Lauzon Family Collection

Browse this Collection

NAU.PH.96.3.1.1-45.5

Volume:: 786 black-and-white photographs and negatives, hand-colored photographs, color photographs, and color slides
Views Include:: This collection documents the ranching activities of the Lauzon and Bass families and their neighbors. Also of note in the collection are the various portraits, both posed in the studio and casually snapped at home, of Lauzon and Bass family members, photographs of the Bass camps and activities, rodeos at Grand Canyon, Ash Fork, and Prescott, people and activities on and near the Havasupai Reservation, and the mines in which members of the Lauzon family were involved.
Biographical Note:: The central figure in the Lauzon Family Collection is Hubert R. "Bert" Lauzon (1885-1951). Born in Quebec and raised in southern Colorado, Bert arrived at the Grand Canyon in 1910 or 1911. He was soon employed as a hired hand and guide by pioneers William Wallace and Ada Diefendorf Bass, whose modest tourist business and camp benefitted from Lauzon's knowledge of horses, ranching, and outdoor skills. Late in 1911, Bert joined brothers Emery and Ellsworth Kolb on a portion of their historic Grand Canyon Colorado River run. In 1916 or 1917, Lauzon married the Bass's eldest child, Edith, who was born (1896) and raised at her family's camp. The couple had three children: Hubert, Muriel (Dolly) and Loren (Tiny). The marriage ended tragically with Edith's death in 1924 as a result of complications from surgery. Three years later, Bert married schoolteacher Rosa White.
During his years at the Grand Canyon, Bert wore a multitude of hats. With the help of his family, he bred and trained horses, ran cattle, and raised turkeys and chickens. His first ranch, which he homesteaded in 1917, was located near Pasture Wash, not far from Bass's Rim Camp. In later years he moved the ranching operation to the "White House," close to Grand Canyon Village. From 1919 until 1928, he was employed by Coconino County as the caretaker for the Bright Angel Trail. During roughly the same period, he also served as the Justice of the Peace for the Grand Canyon District. In 1928, he was elected Grand Canyon Constable, a position he resigned the following year when he was hired as a ranger by the National Park Service. Lauzon retired from the Park Service in 1951. He died a few months later.
Related Materials:: For related material, see the Lauzon Family manuscript collection, Bass photograph and manuscript collections, McKee photograph collection (Little Horse trip), and Kolb photo and manuscript collections.

Cline Library
Special Collections and Archives Department
Northern Arizona University