Trish Long

El Paso Times

Dear Trish,

My father, Doyle Gaither, was a local attorney who was raised in El Paso. As the youngest of six children, he was left on his own the summer of 1930 while his widowed mother pursued her education in California.

That summer, unhindered by a worried mother, my father entered a tree-sitting contest and become the uncontested national champion tree-sitter. His sister Kitty dutifully collected every newspaper clipping the Herald published and preserved them in a composition book.

My siblings and I came across this scrapbook as we were looking through boxes of memorabilia in preparation for my father's 100th birthday. (He passed in 1971.) It is a delightful snapshot of life in El Paso in the 1930s.

Regards, Linda Gaither Leeah

Thank you, Linda. It all started Monday, July 14, 1930. The El Paso Herald-Post reported:

El Paso boy seeking tree sitting record

Tree sitting, almost an unknown art a week ago but now a sport which is sweeping the country, was introduced in the border city by Warren Jenkins Ferlet, 9 years old, when he shinned up a tree Monday in the yard of his home, 3302 Bisbee.

He climbed the tree at 11:55 a.m.

He announced that he intended to stay up until at least 2:15 p.m.

“I may stay up until 3 o’clock,” he explained, “but I will have to come down then, because I have a date to go swimming.”

By Wednesday the contest was on. There were seven tree-sitters, four girls and three boys, with two more set to start at 6 that evening.

Cecilia Schwartau, 10, was determined to show that girls can sit as well as boys and Doyle Gaither had a “bed” made from a box, four feet by two, filled with comforters and strapped to the limbs of a tree in the back yard.

Robert Fogle, 14, part of Gaither’s “refueling crew,” wanted to join the contest, “but mama wouldn’t let me. Maybe she’ll let me up there by night, though.”

As for Gaither, “I’m glad mama’s in Los Angeles,” Doyle whispered. “She won’t be back until August, and I’ll be the new champion by then. I’m just going to stay long enough to beat the 103-hour mark.”

Doctor starts to worry

On Thursday, the city health officer, Dr. P.R. Outlaw, warned of the dangers of tree-sitting.

“In the first place, there’s the danger of falling from a limb. That makes death possible as a result. A child might fall only a few feet and be killed.

“Then there’s the exposure danger. Continued hot sun is too great a strain on the system. Rain, winds, falling temperatures are possible; weakened by lack of exercise, the children might be subjected to sickness from exposure that might well prove fatal.

“And it is positively insanitary from a personal standpoint.”

By Friday, the Herald-Post headline was “Tree sitting losing charm for E.P. kids”

But Gaither passed the 60-hour mark at 8:40 a.m. on Friday, and his friend Robert Fogle was able to join the contest and was at the 36-hour mark. The pair spent their time reading.

By Saturday, the casualty list was growing. Edward Neugebauer, 10, fell from his tree while reaching for a glass of water. His arm was cut when he landed on a piece of tin at the foot of the tree. He had been sitting for 10 hours.

“In the interest of safety and health” the Herald-Post and the Crawford Theater were offering “tree quitters” free theater tickets.

The police were called to San Antonio Street, where a gang of boys were throwing rocks and sticks at two sitters, Robert Brown and Ignacio Marquez.

A few holdouts

By Tuesday, July 22, Osborn Wiser, 11, and Wilmer Bailey, 13, had to quit the contest after neighbors complained that the boys' “continual chattering” interfered with their naps.

On Wednesday, 13 sitters were left: "Rain the night before did not dampen the spirits of Gaither, who passed 185 hours, his friend Robert at 161 hours and Schwartau, who leads the girls and will pass 168 hours at noon."

R.A. Dodds, manager of the Fort Boulevard miniature golf course, offered free golf for the rest of the week to all “tree quitters.”

Twelve sitters were left on Friday after Robert Jones declared, “I’m tired of the whole idea. I was in that tree until I thought I was a part of it, but after all vacation is too short to spend in a tree.”

New champions

At noon on Saturday, Cecilia Schwartau became the national girl champion tree-sitter with 237 hours. By that time, she was equipped with a wind- and rainproof cabin with electricity and a mirror in her tree. She planned to “live up in the air for highest tree honors unless her daddy tells her to come down.”

On Monday, July 28, the Herald-Post reported that Gaither was the new national champion tree-sitter:

“Occupying the national throne, envied by all tree-sitters, Doyle Gaither, 14, at noon sat through his 303rd hour. Doyle brought the national title to El Paso by keeping his leafy perch.”

“Despite hard storms late Sunday that spelled the ruin of many El Paso trees, not one of 12 remaining perchers came down.”

Safe landings

The contest came to an end Saturday, Aug. 2:

“The tree-sitting feud in El Paso came to an end Saturday when the remaining four perchers calmly landed.

“Doyle Gaither, 14, 3017 Grant, who Friday refused to obey an order of Dr. P.R. Outlaw, city health officer, to come down from the tree, descended Saturday at 8:30 a.m. after being definitely assured that no other sitters remained. Doyle had been backed up in his refusal by his buddy, Robert Fogle, 14, 3012 San Diego, who also refused to leave the branches, and it appeared that the police and perhaps the fire department would have to be enlisted to ‘de-tree’ the pair.

“Doyle finished up as national champion with exactly 420 hours. Robert sat 396 hours.”

“Cecilia Schwartau, 10, 317 N. Copia, descended at 9 a.m. Saturday as girls’ national champion with 406½ hours. Her companion, Nena Loera, completed 398½ hours.

"A majority of 12 sitters, who showed signs of remaining indefinitely, came down Friday after Dr. Outlaw told them they were impairing their health and needlessly seeking greater honors.”

Trish Long is the El Paso Times' archivist and spends her time in the morgue, where the newspaper keeps its old clippings and photos. If you have a question about El Paso's history, send an email to her at tlong@elpasotimes.com.