Volume XXXXVVI No. 1 February 2017 OLD TIMERS’ NEWS FOREST SERVICE INTERMOUNTAIN REGION, OGDEN, UTAH 2017 OFFICERS President Jeannette Hartog 801-479-9213 <[email protected]> President-elect Brian Ferguson 801-710-9781 <[email protected]> Editor Pat Roether 801-721-0488 <[email protected]> Treasurer George Roether 801-721-5241 <[email protected]> Directors Frank Elder 208-369-4043 <[email protected]> Wes Carlson 801-479-5352 <[email protected]. Carl Pence 208-468-9318 <[email protected]Past President Dee Sessions 801-475-6397 <[email protected]> Historian Richa Wilson 801-622-2336 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Greetings Old Timers Here we are, the beginning of a new year in our lives with so many possibilities on the horizon. Lots of folks like to travel – present company included – see new places, have new experiences, meet new people and visit old friends. I have found that as I get older friendship and family mean even more to me, and I take every opportunity to visit with as many as I can. Our Intermountain Region Old Timers Organization pro- vides this opportunity to us as Forest Service Retirees. We gather at the Golden Corral in three locations – Ogden, UT; Boise, ID; or Twin Falls, ID, to have lunch, to hear interesting, in- formative speakers, and to visit with folks who share the common bond of former Forest Service employment. It’s fun to catch up with friends as they come and go and share their experiences. It amazes me how much we learn from each other. I want to thank Dee Sessions for a successful 2016 as our President of Old Timers. He did an excellent job of providing leadership not only to our monthly meetings but also to our annual gathering on the Dixie NF in St George. Best wishes to Dee and Donnie on their new endeavor. We have a challenge before us this year and that is to find ways to interest new retirees to join with us and become a part of this great organization. With all the methods of communication available to us, we are not doing a very good job of inviting or sharing the values of belonging. I would encourage each of you who reads this message to search out a retiree – recent or not – and invite them to come “with you” to next month’s meeting at whichever location is best for you. Let’s continue to preserve the traditions of the Forest Service and maintain good fellow- ship to keep alive the family feeling among our retired and present employees. I welcome our new President-Elect, Brian Ferguson, who joins me in the leadership of Old Timers again this year. I say “again” because Brian has and continues to be a valuable member that keeps the Organization on track. Thanks to him, and his wife Linda, for their faithful at- tendance and attention to detail. Looking forward, we will once again meet in September for an Intermountain Region Annual Meeting. Your officers are busy searching for the perfect location to gather. If you have sugges- tions or hear of somewhere we would enjoy visiting, please let one of us know. Also, you may note that we have a “Volunteer” Editor for our Newsletter for February. Thank you Ed Waldapfel, retiree from the Sawtooth NF, for giving Pat Roether a much needed break. It takes more effort than most of us realize to produce this very informative publication three times a year. I wish you all a great winter season wherever it may find you – at home or off to warmer places. Jeannette Hartog, President 2017
8
Embed
OLD TIMERS’ NEWS 2017 Final Edition.pdf1 Volume XXXXVVI No. 1 February 2017 OLD TIMERS’ NEWS FOREST SERVICE INTERMOUNTAIN REGION, OGDEN, UTAH 2017 OFFICERS President Jeannette
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Here we are, the beginning of a new year in our lives with so many possibilities on the horizon. Lots of folks like to travel – present company included – see new places, have new experiences, meet new people and visit old friends. I have found that as I get older friendship and family mean even more to me, and I take every opportunity to visit with as many as I can.
Our Intermountain Region Old Timers Organization pro-vides this opportunity to us as Forest Service Retirees. We gather at the Golden Corral in three locations – Ogden, UT; Boise, ID; or Twin Falls, ID, to have lunch, to hear interesting, in-formative speakers, and to visit with folks who share the common bond of former Forest Service employment. It’s fun to catch up with friends as they come and go and share their experiences. It amazes me how much we learn from each other.
I want to thank Dee Sessions for a successful 2016 as our President of Old Timers. He did an excellent job of providing leadership not only to our monthly meetings but also to our annual gathering on the Dixie NF in St George. Best wishes to Dee and Donnie on their new endeavor.
We have a challenge before us this year and that is to find ways to interest new retirees to join with us and become a part of this great organization. With all the methods of communication available to us, we are not doing a very good job of inviting or sharing the values of belonging. I would encourage each of you who reads this message to search out a retiree – recent or not – and invite them to come “with you” to next month’s meeting at whichever location is best for you. Let’s continue to preserve the traditions of the Forest Service and maintain good fellow-ship to keep alive the family feeling among our retired and present employees.
I welcome our new President-Elect, Brian Ferguson, who joins me in the leadership of Old Timers again this year. I say “again” because Brian has and continues to be a valuable member that keeps the Organization on track. Thanks to him, and his wife Linda, for their faithful at-tendance and attention to detail.
