The Garrett County Historical Society Salutes 100 Years of Fighting

— Published by —

THE GARRETT COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Star

T H E

Glades

The Garrett County

Historical Society Salutes

100 Years of

Fighting

Forest Fires

in Maryland

by William Offutt Johnson

Fig. 1

Reprinted by:

The Foundation for Maryland Conservation History, Inc.

The Glades sTar 1

The Garrett County Historical Society

Salutes 100 Years of Fighting Forest Fires

in Maryland

by William Offutt Johnson

With valuable contributions from the Maryland Forest Service, Will Williams, Education Specialist,

Retired and Monte Mitchell, State Forest Fire Supervisor. Technical Assistance provided by

Francis “Champ” Zumbrun and Joan Johnson

his is the third part of “A Salute

to 100 Years of Forestry and

State Parks in Maryland.” Part 1,

“Conserving Forests,” appeared in

the June 2006 Glades Star and Part

2, the “Evolution of State Parks” was

published in the September 2006 is-

sue. Part 3, “Fighting Forests Fires,”

completes the State Forest and Park

Centennial Series.

These centennial histories on

forestry and state parks in Maryland

are dedicated to all the men and

women of Western Maryland’s State

Forests and Parks District 1 (aka the

Western Region) who, for more than

100 years, have gone beyond the call

ﬁghting wild ﬁres, improving park

lands and reforesting the mountains

and valleys to provide wood, water,

wildlife, cleaner air, scenic views,

natural and historic heritage preserva-

tion, and recreation to Marylanders

and our out-of-state guests. We hope

these articles do justice describing the

natural resource legacy that has been

established.

Fire, when controlled, is one of our

most valuable phenomenas, but just let

it get away from us, and it will reek and

pour down economic loss, destruction and

death. Regardless of the location—city,

suburb or countryside—the ravages of

ﬁre out of control render damages beyond

calculation.

Fire causes more damage than meets

the eye ...

The following was printed in “The

Forests of Maryland” in 1916 written by

Maryland’s ﬁrst State Forester Fred W.

Besley.

“There has also been a large amount

Fig. 2

of unnecessary waste in the removal of

timber. Not only has an immense quan-

tity of young growth been unnecessarily

destroyed, due to careless methods, but a

study of the subject has shown that about

half of the usable part of the tree is either

left in the woods or wasted in sawing. Not

only is there a large amount of unnecessary

waste, which improved methods would

ﬁnd it proﬁtable to use, but this large

amount of debris left in the woods adds

immeasurably to the ﬁre risk. Records show

that forest ﬁres almost invariably follow

lumbering operations.

“Fires: The forest ﬁre damage in Mary-

land from 1911 to 1915 is as follows:

Year Amount of Damage

(in 1916 dollars)

1911 .........................$225,801

1912 .............................48,212

1913 ............................42,443

1914 ...........................129,844

1915 ..........................108,966

State Forester Besley continued,

“The damage caused by forest ﬁres

is not fully appreciated. This is one

reason why so many are allowed

to occur, and that many which do

occur are given little attention by

property owners. Not only do ﬁres

damage fences and merchantable

timber, whose value is more clearly

recognized, but ﬁres also destroy on

the ground the seed which nature

has provided for the perpetuation

of the forest. The accumulated leaf

litter and partly decomposed organic

matter, so important in conserving

soil moisture and adding fertility to

the soil, are completely destroyed, the

ground becoming dry and hard. The small

seedlings are consumed, and where the ﬁre

is not intense enough to quickly destroy the

young growth, the bark is burned through

on one side, exposing the living wood to

decay. The tree may continue to grow,

but the decay also increases, stunting its

growth and reducing its timber value to

a great extent, frequently to the point of

making it practically worthless. It is these

ﬁre-scars on the young trees and also on

older ones which produce the decay ul-

timately resulting in hollowed trees and

many other defects.

“A woodland that is repeatedly burned

over by fires constantly deteriorates in

September 2011, June and September 2012

2 The Glades sTar

quality, and the production is greatly re-

duced or ceases entirely. Fire protection is

the ﬁrst requisite for improved conditions

in woodlots; without it there can be no

permanent improvement. Since, however,

90% of the forest ﬁres are the result of

carelessness, the situation will improve as

rapidly as people are educated to the nature

and extent of the damage caused by forest

ﬁres.” Fred Besley truly believed in the

basic principle that “conservation begins

with education.”

Maryland Colonists and their suCCessors, Clear

what they thought were inexhaustible forests...

For more than 270 years following

the establishment of Lord Baltimore’s

Maryland colony, there was no organized

method to perpetuate and sustain forests.

The great pre-colonial forests covering

95% of the State declined from clearing,

timbering and burning to make space

for settlements and agriculture. Further,

people paid little or no attention to ﬁres

started by natural causes that burned for

weeks and sometimes months out of con-

trol. By the early 1900s the forests of this

state and the soil they grow in had become

seriously depleted. A similar condition was

found in many states east of the Mississippi

River where it was estimated that only

30% forest cover remained in 1907 in the

eastern United States.

abuse and destruCtive

habits had to give way

to sCientifiC forestry

Conservation praCtiCes.

Such were the

conditions in 1906

confronting State

Forester Fred Bes-

ley. The results of

his State Inventory

published in 1916

revealed the poten-

tial forest lands in

Maryland covered

2,228,046 acres of

woodland, represent-

ing 35% of Mary-

land’s original for-

ested lands. However,

because of numerous

ﬁres, over cutting and

no effort to re-plant

trees and protect for-

est lands from more

ﬁres, livestock grazing, insect infestation,

and/or disease had made much of this

potential woodland unproductive and un-

marketable. This crisis dovetailed at a time

when development in Maryland demanded

lumber and forest byproducts be imported

from other states and countries to meet the

need of growth and urbanization.

This phenomenal forest famine got the

Fig. 3

Fig. 4.

Fig. 5.

attention of an incredible coalition of forest

and park conservation advocates to take

action to re-grow the forests of Maryland.

The goal was to renew forest lands into an

ongoing sustainable contributor of wood,

wood byproducts, water, wildlife and rec-

reation. Woodlands of beauty, green buffers

to urban growth, and puriﬁers of air for the

growing Maryland population.

Parts 1 and 2 of the Centen-

nial series detailed how brothers

John and Robert Garrett gave

land in Garrett County for the

first state forest, providing a

bill creating a state forest and

park department pass in the

Maryland General Assembly.

These articles further account

how State Senator McCulloch

Brown of Garrett County wrote

and introduced the forestry and

state park bill and how Senate

President Colonel Joseph B. Seth

of Talbot County enthusiasti-

cally supported Senator Brown’s

bill; and how the first U.S.

Chief Forester, Gifford Pinchot,

gave Senator Brown wording

for his forestry legislation and

later recommended, to Gover-

nor Edwin Warﬁeld, one of his

top foresters, Fred Besley, to be

Maryland’s ﬁrst State Forester.

Also noted was the inﬂuence of

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the prominent State Geologist, William

Bullock Clark, who had promoted forestry

programs in Maryland prior to the 1906

legislation. Following shortly after-

wards was the good efforts of State

Senator Carville D. Benson and the

Baltimore Municipal Arts Society

and the Frederick Law Olmstead

Architects, sons of the New York

City’s Central Park famous

planner, who recommended

suburban state parks buffering

Baltimore City.

Their actions were most

timely and dramatic and coupled

with the indefatigable Fred Besley

leading his staff of three and with

a starting budget of only $2,000

annually, Maryland began to practice

the art and science of managed forestry

and providing state parks. Right from the

beginning Mr. Besley recognized that if

he was to make any improvements in the

forests of Maryland, control of forest ﬁres

had to be one of the highest priorities in his

campaign. Other top initiatives included

a county by county inventory of all forest

lands of 5 acres or more, establishing a

state forest tree nursery, improving the state

owned demonstration forests at Patapsco

Park, Swallow Falls and Fort Frederick

Forest Reserves, and building a staff and

rallying volunteer forest wardens. Also he

wanted to build advocate support through

the Maryland Forestry Association, which

he planned to create. He also had an inter-

est in getting people out into state parks in

order to educate them on his reforestation

programs as previously noted. Believing,

“conservation begins with education,”

changing Marylanders’ attitudes and habits

pertaining to ﬁre and the traditional uses

of woodlands, was the only way his forest

management concepts would work. The

public had to understand and support

Besley in this new conservation discipline.

With public awareness, he could reduce

the number of ﬁres to ﬁght and get more

trees growing, for “many hands make the

job easy.”

The Maryland Forestry and State Park

enabling legislation authorized the creation

of the “State Board of Forestry” which

operated from 1906 to 1923. Governor

Albert C. Ritchie’s streamlining of state

government in 1923 transferred the State

Board of Forestry to the University of

Fig. 6. First logo of the Maryland State Board

of Forestry was used in early publications.

Maryland where it remained until 1941,

when the Department of Forests and Parks

was established and placed under the State

Board of Natural Resources.

Under the three agencies mentioned

above, between 1906 and 1970 a dynamic

foundation was laid for forestry and state

park programs, and the evolution of Mary-

land’s forest ﬁre control programs were

carried out as follows:

Maryland’s first forest wardens...

Because of Mr. Besley’s meager budget,

$2,000 annually, he needed dedicated vol-

unteers to ﬁght ﬁres and carry his message

to the public. His continuous horse and

buggy travels around the state to pre-

pare a comprehensive forest inven-

tory (the ﬁrst such study produced

by any state in the U.S.) put him

in contact with prominent lo-

cal community leaders who

were impressed with him

and interested in advancing

his program for the good of

the State. It was these men

to whom Besley appealed to

their civic duty and recom-

mended their names to the

Governor to be commissioned

as Forest Wardens.

When the Forestry Act was

amended in 1910, it gave wardens

the powers of constables so far as ar-

resting and prosecuting persons for all

violations of any of the forest laws or of the

laws, rules, or regulations enacted or to be

enacted for the protection of the State for-

estry reservations. Soon 300 such dedicated

and upstanding citizens were appointed as

Forest Wardens statewide. Most of their

work was volunteer; however, Maryland’s

ﬁrst Forestry Act provided the Forest War-

dens a small compensation of $20 per year

for services rendered and expenses incurred

during the execution of their duties. In ad-

dition, each Forest Warden received $1.50

for ﬁve hours or less of actual ﬁreﬁghting

time and 25 cents per hour thereafter for

each hour ﬁre ﬁghting time beyond ﬁve

hours. They were also involved in educat-

Fig. 7. 1916—Forest Wardens’ Conference—Garrett County Courthouse. Straight across,

left to right: Clyde Carlton Sines, Fred W. Besley, George W. Tichinel, W.A. Reams, Wm.

H. Barnard, Michael Tasker, Abraham Lincoln Sines, Peter F. Michael, J. Harrison Sines,

Alexander Bittinger, Mavy T. Mellott, F.F. Myers, William A. Michael, and John T. O’Brien.

Note: A.L. Sines is holding a “back ﬁre torch” and he is wearing a cow skin coat made

from a cow he butchered.

4 The Glades sTar

ing the public, including school children,

on how to prevent forest ﬁres. And, they

talked to friends and neighbors to make

them aware of all of Fred Besley’s forestry

programs and to encourage support of

forestry efforts.

But in regard to fire, the Forestry

Fig 8. Forest Warden reinactor and author Offutt Johnson. Photo

by Lynn Johnson.

Act instituted duties

of the Warden that

remain today. When

a Warden learns of a

fire he shall imme-

diately go to the ﬁre

and employ such per-

sons and means in his

judgment expedient

and necessary to extin-

guish the ﬁre. The Act

also authorized Forest

Wardens “to summon

male inhabitants of

the county between

the ages of 18 and

50 years to assist in

extinguishing fires,

and may also require

the use of horses and

other property needed

for such purpose. Any

person so summoned

who is physically able

who refuses or neglects

to assist, or to allow

the use of horses, wag-

ons, or other material

required, shall be li-

able to pay a penalty

of ten dollars.”

Local wardens were encouraged to

draft their volunteers in advance of the

ﬁre season to have a Registered Crew they

could count on when a ﬁre occurred. A

1943 Forest Warden Manual notes, “It

should be remembered, however, that men

Fig. 10. Forest Patrolman Edman Twig from

Town Creek with canvas bucket under left

arm.

Fig. 9. Edmund George Prince, Forest Patrolman in Patapsco State

Forest Reserve, 1919 until 1930.

picked up at random by a Warden may very

well be of doubtful value on a forest ﬁre.”

Skilled men who were no strangers to hard

work or had previous ﬁre experience were

preferred. “A man with such experience, or

with a stake in the outcome, is worth ten

indifferent greenhorns.”

the “fightin’est tool”...

The meager state budgets in the early

years provided Forest Wardens only a brass

badge which had a stamped number and

stated “Maryland Forest Warden” around

the engraved cross botany logo that is

crossed with an oak leaf and pine bough.

This handsome symbol has been the

Maryland Forest Service and Park Service

logo since 1928, showing a strong and

proud agency culture for more than 83

years of its 105 year history. Prior to 1928

a silver colored star badge with a stamped

number became the ﬁrst badge. The star

was encompassed with a circle stating

“Maryland Forest Warden.” This badge

was issued to all commissioned wardens

and only four of these “Star Badges” are

known to exist today.

But that’s not all they got! The state

budget also provided each Forest Warden

with his own collapsible canvas bucket.

Lightweight, sort of a dull orange/brown

color with a comfortable wooden hand

grip. Perfect for dumping 1½ gallons of

water on a blazing forest ﬁre burning out

of control. When collapsed, this bucket

was easily tied to their horses’ saddle and

it was so trim when collapsed it would not

snag on tree limbs

as they raced on

horseback through

the woods to the

ﬁre.

Early For-

est Wardens had

to supply the rest

of their tools and

equipment. State

Forester Besley ad-

vised the wardens,

“The best tools

with which to ﬁght

fire are the rake,

hoe, shovel, axe

and the collapsible

bucket.” Besley fur-

ther noted that the

warden’s best assets

were experience,

The Glades sTar 5

good health, and resourcefulness.

