Smokejumper Magazine, January 2005 National Smokejumper Association

Eastern Washington University EWU Digital Commons Smokejumper and Static Line Magazines University Archives & Special Collections 1-1-2005 Smokejumper Magazine, January 2005 National Smokejumper Association Gene Hamner Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.ewu.edu/smokejumper_mag Recommended Citation National Smokejumper Association and Hamner, Gene, "Smokejumper Magazine, January 2005" (2005). Smokejumper and Static Line Magazines. 46. https://dc.ewu.edu/smokejumper_mag/46 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the University Archives & Special Collections at EWU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Smokejumper and Static Line Magazines by an authorized administrator of EWU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The National Smokejumper Quarterly Magazine SmokejumperAssociation January 2005 Inside This Issue: Smokejumpers to the Ravens ................................................................ 15 To Hunt a Whale ................................................................................... 28 Interviews with ’40s Smokejumpers ...................................................... 42 CONTENTS Message from Message from the President ......................... 2 Jump to the Northwest Arctic ....................... 3 The Wahoo Creek Fire—The Last the President Fire Jump of 1944 ................................. 4 Sounding Off from the Editor ....................... 6 Smokejumper Magazine—How Did started. Projects completed in It/Does It Happen? ................................. 6 The Story Behind the Picture ....................... 8 October. Way to go Bill Ruskin and I Jump Into Hell .......................................... 9 crew. Respect for the Past ................................... 12 **Smokejumper Exhibit dedi- CPS Reunion .............................................. 13 The View from Outside the Fence ............... 14 cated at Evergreen Aviation Mu- Smokejumpers to the Ravens ..................... 15 seum. It’s a great exhibit. Thanks to Seize the Impulse ...................................... 19 Fond Memories—Those Old Green Bill Moody, Del, Pen and Ben at Trucks!!! Stake Bodies That Is!!!! ......... 20 Evergreen. Odds and Ends ........................................... 21 **The Missoula National Follow-un to Tom Decker’s Story: “The 20 Pound Rock” .......................... 23 Smokejumper Reunion held in June Spruce Cabin Project ................................. 24 was attended by over 570 jumpers NSA “Keepers of the Flame” ....................... 25 Checking the Canopy .................................. 26 by Doug Houston and over 1,000 at the Saturday night Fall Flight .................................................. 27 (Redmond ’73) function. Thanks to Barry Hicks, To Hunt a Whale ........................................ 28 Chuck Wilde, and the many Life’s a Beech ............................................. 29 PRESIDENT Letters ....................................................... 30 volunteers who made this a huge IT HAS BEEN AN exciting year for Brauneis Poem ........................................... 30 success. Items from the Fire Pack ........................... 31 smokejumpers and the National Smokejumper Milestones Update .............. 32 Smokejumper Association. We have **Three active jumpers each Youngest Smokejumper ............................. 32 new board members with Charlie jumped their 300th fire jump. Just NSA Needs Merchandising Person .............. 32 amazing. Congratulations to Dale Jumps and Letdowns with the 204-B .......... 33 Brown taking over as Treasurer for Touching All Bases ..................................... 34 Dean Longanecker, who has decided Longanecker, Wally Wasser and Smokejumping Has a Rich Legacy Mark Corbet. in Alaska Ski Racing ............................ 40 it’s time to do other things. Much **And then there was Dale Off The List ................................................ 41 thanks goes to Dean for an outstand- Interviews with Smokejumpers from the Longanecker throwing out the first ing job and many hours of dedica- 1940s .................................................. 42 baseball on September 11th at Safeco NSA Life Members- tion to the NSA. Larry Longley has Thanks for your support! ..................... 