THE EARLY DAYS A Sourcebook of Southwestern Region History Book 3 Compiled by Edwin A. Tucker Supervisory Management Analyst Division of Operations Cultural Resources Management Report No. 12 USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region July 1992 TABLE OF CONTENTS Cover Cover: The old crows nest at Baldy Lookout on Alamo National Forest, circa 1908. The foundation was sunk in cement and it was guyed on all sides. "Solid as the Rock of Gibraltar," reads the original caption. Figures Editor's Foreword Three Short Historical Notes Sam Sowell G. A. Pearson Homer German Personal Stories Willard Bond F. J. Monighan Norman E. Johnson Zane G. Smith Gordon Bade Edward Groesbeck G. Lee Wang Samuel R. Servis Robert Diggs Walter L. Graves Ray Kallus Alva A. Simpson Walter J. Caserta Hoyt Harvel APPENDICES Appendix A Regional Office Organizations Appendix B Establishment of Boundaries Appendix C Reserve Supervisors Appendix D Forest Supervisors Appendix E Ranger Districts and Rangers Appendix F Forest Rangers and Districts SUPPLEMENTS (omitted from the online edition) Use Book Annual Ranger Meetings Discovery of Fires Timber Trespass Rangers' Cabins Forest Service Manual Fire Tool Locations Manufacturing Plants Service Notes Horse Shoeing Accounts Laws Act of March 3, 1905 Archaeological Resources Protection Act FIGURES 1. Powers Cabin in the Galiuro Wilderness 2. Fort Valley Experiment Station 3. Tent camp of the combined Alamo-Lincoln Ranger Meeting 4. The Ranger group at the 191 2 Alamo-Lincoln combined meeting 5. Redstone fire tool cache, Gila National Forest 6. Stringing telephone line on the Kaibab National Forest 7. Sargent Seep Ranger Station on Alamo National Forest 8. Fire warnings for tourists and woodsmen 9. Trespassed and burned land on the Alamo National Forest 10. Early day fire tool box 11. Ed Groesbeck with an open fire tool box 12. A fire tool box typical of those of about 1930 13. A fire tool box typical of those of about 1918 14. Planting rainbow fry at Latunitas on the Carson National Forest 15. The first all-professional Ranger training Camp in Region 3 16. A private sawmill on the Lincoln 17. Making picnic tables at CCC camp F-55 near Borracho Ranger Station 18. Montezuma Pass road work undertaken by ECW Camp DF-13-A 19. CCC enrollees place a charge on a Tanque Verde project 20. CCC workers from Camp DF-42-A on the Redington Road Project 21. The men line up at CCC Camp 9-NM 22. A crew from the Sunflower CCC camp on the Tonto National Forest 23. Ashdale Ranger Station on the Tonto National Forest 24. Beaverhead Ranger Station buildings 25. A CCC worker uses an air drill for road work 26. Ranger Bailey prepares a sign on Beaver Creek Ranger District 27. Ranger Bailey installs his sign 28. Rangers harvesting hay at the Cave Creek Ranger Station, Chiricahua NF 29. Lake Marvin near Canadian, Texas 30. Lake Marvin, shortly after construction 31. Sand drift on the Harold Murdock farmstead 32. Sand drifts against a barn near Liberal, Kansas 33. A mountain telephone packed for transportation 34. Early days horse work on the Apache National Forest 35. Forest Supervisor's office in Tres Piedras 36. Ranger meeting at Douglas Arizona in 1908 37. Field camp on the Huachuca National Forest 38. Ranger Dolph Slosser, Sitgreaves National Forest EDITOR'S FOREWORD With the publication of this volume we conclude a project started over 30 years ago by Ed Tucker. His interviews of Forest Service "old timers" created an invaluable record of what the Service was like. We have tried to stay very close to Ed's original concept and wording in these three books. Even the photographs used to illustrate points are largely the ones which Ed selected in 1962. Many people contributed their time to get the Tucker manuscripts into print. Entry into the computer of the original 1600 pages was no small feat. Ed Tucker's original typist, Mrs. Gladys Jackson, left us a good draft which was keyed into our Data General computer by Dana Woodworth, Joan Gregorski, Joann Osbourne, Berlinda Gaddy and Lori Long. The indices were created by volunteer Janet Spivey (Books 1 and 2) and Angela Sandoval (Book 3). The proofs of the several Appendices were compared to originals by Carmen Garcia, Angela Sandoval and Dana Woodworth. Anyone interested in the genesis of this book, and its production details, should see the Editor's Foreword in Book 1. That volume also contains Ed Tucker's original foreword and acknowledgments. We should repeat here that changes and additions to the original have been minimal. In the main text we have only corrected the few typographic errors. The few editorial comments added have been clearly noted in brackets. In the Appendices we have carried the story forward in those instances where to do so caused no complications. For example, the list of Regional Foresters in Table 2 of Appendix A could be carried forward easily and unequivocally. It was less feasible to update other lists. Although forest staffs cooperated in reviewing the older lists and supplying additional names, it became too difficult to change Tucker's lists. Reorganizations, lengthened reporting dates and other factors all added to the difficulty. In the end, we decided it was best to tinker very little with the original. The work of updating will be left to another author at another time. David Gillio June 1992 THREE SHORT HISTORICAL NOTES The following paper was found without date and unsigned. From the record of service, however, it has been determined to have been written by Sam A. Sowell. It is presented as found. The original ranger station on the Aravaipa District of the Crook National Forest was located in Four-Mile Canyon approximately 1 mile west of the Klondyke store and post office. This was of adobe construction and consisted of two rooms and a screened-in porch, which was used as the ranger's office. The water system consisted of a 3/4-inch pipeline 4 miles in length connected with the Four-Mile Spring in the canyon above. The water line ran to a hydrant at the back of the dwelling, but was never piped inside. Due to the friction on this small pipe during the heat of the day, the water would cease to flow. In order to get any water through the pipe line the numerous vent pipes along the line would have to be opened at night. This operation would usually take from three to four hours and then you could not expect the flow to continue past noon the following day. This eventually proved to be too much of an undertaking, and water was hauled from Klondyke in barrels. Since the ranger was in the field the greater part of his time, this was quite a burden on the wife and family. This station was finally abandoned and a house in Klondyke rented for this purpose. The well at this location went dry, and along in 1928 or 1929 the Forest Service purchased a 10-acre plot in the Aravaipa Canyon about 5 miles from the post office and constructed a ranger station. Materials for this station were salvaged from an old ranger station in Frye Canyon on Mt. Graham. This station was torn down with contributed labor, and the material hauled to the Aravaipa. I did all the hauling with a Dodge screened-in truck of about a 1920 vintage. By leaving at 4:00 A. M., two round trips could be made before midnight. All the sand and rock for the foundation of this station was hauled by the ranger with a borrowed dump truck. At this time Mr. Lash was the maintenance man on the Gila National Forest and was assigned to the Crook to help build the new station. Mr. Lash and I did all the work during the winter, with very little cost to the Government except our wages. A shallow well was dug by hand and a pump installed. The large mesquite trees around the building were grubbed out by hand at nights and on weekends by the ranger. This building was abandoned and a new station constructed during CCC days. Mr. Lee Kirby was probably the first district ranger on the Aravaipa, and Ted Swift was Supervisor with headquarters at Safford, Arizona. The record of the various rangers after Mr. Kirby's time could, no doubt, be secured from the old records but I do not have them. As I recall, there were several rangers there for a short duration of time. Just prior to my time Mr. Hugh Chipman was ranger and resigned in 1925. The district was assigned to me in April 1925 and I was transferred to the Paradise District on the Coronado in November 1930. At this time Mr. Jim Girdner was transferred from the Clifton District to the Aravaipa and served until his retirement. Later, a young ranger by the name of White, and then Carl Schoefield and perhaps others, that are of record. The district was comprised of three separate mountain ranges, — the Galiuro, Winchester, and Santa Teresa Mountains. The terrain was extremely rough and only accessible by trails, therefore, the mode of travel was by horseback and afoot. My equipment consisted of two saddle horses and two pack mules, privately owned, as you had to pack your provisions and horse feed, and camp out at various places within the forest. With the exception of prospectors, no one lived within the forest boundaries. A three-week pack trip was necessary to cover the Winchester and Galiuro Divisions and one week for the Santa Teresa Division.