Pine branches and wet grain sacks were

also discovered to be effective ﬁreﬁghting

implements. One Cecil County Warden’s

report notes that a moonshine bucket used

with a wooden pole with a swab of wet rags

attached to one end was well known in the

region as an effective extinguisher. The pole

and the swab of wet rags had been perfected

by the moonshine industry and ﬁeld tested

when that industry’s ﬁres set the woodlands

ablaze. Quick extinguishing of the ﬁre in

this way often saved that industry’s product

as well as equipment.

When budgets improved in the early

1920s, the “Rich ﬁre rake” and the knap-

sack “Indian” pump were issued to all the

wardens. Fashioned from a sickle-bar’s

triangular mower teeth, the triangular teeth

were riveted to a piece of angle iron and

attached to a four and one half foot wooden

handle. The “Rich ﬁre rake” proved to be

the warden’s most effective “fightin’est

tool” that is still used to this day. The

knapsack pump was forerunner of today’s

bladder bag or backpack pump. The “Rich

ﬁre rake,” ax and shovel were used to dig

a 2- to 4-foot ﬁre line or ﬁre break down

to mineral soil that ﬂanked the path of the

ﬁre. This line of soil removed the fuel from

the path of a ground ﬁre, causing it to burn

out when it reached the non-combustible

dirt ﬁre line. Fire lines through brush need

to be wider than those lines through open

timber. Lines on the uphill side of a ﬁre

should be wider than those ﬁre lines on the

downhill side. Also, the ﬁre crew needs to

be mindful of wind velocity. The general

rule of thumb is “the stronger the wind,

the wider the line.

“Backfire” was another method of

Fig. 11. “Have your tools ready in your machine. . . . Keep car headed out,

and when the call comes, make time. May 14, 1928.

Fig. 12. Often ﬁre wardens and their crew walked to ﬁres in their neighborhoods carry-

ing tools, backﬁre torches, pole axes, Rich rakes, shovels and backpack water pumps.

stopping

a ground

forest fire.

Providing

the wind

was gentle

or blowing

toward the

approaching

ﬁre, a back-

fire could

be lit using

a drip torch

fueled with

kerosene.

The For-

est Warden

would go out some distance ahead of the

approaching ﬁre and using his kerosene

torch, he would light a new ﬁre that would

burn back toward and into the larger ﬁre.

When the backﬁre met the large ﬁre, they

would both burn out since all the fuel had

been burned out of the ﬁre’s path. Only

experienced wardens would apply the

backﬁre method. If the wind changed,

the backﬁre could backﬁre on the warden

and he could end up with a much bigger

and more violent ﬁre than he started with.

During forest warden training, backﬁre was

cautiously described as an excellent way to

burn over 100 acres in order to stop a ten-

acre ﬁre. Extreme caution had to be used

in applying the backﬁre procedure.

forest warden badge history

The silver colored star badge was the

ﬁrst Maryland Forest Warden’s badge. The

1906 enabling legislation provided that the

State Forester may apply to the governor

to commission forest wardens of the state

to enforce the forest laws and carry out all

the purposes of the Forestry Act. Wardens

were appointed for two-year terms. They

would possess and exercise the authority

and power of constables of common law

under State statutes, so far as arresting

and prosecuting violations of laws, rules

and regulations for the protection of State

forestry reservations. And further for pro-

tection of ﬁsh and game within the forest

reserves. The Maryland Forest Laws were

amended in 1910 to expand the police

powers of forest wardens, and this law over

the years has been occasionally amended

to strengthen and expand the authority of

both forest and park wardens.

Therefore, it is assumed that since the

commissioning of Forest Wardens was

part of the Forestry Enabling Act of 1906,

the striking of the ﬁrst silver colored Star

Forest Wardens Badge occurred as early

as 1906 or 1907. The 1908-1909 Annual

Report shows that 60 forest wardens had

been commissioned and were beginning

to have an impact on ﬁre suppression. As

shown in the 1910-1926 listing of forest

wardens at the end of this history, their

numbers increased considerably. A signiﬁ-

cant number of Silver Star wardens’ badges

were produced between 1906 and 1928;

perhaps as many as 700 were in use. Today

we know of only four Silver Star badges

that have survived that 105-year period.

In 1908, two wardens had been em-

ployed “at small salaries” to look after the

Swallow Falls State Forest Reserve and the

6 The Glades sTar

Patapsco Park and State Forest Reserve.

These two “historic ﬁrst rangers” were

called “Resident Wardens,” and their fame

is long remembered. At Swallow Falls was

the notable Abraham Lincoln Sines who

“would rather be right than President.”

A.L. Sines told the Governor of Maryland,

“Politics does not ﬁght ﬁres! I never ask a

man his religion or politics. When it comes

to ﬁghting ﬁre in the forest, it takes good

strong men of all faiths and all political

persuasion to get the job done.”

At Patapsco Park and Forest Reserve

was the very uniform conscience Edmund

George Prince who was well-mounted on

his horse, also called “Prince.” Edmund

Prince has become an exemplary model

representing the high standards of the

Ranger Corps in Maryland State Parks.

Both A.L. Sines and Edmund Prince have

left their memorable traits and the passion

with which they cared for both the land

they protected and the people who visited

their forest and park reserves.

The brass shield was the second

Maryland Forest Warden’s badge which

was issued in 1928. This new badge is

in the design of a shield with “Maryland

Forest Warden” raised on banners around

a handsomely designed circle enclosing the

ancient “Crossland” Coat of Arms from

Lord Baltimore’s mother’s family. That

is the same red and white cross that is on

the Maryland ﬂag. The cross on the brass

badge is embossed with a white pine bough

crossed by a white oak leaf from the Mary-

land state tree. The shield is reminiscent of

the shield carried by medieval knights for

protection and identiﬁcation. So the Forest

Warden’s role is similarly involved in the

business of protection and he is identiﬁed

by his symbolic “Shield,” or badge.

It is a guess, but further speculation

suggests that the use of the shield shape

for the badge may be inspired by the

wording on the Maryland State Seal which

Fig. 13. Forest Wardens in Garrett County at their annual meeting and picnic at New Germany State Forest Recreation Area, July

1940. Left to right: George Browning, Abraham Lincoln Sines, Silas Sines, Mike Tasker, Mavy Mellott, George Wilt, E.M. McClintock,

J.P. McWilliams, Ernest Durst, Unknown, T.M. Burrell, H.C. Buckingham—District Forester, Donald L. Chisholm, Elbert Michaels, Urner

Wigﬁeld, Arthur Broadwater, Matthew E. Martin—Savage River Forest Superintendent, C.W. Grove, Carl Lohr—Potomac State Forest

Superintendent and Wade Broadwater.

Fig. 14. Forest Warden badges.

proclaims, “I will encompass you with my

shield.” Again, offering some form of “pro-

tection.” In this thought, the symbolism is

vested with the Maryland Department of

Forestry’s Forest Warden who is identiﬁed

by this shield/badge to protect and enhance

the people’s forest and parklands from ﬁre

and abuse.

In 1943 a stylish charcoal gray uniform

with belted Norfolk jacket and jodhpur

pants and a light gray campaign hat was

issued to full-time State forestry staff.

This ﬁrst ofﬁcial uniform made for a most

formal and professional presentation when

the brass shield/badge was pinned on the

left front of the jacket.

Maryland’s fire towers...

Of the 34 ﬁre towers reported in use

in 1943, it is assumed the Civilian Con-

servation Corps (CCC) constructed most

of these towers in the 1930s, a time when

the CCC began many conservation and

outdoor recreation projects that remain

and are enjoyed to this day. The very ﬁrst

recorded ﬁre tower in Maryland was con-

structed in Garrett County in 1915, and

resembled a kid’s tree fort made of wood

and mounted on poles. It was on top of

Snaggy Mountain overlooking the “Garrett

Gift,” Maryland’s ﬁrst State Forest Reserve.

In order to check on the alertness of the

Snaggy Mountain tower lookout, District

Forest Warden Abraham Lincoln Sines

(nicknamed “Link”) would carry a large

bucket of oily rags out to various locations

in the Garrett Forest Reserve and set them

The Glades sTar 7

burning inside the bucket. Then he would

rush back to his ofﬁce to see if the lookout

in the tower would report the ﬁre and ac-

curately plot the correct location of the

smoke from the burning bucket of rags. If

the lookout failed to call in or incorrectly

reported the ﬁre’s location, Link would take

that lookout “to the woodshed” for some

additional and unforgettable on-the-job

training!

The Aermotor Company of Broken

Arrow, Oklahoma, built nearly all of

Maryland’s steel ﬁre towers, including those

remaining today. All of Maryland’s towers

and most of those used in the southeast

U.S. were 80 to 110 feet tall and featured

a 7x7 foot cab. The ﬁre tower kits were

shipped from Chicago and when Aermotor

ﬁrst started selling them in 1916, they cost

between $400 and $800. The Aermotor

Company, founded in 1888, is best known

throughout the Midwest and western U.S.

as a manufacturer of windmills and oil

derricks (all these steel tower structures are

nearly identical), and they sell them to this

day. The Aermotor Company was bought

by a group of Texans in 1986 and relocated

to San Angelo, Texas.

Tower operators or “lookouts” were

local women and men who lived in the

area, who provided a watchful eye during

times of high ﬁre danger for a salary of

$100 a month. In some cases men and

women with minor handicaps were hired

and did outstanding jobs as lookouts. It was

seasonal work, for the ﬁre seasons in Mary-

land start in spring after snowmelt and

continue until the deciduous trees leaf out.

Fire season returns in fall when the leaves

fall and contin-

ues until snowfall.

This above general

rule can change

if a very dry and

windy summer

keeps the mois-

ture in the air low,

or should winter

be dry, warm, and

windy with little

precipitation.

The tower

lookouts became

the “early warn-

ing system” of the

Department of

Forests and Parks

in the days before

urbanization expanded into rural Mary-

land. Their effectiveness, coupled with

well-trained and equipped “smokechas-

ers,” helped to drastically reduce both the

number and the size of forest ﬁres.

You would think ﬁre lookouts would

have experienced lots of long, lonely work-

days by themselves at 100 or more feet in

the sky, perched atop a remote mountain,

in a 7 foot by 7 foot cab. But, such was not

Fig. 15. Maryland Department of Forests and Parks. Wel-

come Fire Tower, Charles County near Doncaster State

Forest. Photo by Earl Mentzer, September 26, 1961.

Fig. 16. One of the ﬁrst ﬁre towers in Maryland. Made of wood and located

on “Pitch Pine Rock,” on Snaggy Mountain overlooking the Garrett State

Forest and Herrington Manor State Park. Photo by Fred Besley, August

1920.

Fig. 17.

8 The Glades sTar

the case. People were attracted to ﬁre towers

and curious about what the lookouts’ work

involved. They got so many visitors up in

the towers that they were required to keep

visitor logs.

The lookouts were friendly, and cheer-

fully welcomed visitors for it was a change

for them in the routine. Lookouts could

have a pleasant conversation and still keep a

Fig. 18. Carrie Toms, secretary at the Gambrill State Park/High Knob Forest and Park Of-

ﬁce, plotting location of a forest ﬁre by pulling the push pins on ﬁshing line along the

compass readings reported from three ﬁre towers.

Fig. 19. Mrs. Vernice Davies sweeps the

woods with binoculars from Cub Hill Tower,

notes suspected ﬁre in tower log book.

watchful eye for smoke. If smoke was spot-

ted, the lookout would bring the conversa-

tion around to explaining the steps taken

to report it and dispatch a “smokechaser.”

All ofﬁcial phone or radio calls to or from

the tower had to be logged in a Strathmore

composition notebook. Some of the towers

had a “Forest Fire Danger Weather Station”

located on the ground near the base of the

tower. Readings were taken 2 or 3 times

each day on wind speed, rainfall, tempera-

ture, wind direction, and fuel moisture in

the air. If the air was humid containing a

large percentage of water or water vapor,

that was a low ﬁre day. However, if the air

was dry and hot—watch out—for ﬁres

will start easily and spread—well actually

“spread like a wild ﬁre.” These weather

readings had to be called in to the District

Foresters ofﬁce and also relayed to the

State Forester’s ofﬁce in Annapolis via the

ﬁre tower’s two-way radio network. All

the weather reports ended up at Long Hill

Tower in Anne Arundel County where

Kitty Shortall, “the voice of Long Hill,”

phoned them into the Annapolis State

Forest and Park Headquarters.

There were housekeeping duties of

dusting, washing windows, cleaning bin-

ocular lenses, and putting up and taking

down the U.S. and Maryland ﬂags. If an-

other tower in your county spotted smoke,

that lookout would radio or phone you for

consultation on the location and the type

of ﬁre that might be producing the smoke.

You might need to determine whether or

not a farmer is liming his ﬁeld, as the ﬁne

powdered lime looks much like smoke, or

is there a logging operation in that area

or could it be a steam locomotive pufﬁng

out that smoke. It may be someone burn-

ing trash that called in earlier putting the

tower on notice that they planned to burn

trash and yard waste between certain hours

that day. On the other hand, it may be that

a hunter carelessly tossed a cigarette or a

camper left a campﬁre unattended and it

started a ﬁre. Perhaps, it was Columbus

Day and kids out of school were playing

with matches. It could even be a piece of

glass from a broken soft drink bottle in the

dry grass magniﬁed by the sun’s light and

spontaneously set the ﬁre on a very dry,

windy day and bingo, that little spark is

now growing into a raging inferno.

So the two lookouts quickly play

detective and eliminate the possibilities

before reporting and dispatching the clos-

est “smokechaser” to investigate. Then

there is an exercise in plotting the exact

location of the smoke that could involve

two or more towers participating in a

team effort. This process also involved the

District Warden’s ofﬁce where there was a

large map in a frame that held the map but

left space between the back of the map and

wall. The map was a large scale and showed

the entire area the District Warden was

charged to cover. Each tower was marked

and all roads, towns and communities were

marked as well as volunteer ﬁre companies.

