from Dateline (May 8, 2003)
Robert Fulton: Holding One of the
Most Unusual Position at CSUF
by Dave Reid
Rob Fulton
Position:
Resident Manager
Desert Studies Center
Length of Service:
17 Years
Other Stuff:
California native Rob Fulton was a biology graduate student
on campus when he heard about the newly acquired Zzyzx facility
that became the Desert Studies Center. For years, Fulton said
he was “geographically challenged” for a social
life and remained single. That changed about six years ago when
he was introduced to Sandra, an X-ray technician he later married.
They live year-round at the center in an air-conditioned residence.
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As resident manager of the Desert Studies
Center – where the winter temperatures can dip to 8 degrees
and summer temperatures soar to 120 degrees – Rob Fulton must
have one of the most unusual staff jobs in the CSU system. He
is responsible for managing the development and operations of the
facilities, which can support up to 80 students and faculty members.
This includes operating all on-site utilities, maintaining library
and museum holdings, organizing lodging and equipment needs of visitors,
leading tours, teaching classes and working on research projects.
Situated in the Mojave National Preserve at Soda Springs,
the center is a scientific field station operated by a consortium
of CSU campuses. Originally a resort operated by evangelist Curtis
Springer, it serves more than 1,500 students, researchers and visiting
scientists, each year, according to William Presch, professor of
biological science and center director.
Q: |
How did you first learn
about the Desert Studies Center? |
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A: |
When I became a graduate student
in 1979, I saw an announcement requesting student labor to
help renovate the center. Since I was already a bit of a desertphile
and was proposing to do my research in the desert, I decided
to sign up. I got a call from the center coordinator Alan
Romspert, who said, “OK, here’s the deal: meet
us at the loading dock on Friday night. We’ll pick you
up, take you there and bring you back Sunday night, and we’ll
take care of the food.” |
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Q: |
When was this? |
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A:
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I believe it was Oct. 5, 1979.
It was about 105 degrees that week. I was a city boy and not
acclimated to working hard labor in the desert. My first job
was to help hand dig a four-foot-deep sewer trench. I was
assisting then caretaker Jerry Gates. He was a very colorful
individual and carried a .22 pistol in his belt – a
skinny fellow with a billy goat beard who spoke in an odd
manner. I later learned he had part of his jaw and tongue
removed due to cancer. I thought, “they’re sticking
me down in this hole with this guy that’s all dressed
head to toe in denim, with a pistol on his belt and a big
cowboy hat with a huge hawk feather sticking out, and I’m
hot in my shorts and T-shirt.”
The two of us were using big steel bars to pry rocks loose
while digging out the trench. After about three or four hours,
I went to lift a big rock, blacked out and fell back down
into the trench. I don’t think it was a heat stroke,
but obviously I had overexerted myself. Jerry, who seemed
so scrawny and insignificant to me, pulled me out. He got
some others and they dragged me to the dining hall and laid
me out on a couch, and pumped me full of water and salt tablets.
That was my first exposure, my first day at the Desert Studies
Center. |
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Q: |
Did you come back? |
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A: |
I continued to come back for
the duration of my graduate studies. [Fulton graduated with
a master’s degree in biology in 1984.] The bath and
shower buildings and some other buildings were constructed
by student labor. I learned to lay concrete blocks and to
apply stucco. I had already learned some carpentry skills
from my father, but I learned a great deal more working with
the trades people from campus.
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Q: |
So it was like a second
education? |
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A: |
Yes, it was similar to the “Helping
Hands” program that Doc Springer ran during the original
construction of the resort. He brought out homeless and often
untrained people from L.A.’s skid row and taught them
to help build and operate the facilities. Now, instead of
derelicts from Los Angeles, students were tackling the tasks
necessary to operate the old resort as a university field
station. Those were really formative years for me. I made
a lot of friends in graduate school who worked at the Desert
Studies Center, and are friends to this day. Some of us still
get together and socialize and reminisce about our days here.
We’ve all gone on to other things, but still get together
to share vacations and other activities. |
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Q: |
So you’ve been here
17 years as manager? |
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A:
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I came here as resident caretaker
for the first six months in January 1986 and have been here
ever since. Living facilities have improved. When I first
came here I lived in a small mobile home that is now used
for visiting researchers. I only had power available for a
few hours each evening, minimal cooling and heating during
the hot and cold weather. I was much younger then! I had battery-operated
radios for my entertainment. We had no telephone. Eventually
things have improved. We now have cell phones; we have radio-telephone
communications, satellite TV, satellite Internet, 24-hour
solar power, a nice comfortable well-insulated house with
full air conditioning and forced air heat – all the
comforts I could expect. A lot of people think it’s
odd that somebody would want to live out here. They think
it’s so far from civilization and the conveniences of
living in an urban environment. I can’t see living any
other way. There’s no commute to my job. It’s
not an inconvenience to get supplies from the nearest town,
even though it’s a couple of hours drive. We combine
our needs and our errands and do it in one big shopping trip.
I conduct business by phone and do a lot of my thinking while
I’m driving on the highway. |
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Q: |
So the desert suits you? |
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A: |
This environment is beautiful
to me. I can enjoy watching the seasons change. There are
limitless opportunities for continued exploration. There are
many places where I have yet to go and get to know intimately.
I’m learning more every year about the finer points
of things that are not in my primary discipline [biology],
such as earth science, climatology, archeology and cultural
history. I really like this job and this place. I feel really
fortunate to serve the university in such an interesting job. |
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