The United States of America is a huge land area that has been blessed with countless natural resources. Sometimes the scenery in certain areas is truly unique and exceedingly unusual. President Theodore Roosevelt spearheaded the establishment of several national parks and the National Park Service was formed to monitor and control designated wilderness areas. Most development was halted in these areas and the parks were designed to remain in their natural state so that future generations could enjoy the magnificence that nature had created.
Millions of visitors have visited most of these parks, and some bought souvenir spoons to help them remember the sights. These spoons are not overly rare, but they are an important part of our natural history. Silver spoons are available from the first part of the century thru fairly recent times.
The spoon manufacturers had a very difficult job in choosing a design that would represent huge areas that are full of natural wonders. For the most part, their efforts have failed to capture the grandeur, but in their defense, no single image could. However, for the benefit of my many viewers who are outside of the United States I present a few examples of national park spoons.
Grizzly Bear; deer family group; Old Faithful geyser and elk
Great Falls; flower?; bear
Arch Gateway to Yellowstone Park
"Going-to-the-Sun-Mountain"; wolf
Lake McDonald Hotel, Glacier National Park
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska.
I have seen this glacier, and the spoon just does not do it justice, but no picture could. How do you represent a huge mass of ice?
The Grand Canyon is truly a spectacle of massive proportions. No spoon or picture could ever come close to capturing the grandeur. A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to fly over parts of the canyon in a private plane. This is a picture taken through the window. No picture could truly capture the scope of the humungous canyon which was carved by the Colorado River over eons of time.
Indian
Demi
left: Hopi, snake dance; view of the canyon
Hopi pottery makers, Hopi House
This classic Grand Canyon Spoon features a papoose at the top, a covered wagon and indian tools. The bowl features the El Tovar Hotel and a view of the canyon. The view of the canyon from the area behind this hotel is awe inspiring.
Bryce Canyon
I have been there, and the spoon does not come close to capturing the awesome sight, but no single image could.
Carlsbad Caverns Great Chimney Rock Great Smokey Mountains Sequoia Nat'l Park
New Mexico Wisconsin Tennessee California
Mt. Rushmore, Blackhills, South Dakota
Volcano at Lassen National Park
Lt. Zebulon Pike
Pikes Peak was a favorite tourist location around the turn of the last century. In spoon collecting we find a number of spoons from this area, and some have been shown in other exhibits. In this part of Colorado is an area of high erosion called the "Garden of the Gods" which has created some fantastic shapes. Below are two engraved spoons from this area showing the "Garden of the Gods" and "Balanced Rock".
"Garden of the Gods" "balance rock" "train to pikes peak"
I don't know who this woman is suppose to represent. The heart shaped bowl is engraved "Pikes Peak". Some elements of the picture look "indian", while other elements look a lot like "art nuevo". What do you think?
Signal
Station at top
This cute hand made spoon features a "balanced rock "finial. I though the "square knotted" handle was cute and unusual. The bowl also has an embossed picture of the Garden of the Gods