Around the tower locations on the

map was a clear plastic circle with the 360

degrees of the compass marked in black.

In the center of the compass was a map

push pin with a long pointed pin. The

push pin was attached to ﬁshing line that

passed through a hole in the center of the

compass and on through the map. The

other end of the ﬁshing line was tied to a

piece of metal weighing about 20 ounces.

Now to the process of determining the

exact location of the ﬁre.

Two, maybe three, tower lookouts

The Glades sTar 9

now have spotted a suspi-

cious smoke. Each tower is

equipped with an “Alidade”

or “Fire ﬁnder.” The Alidade

is a tall, round, glass-topped

table in the middle of the tower

cab. Its top surface is higher

than the bottom window sills.

Under the glass top is a map

positioned and oriented to the

north/south/east/west as you

look out the tower windows.

On top of the glass top is a

pivoting sighting rod with sites

sticking up on each end. Also

around the circumference of

the circular map is marked the

360 degrees of the compass.

Like the map, the points of

the compass are also oriented

to the north/south/east/west.

Each lookout spins his

sighting rod so he can line

up the rod on the map with

the smoke. Then he reads the

compass azimuth and reports

the direction of the smoke in the

number of degrees from his tower. The

District Warden pulls the push pin of each

tower reporting and sticks the pin in the

map beyond the approximate location of

the ﬁre. After stretching the ﬁshing line in

the direction of the smoke, as indicated

by each tower’s compass reading, there

will be a point on the map where all three

ﬁshing lines will cross each other. Under

the crossed ﬁshing lines is a point on the

map where the forest ﬁre is growing. The

smokechaser closest to that point is called

to investigate, and if necessary, extinguish

the ﬁre.

There are some (pardon the pun)

tall tales—what we mean to say is “great

stories”—about working as a ﬁre tower

lookout. For example, take the predica-

ment of Vivian Roberts who worked the

110 foot Town Hill Tower in Green Ridge

State Forest in Allegany County. She had

spent a long but delightful late fall day in

the tower. She didn’t think much about

the drop in temperature when she ﬂipped

on the small electric heater in the cab in

the middle of the afternoon. Then came a

little shower for about 30 minutes. “Great!

That will help lower the ﬁre danger,” she

thought.

About 5 pm she got the ok to “sign off”

the direction of the smoke in the

number of degrees from his tower. The

District Warden pulls the push pin of each

tower reporting and sticks the pin in the

map beyond the approximate location of

Fig. 20.

Fig. 21. Early forest ﬁre tools: pointed long-handled shovel, col-

lapsible canvas bucket, hand-pump sprayer, pole axe, backﬁre

torch, brush hook, single handle cross cut saw, 5-gallon back

pack water pump, Rich ﬁre rake. Photo by Fred W. Besley, May

1928.

and close the

tower for the day. Her

happiness to be going

home was curtailed

when she opened the

trap door in the ﬂoor

of the cab to discover

her 110 steps to the

ground were covered

with a thin coating

of ice. First she cau-

tiously lowered herself

through the trap door.

Holding tight to a leg

of the Alidade she put

her shoe on the first

step and could feel it

slipping. She quickly

pulled herself back in-

side the tower cab. In

her own words Ms.

Roberts recalls, “Here

I was a hundred feet

in the air and no way

down.” Well, Vivian

was determined to get

home. She loved work-

ing the tower but she was not

about to spend the night up

there even if the steps were iced

up. “My Lord I was scared,”

Vivian exclaimed. “I tried to

think of how to get down. That

is when I decided to take off

my shoes and hope my socks

would not slip on the ice.”

She went on, “Going slowly

and holding both railings

white knuckle tight, I ﬁnally

made it down to the ground.

At that point, I couldn’t feel

anything in my toes and my

knees knocked the whole way

home.”

The 150 tower steps or oc-

casional thunderstorms didn’t

faze Cub Hill tower operator

Mrs. Mohan. In a 1947 Balti-

more Sun article, Mrs. Mohan

reported her biggest worry was

the curious pilots from nearby

10 The Glades sTar

airﬁelds. “Many of the boys from

one of the county airfields fly

around the tower, looking at me

working.” She explained, “I don’t

mind that, but one day they might

misjudge their distance and hit

the tower.”

As Maryland became more

populated and urbanized, and

communication systems such as

“911” came into being, ﬁre towers

became obsolete in many of the

once-rural areas they protected.

Many were dismantled in the

1950s and 1960s, although a few

remain available for use through-

out the state. Most of the remain-

ing ﬁre towers now serve as part of

the DNR radio communication

network with radio antennae at-

tached to the tower.

It is of interest to note that six

towers were relocated and rededi-

cated to conservation interpreta-

tion and outdoor educational use.

The lower half of the Holloﬁeld

Tower at Patapsco Valley State Park

was moved by the Maryland Na-

tional Capital Park and Planning

Commission to the “Critical Area

Driving Tour” between Patuxent

River Park and Merkle State Wild-

life Sanctuary. Half of the Brandy-

wine Tower from Southern Prince

George’s County was moved to

the Fairview Outdoor Education

Center in Washington County.

The Shiloh Tower in Dorchester

County was acquired by Queen

Anne’s County Department of

Parks and Recreation, who erected

the lower one half of it at their

Terrapin Beach Park just north

of the Cheaspeake Bay Bridge on

the Eastern Shore in Queen Anne’s

County.

The Quantico Tower in Wi-

comico County was moved com-

plete with cab about ﬁve miles to

Hebron where it now stands as

an exibit at the privately owned

Chesapeake Fire Museum. Three

quarters of the Great Mills Tower

from St. Mary’s County was re-

located to the Lathrop E. Smith

Environmental Education Center

near Rockville in Montgomery

County in the Upper Rock Creek

Regional Park by the Maryland

National Capital Park and Plan-

ning Commission (M-NCPPC),

and the Montgomery County

Fig. 22. (Left to right) Bill Parr, Joe Kaylor, Henry C. Buckingham, and A.R. “Pete” Bond. In

the years following Besley’s retirement in 1942, Kaylor, Buckingham, and Bond each took

a turn running the state’s forestry program. Bill Parr headed up State Parks.

Board of Education. This tower was

dedicated to the memory of Stan Ernst,

an outdoor education pioneer and former

Director of Parks in the M-NCPPC.

Four towers have open observation

decks for scenic viewing and nature study

and two are complete with cabs.

The Thayerville Tower on Meadow

Mountain was relocated with its cab intact

and reassembled farther west atop Meadow

Mountain in Deep Creek Lake State Park.

It has a commanding view of the lake and

is used to interpret Maryland’s forest ﬁre

control history. Visitors climb 110 feet to

the cab to view scenic Garrett County and

discover what a busy and exciting workday

the forest ﬁre lookout experienced. For

a new outlook on your world, you don’t

want to miss a summer time visit to the

Thayerville Tower. It will take you to a new

level and heighten your appreciation of ﬁre

lookouts and smoke chasers.

the sMokeChasers...

Forestry work progresses slowly. Some

trees grow at a rate of approximately one

Fig. 23. In 1947, State Forester Joseph F. Kaylor accepted a

position with the Federal Government in Washington, D.C.

He left the state for about one year and then returned to

Maryland to become the Director of Forests and Parks. While

Kaylor was in Washington, Henry C. Buckingham became

acting State Forester. At that time, Maryland underwent a

severe drought and forest ﬁres burned unmercifully state-

wide. These ﬁres played big in the press. Bill Parr was the

Western Maryland District Forester.

The Glades sTar 11

foot annually. Sounds slow, but trees grow

faster than changing years of public abusive

practices and attitudes bent on destruc-

tion for short-term gains over establishing

long-term sustainability. In step with the

ever-growing population in 1935, Mr.

Besley swelled the forest warden ranks to

650 men.

As the network of Forest Wardens and

ﬁre towers increased across Maryland, so

did the need to have more people “on the

ground” to assist wardens in their ﬁreﬁght-

ing duties. In the late 1920s, the position

of Forest Guard, or “Smokechaser,” was

developed. After a tower operator spotted

a “smoke,” a Smokechaser living near the

smoke would be dispatched to investigate,

and if necessary, put the ﬁre out.

In a 1928 letter to prospective Smoke-

chasers, Assistant State Forester John Curry

wrote: “Whenever smoke is sighted from

the tower, you should leave immediately

for the ﬁre. Do not wait until the smoke

develops and do not wait until a call has

been made to the Forest Warden—go im-

mediately... It is necessary for you to get

away quickly. Have your tools ready in your

machine. Fill your spray tank in advance.

Have your backﬁre torch ready for action.

Keep your car headed toward the way out,

and when the call comes, make time.”

Smokechasers had to be resourceful as

well. In the absence of ﬁre towers, a tall

Fig. 24. 1943 World War II Forest Fire Prevention newspaper ad featuring

Hirohito, Adolph Hitler, and Mussolini, who take pleasure when campers let

their campﬁres get away to burn wood and forest products needed for US

Defense Industries.

Fig. 25.

Fig. 26. Forestry Supervisor Paul H. Seward, standing left, and one of his Forest Rangers,

standing right, pose with a class of Harford County High School Seniors who have com-

pleted the World War II Civil Defense Forest Fire Fighting Course. In addition to course

certiﬁcates, these young people received a Civil Defense Forest Fire Fighters Badge,

arm band, and the manual of the Forest Fire Fighters Service, Ofﬁce of Civilian Defense.

tree served as a capable lookout. In his

recollection of smoke chasing in the 1930s,

Smokechaser Herman Toms of Frederick

County noted a typical day: “I worked

mostly in Washington County, Red Hill

section Southeast of Keedysville climb-

ing a tree for a lookout with a crank type

telephone nailed to a tree in a box with a

lock on it. I usually climbed that tree about

every 30 minutes or so and staying in the

tree for long periods of time when the ﬁre

danger was high.”

adding to and Continuing fred besley’s legaCy

while Meeting the Challenges of the 1940s, 1950s

and 1960s...

When Fred Besley retired in 1941, he

recommended that the Maryland Depart-

ment of Forestry’s name be changed to the

“Maryland Department of State Forests

and Parks” since the Civilian Conserva-

tion Corps had provided an increase in

both new State Forest Recreation Areas

and a few State Park sites as well. Also, the

mandate to provide state parks, he pointed

12 The Glades sTar

out, was spelled out in the original 1906

enabling legislation.

Mr. Besley truly believed in and was

an advocate for providing the public with

Outdoor Recreation. However, since he

was such a dedicated forester, he preferred

to see the recreation facilities provided as

adjuncts to his State Forests.

But, various donations of signiﬁcant

land and historic sites to his Department

of Forestry that were not connected to a

State Forest could not be passed up and

had been handsomely restored by his own

supervised CCC programs. Then, let’s

face it, the “Department of State Forests

and Parks” is the most appropriate name

to describe what we do. It was a rarity in

state conservation agency names. Perhaps

only two other states chose that title. But,

in Maryland, it had its economies and its

efﬁciencies and proved a workable com-

bination for 30 years. With an expanded

mission, there was a need to organize a

more detailed division of the work needing

to be done statewide.

Mr. Besley’s replacement was Joseph

F. Kaylor, a 1927 Penn State / Mont Alto

Forestry School graduate, who served as

State Forester until the new position was

approved as “Director of State Forests and

Parks. Joe Kaylor was more than a forester

for he had a glowing personality and he was

a “people person” with keen political skills.

He believed in local people being involved

in conservation issues locally and so he

pushed to establish “Forest Conservancy

Districts” across the state run by local

boards of appointed citizens. These County

Forestry Boards still function today. An-

other goal was the preservation of forested

stream and river valleys across the state,

and many of these stream and river valleys

Fig. 27. Insignia of the Forest Fighters Ser-

vice, Ofﬁce of Civilian Defense.

Fig. 29. A 1943 training meeting at Black Camp on Deer Creek shows a mapping class

in progress. Also of interest is one of the nine 1½ ton ﬁre trucks with 275 gallon water

tanks that the Dept. of Forests and Parks acquired in the early 1940s. A black Chevrolet

coupe with siren and red ﬂashing light is also shown. These coupes were assigned to

the Forestry Supervisors.

Fig. 28. Forest Ranger Patrol Truck with “utility body” now provides ample storage for

today’s advanced ﬁre ﬁghting equipment.

became in time major state parks such as

Patapsco, Gunpowder, Seneca, Tuckahoe,

Deer Creek and Pocomoke. Joe Kaylor also

had a passion for increasing the number of

and advancing state parks; and he worked

hard at doing that. When Mr. Kaylor be-

came Director of State Forests and Parks,

H.C. Buckingham was appointed State

Forester. Since Henry Buckingham was a

protege of Fred Besley, he would carry on

the well-established forestry programs now

going on their thirty-ﬁfth successful year

while Joe Kaylor concentrated on advanc-

ing State Parks. This plan provided the

opportunity to expand the Department’s

organizational structure as follows:

Director of Forests and Parks: The

top person in the Annapolis Headquarters

was the Director of Forests and Parks,

Joseph F. Kaylor, whose staff consisted of

a State Forester and a Superintendent of

State Parks.

State Parks Administration/organi-

zation: The Superintendent of State Parks

The Glades sTar 13

Fig. 30. Practice safe loading and unloading the ﬁre plow from the tilt bed truck.

Fig. 31. This station will teach new strategy for ﬁre line crews.

Fig. 33. Practice with ropes and knots.

Fig. 32. “Potbelly stove coffee” in Herrington

Manor’s shop.

Fig. 34. Portable pump practice using water from Herrington Manor Lake.

Fig. 35. Left. Teams discuss their strategy for the next exercise

on estimating the size of a forest ﬁre and the amount of acre-

age burned.

Fig. 36. Above left. Becoming familiar with Civil Defense equip-

ment.

Fig. 37. Above. Practicing with a ﬁre jeep on a simulated ﬁre

exercise.

