Dale Devine
b. December 31, 1925 – d. October 13, 2007
Role
Administrative Officer at Rocky Mountain National Park
Dates of Involvement
1963 - 1967 - First tour at Rocky Mountain National Park during Mission 66
Context
As an Administrative Officer at Rocky Mountain National Park during the Mission 66 era, Dale Devine was largely responsible for procuring the furniture for the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center (ROMO Archives, 1967). After contracting designs through Taliesin Associates and Olgivanna Lloyd Wright, Devine worked with the General Services Administration (GSA) to obtain the less-expensive, more durable, mass-produced furniture (Lee Collection, 1966). Procuring the furniture was not an easy task for Devine. As noted in “Rocky Ramblings,” an internal newsletter, “Dale could probably write a book on his experiences with GSA, architects, suppliers, etc,” (ROMO Archives, 1967). Devine worked with both E. Thomas Casey of Taliesin Associated Architects and Charles Gordon Lee of the Kunz Construction Company in his bid to furnish the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. Although some pieces were purchased directly from Taliesin, the majority had to be ordered through the Federal Supply catalog, matching as closely as possible to Mrs. Wright’s choices (Lee Collection, 1966).
Education
After graduating high school, Dale Devine joined the Navy, where he served from June 5, 1944 until June 15, 1946. Devine was stationed on the U.S.S. Hobson in the Pacific Theater until April 15, 1945 when he was injured during the Battle of Okinawa. He was awarded the Purple Heart and spent the rest of his service recuperating in California naval hospitals until he was honorably discharged in 1946 (Allnutt, 2007).
Career
In 1946, after leaving the military, Dale Devine first made his way to Yosemite, California. Although he did not work for the National Park Service at the time, Devine held a variety of jobs in Yosemite with the Curry Company, the main concessionaire in the park at the time, including night watchman, motion picture projectionist, ski instructor, and head groundskeeper at the Ahwanee Hotel. In 1953, Devine joined the National Park Service in Yosemite (the first of two tours at the park). Devine was a career park service employee, working at various parks including Grand Teton and Rocky Mountain National Park for two tours (Allnutt, 2007). While at Rocky, Devine worked as both an Administrative Officer and ski instructor at Hidden Valley on weekends and holidays (NPS, 1980). In 1983, he retired as an Administrative Officer at Yosemite, where he had begun his career (Allnutt, 2007).
