The research explored the history of National Park “friends” groups (concessionaires and natural history associations), and how they participated in the formation and early management of the parks. The team explored the  role “friends” had  in the parks and how they were portrayed in periodicals and posters promoting the National Parks. This inquiry provided background for a larger research project exploring the control over park management exercised by the “friends” groups, in comparison to (and perhaps in competition with) other less officially involved public groups and the National Park Service itself. The undergraduate apprentice, Justin Laue, researched a history project that required interpretation of text and graphic arts.