Forest ﬁre control meeting at Herrington Manor Forest Recreation Area in 1955

14 The Glades sTar

(for a short term William R. Hall succeed-

ed by William A. Parr), had one assistant,

and together they worked through each

District Forester and his Assistant District

Park Supervisor down to each individual

Park Superintendent. A “District” was a

geographical region of the State each cover-

ing from four to eight counties as follows:

District I, Western MD (Garrett, Alle-

gany, Washington and Frederick Counties);

District II, Southern MD (Mont-

gomery, Howard, Prince George’s, Anne

Arundel, Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s);

District III, Northern MD (Carroll,

Baltimore, Baltimore City, Harford and

Cecil);

District IV, Eastern Shore (Kent,

Queen Anne’s, Talbot, Caroline, Dorches-

ter, Wicomico, Somerset and Worcester.)

Forestry Administration / Organiza-

tion: The State Forester had ﬁve Assistant

State Foresters as follows who coordinated

efforts within the same four Districts as

listed under State Parks:

Asst. State Forester for “State Proper-

ties” coordinated Forest Management on

State Forests with each Forest Superinten-

dent through the District Forester and his

Asst. for State Forest Management;

Asst. State Forester for “Private Co-

operation” coordinated with each District

Forester and his assistants for assisting

private woodland owners;

Fig. 38. Formal classroom seminar in ﬁre behavior.

Fig. 39. Training exercise in ﬁre ﬁghting.

Asst. State

Forester for

“Assisting

Wood Using

Industries”

coordinated

with each Dis-

trict Forester

in assisting the

wood-using in-

dustries of the

State;

The State

Roadside Tree

Supervisor

who super-

vised the ad-

ministration of

the State Road-

side Tree Laws

and the Licens-

ing of private

Tree Trimming

Experts; and

Asst. State

Forester for Fire Control, Insect and

Disease Control who coordinated with

each District Forester and his Forestry

Supervisor on Forest Fire Control and the

prevention and eradication of problem tree

insects and diseases.

A Public Education & Information

Staff was available to assist all the above

programs.

forestry supervisors...

Now, this is a good place to return to

our main subject of ﬁghting forest ﬁres in

the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s and we pick the

process up with the Forestry Supervisors

who directed the Fire Control operation

locally.

For the purposes of this article, we will

focus on the work of the Forestry Supervi-

sors in District I, Western Maryland, to

demonstrate the variety and scope of this

position. In Western Maryland there were

originally three Forestry Supervisors up un-

til the late 1960s when it was determined,

due to advances in equipment and the

training of Rangers, that one Supervisor

could cover the District.

Forestry Supervisor Elmer Upole cov-

ered Garrett County with a staff of ﬁve

Rangers. Forestry Supervisor Brook Bodkin

covered all of Allegany County and western

Washington County with a staff of three

Rangers, and Forestry Supervisor Herman

Toms covered eastern Washington County

and all of Frederick County with a staff of

three Rangers. All of these Supervisors and

Rangers were backed up by the cooperating

assistance of both full-time and Volunteer

Fire Companies and also the State Park

Rangers who were issued Forest Fire Patrol

Trucks and Jeeps. Flexibility was one of the

economies of combining State Forests and

Parks in one agency. Much of the work

was similar and personnel and equipment

The Glades sTar 15

could be easily deployed to emergencies

in either State Forests, State Parks or on

private land. Fire was not the only need

for extra staff; there were special events in

the parks, dedications, festivals and fairs,

where forestry staff would lend a helping

hand. Then when it came time to pick seed

cones for the State Tree Nursery, the Park

Rangers pitched in to assist Forest Rangers

climb trees and pick pine and spruce cones.

Variety made the work interesting.

With the fall ﬁre season usually running

three and one-half months and the spring

ﬁre season usually running three months

depending on snowfall amounts, you may

wonder what the Forestry Supervisor and

his Rangers did for the remaining ﬁve and

one-half months covering mid winter and

mid summer. The following outline dem-

onstrates the non ﬁre season work:

Fire Tower Maintenance—All the

towers needed painting and occasional

repairs and servicing on a rotating schedule

that was best accomplished in the summer

months.

Telephone Line Maintenance—Be-

cause the early Wardens’ homes, State

Forest and State Park ofﬁces and the ﬁre

towers were often in remote locations not

yet serviced by the telephone company, the

Forestry Supervisor’s staff had to construct

and maintain its own telephone line in

some counties. This was the case in Gar-

rett and eastern Allegany and portions

of Frederick County. This required the

Forestry Supervisor as well as Rangers to

be telephone linemen as well as ﬁreﬁghters.

One severe Garrett County winter,

Chesapeake and Potomac’s (C&P Tele-

phone) trans-continental land lines were

totally out of commission due to a blizzard

and ice on the poles and lines in addition

to many fallen trees on the lines. C&P

Telephone did not have two-way radio

equipped trucks and cars at that time.

Fig. 40. 1957. Herrington Manor Forest Recreation Area. Jeeps, ¾ ton patrol trucks, tilt bed, and low boy transporter are lined up for

inspection during training meeting.

Fig. 41. Maryland Forest Patrol Truck at Buckingham State Forest Tree Nursery at Harmans,

MD, 1953. Pictured from left to right: Arthur (Art) Mintz, Forest Ranger, Aubry Bladen,

Conservation Aide, Henry Schloser, Forestry Supervisor (Southern MD), Dwight Brannan,

Roadside Tree Supervisor, and H.C. Buckingham, State Forester.

Maryland Forest and Park Rangers did

have the two-way radios and as a result of

the communication emergency, they were

asked to assist the C&P crews in reconnect-

ing Maryland with the rest of the country.

One veteran of the freezing winter repair

job said, “It was like working in an ice box

in a war zone. The weather was unforgiving

and the ever present snapping and cracking

of tree trunks under the weight of the ice

sounded like incoming riﬂe and cannon

shots I heard during World War II.” The

repair work took several months and the

State Forest and Park Rangers remained

on the job coordinating communications

between the C&P crews. In return for the

helping hand, C&P Telephone donated a

large supply of telephone and line equip-

ment to the State Forest and Park telephone

network.

Forest Fire Prevention Work—The

Forestry Supervisor and his Rangers joined

in with the highly successful national

public service advertising campaign of

“Smokey Bear” to educate and help the

public be more aware of their responsibil-

ity to be careful with ﬁre in all situations

whether camping, picnicking, ﬁshing or

hunting or perhaps burning trash or just

driving in the country. The ﬁre prevention

program got under way prior to Smokey

coming on the scene in the mid 1940s.

Forest ﬁre awareness started to expand

during World War II as a part of the Civil

Defense Program and also as a war effort

to protect our supply of wood and wood

byproducts for the defense industries.

Wood was in high demand for defense as

just about everything needed wood from

paneling air craft interiors to creating jeeps,

bombs and guns. Paper was needed for

books and manuals and railroad ties for

transportation of war materials and mine

props for coal mines so that locomotives

and power plants and naval ships could be

fueled. It all related to defense.

16 The Glades sTar

The Civil Defense concerns were to

keep ﬁres from destroying forests and also

lighting up our coast lines or major popu-

lation centers. An enemy couldn’t shoot

or bomb you if they couldn’t see you, so

don’t set anything on ﬁre including the

woods. Blackouts at night were something

everyone learned to live with.

Two newspaper and magazine ads (seen

on page 11) from the early 1940s grabs the

public’s attention to preventing Forest Fires

as an important part of the World War II

war effort.

The Forest Supervisors and Rangers or-

ganized ﬁre prevention campaigns during

the non-ﬁre season months. In winter they

did ﬁre prevention programs in schools. In

summer they provided elaborate exhibits at

the County and State Fairs and at special

events and festivals. The Smokey Bear

posters were put up at eye-catching spots,

special feature articles were put in local

newspapers and spot announcements were

provided for the local radio stations. Every

big ﬁre usually got front page newspaper

coverage with estimated damage costs

highlighted and if arson was involved, the

perpetrator would be identiﬁed.

Some of the County Fair Forest Fire

Displays were quite elaborate. Forestry

Supervisor Brook Bodkin, at the Allegany

County Fair, became well known for his

intricate and naturally unique exhibits

which looked like a Christmas Tree garden

of Maryland’s great outdoors. Complete

Fig. 42. Forest Fire Patrol truck with utility body.

miniature ﬁre jeep followed by clouds of

dust to imply speed, racing to the ﬁre. Atop

the mountain was the silver Fire Tower

keeping watch for other ﬁres. His creative

exhibits covered the full range of modern

forest management including reforestation,

growing forests, harvesting, protecting

the tree crop from ﬁre, wildlife and water

conservation and outdoor recreation. It was

one of the County Fair’s highlights that at-

tracted many visitors who always left with

a smile and a White Pine Tree Seedling to

take home to plant.

Senior High School and College Stu-

dents Trained as Forest Fire Crews—Be-

cause of the shortage of young men to ﬁght

ﬁre during World War II, Forestry Supervi-

sors and Rangers organized Registered Fire

Crews of college students and high school

seniors. School students were most happy

to volunteer for Forest Fire Civil Defense

Duty since it was an unquestionable allow-

able excuse from school for both training

and ﬁre call as well.

Civil Defense Programs after World

War II—In the early to mid 1950s, a new

Civil Defense Program was implemented

to deal with potential “Cold War” threats.

In addition to combating ﬁres that might

be set by some long range missile, Forestry

Supervisors and Rangers were now trained

to measure radioactive fallout. Additional

training covered the Forest Fire Control

staff’s role in coordinating and assisting

other Civil Defense personnel with emer-

gency management. This new responsibil-

ity brought many new manuals and added

new tools to the already well equipped State

with real ﬂowing streams and a lake with

real water, and miniatures of boaters and

fisherman, Brook had an electric train

carrying logs steaming by a tranquil State

Park at the base of the mountain where

miniatures of a Boy Scout troop were

planting tree seedlings. Farther up the

mountainside a forest ﬁre was glowing,

an effect Brook accomplished with lights

and a heat fan beneath a piece of screening

ﬁtted into the surface of his papier mache

mountain, while tiny deer and other wood-

land creatures were ﬂeeing the ﬂames. A

nearby dirt road was providing access to

a miniature forest ﬁre patrol truck and a

Fig. 43. The Maryland version of the “Almost Go Anywhere” Fire Jeep is being driven by

Forestry Supervisor Herman D. Toms of Frederick County.

The Glades sTar 17

Forest Patrol trucks and cars. As the 1960s

progressed, the equipment for each Forest

Patrol truck became so voluminous that the

standard 8 or 9 foot open bed was replaced

with “Utility Bodies” like those used by

plumbers with numerous cabinets and

compartments. This “Utility Body” still

provided an open bed area where the 260

gallon water tank and a self-winding hose

reel could be carried along with ﬁre rakes,

shovels and backpack pumps.

Training Meetings—Recalling Fred

Besley’s basic principle, “Conservation

begins with education,” what was then

good for the general public was even bet-

ter for the Forestry Supervisors and their

Rangers. So, training was conducted in the

months between ﬁre seasons. Weeklong

sessions were held for Civil Defense Train-

ing, Public Speaking and Public Relations

skills including how to get your message

across with exhibits and talks. Also, the

District Foresters and the Asst. District

Foresters as well as staff from the Annapolis

Headquarters took part in these Training

Meetings. Forest fire fighting methods

are constantly being improved and new

equipment is being introduced annually.

The annual training helps staff at all levels

stay current on advanced techniques and

procedures. With more and more oppor-

tunities to utilize computers and Global

Positioning Systems in conservation work,

the technology is becoming essential and

staff at all levels must strive to stay up with

these new space-age tools.

The classes were often presented by

U.S. Forest Service Staff and the U.S. Civil

Defense Agency. Or, perhaps a course was

purchased by the Department from an

independent provider. Class room type

courses were presented in hotel conference

centers or at times at military facilities or

centers run by the University of Maryland.

The practical type training, where in-

the-ﬁeld equipment was demonstrated and

practiced as part of the training, or Fire

Camps were set up and an exercise was run,

or rescue skills were taught and practiced,

then these week long training meetings

were usually held in the State Forest Rec-

reation Areas with cabins such as those at

Herrington Manor and New Germany.

This training was like the Department of

Forests and Parks’ own Academy, with lots

of tradition, initiations, great meals, awards

presented, class photos and take-home

handmade mementos inscribed with the

date, location and name of the training

meeting. These training meetings were

team-building exercises as much as they

were educational sessions.

Maintaining Fire Roads and Small Wa-

ter Reservoirs—If a Forestry Supervisor’s as-

signed counties contained a large State Forest

or a large State Park with considerable public

land, then the ﬁre roads, truck trails and small

water impoundments were maintained by

Rangers in the non-ﬁre season months so that

these dirt roads and trails would be open for

travel during ﬁre season. Same way for the

small reservoirs that supplied water for the

Rangers’ trucks, Jeeps and backpack pumps

in remote locations.

Collecting Seed Cones for the State

Forest Tree Nursery—In order for the

State Forest Tree Nursery to supply the

correct tree seedlings native to the appro-

priate habitats across the State, the Forestry

Supervisor would deploy his Rangers and

often be assisted by some additional Park

Rangers, because time was of the essence,

to collect pine and spruce seed cones.

Burlap bags of cones were collected from

the towering tree tops and shipped to what

was eventually named the Buckingham

State Forest Tree Nursery at Harmans

near “BWI” Airport. The Buckingham

Nursery was sold recently to the State

Highway Administration to provide part

of the right-of-way for State Route 100. A

new state-of-the-art Forest Tree Nursery

was developed near Preston in Caroline

County on the Eastern Shore. An impres-

sive new subdivision has been developed on

a part of the old Harmans Nursery site not

needed for Route 100. Those familiar with

the old Nursery will recognize tall stately

pine and spruce trees that are remnants of

original Nursery stock. Incidentally, the

new subdivision on the old Nursery site is

named “Buckingham.” You will recall the

Department of Forests and Parks’ second

State Forester was H.C. Buckingham. Such

is the plight of open space preservation in

Maryland with its ever present demand

for growth and development. Like Fred

Besley, H.C. Buckingham made great gains

in State Forest and Park lands preservation

and contributed handsomely to the refor-

estation of Maryland. He deserves a State

Forest to be named in his honor and not a

subdivision, even if it is a nice one.

