Norman D. Nevills pioneered commercial river transport in the Southwest United States along the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. He was the first to decide to help two women scientists on the expedition. They were Dr. Elzada Clover and Lois Yotter. Basically, Norman drove along the dangerous path tourists thirsty for extreme, and turned this occupation into a lucrative business.
Also with him traveled the famous politician Barry Goldwater - the Republican candidate for the presidency of the country in the 1964 elections, the US Senator from the state of Arizona in 1953-1965 and 1969-1987 and other famous people.
Biography
Norman was born in California in 1908 to William and May Davis Nevills. When the boy was thirteen years old, his father left for the state of Utah, where the development of oil wells began. Neville was supposed to be in college, so he and his mom stayed in California.
Norman attended Pacific College in Stockton and successfully completed his education there. In 1927, the Neville family joined together in a place called the Mexican Hat.
William Nevills was an accomplished rafter who worked as a ferryman on the Yukon River during the Klondike Gold Rush. The younger Nevills took over his father's interest in river rafting and often went with his father on rather dangerous journeys.
In 1932, Norman himself began sailing the San Juan River in an open boat and delivered supplies to miners downstream of the Mexican Hat. The following year, he worked for some time on the Rainbow Bridge and Monument Valley expeditions.
It was Norman Nevills who is considered the first businessman who began to ferry passengers by boat through the rapids of the Colorado River canyons for a fee. That is, he was the first to invent water tourism and commercial river business.
Businessman
For twelve years from 1938 until he safely drove friends, explorers and clients on his boats along the Colorado, Green, San Juan, Salmon and Snake Rivers. He has developed different routes for the needs and physical capabilities of clients.
The media wrote about him that the adventures that tourists experience while traveling with Nevills are unforgettable. And that he himself is the personification of the river flow, so much he seems to be his own in this element.
Norman made seven trips through the Grand Canyon, while no one else was able to swim there more than twice - it was so terrible to return to these black places. And later she began to teach her craft to young desperate guys, and his competitors appeared on the rivers, trained by him. But there was enough space for everyone, because not everyone would decide on such a risky business. You need to love this business very much in order to risk your life again and again, no matter what money you pay.
Some journalists scolded and criticized the desperate carrier, but still no one denies his contribution to the development of the western rivers of America and their recreation.
Nevills kept records of his river expeditions, and they were published in various journals. These descriptions feature vivid stories and photographs of untapped rivers and canyons in the Colorado River system and elsewhere. He wrote about the "wild journeys" on wooden boats of several fearless adventure tourism pioneers who paid Neville to get the thrill of dangerous rafting in unfamiliar places.
These notes were later edited by the river historian Roy Webb, and based on them he wrote the book "If We Had a Boat."
During the ten years that Nevills traveled with his clients to Colorado, San Juan and Green Rivers, not a single tourist was killed, and he himself never capsized a boat, although it did happen to some of his boaters. Magazines and newspapers dubbed him as "The # 1 Rapid Current Conqueror in the world."
Nevills became famous throughout the country in 1938, after a trip with Dr. Elsada Clover and Lois Yotter, two botanists from the University of Michigan who wanted to catalog the flora of the Grand Canyon from Green River to Lake Mead. They faced many difficulties, but completed the journey without major incidents. Their 43-day 666-mile ride generated a lot of media buzz.
After this incident, famous personalities reached out to the boats of the courageous carrier, who wanted to experience extreme and get promoted in this unusual business. One such PR man turned out to be Barry Goldwater, a young man from the family that owned the largest grocery chain in Arizona. He was about to get involved in politics and thought it would be nice to light up next to Neville.
Norman entrusted him with the oars, and he immediately turned the boat over. Everything was done without any major injuries, but later Goldwater showed slides from his "heroic journey" at all his meetings with voters. Largely due to this, his career as a politician was successful.
Personal life
In July 1933, Nevills met Doris Drone, they began dating, and in October of that year she became his wife. On their honeymoon, they sailed in San Juan in a boat that he built himself - it was very romantic. They had two daughters: Joan, born in 1936, and Sandra, born in 1941.
Over time, Nevills thought that it would be nice to master the plane, and began to take lessons from pilots. In 1946, he bought a small private jet and wanted to adapt it for his business: to move customers and supplies faster to remote areas.
He often flew under the Navajo Bridge near the Fox Ferry and then came back around the bridge. On September 19, 1949, Nevills and his wife, Doris, took off their plane from the runway wearing a Mexican Hat to travel to Grand Junction. Shortly after takeoff, the plane had engine problems and Neville tried to turn around, but the plane crashed into a dry stream and exploded. Norman and Doris died instantly.
In 1952, a plaque was erected on the Navajo Bridge in honor of Norman D. Nevills.
