By Dave Lewis
Most writings about Ellsworth and Emery Kolb -- Grand Canyon pioneers -- blare the headline: “THE KOLB BROTHERS.” True enough, the two famous brothers were the stars of the show, but Emery’s wife Blanche warrants more than an honorable mention for her behind-the-scenes contributions to managing the family business and running a busy household while the boys were away, as they often were.
Ellsworth arrived at the Grand Canyon in 1901 with no plan other than to see what the future might hold in a place so full of promise. He worked as a porter at the old Bright Angel Hotel. Younger brother Emery joined him in 1902 anticipating a job in an asbestos mine. A different opportunity came along, however: they had a passing interest in photography and, with what must have been some trepidation, signed a purchase contract for a photography shop in Williams for what was to them an unimaginable sum of $425 to be paid over time. Portering and asbestos mining would have to wait.
By 1903 they were photographing mule riders as they headed into the Canyon. Soon, they branched out to satisfy a growing demand for high-quality photographs of the Canyon itself -- something no one else was providing at the time. As the Grand Canyon Association notes, they practiced photography as “an extreme sport.” Often dangling from ropes, balancing on impossibly thin ledges, or climbing ancient and rotten ladders, they photographed scenes no one else would have dared. Ellsworth, impetuous and fearless, was usually the driving force behind these exploits.
Emery met and married Blanche Bender in 1905. Blanche was a Harvey Girl working on Santa Fe Railway trains when they met. She was half a head taller than the five foot three Emery, poised, elegant and gracious; Emery doted on her, as he did on daughter Edith who arrived a year later. Blanche quickly took to running their retail shop, managing the finances, and serving as a check on some of the brothers’ wilder ideas.
Whether she protested or not, Ellsworth and Emery made a daring and dangerous descent of the Colorado River from Wyoming through Utah, into Arizona and through the Grand Canyon, photographing and shooting motion pictures the whole way. It was Ellsworth’s idea, of course. While they were away, Blanche ran the business in spite of being desperately ill much of the time. The river trip resulted in the famous Kolb Brothers Movie which was shown at the Grand Canyon continuously from 1915 through 1976, the longest-running motion picture in American history.
The business had its ups and downs, as did the relationship of the two brothers. Never actually estranged, they split up their business in 1924 as Ellsworth moved to Los Angeles. Emery and Blanche paid him a stipend every month for the rest of his life, and also supported Emery’s parents.
Through it all, Blanche maintained the household, as well as the business books and finances. Emery was constantly at odds with the Santa Fe Railway, the Fred Harvey Company and the Park Service, which kept trying to force him out of business. It fell to Blanche to smooth things over by hosting social events to make amends with the objects of Emery’s ire. Beyond that, Emery often brought friends home for Blanche to help entertain. Not just ordinary friends, though -- Emery knew how to charm when he wanted to. The parade of visitors included artists, writers, Hollywood celebrities and people as diverse as Albert Einstein and Teddy Roosevelt.
Emery and Blanche’s grandson and his wife, and their daughter, reminisced about them at a rare family reunion in 2012. Emery’s exploits and his grit and determination in conducting a photography business against the pressures put on him by competitors and bureaucrats are fairly well known and were retold with a dispassionate respect. Their stories about Blanche choked everyone up; no one could talk about her without crying. Most fondly remembered were family meals -- especially at holidays -- which Blanche presided over, with her fine china and silver. (Emery, always tight with a penny, spared no expense when it came to Blanche.) “She brought elegance and class to the Kolb Studio,” her descendants recalled.
Blanche passed away in 1960. Emery grieved for her as he lived another 16 years -- long enough to see the home they had built together on the rim of the Grand Canyon gain protection under the Historic Preservation Act. It stands today in Grand Canyon Village, awaiting your visit.
Grand Canyon Park Ranger volunteers Dave Lewis and Nettie Klingler will present a lecture at Sharlot Hall Museum Saturday afternoon, October 21, at 2 pm. Nettie, who portrays Blanche at living history events at the Grand Canyon, will reprise her role in her popular program “An Evening with Blanche Kolb.”
Blanche and Edith Kolb looking through telescope on South Rim for the Kolb Brothers’ Colorado River expedition, December 1911. Photo Courtesy National Park Service.
Kolb Studio after 1911-12 river trip, c. 1912. Photo Courtesy National Park Service.
“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.sharlothallmuseum.org/library-archives/days-past. The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles to dayspastshmcourier@gmail.com. Please contact SHM Library & Archives reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at dayspastshmcourier@gmail.com for information.