Law Enforcement Training—The

post-war economic boom brought many

blessings in peace time jobs, housing and

community growth, greater expendable

income and mobility with all those fabu-

lous cars from the 1950s and the leisure

time to enjoy all the new prosperity. As

the 1960s rolled on, a downside came

along with the population growth and

the revitalized economy. The crime rate

fed partly by the illegal drug culture also

began to grow spreading from the big cit-

ies into the smaller cities and towns and

then to the more rural parts of the State.

Consequently, drug users came into the

State Forests and Park campgrounds, picnic

Fig. 44. Forestry Supervisor Herman Toms with one of his rangers as they prepare for a day of aerial reconnaissance.

18 The Glades sTar

areas, beaches and marinas as well. The old

Forest Warden with Constable police pow-

ers, which had been suitable for enforcing

the forestry laws, was not adequate to deal

with the multiple problems associated with

drug-related crimes. The Forest and Park

Rangers had to be trained and certiﬁed just

like State Troopers in order to deal with

the increasing crimes of the drug culture.

Bringing the Rangers up to Certiﬁed Law

Enforcement Standards required more

training, and the purchase of more special-

ized police equipment including “police

special cars and trucks.” All these new law

enforcement requirements put new priori-

ties on staff time and new pressures on the

Forests’ and Parks’ annual budget. Rangers

now had two full-time jobs:

1. Continue to do all the Fire Control

work and Park Management work as in the

case of Park Rangers, and

2. Take on the full-time duties in-

cluding court appearances and training

required to be Certiﬁed Maryland Law

Enforcement Ofﬁcers.

The Maryland Forest and Park Rang-

ers were up to the challenge and they

performed admirably.

the MeChaniCal age...

It was not until the 1940s that the

Department of Forests and Parks developed

mobile ﬁre ﬁghting units. A ﬂeet of nine

1½ ton trucks, each with 275 gallon water

tanks, several hundred feet of hose and

hand tools for a 20 person crew, allowed

wardens to get to ﬁres quicker and put

more water on the blaze. “You’ve got to

mechanize today to ﬁght forest ﬁres under

modern conditions,” said H.C. Buck-

ingham, Maryland’s third State Forester.

“People just won’t work with their hands

the way they used to; they demand tools

and equipment.” By 1956, Buckingham’s

Forest Service boasted 185 two-way radio

sets, 34 lookout towers, 10 tractors with

ﬁre plows, 18 portable pumps on light ve-

hicles, and a ﬂeet of 22 specially equipped

ﬁre jeeps.

Maryland forest patrol truCk Chevrolet,

¾ ton piCkup

This forest or park ranger vehicle was

the day-to-day workhorse of state forestry

and park operations from the late 1940s

through the 1960s.

1956 forest fire patrol truCk

The basic ¾ ton pickup with 4-speed

transmission was outﬁtted at Holloﬁeld

Automotive Shop in Patapsco State Park

with the following equipment:

• Two-way radio—vacuum tube type

receiver, transmitter and a transformer oc-

cupied 4 feet of a 5 foot tool box.

• A 135 gallon marine plywood water

Fig. 45. The Henryton ﬁre in 1962 was a spectacular one. This picture, taken from a light plane ﬂying over, shows the mixed farm and

woodland which was burned over. Also threatened was the state hospital. With dry conditions existing throughout the eastern portion

of the United States, extreme caution had to be taken on farmland as well as forested areas to prevent major ﬁre damage.

The Glades sTar 19

tank.

• A hose reel with 200 feet of 1 inch,

high pressure hose and adjustable nozzle.

• Fan-belt driven Panama Pump. In-

stalled under the hood, it pumped water

into and out of the truck’s tank with adjust-

able pressure.

• A 20 foot suction hose was used to

ﬁll the 135 gallon water tank from a well,

pond, stream or lake.

• Two or more 5 gallon “Indian Pump”

backpack tanks each with a hand pump.

• Two 5 foot tool boxes on each side

of the water tank were part of the tank

assembly and were constructed of marine

plywood. The left box contained 12 ﬁre

rakes, a pole ax, a long handle pointed

blade shovel, and a brush hook. The box

on the right side of the water tank held the

two-way radio equipment described above.

• Window post mounted, pivoting

spot light.

• Hand-held, battery operated, search

light.

• Siren and emergency red ﬂashing

lights.

• First aid kit, canteen of drinking

water and small tool kit.

• AM Radio

• There was 2½ feet of open bed be-

hind the tailgate for a chain saw in a case,

gas can, and extra Indian Pumps.

From 1940 into the 1960s, Forest

Warden/Forest Supervisor Paul H. Seward

of Harford County was dedicated to

improving forest ﬁre ﬁghting tools and

methods. He used his mechanical skills

and knowledge of pumps and wooden

boats to perfect the marine plywood tanks

and pumping systems for the patrol trucks.

Forest Ranger (ret.) Rolland G. Schoch

of Garrett County provided technical as-

sistance on this description of the patrol

truck’s and Fire Jeep’s equipment.

Maryland forest fire Jeep

The Fire Jeep, developed by the Mary-

land Department of Forests and Parks, was

used regularly between 1947 and 2005.

In 1947, using the civilian version

of the famous “Willys-Overland”—the

World War II cross country, ¼ ton “Gen-

eral Purpose Vehicle” (commonly called

the “JEEP”)—Forestry Supervisor Paul

H. Seward in Harford County developed

a plan for creating a Fire Jeep. By adding

ﬁre ﬁghting equipment to the go-anywhere

Jeep, ﬁre crews could drive off road to hit

ﬁres fast in ﬁelds and woods, controlling

them before they spread into challenging

wild ﬁres. Once the ﬁre was contained

within a ﬁre line, then patrolling that line

would be faster using the Jeep to check hot

spots and places where ﬁre jumped the line.

The Department of Forests and Parks

outﬁtted their Fire Jeeps at the Holloﬁeld

Automotive Shop within Patapsco State

Park in Howard County. The basic 4

cylinder, 45 horsepower, 4 wheel drive

Jeeps were delivered from the dealer to

Holloﬁeld where the following ﬁre ﬁght-

ing equipment was installed prior to their

assignment throughout the State:

• Two-way radio. The early radios ran

on a vacuum tube type receiver and trans-

mitter. This bulky equipment including a

transformer rode on the two back fenders

under black metal covers (note boxes in

photo on page 16).

• A 45 gallon steel water tank with

200 feet of ½ inch high pressure hose was

carried on a hose reel mounted on top of

the tank.

• Fan-belt driven “John Bean” Water

Pump, adjustable up to 600 lbs. pressure,

with brush guard mounted on front bum-

per pumped both into and out of the 45

gallon tank. A 20 foot suction hose was

included to ﬁll the tank from a well, pond,

stream or lake. The high pressure spray

smothered ﬁre quickly.

• Adjustable pistol grip nozzle was at-

tached to the 75 foot hose.

• A 5 gallon “Indian Pump” backpack

Fig. 46. District 1 (Western Maryland) State Forest and Park Staff meet at Ali Ghan Country Club, Cumberland, MD, 1960. Left to Right—1st

row: Tunis J. Lyon, Robert H. Tritapoe, Donald J. Kendall, R. Thomas Thayer, Marion T. Hoffman, Wilson Warnick, Adna R. Bond, Elmer H.

Uphole Sr., Donald H. Boyer, Ralph T. Peace, Herman D. Toms. 2nd row: Harry M. Hartman Jr., Wm. A. (Clint) Irwin, Brook Bodkin, Urner

Wigﬁeld, Otto Schultz, William H. Johnson (District Forester), Floyd O. Custer, Clarence Grove, Charles C. Thomas, Ward L. Ashby, Bill

Slider, 3rd row: Marshall Moats, Curtis L. Conway, Rease Bowman, Tom Dixon, Harold F. Stark, Bob Warnick, E. Harland Upold Jr., Dick

Mills, Charles E. Sandy, Myrl J. Wilt. 4th Row: Paul R. Mateer, Joe Meachem, Dick Bond, Art Merell, Delmar Sanders, George Rexroad,

Robert Friend, Rolland G. Schoch.

20 The Glades sTar

water can with hand pump.

• Two ﬁre rakes each with four trian-

gular teeth for digging ﬁre lines down to

mineral soil.

• Shovel, short “D” handle type with

a pointed blade, and a pole ax.

• Search light, heavy duty and portable.

• Siren and emergency red ﬂashing

lights.

• First aid kit, canteen of drinking

water, and small tool kit.

forest fire reConnaissanCe by airplane...

(see fig. 44, page 17)

During extremely severe ﬁre seasons,

arrangements were made with the Civil

Air Patrol (CAP) in Frederick County for

Forest Supervisor Herman Toms, who was

a CAP Pilot, to ﬂy their airplane to search

for smokes in areas where ﬁre tower obser-

vation was not available.

The 1965 article below from the Mary-

land Conservationist, is an example of

media assistance in creating public awareness

for an upcoming forest ﬁre season.

fire Control in Maryland

by larry MCdaniels, esq.

One of the primary functions of the

State of Maryland, Department of Forests

and Parks, is the protection of 2,850,000

acres throughout the State from the rav-

ages of ﬁre. Responsibility for this massive

undertaking rests with the State Forester

for ﬁre control, William H. Johnson, who

administers the Department’s State-wide

program.

In recent years, Maryland has been

among the leaders in forest ﬁre prevention

and control. On only one occasion in the

past decade has more than 2,000 acres

burned in any single year. In 1961, a record

low of 546 acres (.02 percent of the State’s

forested land) was lost. The national average

that year was ten times as great.

When the State Board of Forestry was

created in 1906, there was no organized

effort to control the numerous ﬁres which

occurred throughout the woodland areas.

Many persons, in fact, were convinced

that their regular burning off of woods

was beneﬁcial. Such ﬁres, they argued,

resulted in better grazing lands, improved

the blackberry and huckelberry crops and

helped eliminate snakes and other pests.

Forest fire prevention and control

rested with local Forest Wardens, who

did the best they could with the primitive

equipment available in those days. In the

1920s, a new ﬁre rake and a “backpack”

Fig. 47. Jesse Morgan from the Maryland Forest Service prepares his radio as he nears

a staging area for personnel ﬁghting a wildﬁre on Little Allegheny Mountain near Cor-

riganville, Maryland.

5-gallon ﬁre pump were introduced, but

supplies were limited and the ﬁghting of

forest ﬁres continued to be a discouraging,

physically exhausting task.

These conditions prevailed in Mary-

land until 1942, when the current phase

of efﬁcient ﬁre ﬁghting originated. The

country was at war, and the necessity of

rapid forest ﬁre suppression took on new

and signiﬁcant meaning. Federal appro-

priations were established, which made

possible extensive purchases of portable

pumps, hand tools, and trucks to speed

men and equipment to ﬁre scenes. Two-

way radio communication systems were

instituted, and modern steel ﬁre towers

erected to expedite ﬁre-spotting proce-

dures. The addition of federal funds also

enabled the State to employ more qualiﬁed

personnel for year-round service, plus the

training aids necessary for instruction in

various ﬁre-ﬁghting techniques.

Forest ﬁre prevention and control is

accomplished in three phases—education,

preparedness, and suppression.

Education is carried on throughout

the year by the Department’s personnel,

who contact individuals and groups and

enlist their assistance in the elimination of

ﬁre hazards and the reduction of ﬁre risks.

Fire prevention programs are presented

to school children, youth organizations,

service clubs, and similar groups. Exhibits

soliciting public cooperation are displayed

annually at State and County fairs, and

other gatherings. Enforcement of laws and

regulations dealing with forest ﬁres also is

a prevention activity.

Fire preparedness consists of maintain-

ing an organization of Forest Wardens,

registered crews and volunteer ﬁre compa-

nies equipped to combat forest ﬁres. This

involves a constant liaison and continuous

training of the suppression forces, as well as

the acquisition of modern equipment and

the maintenance of all ﬁre-ﬁghting tools.

Fire suppression involves the prompt

detection and accurate location of all forest

ﬁres and burning operations which might

get out of hand and escape to nearby

woodlands, the dispatching of adequate

suppression forces to ﬁre scenes, the direct-

The Glades sTar 21

ing of the actual ﬁre-ﬁghting operation, the

investigation of such blazes to determine

the cause and to afﬁx the responsibility,

the prosecution, where necessary, and

complete reports of all forest ﬁres.

Part of Maryland’s excellent record

as one of the leaders of forest ﬁre preven-

tion and control can be attributed to legal

restrictions. The Forest Conservancy Act

of 1943 is an example. Section IV of that

law permits open-air burning between the

hours of 4:00 P.M. and midnight from

March to May and from mid-September

to mid-December. This limited burning

is permissible only after ﬁre breaks have

been cleared and equipment is available to

extinguish the blaze. Since the danger of

ﬁre spreading is usually less after sundown,

burning is conﬁned to evening hours. Also,

at this time of day, wind speed is not likely

to be as great and humidity is higher.

Maryland is divided into nine units

for the purpose of ﬁre control. Each unit

has a Supervisor and from one to six Forest

Rangers. There are thirty-four ﬁre towers

scattered across the State from Snaggy

Mountain in Garrett County to Green

Hill, on the Eastern Shore, with the central

command post located at the Long Hill

Tower in Anne Arundel County.

Smoke sightings by two or more tow-

ers can pin-point a ﬁre by triangulation

to within a radius of one-half mile or less.

When such sightings occur, the informa-

tion is radioed to Rangers who are con-

stantly on patrol in vehicles equipped with

80-gallon water tanks, high-pressure hoses

and other ﬁreﬁghting tools. Fires of major

proportions are handled by the combined

fire services throughout the State with

military units available for emergencies.

