AV 125 Arthur Stupka Collection

              AV 125
Arthur Stupka Collection
Page 1
OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Manuscripts/ Audiovisual Collections
AV 125
Arthur Stupka Collection
Ca. 1935
OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION
Number:
AV 125
Title:
Arthur Stupka Collection
Creator:
Arthur Stupka
Dates:
Ca. 1935
Media:
Glass Lantern Slides
Quantity:
Fifteen Slides
Location:
Ohio Historical Society
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE COLLECTION
Arthur Stupka earned a degree in zoology from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio in 1932 and soon began a career as a naturalist with the National Park Service. He was the first junior naturalist to serve at Acadia National Park in Maine. In 1935 Stupka was appointed chief naturalist at the newly formed Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee. He held this position for 25 years.
Stupka compiled thorough documentation on the biology of the Park by keeping nature journals; collecting and preserving plant and animal specimens; and publishing his findings. He was especially concerned with maintaining the native flora and fauna of the Park, believing that native species should not be extracted from the Park and non- native species should not be introduced. In 1939 he began developing interpretive and educational programs for Park visitors.
Stupka became the Park Biologist in 1960, and retired soon after. He continued to conduct natural history workshops, including talks, guided hikes and tours, until his death in 1999.
Sources:
Edblad, Brianne. “ The Park’s First Naturalist, In Celebration of Arthur Stupka.” Walker Valley Reflections, The Newsletter of the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, Summer 2003.
[ URL: http:// www. gsmit. org/ downloads/ newssummer2003. pdf]