Bolles, Laurens C., 1890-1971.

Laurens C. Bolles was an engineer, conservationist and writer. He was born in Denison, Iowa, 1890, and died in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1971. Bolles had a long career as civil engineer, farmer and conservationist throughout the Great Plains and the Southwest. He moved to New Mexico in 1935 where he worked for the Soil Conservation Service until 1959. After retiring, he supervised landscaping at the State Fair for six years and conducted a non-profit radio program entitled, "Lets Save Nature."

From the guide to the Laurens C. Bolles Photograph Collection, 1930-1962, (University of New Mexico, Center for Southwest Research)

Engineer, conservationist and writer, born Denison, Iowa, 1890, died, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1971.

Long career as civil engineer, farmer and conservationist throughout the Great Plains and the Southwest. Moved to New Mexico in 1935 where he worked for the Soil Conservation Service, landscaped the State Fair grounds and conducted a non-profit radio program entitled, "Lets Save Nature".

From the description of Papers 1919-1965. (University of New Mexico-Main Campus). WorldCat record id: 20305594

Soil Conservation Technicians on lunch break (Laurens C. Bolles center), 1938. Part of the Laurens C. Bolles Pictorial Collection PICT 000-493 (Album 2).

Laurens Cheadle Bolles was born in Denison, Iowa, on April 16, 1890. His father, a medical doctor, died in 1902 and the family moved to the farm of his paternal grandfather, Jason Bolles, at Fountain, Minnesota, where Jason hoped to induce Laurens into farming. However, his mother sent him to school, where he excelled in mathematics and managed to skip a year getting into college. At the age of sixteen he enrolled in Iowa State College and decided to be an engineer. In 1910, he received his B.X. degree in civil engineering.

After graduating from college Bolles headed for the West. From 1910 to 1912, Bolles worked for the railroad as a maintenance engineer, travelling from Idaho to North Dakota. Then he acquired a homestead from the public domain in Montana and became a commercial wheat farmer. At the same time he used his knowledge of engineering to work as a highway engineer and do land surveys, mapping, irrigation planning and water rights adjudications around Fergus County, Montana. Bolles' homestead lasted until 1921 when drought and grasshoppers finally forced him into foreclosure.

In 1917, when the First World War reached its peak, Bolles volunteered for the Army. As a private in the Corps of Engineers, he was stationed in Europe. Due to his engineering knowledge and excellent performance, Bolles was made a second lieutenant in the field just before the armistice. He was discharged in July 1919. Bolles brought back a French wife, Lucienne Ronsseu. Their marriage lasted for thirty-five years.

After his return from WWI, Bolles accepted an irrigation job near Brownsville, Texas. Two years later he moved to the Ozarks,Missouri, where he mapped a water power site for a St. Louis company. A business slump caused Bolles to again pick up his plow, farming a small piece of land in the Ozarks which lasted only for a year. In 1922 Bolles resettled in Montana, working for a railroad company. In 1926 he secured a job with the Southern Pacific Railroad and moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Two years later, Bolles went to work for an irrigation company and began to develop an interest in the ecology of the Great American Desert.

Like most Americans, Bolles had a hard time during the Great Depression. He ran an antique and used book store until 1933, when the U.S. Government hired him as a superintendent for a CCC camp for highway construction. From 1934 to 1959, Bolles worked for the Soil Conservation Service under the Department of Agriculture, moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1935. After his retirement from the federal government he supervised landscaping for the New Mexico State Fair for six years.

Besides being an active conservationist, Bolles was also a volunteer radio broadcaster. From the late 1940's to the early 1960's he delivered numerous radio shows on the subject of conservation. Also, as an amateur writer, Bolles published a book and several articles. He was also an active member of many professional organizations including Friends of the Land and the New Mexico Academy of Science. After his second retirement in 1965, Bolles' health began to decline. In the last few years of his life, Bolles suffered several strokes. He died in 1971.

From the guide to the Laurens C. Bolles Papers, 1919-1965, (University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)