Although the Department of Forests

and Parks is constantly expanding its

campaign for forest ﬁre prevention in every

way possible, it has achieved an excellent

record over the years. Perhaps the efﬁciency

of its suppression organization is best at-

tested by the reduction in the annual loss

Fig. 48. Today, regionally assigned, radio dispatched, tilt bed trucks quickly transport ﬁre

plow tractors with operator protection bars to wildﬁre locations throughout the State of

Maryland.

Fig. 49. State-of-the-art wildﬁre unit “category 4” engine and tanker with the latest Class A foam delivery system for extinguishing

wildﬁres faster and preventing ﬂairups; and also towing a D-14 tractor with ﬁre plow.

from forest ﬁres, which has been kept well

below the national average for seventeen

consecutive years.

Despite the outstanding effort made

by Forest and Parks personnel in the

prevention and control of forest ﬁres over

the years, it is still the individual citizen’s

responsibility to be alert to the ever present

danger of such catastrophes. Thankfully,

the increased awareness of the average

citizen has helped to make ﬁre control in

Maryland a reality. All forests need protec-

tion from ﬁre: don’t YOU be careless. KEEP

MARYLAND GREEN.

reMeMbering the golden days—departMent of

forests and parks 1941-1969

When you seriously look into the

progress and accomplishments of both

the forestry and the state park movements

in Maryland, you are amazed to discover

there are so many dramatic and lasting

accomplishments. Today you ﬁnd truly

magniﬁcent natural and historic parks for

public enjoyment. Also you ﬁnd sustain-

able forests both on public and private

land that do provide wood and wood

by-products, water conservation, wildlife

and outdoor recreation. Then you study

the limited ﬁnancial and human resources

that have been made available to provide

the State Forest and Park legacy for our

beneﬁt, as well as future generations, and

you conclude that all that has been accom-

plished must be some kind of miracle. Yes,

it is nothing short of a miracle. It was just

105 years ago that only 5% of Maryland’s

forests offered merchantable timber for

harvest. There were no state parks, wildlife

had been depleted, and ﬂooding in towns

along the Potomac River Valley and other

streams and rivers was an annual event.

Landowners gave no thought to reforest-

22 The Glades sTar

Fig. 50.

ing idle ﬁelds and pastures. Finally, there

was little or no concern for ﬁre safety and

prevention and there was no organized ﬁre

control program. Habitually, forests were

for depleting and burning. Then they were

burned again and again.

We are fortunate that State Forestry

and Parks initiatives have been consistently

working in Maryland for 105 years to

renew forest lands. Every era saw progress

and Maryland often leads the way with

successful programs and plans that work

and set new standards for the practice of

forestry and state park management and

protection.

Fred Besley worked tirelessly to get

the trees growing and set the professional

standards proudly practiced by today’s staff.

Then came the Department of Forests and

Parks in 1941, and in spite of the personnel

drain of the World War II de-

fense effort, more trees began to

grow and the ﬁres burned less.

This period of almost 30 years

of the Department of Forests

and Parks was a golden tribute

to what Fred Besley started.

It was the continued dedi-

cation of what foresters Gifford

Pinchott and Fred Besley had

inspired that made successful

results. The staff was commit-

ted to the advancement of the

forestry and state park goals in

what can only be described as a

“labor of love” incased in what

many proudly describe as, “It’s

not work, it’s a way of life.”

Army Supply Sergeants

could take lessons from Mary-

land’s Forest and Park staff.

Varied creative maneuvers were

developed to overcome budget

shortages to bring notable

projects to successful comple-

tion. Staff gave freely of their

personal time to answer the call

whether it was a forest ﬁre on

Thanksgiving Day, or a severe

ice storm on Christmas Day,

or a Strategic Air Command

bomber crash in the middle

of a January blizzard, or a big

crowd-drawing Fourth of July

special event in a state park.

There was a willingness to get

the job done. It was unique

and very special in an era that

insisted on a strict adherence to

the 8 hour day, 5 days a week

regimentation and the trend of

specialization that said: “Can’t

do it because that’s not in my

job description.”

This Maryland State Forest

and Park staff had a “can do”

attitude and marched to the

beat of getting the ﬁres out and making

their park areas look good while serving

an ever growing post-war boom in visitors

seeking new and exciting outdoor recre-

ation opportunities. In 2010 Maryland

State Forests and Parks together served

over 13 million outdoor recreation visi-

tors. At the same time, the forestry staff

increased forest resources to help feed a

growing demand for the building industry

The Glades sTar 23

that had an insatiable appetite for lumber

from Maryland forests. Today, 41 percent

of Maryland is forested, which is amazing

given the amount of urban and suburban

growth that has occurred statewide.

fire ManageMent today

From the 1970s until today, Maryland

State Forest Service and Park Service con-

tinue to maintain our valuable legacy. Only

a few ﬁre towers remain today to remind us

of the humble beginnings of what we call

today the “Wildﬁre Protection Program” in

Maryland. This proud heritage of protect-

ing our forest from the devastating effects

of wildﬁre is still carried on by the men

and women of the DNR Forest Service.

Today, as in 1906, careless people start

the majority of wildﬁres in Maryland. The

leading causes of wildﬁre in Maryland are

debris burning, arson, and children playing

with matches.

Our earliest Forest Wardens would be

impressed, although a bit bewildered, at the

strides that the ﬁre management program

has taken. Fire weather is monitored from

remote automated weather stations. That

data can be accessed from the Internet

and software helps predict expected ﬁre

behavior. Fires are reported and dispatched

through enhanced 911 communication

systems, and ﬁre perimeters are plotted

using Global Positioning Satellites.

Great strides have been made in mod-

ern well-equipped wildﬁre engines and

trucks with the latest technology such as

“Class A Foam” delivery systems to extin-

guish wildﬁres faster and prevent ﬂare-ups.

Tractor ﬁre plow units on “tilt bed trucks

provide an effective initial transport and

attack capability and provide the dozer

operator with protection within an en-

closed cab.

What has also drastically changed is

our knowledge and use of ﬁre as a manage-

ment tool, and the understanding that not

all ﬁres are bad. Prescribed ﬁres applied

under the proper weather conditions by

professional ﬁreﬁghters can have beneﬁcial

effects on the environment by creating

wildlife habitat, preparing forest harvest

areas for replanting, and hazard fuel reduc-

tion by reducing fuel loading.

What hasn’t changed is the dedication

and purpose of the Maryland Dept. of

Natural Resources Forest Service and their

wildland ﬁreﬁghters, who look back on

this rich heritage of Fred Besley and the

early forest wardens and smokechasers as

the very heart of the Wildﬁre Management

Program. Today, the agency is equipped

with the training and specialized equip-

ment needed to meet the challenges and

demands to provide effective wildfire

protection services for the citizens and

communities of Maryland. These resources

are also made available to other states and

federal agencies. Highly trained wildland

ﬁre crews and single resource experts have

traveled across the United States to battle

some of the nation’s toughest wildﬁres.

Nearly a century later, we think Mr.

Besley would be proud! In the words of

State Forester Pete Bond, “The history

of Maryland’s State Forests and Parks is

a classic example of people, the highest

form of the animal kingdom, working in

concert with trees, the highest form of the

plant kingdom, to be good stewards of the

earth on which we all depend so much.”

Recollections from

Smokechasers Charles

(Charlie) C. Thomas, Forest

Ranger and Superintendent/

Manager, Herrington Manor

and Swallow Falls State Parks

After returning from the European

Theater of World War II, Charlie Thomas

was hired as a “Forest Guard” or “Smoke-

chaser,” which was the forerunner to the

term “Forest Ranger” as the position is

now called.

He had a busy couple of weeks in this

new job and was relaxing late on a Sunday

afternoon at home when he got called out

for a ﬁre. This ﬁre was on the southeast

side of Backbone Mountain near the coal

mining community of Vindex.

Forest Supervisor Elmer Upole told

Charlie to “pick up Forest Warden George

‘Plucky’ Wilt in Kitzmiller, which is down

on the Potomac River.” Plucky would help

him round up a crew to ﬁght the ﬁre which

the tower reported was growing fast. When

Charlie got Plucky in the patrol truck,

Charlie said, “Where in the world are we

going to ﬁnd a crew late on a Sunday af-

ternoon to ﬁght this ﬁre! Plucky responded

“no problem, go on across the Potomac

River into West Virginia where the bars are

still open and we will ﬁnd plenty of willing

ﬁre ﬁghters there.”

Charlie said, “Old Plucky burst

through the saloon door so fast that he

had eight unsuspecting customers depu-

tized to ﬁght ﬁre before they knew what

hit them. Most of them were coal miners

from Vindex, Maryland, and they were

hard workers and determined to get that

ﬁre under control, and even happier to get

paid to do it.” It was a great lesson in crew

recruitment for Charlie. Years later when

Charlie became Superintendent of Her-

rington Manor State Park, he had Plucky

Wilt on his park crew as manager of the

day use area at Herrington Lake. Plucky

was committed to trapping and removing

a large snapping turtle population from

the lake, and he told this writer he had a

wonderful recipe for turtle soup. I ﬁgured

that recipe reinforced Plucky’s commit-

ment to reducing the turtles in the lake.

Plucky was a woodsman and a Ranger

from the old volunteer forest warden days,

and he both looked and acted the part – a

real genuine character. He had a pair of

the 1930 jodhpur britches from the ﬁrst

warden’s uniform which he was still wear-

ing daily in the mid-1950s. He claimed,

“They wore like iron! Can’t wear `em out!

Could poke holes in ’em, but can’t wear

’em out!” He also bragged about his ﬁshing

worms he dug up at home. “They were as

long as your arm!”

Not long after the Sunday ﬁre at Vin-

dex, Charlie Thomas and two volunteer

wardens ﬁnished up on another Backbone

Mountain ﬁre at 2am. It had been a long

day. Driving back on Route 135 to Elmer

Upole’s base of operation in Mountain

Lake Park, they saw the glow of a new ﬁre

across the B&O tracks near Altamont at

the top of the famous seventeen mile grade

of the B&O railroad. That mountain-

climbing rail line follows the South Fork

of Crabtree Creek and the Savage River

up from Bloomington. It was a hot ﬁre

the wardens saw, energized by its own dry

fuel and fanned by wind funneled by the

Crabtree Valley. Charlie and crew grabbed

ﬁre rakes and backpack water cans which

they hand carried down to the ﬁre. As

they approached, they were amazed to

see a large oak tree and brush around it

fully ablaze with the ﬁre which suddenly

and terrifyingly exploded. The ﬁre crew

instantly dropped those heavy ﬁve gallon

Indian water cans and with renewed speed

and vigor retreated from the blast. The heat

was so intense it melted the rubber hoses

24 The Glades sTar

right off the ﬁve gallon water cans they

had abandoned. The crew could feel the

heat scorching their backs as they escaped

the blast. No one knew what caused the

explosion. It could have been methane gas

that built up inside the old oak tree which

was rotting away inside. It could have been

some ﬂammable product the railroad used

that was inadvertently set aside and brush

got piled on top when the right of way was

cleared annually to prevent ﬁres. We can

only guess at the cause. However, what we

do know is our young ﬁre crew eventually

got that ﬁre out.

Upon their return to their Mountain

Lake Park base of operation, their equip-

ment-conscious Forestry Supervisor Elmer

Upole was more concerned about the loss

of hoses on the back pack ﬁve gallon water

cans than he was about the crew escaping

the blast. I would like to think Elmer was

playing with the crew to lighten up what

was a serious, life-threatening event. But

the story demonstrates the peril and danger

forest rangers faced in the routine of their

day-to-day work.

Talk about peril in the work place:

Consider the routine of painting the exte-

rior of the ﬁre tower cab. Charlie Thomas

relates the procedure. “You climb the 110

foot tower with your helper. Once inside

the cab, you open the windows and stick

a board out two of the windows opposite

each other. The oak board is 10 feet long,

8 inches wide and about 2 inches thick

and is positioned so that almost 3 feet

hang out over the side of the cab to be

painted. Now with your helper sitting

on the board safely inside the cab, you tie

a safety rope snuggly around your waist

and the other end of the rope is secured

to some ﬁxed member of the tower that

will easily hold your weight.

“Now you climb up on the board and

at 110 feet in the sky, you slowly and care-

fully back yourself out the tower window

holding with both hands tightly to the

board. Your helper, still sitting on the board

inside the tower cab, slides you your paint

bucket and brush. Holding the board with

one hand, you dip your brush and start

painting the cab sides and window frames.

Now that you have gained conﬁdence in

the board, the safety rope and your helper’s

grasp, it is time to stand up on your lofty

perch and paint the tower’s roof. Oh, boy!

How great it is, this business of protecting

trees and wildlife from forest ﬁres. You

offer a short prayer that some red tailed

hawk doesn’t mistake your head of hair for

a rabbit or squirrel and come swooping in

for a powerful grab of scalp. One thing is

for sure, you can’t beat the view. And so

that’s the way it was in the golden days of

the Department of Forests and Parks— a

great job with a towering view.”

Bibliography

Annual Reports, Maryland State Board of Forestry, Baltimore, MD. Names and addresses of Forest Wardens. 1908-1909,

pp. 6-7. 1910-1911, pp.15-16. 1914- 1915, pp.15, 17-19. 1916-1917, pp. 24, 26 27, 29. 1918-1919, pp. 23-26.

1920-1921, pp. 38-41. 1922-1923, pp. 38-41, 43.

Annual Reports, State Department of Forestry, Baltimore, MD. University of Maryland. Names and addresses of Forest

Wardens. 1924-1925, pp. 37, 39-41, 43. 1926, pp. 43-44, 47-48, 51.

Besley, Fred W., The Forests of Maryland. Baltimore: Maryland State Board of Forestry. 1916, pp. 14-16.

Curry, John R., Letter to Smokechasers. Baltimore: State Department of Forestry, 4 April 1923.

Garner, Barbara M., A View From the Top—Maryland’s Fire Towers. 2012 Abecedarian Books, Inc., Baldwin, MD, pp .

116-118, 121-126.

Kaylor, Joseph F. Manual for Forest Fire Fighters Service. Baltimore: Ofﬁce of Civil Defense, Department of Forests and

Parks, 1943, pp. 28-29.

