The Black Hills are known for their scenic grandeur as well as the prodigious amounts of mineral wealth extracted from them, but Watson Parkeris often spoken of as the Black Hills’ Greatest Treasure. Now in his 8th decade, Dr. Parker and his family have been Westerners from the first Corral in Chicago on down to this very day in the Black Hills Corral of Westerners International.
Watson can trace an ancestry of contributors to the culture and history of the American West, and especially to the Black Hills of South Dakota. The Parkers’ participation in preserving the history of the American West dates back to Chicago of 1944 where Watson’s father, Troy L. Parker, and Troy’s three brothers joined with Sen. Leland C. Case, editor of the Rotarian magazine, and Elmo Scott Watson, newspaperman and educator, to establish the first Corral of WI. Watson remembers attending some of those meetings with his dad and uncles during WWII.
Later in those war years, Staff Sgt. Watson Parker went off to serve his country in Europe and the Philippine Islands. In the U.S. Army Medical Department, attached to the 1284th Combat Engineer Battalion, he served in both theaters of war. Watson’s irrepressible dry wit mitigates the horrors he witnessed, referring to WWII as “that unpleasantness.”
Troy Parker started Palmer Gulch Lodge, a summer resort/dude ranch near Hill City, which the family operated from about 1927 to 1962. It was here that Watson was reared, with a childhood any youngster would envy. Taking over after Troy, Watson managed the lodge from 1946 to 1960.
Troy and Watson were charter members of the Black Hills Corral. Originally Black Hills Corral meetings were held at Loocke (pronounced lock) Haven. Carl Loocke’s summer place in Keystone. As membership increased meetings were held in various other locations. In each location, Watson was active, always ready to volunteer his services, present a paper, or take time to encourage a newcomer.
Watson’s inclination and background led him along scholarly paths. Starting with an BA in Liberal Arts from the University of Chicago in 1948, he went on to earn a BS in Hotel Administration from Cornell University in 1951. Watson continued on to graduate schools, receiving an MA and a PhD in Western American history and Plains Indian Cultural Anthropology, in 1962 and 1965.
While he still had one semester left at Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, Watson and Olga Massel Glassman were married in September of 1950. Olga worked as a secretary in the Home Economics Department at Ithaca while Watson completed that last semester. They were blessed with two sons and a daughter, James and David and Becky were reared in the idyllic atmosphere of Palmer Gulch.
As a University professor Watson taught history of the American West, Military History, Historical Method and Museum and Historical Society Management at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh from 1965 to 1986. His book Gold in the Black Hills, first published by the University of Oklahoma Press, reads like a scholarly thesis, because that is precisely what it was intended to be—a Doctoral thesis. When it was read by his mentors they suggested he have it published. Following this advice, Watson offered it to the publisher and it has since become a requisite part of any worthwhile collection of books on Black Hills history.
Watson has numerous books and papers on American history to his credit. including Black Hills Bibliography, Black Hills Ghost Towns (with Hugh K. Lambert) and Deadwood: The Golden Years.
We owe a particular debt of gratitude to Watson and Hugh Lambert for their vision in cataloguing, photographing and describing many of the ghost towns of the Black Hills in their book. Most of those abandoned towns, buildings and mines have long since vanished.
Watson also has published about 40 scholarly articles on Black Hills and Western topics as well as another 40 scholarly book reviews. His popular talks on Black Hills topics, delivered with his unique flair are sometimes likened to those of Mark Twain. They keep his audience enthralled and have encouraged many a tenderfoot to delve into history, take classes, become involved in historical associations and investigate these intriguing subjects on their own.
Watson and Olga, still sweethearts after almost 60 years, share a streak of imagination that belies their true age and helps keep them youthful. Around 1964 Olga bought Watson a Steiff walrus handpuppet as a Christmas gift. They soon found they were collecting walruses (or walrii, as they like to call the assemblage). With the help of friends and family the collection has grown to hundreds of whimsical walrii.
The Parkers retired and resided in Rapid City. They spent parts of their summers entertaining family in “Happy Valley,” Palmer Gulch, within view of craggy Harney Peak. Watson continued with his interest in Black Hills history and could be counted on to deliver an occasional paper at a meeting of the Black Hills Corral. (Both Watson and Olga have since gone to their reward, Dr. Parker in 2013, and Olga just recently in 2023 – ed.).
Originally published in Westerners International Buckskin Bulletin, VOL. XLII No. 3