December 14th 1947
Earlier this year, I published my most popular novel yet; The Everglades: River of Grass
I started the project four or five years ago when my friend Hervey Allen, a fellow writer, dropped by my house. He'd pass through town occasionally, and we'd all get together. After his great success, Rinehart and Company made him the editor of its Rivers of America series. Well-known writers had been sent out to write books about the Hudson, the Upper Mississippi, the Lower Mississippi , etc. (1. pg190)
Allen came to my house to tell me they wanted me to write a book about the Miami River. I couldn't possibly write a novel about the Miami River, it was only an inch long - so I suggested the Everglades instead. I'll admit I didn't know much about the Everglades at that point, just that it connected to the Miami River. "All right," Hervey said, "write about the Everglades." There, on a writers whim and an editors decision, I was hooked with the idea that would consume me for the next five years, and likely the rest of my life. (1. pg90)
The problem of research in a comparatively unknown area like the Everglades is a curious one. No comprehensive book on the subject has ever been written before this attempt. There is little actual source material, in spite of much descriptive writing. One has to depend on the memories of people But, most fortunately, for me, a few studies of various phases of the Everglades have just been completed. So my heartfelt thanks goes out to people everywhere, scientists or old-timers, who have given me so generously of their knowledge on their own exhaustive studies. (2. pg386)
On December 6th, they established the Everglades National Park. I was part of the park committee, going down many times to see where the boundaries were to be drawn. I attended the ceremonies in Everglade City when President Truman formally dedicated the park. Many people were responsible for this great achievement, including my old friend Ruth Bryan Owen. She is currently a representative in Congress. During a debate in a House committee, the land owners who didn't want to sell to the government argued that the Everglades was a big swamp filled with snakes and mosquitos. To prove it, they brought a big snake in a bag and dumped it on the table. Ruth Bryan Owen saw that something had to be done. She'd never picked up a snake in her life, but she grabbed this one, wrapped it around her neck, and announced: "That's how afraid we are of snakes in the Everglades." (1. pg194)
1. Douglas, Marjory Stoneman, and John Rothchild. Marjory Stoneman Douglas: Voice of the River: An Autobiography. Pineapple Press, 1990.
2. (photo) Douglas, Marjory Stoneman. The Everglades: River of Grass. Rivers of America Books, 1947.