Looking forward, we will once again meet in September for an Intermountain Region Annual Meeting. Your officers are busy searching for the perfect location to gather. If you have sugges-tions or hear of somewhere we would enjoy visiting, please let one of us know.
Also, you may note that we have a “Volunteer” Editor for our Newsletter for February. Thank you Ed Waldapfel, retiree from the Sawtooth NF, for giving Pat Roether a much needed break. It takes more effort than most of us realize to produce this very informative publication three times a year.
I wish you all a great winter season wherever it may find you – at home or off to warmer places.
Jeannette Hartog, President 2017
2
DATES TO REMEMBER
Luncheons in Ogden, UT, are held the first Tuesday of each month
(except July) at 1:00 p.m., at the Golden Corral 988 Washington Blvd.
No reservations are needed for a great buffet lunch. Please come and
join us!
Luncheons in Boise, ID, are held the 3rd Wednesday of each month
September through May, at 12 noon, at the Golden Corral, 8460
West Emerald Street, Boise. The annual picnic is the 3rd Wednesday
in June in the Municipal Park, at 12 noon. All Old Timers are welcome!
Luncheons in Twin Falls, ID, are held bi-monthly on the first Monday of
each even-numbered month, at 12:30 P.M. at the Golden Corral,
1823 Blue Lakes Blvd. North, Twin Falls. Join them!
Old Timers’ News is printed three times a year in
February, June and October. It is the official news-
letter of Forest Service Old Timers Club of the Inter-
mountain Area. Old Timers' was organized in 1950
to preserve the traditions of the Forest Service, to
maintain contact and good fellowship among re-
tired, former, and present employees of the Forest
Service, to keep alive the family feeling among For-
est Service employees, and to advance the interest
of the Forest Service. Any retired member of the
Forest Service, former employee with 10 years or
more of service, or current employee with 30 years
of government service shall be eligible for member-
ship. Dues are $7 annually, $50 for a life member-
The ballots have been counted and the results are final. All the candidates on the ballot were approved and the By-Laws change re-ceived unanimous support. Unfortunately, the Chair-elect position re-mains vacant for lack of a volunteer to take on the job. Brian Ferguson has agreed to substitute as Chair-elect until the position can be filled.
2018 FOREST SERVICE RETIREES
NATIONAL REUNION
The national reunion for Forest Service Retir-
ees is scheduled for September 24-25, 2018
in Asheville, North Carolina.
“Reunion in the Cradle” will be hosted by the
Southern Forest Service Retirees Association.
Registration will begin in the spring of 2017.
Details are available at: 2018.fsreunions.org
Shirts, hats and other reunion items can be
viewed and ordered from:
https://forestservice2016.itemorder.com/
NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN……
The following article appeared in The Recorder
Herald (Salmon, Idaho) on December 29,
2016. It seems like when President Obama
announced his creation of several new monu-
ments in Utah and other places, many citizens
of those states expressed the same displeas-
ure as those in the Salmon/Challis area over
110 years ago. Thanks to Carl Pence for shar-
ing this article with us.
110 Years Ago
THE PEOPLE MOST VIGOROUSLY PROTEST!
—The President and Our Member in Congress
will be Presented with a Monster Petition Pro-
testing Against the Salmon Forest Reserve—A
Gigantic Humbug— The feeling of remon-
strance is very general...an informal meeting
of a few citizens laid plans for covering the
county with copies of a petition...We the under-
signed citizens and residents of Lemhi county,
state of Idaho, hereby protest against the ac-
tion of president Roosevelt in creating the new
forest reserve in Lemhi county. We regard the
step thus taken as ill-advised, unjust and di-
rectly contrary to the best interest of the state
and its people. The petition included the fol-
lowing points:
a) This is not a timber country: there are no
valuable tracts of timber which require protec-
tion.
b) The indigenous trees will never be of com-
mercial value. Any timber in the reserves will
be needed for local wants.
c) The country is so precipitous that the
sources of the streams can never be denuded
of timber. The forest belts are generally on
high rocky, precipitous land that is practically
inaccessible.
d) The stock ranches here are all small and
the ranchers unable to afford the expense of
permit grazing.
e) The restrictions of the reserves will hinder
prospectors and miners.
f) The fees imposed for maintenance of the
reserve is purely local, while the benefits, if
any, are for the country at large.
4
UPDATE ON FRIENDS….
The following was received January 15, 2017.
As many of you know, Stan Tixier has been in the hospital with pneumonia. He’s been await-ing heart surgery for a while (valve replace-ments), but the doctor(s) wouldn’t operate until the wound on his leg healed, for fear of infec-tion. It still hasn’t and he’s still on the wait list. Meanwhile, Jan continues to recover from her auto accident and broken sternum. She’ll drive Stan home in the next couple days. They would no doubt appreciate cards and/or calls. Wes Carlson is in rehab and is making good progress on recovering from his broken hip. He’ll maybe stay where he is for a while, until he can put weight on the affected leg. His son will come down to stay with him when he’s finally able to return home. Keep these folks in your thoughts and be thank-ful for your own health.