47 accepted the Historian position. Field in Seattle, a game between the Larry jumped at NCSB and brings a Mariners and Boston. The game lot of experience and energy to the honored firefighters, police officers, board. We now have just one and rescue workers. Quite an honor for Dale and for all smokejumpers. SMOKEJUMPER, ISSUE NO. 46, JANUARY 2005 position to fill, Merchandising A good year. There will be more ISSN 1532-6160 Director. This is a very key position in 2005. Also, the next national Smokejumper is published quarterly by: and if you have any interest, please THE NATIONAL SMOKEJUMPER ASSOCIATION reunion will be held in Boise, Idaho, C/O 10 JUDY LANE contact us. Chuck Sheley is currently in 2007. All volunteers will be CHICO, CA 95928 doing this along with the magazine The opinions of the writers are their own and and it’s time for someone else to step accepted. do not necessarily reflect those of the NSA. Thanks to all of you that have forward and give Chuck some much NSA Web site: http://www.smokejumpers.com made 2004 such a rewarding year for Managing Editor: Chuck Sheley deserved help. the NSA. Until next time, remember Editing: Emmy Haynes, Jill Leger, K. G. Sheley, you have 100 yards of drift, the 2004 HIGHLIGHTS and Denis Symes whole world is a jump spot, and Illustrators: McElderry Books, Nick Holmes, **Over 100 miles of trail your static line is clear. Chris Demarest, Ken Morris, Dan maintenance accomplished, includ- Veenendaal, and Eric Rajala ing bridge construction and cabin Layout/Printing: Larry S. Jackson, Heidelberg Graphics, www.HeidelbergGraphics.com reconstruction. Thanks to Jon McBride and 96 volunteers. Cover photo: Early Season jump in Marble Mountain Wilderness (Courtesy Douglas Beck) **New Colorado Trails Chapter Check the NSA Web site 2 www.smokejumpers.com Jump to the Northwest Arctic by Jerry Dixon (McCall ’71) he DC-3 circled high above the Kobuk River just with the sparkling Kobuk River south of the Brooks Range. Our jump spot was the winding toward the Bering Sea. Tridge just west of Shelby Lake. As the spotter took It did not start out as an the door off and stored it inside the plane, the jumpers auspicious morning in Bettles, moved towards the open door in pairs. To our right was more than 100 miles to the east. Mauneluk Mountain, named after an Inupiat prophet, and Rad Carlson (CJ-70) came into to our left was Angutikada, a sacred mountain that was on the small shack where the crew the continental divide as well as the Arctic Circle. was located. “Gene Hobbs As the spotter touched my leg, I sprang from the door on (IDC-61) was pulled out of a this the third day of July 1973 with the sun reflecting off the plane yesterday near McGrath. shimmering Brooks Range. It was a spectacular ride to the Preliminary reports are that he ground. I took a photo of my chute lying on the tundra broke all four limbs and his back Jerry Dixon (NSA file) when the chute ripped him through the side of the plane.” 123456789012345678901234567890 This was a sobering reminder of the danger our job could 123456789012345678901234567890 entail. That he recovered and returned to a teaching career is 123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789NSA Members — Save 0 a true tale of heroism. I had stood near Gene just the day 123456789012345678901234567890 123456789012345678901234567890 before in Fairbanks at a briefing for lower 48 jumpers. This 12345678901234567890123456789This Information 0 was my third booster trip to Alaska and every jump was an 123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789Please contact the following persons di- 0 adventure. I later heard from a Para-rescue jumper that a 123456789012345678901234567890 portion of the door was hanging from the plane after the 12345678901234567890123456789rectly if you have business or questions: 0 123456789012345678901234567890 accident, so he and others could not jump and had to wait 12345678901234567890123456789Smokejumper magazine and merchandise 0 for a helicopter to come rescue Gene. 12345678901234567890123456789Articles, obits, change of address, orders 0 123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789Chuck Sheley 530-893-0436 0 123456789012345678901234567890 Elections for NSA Board of Directors [email protected] 0 123456789012345678901234567890 Chuck Sheley-Election Committee Chair 1234567890123456789012345678910 Judy Ln 0 The Board of Directors is the governing body of the NSA 12345678901234567890123456789Chico CA 95926 0 123456789012345678901234567890 and meets two times a year to conduct NSA business. The 12345678901234567890123456789Membership 0 meetings are held at various places in the Pacific Northwest. 123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789Fred Cooper 503-391-9144 0 The terms of four members of the BOD will expire July 1, 123456789012345678901234567890 [email protected] 0 2005. 123456789012345678901234567890 Even though you would be obligated to two meetings a 123456789012345678901234567891445 Ranier Loop NW 0 12345678901234567890123456789Salem OR 97304-2079 0 year, it is important to remember that you can be a valuable 123456789012345678901234567890

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