Kennan, Ralph H. “Experts Gird for ‘64 Fires.” Baltimore Sun, February 16, 1964, p .26.

Laws of Maryland, 1906, Edwin Warﬁeld, Esq., Governor. Chapter 294, An Act to Establish a State Board of Forestry and

to Promote Forests and Arborculture in the State. Section 5, Forest Wardens appointed.

Maryland Forest Laws, Leaﬂet 15, University of Maryland, State Department of Forestry, Baltimore, MD, 1932. pp. 6,

9, 10.

Mash, John, The Land of the Living—The Story of Maryland’s Green Ridge State Forest. Cumberland, MD: Commercial

Press, 1996, p. 237. (Vivian Roberts and Town Hill Tower)

Overington, Helen Besley. Personal interview. 13 May 2004.

Toms, Herman. Personal recollections. Date unknown

Warren, Edna. “Forests and Parks in the Old Line State.” American Forests, Oct. 1956, pp. 13-26.

Williams, Will, and Mitchell, Monte, History of the Maryland DNR Forest Service Wildre Program. Annapolis:

Maryland Forest Service. (Brochure Publication)

The Glades sTar 25

Fig. 1 Thousand-acre forest ﬁre in back of Beltsville Agriculture Center in Prince George’s County, MD. Photograph by F.W.

Besley, April 17,1936. Department of Forestry – William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 2 Forest Fire Prevention Poster. Maryland Board of Forestry Annual Report 1920-21.

Fig. 3 Picture of Fred W. Besley. Baltimore Evening Sun. July 28, 1920

Fig. 4 Forest Fire Laws Poster. Maryland Board of Forestry Annual Report 1920-21.

Fig. 5 Forestry activities Lantern-Slide Lecture Ad. Maryland Board of Forestry Annual Report 1920-21.

Fig. 6 First Logo of Maryland State Board of Forestry. From Staff Listing, Maryland Board of Forestry Annual Report 1920-21

and The Forests of Maryland, 1916.

Fig. 7 Forest Warden’s Conference. Garrett County Courthouse, 1916. Photographer unknown. From Silas Sines, Jr.

Fig. 8 Forest Warden Reinactor, 1992. Photographer Lynn Johnson. From the William Offutt Johnson Collection, Three Cen-

turies of Rangers.

Fig. 9 Forest Patrolman Edmund G. Prince, Patapsco Park and State Forest Reserve, 1920. Photographer unknown. From Mary-

land Board of Forestry, William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 10 Forest Parolman Edman Twig, Town Creek, Allegany County Maryland Board of Forestry, William Offutt Johnson Col-

lection.

Fig. 11 Fire Crew Leaving for a Fire, Patapsco Park and State Forest Reserve, Ilchester, MD. May 14, 1928. Photographer unknown.

Maryland Board of Forestry, William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 12 Forest Warden and Fire Crew Walking to a Fire. Photographer and date unknown. Maryland Board of Forestry, William

Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 13 Annual Forest Wardens Meeting at New Germany, July 1940. Photographer unknown. Maryland Board of Forestry, Wil-

liam Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 14 Forest Warden Star Badge, 1907, and Forest Warden Brass Shield, 1928. Maryland Board of Forestry, William Offutt

Johnson Collection. Color copied for publication by Offutt Johnson.

Fig. 15 Welcome Fire Tower in Charles County near Doncaster State Forest, September 20, 1961. Maryland Department of Forests

and Parks. Photographer Earl Mentzer. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 16 Wooden Fire Tower on Snaggy Mountain, Garrett State Forest, 1920. Photographer Fred W. Besley. Maryland Board of

Forestry, William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 17 Forest Fire Prevention Poster for State Forest Lands. Maryland Board of Forestry. Publication Date Unknown.

Fig. 18 Carrie Toms plotting forest ﬁre locations at Gambrill State Park, High Knob Ofﬁce, August 30, 1962. Department of

Forests and Parks. Photographer Earl Mentzer, William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 19 “Smoke Gets in their Eyes.” Women working ﬁre towers, August 3, 1947. By Geoffrey W. Fielding, Baltimore Sun. From

Forestry Supervisor Paul H. Seward. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 20 Maryland 1941 Forests and Parks Uniform Shoulder Patch. Color copied for publication by Offutt Johnson. William

Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 21 Early Forest Fire Tools. Maryland Board of Forestry. Photographer Fred W. Besley, May 1928. William Offutt Johnson

Collection.

Fig. 22 Bill Parr, Joe Kaylor, H.C. Buckingham, and Pete Bond, approximately 1949. Photographer M.E. Warren. Courtesy,

Maryland State Archives. Besley-Pfeiffer Collection. Maryland Department of Forests and Parks.

Fig. 23 Cartoon Sketch of Joe Kaylor, H.C. Buckingham, and Bill Parr commenting on severe forest ﬁres in 1947. Drawn by

Craig, Sunday Times-News, Cumberland, April 13, 1947. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 24 World War II, Forest Fire Prevention Ad. 1943. Published in The Glades Star by the Garrett County Historical Society,

Oakland, MD, September 2005.

Fig. 25 World War II, “Wood Flies to War’ Poster. Published in The Greatest Good — 100 Years of Forestry in America by Char

Miller and Rebecca Staebler for the Society of American Foresters, 1999.

Fig. 26 High School Seniors completing Civil Defense Forest Fire Fighting Course, approximately 1943. Photo provided by

Forestry Supervisor Paul H. Seward. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Photo Credits

26 The Glades sTar

Fig. 27 Civil Defense—Forest Fire Fighters Service insignia for arm band and badges. Provided by Forestry Supervisor Brook

Bodkin. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 28 Forest Ranger Patrol Truck. Photographer unknown. 1995. Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Forest Service.

Fig. 29 Forest Fire Training Meeting at Black Camp on Deer Creek, Harford County, June 22, 1943. Photographer Karl E. Pfeiffer,

Maryland Department of Forests and Parks. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 30 Unloading ﬁre plow tractor from tilt bed truck. Approximately 1956 at Herrington Manor. Photographer unknown.

Maryland Department of Forests and Parks. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 31 Teaching new strategy for ﬁre line crew. Approximately 1956 at Herrington Manor. Photographer unknown. Maryland

Department of Forests and Parks. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 32 Coffee in Herrington Manor Shop. Approximately 1956. Photographer unknown. Maryland Department of Forests and

Parks. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 33 Practice with ropes and knots. Approximately 1956 at Herrington Manor. Photographer unknown. Maryland Department

of Forests and Parks. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 34 Portable Pump Practice at Herrington Manor Lake. Approximately 1956. Photographer unknown. Maryland Department

of Forests and Parks. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 35 Training teams discuss strategy for estimating acreage burned. Approximately 1956 at Herrington Manor. Photographer

unknown. Maryland Department of Forests and Parks. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 36 Becoming familiar with Civil Defense Equipment at a Forest Fire Training Meeting. Approximately 1956. Photographer

unknown. Maryland Department of Forests and Parks. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 37 Fire Jeep on a simulated ﬁre exercise. Approximately 1956 at Herrington Manor. Photographer unknown. Maryland

Department of Forests and Parks. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 38 Formal Classroom Seminar in Fire Behavior. Approximately 1966. Location and Photographer unknown. Maryland

Department of Forests and Parks. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 39 Fire Jeep and Fireline Crew Training in Frederick County. Photographer Earl Mentzer. August 30, 1962. Maryland De-

partment of Forests and Parks. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 40 Fire Vehicles lined up for Inspection, Herrington Manor Training Meeting. Photographer Earl Mentzer. June 7, 1962.

Maryland Department of Forests and Parks. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 41 Arthur Mintz, Aubry Bladen, Henry Schloser, Dwight Brannan, and H.C.Buckingham with Patrol Truck, at Tree Nursery,

Harmans, MD. 1953. Maryland Department of Forests and Parks. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 42 Forest Fire Patrol Truck with utility body. Photographer and location unknown. Maryland Department of Forests and

Parks. William Offutt Jolhnson Collection.

Fig. 43 Herman Toms driving ﬁre jeep, Frederick County Training Meeting, 1962. Photographer Earl Mentzer. Maryland Depart-

ment of Forests and Parks. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 44 Herman Toms and Ranger Donald Kendel with Airplane for spotting forest ﬁres, Frederick County, April 30, 1962. Pho-

tographer Earl Mentzer. Maryland Department of Forests and Parks. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 45 “Fire Control in Maryland” by Larry McDaniels, Esq. Maryland Conservationist, November-December 1965, Annapolis,

Maryland, pp. 6-8.

Fig. 46 District 1 Staff at Ali Ghan Country Club, Cumberland, MD, 1960. Photographer unknown. Maryland Department of

Forests and Parks. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 47 Jesse Morgan prepares to ﬁght forest ﬁre near Corriganville, MD, 2010 Photographer John A. Bone, Cumberland Times-

News. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

Fig. 48 Maryland Forest Service Tilt Bed Truck with Fire Plow Tractor, 1995. Photographer and location unknown. Department

of Natural Resources, Maryland Forest Service.

Fig. 49 State-of-the-Art Foam Unit and Tractor. Date and photographer unknown. Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Maryland Forest Service.

Fig. 50 Smokey Bear Forest Fire Prevention Poster. U.S. Department of Agriculture. U.S. Forest Service. State Forestry Depart-

ment. Artist and date unknown. William Offutt Johnson Collection.

The Glades sTar 27

Appendix A

Remembering the Staff and Volunteers who Advanced, Protected and Managed Maryland's State Forest and

Park Legacy in Garrett, Allegany, Washington and Frederick Counties

Professional Foresters Serving as Directors and Administrators

Besley, Fred W. ................................1st State Forester

Kaylor, Joseph .................................2nd State Forester, First Director, St. Forests & Parks

Buckingham, Henry C. ...................District Forester Western MD, 3rd State Forester, Acting Director, State Forests and Parks

Johnson, William H. .......................District Forester Western MD, Chief Fire Control, and Superintendent of State Parks State-wide

Parr, William A. ..............................District Forester North Eastern MD & Western MD, Superintendent of State Parks, Deputy

Director, State Forests and Parks,

Hathaway, David L. ........................Superintendent of State Parks

Barton, Rick ....................................Superintendent of State Parks

Ruzzin, Paul M. (Rusty) ..................Superintendent of State Parks

Settina, Nita ....................................Superintendent of State Parks

Bushman, Chris ..............................Deputy, Superintendent of State Parks

Bond, Adna R. (Pete) ......................Assistant State Forester and 4th State Forester

MacLauchlan, Donald E. ................Assistant Superintendent of State Parks and 4th Director of Forests & Parks

Lyon, Tunis J. ..................................District Forester, Assistant State Forester, and 5th State Forester

Mallow, James .................................Assistant District Forester, Chief of interpretation for Park Service, Assistant State Forester,

Director, MD Park Service, and 6th State Forester

Riley, John .......................................Assistant District Forester, District Forester, 7th State Forester

Koehn, Steven W. ............................Chief of Forest Fire Control Statewide, 8th State Forester

Zants, Alan ......................................State Fire Supervisor

Mitchell, Monte ..............................State Fire Supervisor

Hartman, Harry ..............................Assistant District Forester

Paulhamus, Jack ..............................Assistant District Forester

Thayer, R. Thomas ..........................Assistant District Forester, District Forester

lrwin, William A. (Clint) .................Assistant District Forester, District Forester

Gilmore, George .............................Assistant District Forester, Regional Forester

Peace, Ralph T. ................................Regional Park Supervisor, Assistant Superintendent of State Parks

Brodie, John E. ................................Assistant Regional Forester, Regional Forester

Mason, C. Eugene ...........................District Park Supervisor

Groves, Warren E. ...........................Forester, Savage River State Forest

Mateer, Paul R. ................................Assistant Regional Forester

Zlomek, Bernard .............................Assistant Regional Forester

Metz, Jr., Ernest L. .........................Assistant Regional Forester

Willets, Kenneth H. .......................Assistant Regional Forester

Antill, Ronald G..............................Assistant Regional Forester

Johnson, Ray ...................................Assistant Regional Forester, Regional Park Supervisor, Program Open Space Project Ofﬁcer for

Western Maryland

Mechem, Joseph ..............................Forester, Savage River State Forest

Professional Landscape Architects Serving as Directors and Administrators

Spencer, P. Ellis ................................2nd Director of State Forests and Parks

Volunteer Forest Wardens who served in Garrett County at sometime between 1910-1926