MJ Brackmann
WANTED: News, Stories, Photos….
June is the next issue of “R-4 Old Timers News” Please submit news, stories and photos no later than May 19th. Send to: [email protected] or snail mail: 2606 Meadowbrook Dr, Twin Fall, ID 83301
ARE YOUR DUES DUE?
Please check your mailing label. If you see the
letters LF or SLF, you are paid up for life.
If you find a date, that is the last date you paid
dues. If you are behind, or owe for 2017, please
send $7 per year to George Roether, Treasurer,
2790 Buchannan Ave, Ogden, UT 84403. If you
don’t want to bother with yearly dues, you can be-
come a life member for $50, or for $75 your sur-
viving spouse will remain a member.
SPECIAL THANKS TO FEBRUARY ISSUE
CONTRIBUTORS
Thanks very much to the following for their con-tributions to this issue of “Old Timers News”: Jeannette Hartog, Brian Ferguson, George & Pat Roether, Richa Wilson, Brian Harris, Julie Thomas, David Neeley, Jeff Luff, Merrill & Nikki Saleen and MJ Brackmann.
HERE’S A GREAT GIFT IDEA!
Looking for a wonderful gift that will not only
be pleasing to the recipient, but the purchase
goes to support the National Museum of Forest
Service History.
“Gifford Pinchot and the First Foresters” by Bibi
Gaston is the untold story of the brave men and
women who launched the American conserva-
tion Movement. Gaston’s newest book shares
the narratives of the first class of American For-
est Rangers to serve under Theodore Roosevelt
and the first Chief of the Forest Service, Gifford
Pinchot.
Receive a free autographed copy with any new
or upgraded Contributing Level or above Muse-
um Membership! Call for more information
(406) 541-6374.
Cost of the book is $22.95 plus shipping. An
order form is available on the Museum’s website
www.forestservicemuseum.org
5
The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree loaded and on it’s way to Washington D.C. aboard the Gary Amoth Trucking
(Twin Falls, Idaho) equipment.
PAYETTE NF TREE IS 52ND U.S. CAPITOL CHRISTMAS TREE
The 80-foot Engelmann Spruce selected to be the 2016 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree was cut on November 2nd from the Little Ski Hill—Payette NF—just outside of McCall, Idaho .
In July 2016, the Superintendent of the U.S. Capitol Grounds in Washington D.C. came to the Payette NF to make the final selection from about a dozen candidate trees chosen by Forest Staff.
This year’s “The People’s Tree” was cut down by Payette NF workers using a crosscut saw. This was done to honor traditional logging skills and tools used in Idaho. This process had never been used before to cut down previous national trees.
Payette employees Jared Schuster and Chris Nicolli
begin the cut to harvest the 2016 Capitol Christmas
tree.
The 26-foot tree branches had to be bent to fit the trailer. An 80 gallon bladder was attached to the base of the tree. Chris Niccoli, McCall smokejumper, cared for the tree along the way, refilling the bladder each day. The tree used between 20 and 40 gallons a day.
Gary Amoth, owner and operator of Gary Amoth Trucking Inc. of Twin Falls, purchased a brand new truck for this job. He also drove the 105-foot truck and trailer to Washington
DC. According to Amoth, it was the longest driving trip of his 35-year career. More than 10,000 people viewed the tree during the 30 stops along the 3,925 mile cross country trip. “The people were fantastic,” said Amoth. “It renewed my hope in America.”
Amoth Trucking also sent a second truck to haul nearly 70 8’ Fraser Fir trees and 12,000 hand-made ornaments made by Idaho school children. The companion trees, from northern Idaho tree farms, were delivered to congres-sional, USDA, Forest Service and other gov-ernment offices in Washington D.C. There was 25’ tree for the USDA Whitten Building and a 12’ tree for the Chief’s office.
Kim Pierson, District Ranger—New Meadows Ranger District, accompanied the tree back to the West Lawn of the Capitol. Along the way, Kim coordinated the public events. “It brought joy to thousands of people. I am so proud of us that we were able to share Idaho with the nation” Pierson said. “I am a botanist and for me this is a magnificent tree. I love Idaho and this really represents the Idaho spirit and how we work and how much we love our public lands.”
The first Capital Christmas tree was a 24’ Douglas-fir. The cost for that initial project was about $700. 2016 project costs were ap-proximately $600,000. Funds for the majority of these costs came from the more than 63 partners and corporate sponsors involved with the Forest Service.
Journey’s End—DC’s Capitol West Lawn
6
1925 Forest Service communication system. Payette Ranger Lorin Wellman “checking in”
HISTORY
100 Years Ago A year ago, I wrote about Region 4’s monthly