Preserving the Past
September 7, 2009
Professor Steven R. Timm is the creative mind behind a new project: An Oral History Documentary of Ghost Ranch. Timm and students Sara M. Ketterer ’11 and Kristen A. Mitchell ’10 dedicated their summer to enhancing and preserving the history of a southwest landmark, Ghost Ranch.
Ghost Ranch has two locations in northern New Mexico; Santa Fe and Abiquiu. It is well known 
because of painter Georgia O’Keeffe, who lived on the Ranch for part of her life. Even without visiting the Ranch, most know of it and the surrounding areas through O’Keeffe’s distinctive paintings of the vibrant earth tones, jagged rock formations and clear blue skies.
Timm’s first trip to northern New Mexico was almost 20 years ago and has returned many times since then as part of his work. "Nearly all of my creative work in the last 15 years has been centered in the Southwest," says Timm. In addition, he has been an adviser for the Ghost Ranch trip offered through DePauw’s Winter Term. He is the John Rabb Emison Professor of Creative and Performing Arts, professor of communication and theatre and chair of the Communication and Theatre Department. Timm has advised the trip for eight years, accompanying many DePauw students to Ghost Ranch. Making it nine years this January, he and Meredith K. Brickell, assistant professor of art, are advisers for the 2010 Winter Term trip, Creativity and Culture in the Southwest: Ghost Ranch.
While talking to people at Ghost Ranch in January 2009, Timm began to think about the rich history of the Ranch and the urgency to preserve it. Timm says, “The combination of a fire in 1983 - that destroyed all of the historical Ranch documents - 
and a younger Ranch management made me realize that all of the stories would be lost one day. That’s when I thought, why not start collecting them?”
Timm shared his idea with DePauw students, and both Ketterer and Mitchell were game. They applied for summer research grants to assist Timm.
The three began their work on campus in summer in order to prepare to spend two weeks at Ghost Ranch. “The plan was to create an oral history documentary of recorded stories of individuals who had been going regularly to the Ranch since the 1950s. The purpose is to hold on to the memory of what the Ranch used to be and to record the oral histories for others to use for research,” Mitchell says.
To prepare for their trip, Ketterer and Mitchell studied the history of Ghost Ranch by reading two books by author and Ghost Ranch historian Lesley Poling-Kempes. One book is titled, Valley of Shining Stone: The Story of Abiquiu and the other is Ghost Ranch. “We met Lesley Poling-Kempes and her husband, Jim, in their home in Abiquiu and conducted an hour-long interview,” Mitchell says. "Lesley had a lot of great insight into the Ranch because she had been going there since the early ’60s and also did countless hours of research and interviews for her two books. Some of the archives she used were later lost to the fire.”
Timm, Ketterer and Mitchell interviewed more than 20 people ranging in age from a teenager to an 80-year-old watercolor instructor at the Ranch. "We did two sets of interviews," says Timm. "The first group were current and former employees and volunteers who made significant contributions to the Ranch since the late '60s. The second group of interviewees were guests of the Ranch who wanted to share their stories with us." Timm conducted the interviews while the DePauw students (above) filmed.
Ketterer, a communication and sociology double major, says, “I loved Ghost Ranch and am going back in January. Our project was incredibly interesting and definitely a fulfilling experience. We were able to interview quite a few people in the short time we were there, and every story added a new dimension to my understanding of what the culture and area surrounding Ghost Ranch has to offer. I was surprised by how beautiful it was, the history of the area and the welcoming attitude of everyone.”
Mitchell, an English writing and Spanish double major, transcribed the entire document. Timm and his students picked clips to determine how the documentary would flow. “This summer was really an introduction to what we will continue to work on. It has given us an overview,” says Mitchell, who is planning an independent study course with Timm to continue working on the project in the spring.
“There is a giant hole in the Ranch’s archives from about 1954 to 1983,” Timm says. "It’s clear that folks who experienced Ghost Ranch tried to help after the fire by sending photos and documents. We saw many yellowed snapshots.”
Timm plans to create a 20-minute overview of the project but is waiting until he can interview more people. “We made many discoveries this summer including that it will take three to five years to complete the final project. There are so many people to interview and that number continues to grow," Timm says. "Just the other day, I received word from the Ranch that Arthur Pack's son wants to contribute to the project." In 1955, Arthur and Pheobe Pack gave Ghost Ranch to the Presbyterian Church.
In the meantime, Timm is working on a six-minute trailer for the project that will be posted on the Ghost Ranch Web site.
Timm recently met with Rick E. Provine, director of libraries. Timm says, “The DePauw Libraries will house the digital archives that we’re creating, videos and transcriptions, and we’re giving a copy to Ghost Ranch.”
"We are really excited to be a part of this project. It will be a unique resource for anyone visiting or studying Ghost Ranch,” Provine says.
From the Ghost Ranch Web site:
In 1955, Arthur and Pheobe Pack gave Ghost Ranch to the Presbyterian Church. The 22,000 acres that comprise Ghost Ranch were part of a land grant to Pedro Martin Serrano from the King of Spain in 1766. The grant was called Piedra Lumbre (shining rock). The name "Ghost Ranch," or the local name "El Rancho de los Brujos," was derived from the many tales of ghosts and legends of hangings in the Ranch's history.