Carl Sharsmith

Carl Sharsmith
July 1979 on Dana Plateau, Mono County, California
Summer 1994 in the Tuolumne Meadows

Carl W. Sharsmith (March 14, 1903 – October 14, 1994) was an American naturalist and Yosemite park ranger, notable for his knowledge and interpretation of the natural history of the Sierra Nevada. He taught botany at various universities, and was the first botanist to comprehensively document the alpine flora of the high Sierra Nevada.

Biography

Born Karl Wilhelm Schaarschmidt II in New York City to Swiss and German parents, he grew up the U.S., Europe, and Canada. Sharsmith was inspired by the works of naturalist John Muir and became interested in the outdoors and nature. He dropped out of school at 14, but became inspired enough to finish his high school and college education.

Sharsmith enrolled in the Yosemite School of Field Natural History in 1930 then was hired as a seasonal Ranger-Naturalist in Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park the following year. He received his BA from University of California, Los Angeles in 1933 and his Ph.D. in botany from University of California, Berkeley in 1940.

Sharsmith would work each summer as a Ranger-Naturalist and spend the rest of the year teaching or performing herbarium research. He was said to have explored nearly every "nook and cranny" of Yosemite's High Sierra[1] On his opinion of teaching he said, "people are not interested in facts. The greater appeal is to the heart." On nature walks, he would often kneel down and talk about a flower. One of his favorite flowers was Raggedy Aster (Aster integrifolius).[2]

When asked what he would do if he only had a day to see Yosemite he replied, "I'd sit by the Merced River and cry."

The rest of the year he taught or researched at various schools: University of Minnesota, Stanford University, and San Jose State University. Sharsmith was Professor of Botany at San Jose State from 1950 to 1973.

Besides interpreting for visitors, Sharsmith did basic research on the alpine meadows of the High Sierra, gathering thousands of herbarium samples and publishing several research papers. His interests included botany, zoology, geology, classical music, Shakespeare, and singing opera.

Sharsmith's wife Helen was a biologist in her own right. They had a son John, named after John Muir, and a daughter Linnea, named after Carolus Linnaeus. Sharsmith and his wife later divorced.

Sharsmith retired from the National Park Service in 1993 at 90, the oldest active NPS park ranger in history.

Sharsmith died 1994 in his home at San Jose, California.

Awards

Legacy

See also

References

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  1. ↑ Obituary, New York Times
  2. ↑ "Carl Sharsmith, 1903-1994" Scree 28:4 (April 1995). Obituary in Peak Climbing Section newsletter, Loma Prieta Chapter, Sierra Club
  3. ↑ Carl W. Sharsmith Herbarium, San José State University
  4. ↑ Sharsmith Peak, informal name for Peak 12002 in Yosemite National Park
  5. ↑ "Author Query for 'Sharsm.'". International Plant Names Index.
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