Clark, Georgie White

River runner; b. Georgia DeRoss, 1910; married 1st Harold Clark, 2nd James White; d. 1992.

From the description of Papers, 1898-1994. (Nogales-Santa Cruz County Public Library). WorldCat record id: 28045043

Arizona and Utah river runner; b. Georgia DeRoss, 13.11.1910; d. 12.5.1992.

From the description of Georgie Clark collection, 1937-1970s [photographs]. (Nogales-Santa Cruz County Public Library). WorldCat record id: 32781324

Georgie was born Georgia DeRoss in Guyman, Oklahoma on November 13, 1910 and was raised by her mother, along with her brother Paul and sister Marie. According to Georgie, she grew up in Chicago and spent her spare childhood hours swimming in Lake Michigan (Her birth certificate lists her name as Bessie DeRoss. She actually lived in Oklahoma and Colorado). At seventeen she married Harold Clark and in 1929 gave birth to her only child, Sommona Rose Clark. Harold and Georgie then moved to New York City where Georgie found work as a comptometer operator for Radio City. She became fascinated with bicycling in Central Park. On August 2, 1936, Georgie, always restless, set out with Harold for California on two racing bikes. They settled in Los Angeles, and Georgie's mother, sister, brother, and daughter joined them soon thereafter.

Georgie and Harold divorced in Chicago in 1941. She married James (Whitey) White in 1942. She and Whitey ultimately divorced as well in 1971. During World War II, Goergie learned to fly in Quartsite, Arizona and joined the Ferry Command. She completed her pilot training just as the government deactivated the Ferry Command. In June of 1944, a drunk driver struck and killed 15-year-old Sommona Rose as she and Georgie bicycled towards Santa Barbara.

Georgie saw the Colorado River in 1944 on a hiking trip with fellow Sierra Club member and explorer Harry Aleson. In 1945 and 1946, she and Aleson, because they could not afford a raft, swam 185 miles of the lower river in their life preservers. Next, Georgie scraped some money together and purchased a surplus seven-man raft. She used it to run the river for several years. In 1954, Georgie lashed 3 ten-man boats together (now known as a G-rig or triple-rig) which enabled her to run the rapids rather than portaging. She took a group of 28 down the Colorado in 1955. She then improved the G-boat by cutting the bottoms out of the boats and adding an inflated oval "sausage" and a Johnson motor. Georgie's Royal River Rats became a permanent part of the river.

In addition to the Colorado River, Georgie explored the San Juan, the Rogue (Oregon), the Virgin (Utah), the Salmon, the Snake, the Chitina and Copper (Alaska), the Columbia, the Fraser (British Columbia), the South Nahanni (Northwest Territories), the Upper Balsas, the Grijalva, the Rio Yaqui, the Rio Grande de Santiago (Mexico), and the Rio Napa, Rio Maranon, and the Pongo do Maseriche (South America). Her interests outside of river running included assisting minister Shine Smith with his annual Christmas Party, distributing food to the Navajo Nation and advocating the humane treatment of animals

Georgie suffered from cancer and died on May 12, 1992 in Las Vegas, Nevada. For additional information see: "Geogie Clark: Thirty years of river running," "Adventures of Georgie White," "TV's women of the rivers," and the video and audio oral history conducted by Cline Library staff in November 1991.

From the guide to the Georgie Clark Collection, 1898-1994., (Cline Library. Special Collections and Archives Department.)