Hatch River Expeditions records
Collection
Identifier: ACCN 1325
Scope and Contents
The Hatch River Expeditions records contain correspondence, logs, employment records and oral histories from the Hatch family.
Dates
- 1927-2007
Creator
- Hatch River Expeditions (Organization)
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Conditions Governing Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Biographical Sketch
Robert Rafael "Bus" Hatch and his brothers Alton and Tom began boating in the Vernal, Utah, area in the late 1920s. They ran the Green River in 1931, the Green and Colorado through Cataract Canyon in 1933, and the Grand Canyon in 1934. In 1935-36, they ran the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho, as well as the Main Salmon. By the end of World War II, Bus Hatch in particular had become known as a river runner. With the controversy over the planned Echo Park Dam in Dinosaur National Monument in the late 1940s and early 1950s, many people turned to Bus Hatch and his sons, Don, Ted, and Frank, to take them down the Green and Yampa Rivers. During the controversy, Hatch River Expeditions outfitted river trips for both pro-dam and anti-dam groups, trips that often included over 100 people. This was the true genesis of Hatch River Expedtions. After the controversy, and through the 1960s, the name Hatch became synonymous with river running, especially in the western United States. By the end of the 20th century, Hatch had become one of the best-known river outfitters in existence. [maybe add this:] Bus Hatch died in 1967, and two of his sons, Don and Ted, took over and expanded the business. By the late 1970s, it had grown so much that they split it between them, with Don taking the Green, Salmon, and upper Colorado Rivers, and Ted concentrating on the Grand Canyon. Don died in 1994; Ted retired and sold his business to his son Steve in 2007. Meg Hatch, widow of Don, sold her part of the business the same year, but the Hatch name, and the Hatch legacy, will be recognized whenever people run a wild river.
Extent
47 Linear Feet
Abstract
The Hatch River Expeditions records contain correspondence, logs, employment records and oral histories from the Hatch family. Robert Rafael "Bus" Hatch and his brothers, Alton and Tom, began boating in the Vernal, Utah area in the late 1920s and formed Hatch River Expeditions, one of the best known river outfitters in the western United States.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Meg Hatch (boxes 1-60) in 2000.
Donated by Don Hatch and Meg Hatch (boxes 61-94) in 2004.
Donated by Don Hatch and Meg Hatch (boxes 61-94) in 2004.
Processing Information
Processed by Elizabeth Rogers in 2007.
Creator
- Hatch River Expeditions (Organization)
- Title
- Inventory of the Hatch River Expeditions records, 1927-2007
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Rogers
- Date
- © 2008 (last modified: 2019)
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid encoded in English in Latin script.
Repository Details
Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository
Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu