August 2014 Foresters in Action Voices from the Past Transcripts from Oregon State College Student Radio, 1938-1940 Edited by Bryan Bernart and Caryn M. Davis Disclaimer Mention of trade names and products does not constitute endorsement, recommendation for use, or promotion of the products by the authors or the organizations with which they are affiliated. The opinions expressed are those of the authors are do not necessarily represent those of the OSU College of Forestry or Oregon State University. These historical records may contain language that may be offensive or objectionable to contemporary readers. Open Access In keeping with a 100+ year history of making publications available on request, the OSU College of Forestry supports an Open Access policy. This book and other College of Forestry publications are available through ScholarsArchive@OSU, a project of the OSU Libraries. The searchable pdf version of this book is available online: http://hdl.handle.net/1957/50349. Cover photo courtesy of Oregon State University Archives. Produced by The Forestry Communications Group Oregon State University 202 Peavy Hall Corvallis, OR 97331 Voice: (541) 737-4270 Email: [email protected] Special thanks to our Forestry Communications student assistant Alexa Pinckard for her work on transcribing many of these scripts. August 2014 Foresters in Action Voices from the Past Transcripts from Oregon State College Student Radio, 1938-1940 Edited by Bryan Bernart and Caryn M. Davis Abstract Bernart, Bryan, and Caryn M. Davis, editors. 2014. Foresters in Action: Voices from the Past; Transcripts from Oregon State College Student Radio, 1938-1940. College of Forestry, Oregon State University, Corvallis. 362 p. Foresters in Action was a radio program created and performed by students of the OSC School of Forestry. It was broadcast by KOAC radio station in Corvallis from 1936 until ca. 1943. The program offered snapshots of rural life in the Pacific Northwest, and sometimes beyond, told through a collegiate lens. This book is a collection of 38 radio scripts from Foresters in Action, spanning the time period from Winter Term 1938 through Spring Term 1940. The collection was donated to the OSU College of Forestry by the family of Arthur Harold Sasser ('41), an alumnus of the OSC Forestry School who wrote for and performed in Foresters in Action. The scripts have been transcribed, lightly edited, and digitized at the College for this collection. Each episode contains one or more lengthy anecdotes about the experiences of students, forest rangers, lookouts, fictitious characters, and historical figures in the great outdoors, either narrated or re-enacted via flashbacks, and tied together with good-natured banter, musical performances, and jokes. Stories of working, hunting, fishing, logging, and fighting fires are interspersed with discussions on the best ways to manage public and private lands, balance ecological and commercial interests, and provide outreach on natural resources to rural residents. The scripts are connected by two constant themes—conservation and cooperation—as well as by the evident camaraderie among the OSC Forestry students of this era, their pride in their chosen profession, and their optimism about the future. This collection of radio scripts for Foresters in Action offers an educational, colorful, engaging, and still entertaining glimpse of college humor and Oregon culture 75 years ago. Contents Introduction ............................................................................................... 7 1938 — Winter Term ................................................................................. 11 No. 4 — January 26, 1938 .................................................................... 12 No. 5 — February 2, 1938 ................................................................... 21 1938 — Fall Term ...................................................................................... 33 No. 1 — October 6, 1938 .................................................................... 34 No. 2 — October 13, 1938 .................................................................. 42 No. 3 — October 20, 1938 .................................................................. 52 No. 4 — October 27, 1938 .................................................................. 61 No. 5 — November 3, 1938 ................................................................ 71 1939 — Winter Term ................................................................................. 81 No. 3 — January 19, 1939 .................................................................... 82 No. 6 — February 9, 1939 .................................................................... 90 No. 7 — February 16, 1939 .................................................................102 No. 8 — February 23, 1939 .................................................................111 No. 9 — March 2, 1939 .......................................................................118 1939 — Fall Term .....................................................................................127 No. 1 — October 10, 1939, No. 1 ........................................................128 No. 2 — October 17, 1939, No. 2 ........................................................138 No. 3 — October 24, 1939, No. 3 ........................................................146 No. 4 — November 2, 1939, No. 4 ......................................................156 No. 5 — November 9, 1939, No. 5 ......................................................165 No. 6 — November 16, 1939, No. 6 .....................................................174 No. 7 — November 30, 1939, No. 7 .....................................................182 No. 8 — December 7, 1939, No. 8 .......................................................189 1940 — Winter Term ................................................................................199 No. 1 — January 4, 1940 ....................................................................200 No. 2 — January 11, 1940 ...................................................................207 No. 3 — January 18, 1940 ...................................................................216 No. 3[b] — [nd] 1940 .........................................................................225 No. 4 — February 1, 1940 ...................................................................234 No. 5 — February 8, 1940 ...................................................................242 No. 6 — February 14, 1940 .......................................................................250 No. 7 — February 22, 1940 .................................................................259 No. 9 — February 29, 1940 ................................................................268 No. 10 — March 7, 1940 .....................................................................275 No. 11 — March 14, 1940 ...................................................................282 1940 — Spring Term .................................................................................291 No. 1 — March 28, 1940 .....................................................................292 No. 2 — April 4, 1940 .........................................................................300 No. 3 — April 11, 1940 .......................................................................309 No. 4 — April 18, 1940 .......................................................................319 No. 5 — April 25, 1940 .......................................................................327 No. 6 — May 2, 1940 ..........................................................................336 No. 9 — May 30, 1940 ........................................................................343 Appendix — Clippings from the Yearbook ................................................353 1937 ..................................................................................................355 1938 ..................................................................................................356 1939 ..................................................................................................357 1940 ..................................................................................................358 1941 ..................................................................................................360 1942 ..................................................................................................362 1943 ..................................................................................................363 Introduction by Bryan Bernart and Caryn M. Davis In October of 1936, a few members of the Forestry Club at Oregon Agricultural College took to the airwaves for the first time to entertain and educate listeners with a new program of "fun and music from the woods." This "bull fest," featuring tall tales, skits, music, philosophical discussions, and stories drawn from forestry students' experiences was broadcast live from the historic KOAC radio station under the direction of James Morris. It was an immediate hit. Every Thursday evening for the next seven years, the strains of "Alouette," sung by the Foresters Chorus, would signal the beginning of Foresters in Action. By 1937, the small cast of characters had grown to more than fifteen, and Foresters in Action had attracted interest from other radio stations from Spokane to San Francisco. That OSC "fernhoppers" had jumped calk-boots first into this new communications