Tucson.
One of
Jack’s sons, Mike, managed the store for 25 years and took a lead role in
the 1988 renovation of the store. His painstaking restoration of
the historical aspects of the store and its structural components was
combined with improving the gifts and styling that appealed to shoppers in
the 1980s and ‘90s. Restoring the building while keeping its historical
integrity led to the building being placed on the National Register of
Historic Structures. Although most visitors appreciate the historic
nature of the building, to Verkamp family members it was just “home”.
While
for years they both lived and worked directly in the building, today Jack’s
seven offspring comprise the family board that oversees the operation of the
Verkamp’s store. In 1995, Dan Ashley was hired as the first non-Verkamp
general manager of the store. True to tradition, Dan continues to keep
quality merchandise and personalized service a key aspect of the day-to-day
operations of Verkamp’s.
Susie
Verkamp serves as president of the Verkamp’s board, and is proud to continue
her grandfather’s legacy in the second century of Verkamp’s operation.
This distinguishes Verkamp’s as the oldest family-owned concession in the
entire National Park system. “Despite all the changes over 100 years,
the thing I am most proud of,” Susie said, “is the quality of service
we give to our customers. It’s our knowledgeable staff that keeps the
tourists coming back.”
