10/11/2026
My grandfather, Frank S. Rush, was appointed the first Supervisor of the Wichita National Forest and Game Preserve in 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt. His most notable assignment was the reintroduction of the Buffalo to the Wichita’s and Oklahoma. He did that and much more. He, and my grandmother, May Rush, traveled to Colorado shortly after the completion of the Pikes Peak Highway in 1916. He had been a proponent of building a road to the top of Mount Scott and his trip up Piles Peak certainly proved it was possible. My dad, E. Frank Rush, gave me this hand held surveyor’s scope, and told me Granddad used it to not only plan road and bridge elevations in the refuge, but according to dad used it to plan the original route to the top of Mt. Scott. Granddad retired from the Forest service in 1923, and the construction of the road as we know it did not occur until the 1930’s. This was one of many accomplishments or initiated projects Granddad was responsible for. 🤠
