Pearson, Grant H., 1900-1978

Grant Harold Pearson (1900-1978), a native of Minnesota, arrived in Alaska in 1925. In his first year there, he worked briefly for the Alaska Road Commission and the Fairbanks Exploration Company, but in 1926 he joined the National Park Service, with which he was to remain for the next thirty years. Other than brief stints at Yosemite National Park (1939-1942) and Sitka and Glacier Bay National Monument (1947-1947), he spent his entire Park Service career at Mt. McKinley National Park (now Denali National Park and Preserve), where he rose through the ranks from ranger to superintendent. Soon after his retirement in 1956, he embarked upon a career in Alaskan politics. He represented McKinley Park (1959-61) and Nenana (1961-65) in the State House of Representatives, and served in the State Senate from 1965 to 1967. (From Who's Who in Alaskan Politics by E. Atwood and R. N. DeArmond [Portland, Ore.: Binford & Mort for Alaska Historical Commission, 1977].)