The National Smokejumper Quarterly Magazine SmokejumperAssociation October 2000 InsideInside ThisThis Issue:Issue: RegionRegion 88 Smokejumping—Smokejumping— TheThe UntoldUntold StoryStory .... .......................................................20 20 JumpJump atat RedRed Dawn—Dawn— McCallMcCall PioneersPioneers UrbanUrban SmokejumpingSmokejumping ...........................................................6 6 TheThe VideoVideo Project—Project— ItIt StartedStarted asas JustJust aa SummerSummer JobJob .......................................................26 26 Check the NSA Web Site 1 www.smokejumpers.com CONTENTS Obvervations Obvervations from the Ad Shack .................................... 2 Downside ......................................................................... 3 Robert L. Caldwell: Model, Friend, and Colleague ........ 4 From the Ad Shack Smokejumpers in the Sky ............................................... 5 The Jump at Red Dawn ................................................... 6 Sounding Off from the Editor ......................................... 8 Volunteer Wanted: Web site Content Manager ............... 9 membership to suggest ways Life Member and Associates Provide for Issue .............. 10 Letters ............................................................................ 10 that we can do our jobs better Thoughts on the Los Alamos Fires ............................... 11 and more efficiently, and ways Checking the Canopy .................................................... 14 A Visit with Bob Nolan ................................................... 15 the NSA can provide more Bob Marshall Smokejumper Trail Project 1999 .......... 16 and better services to its Touching All Bases ........................................................ 17 members. There are a couple Items from the Fire Pack .............................................. 17 Early Water Bombing Less Than Success ..................... 19 of general theories of manage- Region 8 Smokejumping—The Untold Story ............. 20 ment regarding progress and Odds & Ends .................................................................. 24 Viewers Comment on NSA Video ................................... 25 change. The first is “If it ain’t Video Donors ................................................................. 25 broke, don’t fix it.” The second The Video Project—“It started as just a is “If you don’t continually try summer job. …” ..................................................... 26 Off the List ..................................................................... 27 new ideas, the world will pass Liston Memorial Fund .................................................. 27 you by.” I subscribe to the Blast from the Past ........................................................ 28 By Larry Lufkin second theory and believe the Message from Jim Cherry .............................................. 29 (Cave Junction ’63) Jump List—October 2000 ............................................ 30 NSA should continually look PRESIDENT It Isn’t a Smokejumper Story But It’s “The Mother for ways to improve operations of All Jump Stories” ................................................. 33 Reunion Help List ......................................................... 35 FRANCIS LUFKIN, “THE Old and services. A Response to John N. Maclean’s Article ...................... 35 Man” to us kids and “Pappy” We have already imple- Reactions to the 60th Reunion of Smokejumpers ....... 36 Missoula Jumper Leads Largest Professional Foresters to his jumpers (although the mented several ideas that were Society ...................................................................... 37 only jumper to call him Pappy promoted last year during Carl This Could Affect Your Retirement!!! ............................ 38 to his face was Chuck Moseley Gidlund’s term as president. Running the Yampa...................................................... 39 NSA member profile ...................................................... 39 from Cave Junction), always For example, Webmaster Dan referred to the airport office McComb suggested that we building as the “Ad Shack”; centralize the jumper database thus the name of this column. and set up personalized e-mail SMOKEJUMPER, ISSUE NO. 29, OCTOBER 2000 The Old Man used to sit at his accounts for members. Dan Smokejumper is published by: desk and watch the troops took the lead on both ideas, THE NATIONAL SMOKEJUMPER ASSOCIATION P. O. Box 4081 through the windows of the got help from Roger Savage Missoula, MT 59806-4081 Ad Shack. He used those and others, and accomplished The opinions of the writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the NSA. observations to motivate both tasks. NSA