This comes from a 1996 NTSS Caver's Echo article that was, in turn, a reprint of a Carlsbad Current-Argus article from 29 February 1996 :
Caver’s Echo, 1996. 15(3):13-14 (4 June 1996). Following reprint taken fromthe Our Town edition of Carlsbad Current-Argus Thursday, Feb.29,1996 Crisman: A life of caving work Crisman to retirefrom NPS in fall byTeresa Lambright CARLSBAD. In 1953, Bob Crisman was a student at Abilene Christian Collegestudying to be a preacher when he and his brother Bart caught the caving bugthat would change the course of his life.It was a buginstilled in Crisman early on, and one that finally led him to the NationalPark Service, where he will wrap up a 39-year career this fall. “I remember beingvery favorably impressed with Carlsbad Caverns when my parents brought me outhere when I was 8 years old,” Crisman said of his earliest love of caves. But, he said, itwas not a dream from childhood because it seemed an impossibility. “I never dreamedI’d be able to get into the Park Service. It was really through my interest incaving ..that really provided the door to get in.” And it was morethan 150 foot cable ladder and a southwest Texas pitwith ominous name Devil’s Sinkhole” that first cracked open thatentrance.Crisman said he andBart read about the cave, and the adventure intrigued them, so they headed outwith their only caving gear - two carbide lamps and a safety rope. “It was just mybrother and I. We had cloth hats, nothard hats, but we did have carbide lamps,” he said, adding that first wild-caveexperience set the stage for a budding passion. The two soon teamedup to work with the National Speleological Society inventorying caves in Texas,and two years after the Devil’s Sinkhole experience set them on the trail, thepair stumbled upon their greatest caving triumph. “We had beenworking inventorying caves on the southern plateau of Texas when we came onSonora,” Crisman said. “We went in as far as the pit,” a 45-foot crater thatturned back most visitors to the unexplored cave. “We ran out of timeand really, we also didn’t see a way to get past that pit,” he said, addingthey did see what might be an entrance on the other side. They passed the tipto Dallas Grotto cavers, who later discovered the cavern’s helectite room. On the second tip,the Crismans joined the group. “We were jointly in on discovering the rest ofthe cave,” Crisman said of the Caverns of Sonora that now draws thousands ofvisitors each year to see its many intricate and pristine formations. In the same area,the Crismans also joined in on the discovery of Harrison Cave, also filled withnotable formations - although not open to the public, Crisman said. Those findings putCrisman’s story and photo in the 1956 NSS “The News” and the June 1964 NationalGeographic, among others. But the real reward was far more spiritual. He said bothprovided a thrill hard for others to imagine. “It was a thrill toknow we were some of the first ones in there. Until you actually experiencethat, you just don’t appreciate that or what it’s like. Just to know you’re thefirst person to walk into a place nobody has ever seen before is really neat,”Crisman said. The pair continuedtheir exploits through 1957, when their journey led Bob Crisman into hislifetime career. Crisman said thesearch for a fabled 2,000-foot cave near Carlsbad Caverns led the pair here,where the fable went flat, but opportunity arose. The pair got permission tocave off-trail with Dr. Bill Halliday in Left Hand Tunnel. It was Hallidaythat pitched park employment openings to young Crisman, who had fallen awayfrom his decision to pursue the ministry. “I thought I wantedto be a preacher at that time,” Crisman said of his Abilene studies. “I evenpreached a little in college at some rural area churches. After a few months, Idecided I was not cut out to do that every week.” Crisman came backto the park near the end of September and took the tour leader exam. He got thejob he thought as a child he would never have. At that point,Crisman said, his days of caving with Bart basically came to an end, althoughthe pair did get in some exploring in the park’s caves those first years - includinga rescue mission for Bart after a 40-foot fall in Ogle Cave. Bart continued hisexplorations through the 1970’s, Crisman said. Bob served a year as tour leaderbefore being promoted to tour leader supervisor. After three years, he sought atransfer out of the park that included a ranger title. “Of course, being atour leader then did get a little monotonous.” Crisman said of his first NPSjob. Tour leaders followed prescribed motions and speeches day in and out fordaily tour groups. “The first year, itwas the best job I had ever had, then...but by the third year it was getting alittle old.” He transferred toMontezuma Castle National Monument in Arizona in 1960, followed that as onlythe second protection ranger at the newly established Fort Davis NationalHistoric Site in Texas in 1965 and finally came back to Carlsbad Caverns in1970. In October orNovember [1996], with 39 years of service and a year of accumulated sick-leave andnear his 62nd birthday, Crisman will finish his career where it began completingthe circle from Caverns tour leader to primary assistant to the last fiveCaverns superintendents. He and wife, Pauline, plan to stay in Carlsbad. For 25 years, Crisman haswritten most of the park’s news releases and overseen the park’s safety and concessionsmanagement programs and assisted. He has met dignitaries like “Lady Bird’Johnson, former Texas Gov. John Connally and Julie Nixon Eisenhower andcelebrities like Ron Howard, Pat Boone and Jim and John Haggar. He provided thetext for many of the park’s folders and radio messages and wrote the park’snomination for the World Heritage Site designation it received in December. He describes hisservice simply, “I’ve tried to be a good soldier and give the credit to thefive superintendents I’ve served as principal assistant. It’s also nice to havegotten paid for something I’ve enjoyed doing and to retire on a positive note.” **************************************************Personally, I'll really miss Bob. He was a fine fellow and a great steward of the caves. Jerry Atkinson.
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