After Glen Wooldridge ran the lower Rogue River in 1915 with an Indian friend, he realized it was too treacherous for commercial trips. Although he regretted it later, he solved that problem in the 1950s by dynamiting rocks at Argo Falls, Grave Creek, Rainey Falls and Blossom Bar, still the riskiest rapid on the Lower Rogue.
Wooldridge offered women lower rates because he said they were fearless. Wooldridge gained fame when a San Francisco newspaperman wrote how much he enjoyed a trip that included killing a bear and catching steelhead. Several generals, including World War II hero Curtis LeMay, floated the Rogue with Wooldridge. The Hollywood crowd came, too.
Wooldridge remembered Clark Gable as a nice “fella” who cussed too much. Ginger Rogers was congenial, and helped out in camp. Herbert Hoover was a quiet man. Glenn said he didn’t speak Hoover’s language, and Hoover couldn’t speak his, but Hoover was a nice guy.
Zane Grey was a customer, too. Wooldridge enjoyed his novels, but said Grey warned him not to believe they were true.
It soon will be 100 years since Wooldridge’s first float down the river.
Source: Friedman, Ralph. This Side of Oregon. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, Ltd., 1985. Print.