Arthur Chapin Allen

Arthur C. Allen, 74, of Asheville, passed away September 4, after a long illness of lymphoma. He received care at the John F. Keever Hospice Solace Center in Asheville. He retired from the National Park Service in 1990, after dedicating nearly three decades to a career of which he was a passionate supporter and advocate. His long career in the National Park Service (NPS) began in September 1961, when he started as a GS-5 Park Ranger on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Linville Falls, NC. In March 1963, Art accepted the position of Park Naturalist at Big Bend National Park, TX. He then went on to be the Assistant Chief Ranger for Canyonlands National Park, UT in October 1964, just a month after President Lyndon Johnson dedicated the park. In 1964, Art piloted the whitewater raft that took Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of President Johnson, through Big Bend National Park’s Santa Helena Canyon. In 1966, Art was selected to attend the University of Michigan where he earned a Masters of Science degree in Natural Resources Management. After matriculation, he was transferred to the New Area Studies at NPS headquarters in Washington, DC. Art was a member of the planning teams that helped create or expand Biscayne Bay National Preserve NP, FL; Cape Lookout National Seashore NS, NC; Big Cypress NP, FL; Gulf Islands NS, MS; Canaveral NS, FL; Ozark National Scenic Riverway NSR, MO; John F. Kennedy Birthplace National Historic Site NHS, MA; Fort Circle Park Bicycle Trail, DC; Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace NHS, NY; Carl Sandburg NHS, NC; Guadalupe Mountains NP, TX; Redwood NP, CA; and Grant-Kohrs NHS, MT. In 1970, Art began working in Harper’s Ferry, WV, at the newly created Interpretive Design Center. After this, he served as Chief Curator of the National Park Service Division of Museum Services, Harpers Ferry Center, WV, for 12 years. In 1972, the NPS Historic Preservation Office sent Art and four other cultural resource people to Russia for six weeks as a part of President Nixon’s Cultural Exchange Program. Art served as Chief of Professional Resources for the Blue Ridge Parkway from June 1983, until his retirement in 1990. Even in retirement, Art continued to perform exemplary service for the National Park Service and his former colleagues. He designed and then moderated a computer list serve that featured news stories from papers around the country that dealt with NPS and other conservation issues. In the more than five years that he ran this news service, he posted more than 35, 000 articles. These stories allowed NPS employees, retirees, and other interested individuals the chance to stay current on NPS activities, controversies and personalities. It is a testimony to the list serve's importance to its readers that it continues on following his death. Art and Peggy, his wife of 54 years, have lived in Asheville, NC, since 1983. Their 54th wedding anniversary was September 4. He was a native of Fort Worth, Texas; a Life Member of Masonic Lodge #942, AM & FM, in Fort Worth; graduated from The University of Texas at Austin; Army Veteran during The Korean Conflict stationed in Germany. During this time, he was Boy Scout Leader and Troop Master for Army dependents at the base. In 1970, he was selected to be a member of the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild (later changed name to Southern Highland Craft Guild) Asheville, NC, in the category of Glass. Art served for five years in the Guild as a Board of Trustee Member for three terms, and as President for two terms. He has been awarded Life Membership. Art has three children: Son, Ted (wife Belinda) and grandsons Morgan, Tyler and Brody of Buford, GA; Son Gary (wife Beverly) and granddaughter, Kerri of Wilmington, NC; and daughter Julee Gittemeier and grandson Haydn of Asheville. Art was cremated by Groce Funeral Home, Patton Avenue, Asheville. Memorial donations may be sent to the Southern Highland Craft Guild Educational Endowment Fund, P. O. Box 9545, Asheville, NC, 28815.