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MAN: There is a thing
called power of place

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l honestly and truly believe in,

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and l think that has
an impact on people.

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Once you experience
the power of place

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in a national park unit,

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whether it's
cultural, historical,

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natural, or whatever it is,

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you have been bitten.

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MAN: About the only thing l ever
did that was really smart

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was to go out into the desert
and pick a darn good ruin

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and sit down by it
for 30-odd years.

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Frank Pinkley.

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NARRATOR: ln 1900,
a 19-year-old Missiourian,

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a former jeweler's apprentice
named Frank Pinkley,

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arrived in Arizona
under doctor's orders

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to find a dry climate

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because he was susceptible
to tuberculosis.

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A year later, for lack
of other applicants,

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he found himself in charge of

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Casa Grande National Monument
in Arizona,

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a 4-story adobe ruin
of the ancient

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Hohokam civilization,

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that had flowered
in the southwest

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1,000 years earlier.

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As custodian of the ruins
and its 480 acres,

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Pinkley lived in a tent
he pitched nearby,

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dug his own well, and began
carrying out his duties,

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which consisted primarily
of preventing vandals

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from looting the artifacts

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and keeping stray cattle
out of the site.

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A few years later,
he married his wife Edna

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and built a shelter
over his tent

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for them to live in.

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After the birth
of their 2 children,

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he used his own money and any
materials he could scrounge

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to construct a ramshackle
adobe house,

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earning his family the nickname
''the ruined Pinkleys.''

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Money for improvements
seldom arrived,

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except for a barnlike roof
to keep rain

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off the thousand-year-old adobe,

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but Pinkley didn't complain.

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He stabilized the old walls
to keep them from collapsing.

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happily wrote his own brochures
publicizing Casa Grande,

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and loved nothing better
than providing

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personal guided tours to
the few visitors who showed up.

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''Did you build this ruin?''
one visitor asked Pinkley's son.

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''No, sir, l didn't,'' the boy
answered, ''but my father did.''

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MAN: There really
was not much left

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at the Hohokam enclave,

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but you would think
you were gazing

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at one of the 7
wonders of the world

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to see the affection and pride

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Pinkley had
in his moldering ruins.

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lt was beyond belief.

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He pointed out every spot
that had been restored,

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every plan he had
to complete his dream.

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To him, it appeared
a true casa grande,

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a magnificent house of the noble
Hohokam rising toward the sun,

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not a melting mound of clay
as we saw it.

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Horace Albright.

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NARRATOR: Horace Albright
and Stephen Mather,

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founders of the newly created
National Park Service,

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had been so impressed by
Pinkley's dedication and drive

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that when the Grand Canyon
became a national park in 1919,

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they considered him for the plum
appointment of superintendent.

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But Pinkley said he preferred
to stay at Casa Grande.

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They let him keep
the job he loved

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and asked him to oversee all
of the other national monuments

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in the southwest as well.

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Each year, he loaded his family
into an old Model T

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and embarked
on an inspection tour

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covering Arizona, New Mexico,
and parts of Colorado and Utah.

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He would travel to an increasing
number of monuments

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under his supervision--

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14 at first, then more than 25--

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checking in with
each one's custodian,

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oftentimes a lonely volunteer
being paid just $1.00 a month...

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offering friendly advice
on how to do their work

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more professionally

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and always boosting their morale
with his folksy encouragement.

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MAN: About the only satisfaction
we can dig out of this situation

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is that when it came
to making real savings,

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to making $1.00 do the work
of $2.00 or $3.00,

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to doing without necessities,

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they certainly came to the right
outfit when they came to us.

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NARRATOR: ln deference
to his leadership,

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the men under his supervision
called him ''the boss.''

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Then Edna died in 1929,

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but Pinkley soldiered on
in her absence

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with their 2 children.

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Struck by a heart attack
8 years later,

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he kept on working despite
his diminished health.

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''National monuments,''
he told his custodians,

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''were held together with
binding twine and bailing wire.''

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So was ''the boss.''

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COOK: ''The boss'' epitomized
esprit de corps.

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l often have said
that the National Park Service

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is the Marine Corps
of the civilian agencies.

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A commitment to what they do,
a pride in what they do,

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a burning pride in the uniform,

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and ''the boss'' was all of that,
and he exuded it.

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MAN: The badge
can symbolize the service

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and identify the wearer
to the park visitor,

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but the uniform
can do more than that.

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lt can build
morale and prestige.

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Morale in the man who wears it

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and prestige in the eyes
of the public

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when it is worn
by the right men.

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NARRATOR: After more than
35 years on the job,

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Pinkley finally
convinced his superiors

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to fund a conference
for his far-flung

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and poorly paid employees,

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a chance for them
to meet each other

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and share ideas
about the jobs they did.

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He gathered his men together
at Casa Grande

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under strict orders
that they wear their uniforms,

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and on the opening morning
delivered a speech

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he had wanted to give them
in person for many years.

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MAN: l think you will
all understand

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that this is one of
the red-letter days in my life.

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lt was in December 1901
that l started

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down the lonesome trail
which has finally led to today

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and this room,
and these coworkers.

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The idea behind
our organization...

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But he finally got permission

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to hold
the superintendent's conference,

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and he stood before them
and he gave his speech

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that he had prepared,

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and people who were
there tell me

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there was a jerk in his step

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and they could tell
something was wrong.

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''The boss'' gave his speech
and died...

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with his boots on

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in front of the people
that he loved so,

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doing the thing he loved best.

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NARRATOR: Pinkley's men
decided to complete

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the 3-day conference anyway

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and sat for a formal photograph

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taken with his empty chair
in the middle.

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Then they conducted
his funeral service,

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not in a traditional church

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but on the grounds
of his beloved

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Casa Grande National Monument.

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They were sure ''the boss''
would have wanted it that way.