THE EARLY DAYS: A Sourcebook of Southwestern Region History Book 2 Compiled by Edwin A. Tucker Supervisory Management Analyst Division of Operations Cultural Resources Management Report No. 11 USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region March 1991 TABLE OF CONTENTS Cover: Forest Supervisor K. C. Kartchner on Ranger Flake's horse in Rinconada on the Mt. Taylor Division, September 23, 1925. Figures Editor's Foreword SECTIONS Interviews Fred H. Miller Robert Ground Lee Beall In The Newspaper Wild Horses More Interviews Ben Keap Gilbert W. Sykes Oscar McClure Roger Morris Jesse T. Fears John D. Jones C. A. Merker Harold Hulbert Perl Charles Hollis Palmer John Mims Robert Leonard Arthur J. "Crawford" Riggs FIGURES 1. Smokey with Chief Watts 2. One of the original Forest Service flags 3. Mogollon Ranger Station on the Gila 4. A treed bear in Rustler Park, Chiricahua Rational Forest 5. An early-day bridge constructed by the Forest Service 6. A Ranger meeting - 1916, Coronado NF 7. A Forest Ranger and Supervisor on a camping trip 8. A grazing reconnaissance outfit, October 31, 1914 9. CCC tree planters in June 1941 10. George D. Russell with the Showboat 11. The 1926 Hanger Training Camp 12. The 1911 Coronado Forest Supervisor's Office 13. The 1908 Apache Forest Supervisor's Office 14. Cochise Stronghold Ranger Station, Coronado 15. Nogales Hanger Station, Coronado 16. Capuline Hanger Station, Santa Fe 17. Bear Cubs on a Santa Fe Sign 18. Running Sheep Through A Dipping Vat 19. Sheep Driveway Committee 18. Smokejumper crew based at Deming EDITOR'S FOREWORD In this volume we continue the story of the early days in the Southwestern Region. As before, the story is largely told in the words of the people who lived it. Ed Tucker collected hours of "oral history" from the first generations of Forest Service employees. His tape recordings, supplemented with documents found in his research, became the basis for these books. When the Southwestern Region began to publish Ed Tucker's work, we planned to issue it as a set of two volumes. The first volume was published with just over 300 pages and the second would have had about 400 pages. Several factors have forced a reconsideration of that plan. We now expect to finish the work with a third volume about equal in size to the first. One reason for the change is that it became obvious that an index would very much enhance the value of Tucker's work. An index will also add to the length of the publication. It seems sensible to divide the remaining material into two volumes. David Gillio December 1990 INTERVIEWS Mr. Fred H. Miller was interviewed at his home in Taos, New Mexico. A native of Pennsylvania, Fred graduated in Forestry from Cornell University. He worked at various jobs in District 3 while going through college. After graduation he took a laborer's job on the Pecos. He took the Ranger examination at Santa Fe in 1916 and received an appointment. His story starts there. After I had my appointment as a Ranger, C. A. Long was Chief Engineer in Region 3 at that time, and I worked for him in the office in Albuquerque that winter. We were making plans for the Clifton - Springerville road, that is, the layout plans. I stayed on that job until spring. Then, in the spring, we went down and started the survey from Clifton to Springerville. In the meantime, the War broke out, so some of us in the camp enlisted in the 10th Engineers. We went down to Fort Bliss at El Paso and enlisted, and we stayed — I don't know how long — not very long, and then we went to Washington. D. C., where the 10th Engineers was being organized, and most of the officers were Forest Service people. Major Guthrie (He was a Captain at that time) — John Guthrie was one, and Major Kelly, of course, was Regional Forester in Region 1, that is, he was Regional Forester after he got out of the Army. At any rate there was a large number of Forest Service in the camp. Well, we went back from Fort Bliss to a camp on the campus of the American University just outside of Washington. It was in the District but just outside the City. Then in September we left for overseas. I stayed with the 10th Engineers in France for two years. I went in as a private and came out as a Second Lieutenant. So after I came back, I came back of course immediately to Region 3 and the first job they gave me was Ranger on the Zuni District of the old Manzano Forest. The headquarters was at a little town of McGaffey. It was a lumber mill. I've forgotten who was Ranger before me. It was one of the oldtimers. He was a practical forester, that is, a non-technical Forester. But he was a good one and he taught me how to pack horses, et cetera. I learned how to get around by myself under his guidance. After that I got an offer of a job down in Puerto Rico, so I went down to San Juan in February 1920, but I stayed for only about seven months. I got an attack of malaria while I was there and didn't feel very well so I decided I'd better get back to Region 3. I came back here in the early spring months of 1920 and reported in to Albuquerque and they sent me out to what was then the old Tusayan, with headquarters at Williams. I went down and made the first management plan for the woodland type, down between Ash Fork and Cedar Glade. I spent most of my time at Putney where I did all the field work. Then I went back to Williams and finished up my management plan report on the woodland type. While I was at Williams I took the Junior Forester exam at Flagstaff. After I took that exam, and was fortunate enough to pass it, then I was changed from the non-technical old Forest Ranger position to a Junior Forester position. Well, after I finished the management plans at Williams, which was then the old Tusayan, I was assigned to the Carson at Taos. While I was here at Taos I made a management plan of the Rio Pueblo: I believe it was the working circle. I worked on that job for, oh, for several months. After that I went down to Santa Fe and started a management plan on what was then the old Pecos District. While I was there I got an offer of a job at the Southern Experiment Station, so I went down to New Orleans and worked there for Reggie Forbes, who was Director at that time. I worked there throughout that summer. After that I came back to Region 3 again, and came back to Taos for a short time, and then I was assigned to the Santa Fe Forest. In the meantime we had been married and had a small child, so I quit the Forest Service and went up to Denver and bought a small ranch up there and stayed there about six years. Well, Forestry was in my blood and even though I made a pretty good living I decided I wanted to go back into the Forest Service. In 1929 I came back to the Forest Service. That was in Region 2, and I was made Chief of Party and sent out to Durango where we made a timber survey of some of the country just north of Durango. Then after we finished that job, I went back to Denver to finish the paper work. Then the next year, in the spring of 1930, I went up to Medicine Bow and worked there for about four years with Huber Hilton, Supervisor at that time. Then just before I transferred in to Washington, Philip Woodhead became Supervisor of the Medicine Bow. It was in 1934 that I went back on detail to the Washington Office. I was supposed to be there only six months, but I ended up in Washington 25 years. I always did want to go back to the West, but I couldn't quite make it until I retired in 1958. In the meantime, in Washington I ended up in Personnel Management. I started out on a detail to the Administrative Office in Research, and worked with Paul Roberts at that time. Then I left Research and went into Personnel Management with Peter Keplinger and I stayed in Personnel Management then until I retired in 1958. Well, we always did want to get back to Taos. During my time in the Washington Office of course I traveled all over, from Puerto Rico to Alaska, so even after going through the States pretty thoroughly, we decided that New Mexico was the place for us to build our final home. I never did buy a home in Washington; we always rented there. I am glad we didn't, because that made the final transition from the active life in the Forest Service to retirement easier. I've seen so many people retire in Washington, who had bought their homes, and one day they are in the office and the next day — nothing to do. Well, in three or four years they became old men. But in my case I stepped from one job into another. About two years before retirement, we figured out when I was going to retire.