Telephone/Fax: 406-549-9938 jumpers (they all know what How does this affect you, NSA E-mail: [email protected] NSA Web site: http://www.smokejumpers.com that meant) and to improve the member of the NSA? Since operations. July 5, people who have Send all magazine communications to: Chuck Sheley The Old Man told me that accessed the “Jump List” on 10 Judy Ln. our Web site have received up- Chico, CA 95926 he always kept two thoughts in (530) 893-0436 mind when running the to-date information. If you are [email protected] jumper base. The first was looking up an old buddy, send Managing Editor: Chuck Sheley safety. The second was how us an e-mail or give us a call Editor: Ed Booth can the job be done better and and we’ll look up their address Profiles and Features: Carl Gidlund Illustrators: Nick Holmes, Chris Demarest, Dan more efficiently. I intend to and phone number for you. Veenendaal and Bob Wilson continue this tradition in the Also, since July 5, all NSA Layout/Printing: Larry S. Jackson, Heidelberg Graphics, Chico, CA NSA by asking the officers, members have been able to Cover photo courtesy of Gary Peters. board members and the obtain free e-mail addresses by Check the NSA Web Site 2 www.smokejumpers.com contacting our Web site and following Dan’s copies and stuffing envelopes, leaving him time to directions. You, too, can have an e-mail address of follow-up on address changes and complete other Error! Reference source not found. that can be important membership tasks. accessed anywhere in the world. We have also recruited several members to In case you didn’t notice, Dan McComb not assist the executive committee. Bill Eastman only made the suggestion, but he did all of the agreed to author the “Jump List” that I previously programming needed for the new systems, wrote. Bill will need continued input from all rounded up the troops needed to update the old jumpers so that he can let our readers know who database, and supervised the completion of the is doing what, so be sure to complete the “bio” project. The key is that we welcome ideas from section on your renewal forms and send us infor- anyone, but don’t expect the executive committee mation on other jumpers. Jim Cherry agreed to and board to do all of the work. We have more chair a committee to recruit additional life mem- than enough to keep us busy, and we will expect berships. These additional funds will be put in a you to coordinate the activity and supervise permanent fund, and the interest will be used to completion of the project. improve NSA operations and services to members. So, what is new for 2000-2001? Fred Cooper Warren Maxon is assisting us by verifying e-mail and Chuck Sheley, our membership coordinator addresses. We have about 800 e-mail addresses on and membership chair, decided to contract out file and are working to get more because it costs the mailing of renewal notices rather than person- the NSA much less to inform members of NSA ally print and mail each renewal. The nearly 300 activities by e-mail than by snail mail. of you who received dues renewal notices last If you have an idea, contact me. I guarantee it summer may have seen that the notices were not will be given full consideration. quite as personal as previous notices. However, As the Old Man used to say, “Keep the sunny Fred and Chuck saved the NSA money by trying a side up.” new system. It also saves Fred hours of making (CourtesyDownside Nick Holmes) Check the NSA Web Site 3 www.smokejumpers.com Robert L. Caldwell: Model, Friend, and Colleague by Bob Evans (Idaho City ’53) ob Caldwell was first to me a smokejumper and, joking or irreverent when Bob was spotting. starting 13 years later, a fellow academician and As a rookie and hugely excited by smokejumping in Bfriend. 1953, I was not fully aware of Smokey’s and Bob’s worries, At the old loft in McCall, the angular-jawed, tall fellow as foreman and squadleader, for the welfare of their “troops.” stood out among the other squadleaders. In our fire-fighting One morning we headed to two fires in the Noorduyne, the classes he implied precision in an imprecise enterprise while first a wobbly smoke on a ridge above Arrowhead Reservoir coming across as reasoned, methodical, confident. He was on the Boise. That time, Smokey was jumping with Bob stern in calisthenics. When leading exercises he modeled Gara and Caldwell was spotting. how it should be done, and I could not discern whether his Smokey hit the ridge, and Bob went out on the second urgings over the moans of jumpers was derision or humor. pass. Caldwell was concerned about the wind, and he was His impatience with ineptitude struck me. screaming out the door as if Gara could hear him, “Cut your After training we could request McCall or Idaho City. oscillation,