Arnold, Silas ....................................Dobbin

Aronhalt, James ...............................Bayard

Barnard, W.H. .................................Walnut Bottom

Barnard, William H. .......................Bloomington

Beachy, E.A. ....................................Grantsville

Biggs, J.W. .......................................Wilson, West Virginia

Bittinger, Alexander .........................Ottaway

Bittinger, Harmon ...........................Meadow Mountain

Bolden, Albert .................................Finzel

Bowman, Lewis ...............................Oakland

Bray, B.T. ........................................Swanton

Broadwater, C.R. .............................Bittinger

Broadwater, Columbus F. ................New Germany

Broadwater, G.W. ............................New Germany

28 The Glades sTar

Chisholm, Arthur ............................Friendsville

Detrick, Mahlon .............................Friendsville

Durst, Harvey .................................Bevansville

Ferguson, W.H. ...............................Elder Hill

Folk, C.J..........................................Keyser’s Ridge

Fresh, David ....................................Bittinger

Friend, J.G. .....................................Swanton

Friend, S.E. .....................................Winding Ridge

Glotfelty, J.C. ..................................Rock Lodge

Gnagey, G.J. ....................................Salt Block Mountain

Green, F.W. .....................................Bittinger

Hartman, John A. ...........................Accident

Harvey, A. Scott ..............................Short Run

Harvey, Tilden R. ............................Eagle Rock

Harvey, Wesley ................................Fairview

Herman, John W. ............................Swanton

Hetrick, John ..................................Bittinger

Hoye, Frank ....................................S/W of St. John’s Rock

Humbertson, Frisbee .......................Asher’s Glade

James, Jes A. ....................................Frostburg

Jenkins, J.A. ....................................Morris Hill

Kerins, G.T. ....................................Oakland

Knox, C.H. .....................................Vindex

Lowdermilk, J.M. ............................Asher’s Glade

McClintock, E.F. .............................Cave

Mellott, M.T. ..................................Hutton

Merrill, John A. ...............................Merrill

Michael, Peter F. ..............................Big Savage Mountain

Michael, W.A. .................................Bloomington

O’Brien, John T. ..............................North Glade

Oester, A.J. ......................................Bittinger

Reams, W.A. ....................................Swallow Falls

Robeson, E.O. .................................Avilton

Rounds, Floyd C. ............................Merrill

Ryman, M.K. ..................................Jennings

Savage, Sherman G. .........................Sang Run

Sharpless, D. ...................................Allegany Heights

Sims, James H. ................................Allegany Heights

Sims, R.A. .......................................Sunny Side

Sines, Abraham Lincoln ..................Swallow Falls

Sines, Clyde.....................................Swallow Falls

Sines, Elijah .....................................Friendsville

Sines, Harrison ................................Sang Run

Sines, William Taylor ......................Swallow Falls

Sisler, Daniel ...................................White Rock

Sloan, George E. .............................McHenry

Soelter, Ernest .................................Red House

Stanton, C. E. .................................Grantsville

Steyer, W.T. .....................................Deer Park

Tasker, Michael ...............................Deer Park

Teets, Earl F. ....................................Lake Ford

Tichinel, G.W. ................................Mt. Zion Church

Tichnell, Delbert .............................Bloomington

Turner, Francis H. ...........................Swanton

Upole, Layman ................................Eagle Rock

Upole, W.M. ...................................White Rock

Wiley, Milton ..................................Grantsville

Wilson, D.W. ..................................Wilson, West Virginia

Wilson, Milo ...................................Kitzmiller

Wilt, George Plucky ........................Kitzmiller

Winters, R.T. ..................................Swallow Falls

Alderton, Mahlon............................Picardy

Avery, H. B. ....................................Mount Savage

Barnes, Perry ...................................Town Hill

Barton, George M. ..........................Barton

Beeler, W.L. .....................................South Martin’s Mountain

Bender, Daniel ................................Rush

Blubaugh, A.F. .................................Warrior Mountain

Blubaugh, J. W. ...............................Loar Town

Bodkin, Brook* ...............................High Rock

Bodkin, G.H. ..................................Dawson

Brant, J.A. .......................................Ellerslie

Bridges, A.J. ....................................Mt. Savage

Burkey, Thomas* .............................Corriganville

Davis, Frank B.* ..............................Pratt

Dean, I.S. ........................................Old Town

Degen, C.G. ....................................Warrior Mountain

Drake, C.E. .....................................West of Evitts Mountain

Duckworth, John William** ............Lonaconing

Fazenbaker, Henry H. .....................Lonaconing

Fletcher, Courtney A. ......................Piney Grove

Frazee, W. LeRoy .............................Town Creek

Grabenstein, E.F.* ...........................Winchester Bridge

Gross, M.L. .....................................Martin’s Mountain

Hartley, Wm. M. .............................White Oak Flat

Helmstetter, J. Jerome .....................Cash Valley

Hinkle, George L. ...........................Cumberland

Hutson, Frank M ............................Rawlings

James, Joseph A. ..............................Frostburg

Krumbine, H.S.* .............................Gilpin

Krumbine, Harry Z.* ......................Gilpin

Krumbine, Thomas* .......................Cumberland

Lambert, L.C. .................................Stoney Run

Lammert, Roland A.* ......................Frostburg

Lancaster, John ................................Eastside Dan’s Mountain

Volunteer Forest Wardens who served in Allegany County at sometime between 1910-1926

*Federally paid forest patrolman

**Lookout Watchman

The Glades sTar 29

Larner, W. P. ....................................Warrior Mountain

Llewellyn, C. E.* .............................Midland

Llewellyn, D.C. ...............................Midland

Llewellyn, H.P. ................................Dan’s Mountain

Llewellyn, Perry P. ...........................Barton

Llewellyn, Stephen ..........................Barton

Lough, W. P. ....................................Gilpin

Lowery, Al M. .................................Clarke Mills

Malcolm, J. H. ................................Town Hill

Martin, Mathew E...........................Gilmore

Mayer, G.M.* ..................................Frostburg

McCabe, Michael ............................Green Ridge

McCusker, E.C. ...............................Little Orleans

McElﬁsh, D.D. ...............................Shriver’s Ridge

McElﬁsh, Henry* ............................Flintstone

Michael, Wm. A. .............................Westernport

Morgan, J.A.* ..................................Midlothian

Morton, James.................................Frostburg

Mott, L.O. ......................................Twenty-First Bridge

Mullan, V.L.** .................................Midland

Reidler, Sr., George..........................Frostburg

Robinette, F.W. ...............................Centerville

Robinette, George B.* .....................Town Creek

Sheetz, Conrad ................................Warrior Mountain

Smith, Elmer B. ..............................Green Ridge

Spier, John .......................................Cumberland

Stotler, Floyd ...................................Dawson

Struckman, A. .................................Upper Town Creek

Stubbs, R.H. ...................................Warrior Mountain

Sullivan,Daniel ................................Evitts Creek

Twigg, Edmund* .............................Town Creek

Twigg, L.C. .....................................Old Town

Twigg, William A. ...........................Warrior Mountain

Wagus, Adolph ................................Midland

Weir, Walter ....................................Lonaconing

Wentling, Bern A.* ..........................Nicholas Mountain

Wentling, Floyd* .............................Nicholas Mountain

Wigﬁeld, G.E. .................................Nicholas Mountain

Witt, Anthony .................................Ellerslie

Yeargan, W.F. ...................................Pleasant Valley

Bishop, Fillmore ..............................Hancock

Bishop, M.F. ....................................Harvey

Brunner, Charles D.* .......................Pondsville

Coulter, Milton S.* .........................Weverton

Creek, Aubrey .................................Forest Park

Detrow, Samuel ...............................Hagerstown

Eichelberger, Jacob ..........................Blairs Valley

Exline, B. Hayes ..............................Tonoloway Bridge

Faulder, C.H.* .................................Mt. Lena

Frownfelter, Samuel D. ....................Hagerstown

Fulton, A.J.* ....................................Millstone

Funkhouser, V.G. ............................Big Pool

Gehr, Raymond ...............................Mt. Carmel

Glenn, Ira S. ....................................Pondsville

Green, Daniel H. ............................Appleton

Hardy, B. .........................................Chestnut Grove

Hull, B.Z.* ......................................Moorsville

Johnson, Ray* .................................Indian Springs

Keller, James R.* ..............................Dargan

Kendall, Vernon ..............................Euclid

Mann, Grover Cleveland* ...............Fort Frederick

Martin, F.D.* ..................................Indian Springs

McAllister, Wm. S.* .........................Big Pool

McClain, L.C. .................................Edgemont

McCusker, Marshall O. ...................Exline

Nave, J.W. .......................................Mt. Briar

Norris, Calvin* ................................Sideling Hill

Norris, George ................................Sideling Hill

Oswald, E.I. ....................................Chewsville

Phillips, Preston R.* ........................Brownsville

Reel, Charles R.* .............................Hancock

Shadrack, B.F. .................................Maugansville

Smith, Charles L. ............................Clear Spring

Smith, Elmer ...................................Millstone

Sowers, F.A. .....................................Hearthstone Mountain

Sowers, M.L. ...................................Ft. Hearthstone

Spicer, E.B.* ....................................Pearre

Steele, Wm. E ..................................Blair’s Valley

Stine, H.E. ......................................Rohrerville

Weller, Harry E. ..............................Hancock

Willard, G.A.* .................................Smithsburg

Volunteer Forest Wardens who served in Allegany County at sometime between 1910-1926

Volunteer Forest Wardens who served in Washington County at sometime between 1910-1926

*Federally paid forest patrolman

**Lookout Watchman

30 The Glades sTar

Volunteer Forest Wardens who Served in Frederick County at sometime between 1910-1926

Forestry Supervisors—Garrett County (Chief Rangers)

Forest Rangers—Garrett County

State Forest Superintendents/Managers in Garrett County

Potomac State Forest Superintendents/Managers

Savage River State Forest Superintendents/Managers

Andrew, George W.* ........................Emmitsburg

Andrews, R.C.* ...............................Eyler Valley

Benner, William H. .........................Catoctin Furnace

Brown, Earle* ..................................Lantz

Brown, Karl M. ...............................Foxville

Bussard, S.P.** .................................Lantz

Carroll, William ..............................Mt. St. Mary’s College

Creager, J. Howard ..........................Thurmont

Davis, R. H. ....................................Barnesville

Delauter, James ...............................Garﬁeld

Easterday, A.J. .................................Wolfsville

Feaga, Elmer B.** ............................Yellow Springs

Fitez, R.G. .......................................Mt. St. Mary’s College

Fraley, F.W.* ....................................Catoctin

Freshman, M.H. ..............................Thurmont

Funk, C.F. Walter ............................Parks Mills

Gaver, Charles R.* ...........................Highland

Harne, C.O.* ..................................Garﬁeld

Harne, Gideon O. ...........................Point of Rocks

Hauver, Albert L.* ...........................Foxville

Hoffman, L.N. ................................Doubs

Kelbaugh, Charles F. ........................Thurmont

Kelly, John.......................................East Mountaindale

Klein, C. Cyil* ................................Frederick

Klein, Charles E. .............................Braddock Heights

Lewis, Levin T.* ...............................Middlepoint

Lovell, J.F. .......................................Garﬁeld

McBridge, A.M. ..............................Locust Valley

McGill, Wm. McP* .........................Catoctin

Miller, Lewis D. ..............................Bolivar

Moore, David M. ............................Brunswick

Morgan, R.E. ..................................Sensenbaugh

Moss, Sylvester*...............................Yellow Springs

Munk, Wm. P. .................................Shookstown

Myers, Harry L. ...............................Point of Rocks

Poole, C.E. ......................................Sugar Loaf Mtn.

Ramsburg, G.W. .............................Lewistown

Ramsburg, George W. .....................Lewistown

Recher, John L.................................Thurmont

Sensenbaugh, J.J. .............................Euclid

Sensenbaugh, L.T.*..........................Euclid

Smith, Vernon .................................Lewistown

Thomas, A.M. .................................Sugar Loaf Mtn.

Wallace, J.J. .....................................Burkittsville

Wallace, Charles T. ..........................Burkittsville

Willard, G.H. ..................................Foxville

Willard, G.A.* .................................Catoctin Furnace

Sines, Abraham Lincoln ..................Chief Forest Warden

Upole, Sr., Elmer H. ........................Forestry Supervisor, Garrett County

Upole, Jr., E. Harland .....................Forestry Supervisor, Garrett, Allegany, Washington, and Frederick Counties

Ashby, Ward L.

Bond, Richard D.

Custer, Floyd

Dorsey, Wade

Fike, Dale E.

Handwerk, Owen R.

McDonald, Harold Jr.

Schoch, Rolland G.

Thomas, Charles C.

Thomas, Charles R.

Upole, E. Harland

Upole, Louise

Walters, John C.

Denning, John

Hamilton, Steven

Lohr, W. Carlton

Ramsey, Cecil Z.

Wilt, Myrl J.

Cryer, Oscar M. (Skip)

Denning, John

Gregory, Michael

Groves, Warran

Martin, Sr., Matthew E.

Maxim, Larry

Upole, Jr., E. Harland

*Federally paid forest patrolman

**Lookout Watchman

The Glades sTar 31

State Park Superintendents/Managers in Garrett County

State Park Rangers in Garrett County

Swallow Falls State Forest - (aka) Garrett State or Potomac State Forest Superintendents/Managers

Herrington Manor/Swallow Falls State Parks Superintendents/Managers

Herrington Manor/Swallow Falls State Parks—Rangers

New Germany/Big Run State Parks—Rangers

New Germany/Big Run State Parks Superintendents/Managers

Deep Creek Lake State Parks Superintendents/Managers

Deep Creek Lake Natural Resources Management Area Managers

Hamilton, Steven

Hartman, Kenneth

Martin, Jr., M. Ellis

Meechem, Joseph

O’Haver, John

Preston, Alan (Al)

Riley, Roger

Sines, Abraham Lincoln

Sword, Gerald

Thomas, Charles C.

Denning, John

Hamilton, Steven

Martin, Jr., Matthew Ellis

Meechan, Joseph

O’Haver, John

Riley, Roger

Sines, Abraham Lincoln

Sword, Gerald

Thomas, Charles C.

Ashby, Ward L.

Berry, Michael

Baker, Lisa

Blizzard, Caroline (Naturalist)

Broadhurst, Cynthia L.

Cooper, Michael

Custer, Dale H.

Custer, Floyd

Foley, John

Friend, Robert (Bob)

McMillan, Timothy

Meyers, Kenneth

Savage, Eric (Naturalist)

Schultz, Otto

Sines, Richard E.

Stark, Harold

Steyer, Sue

Thomas, William C.

Wakeﬁeld, Richard

Zimmerman, George W.

Baker, David

Broadwater, Glenn William

Dore, Mary Ellen

Frank III, John H.

Lewis, Richard R.

Martin, William (Naturalist)

McCormick, Melissa

McDonald, Jr., Harold

Saunders, Campbell A.

Savage, Eric (Naturalist)

Stevens, Joseph R.

Thomas, Charles R.

Thomas, J. Erin

Warnick, Robert (Bob)

Warnick, Wilson

Cryer, Oscar M. (Skip)

Edminston, Perry

Gregory, Michael

Ironside, Mary M.

Martin, Sr., Matthew E.

Preston, Alan (Al)

Rogers, James

Upole, Jr., E. Harland

Ashby, Ward L.

Baker, David

Durham, Jr., Paul D.

Matthews, Carolyn

Wilburn, James O.

Durham, Jr., Paul D.

Gregory, Michael

Mathews, Carolyn

Schwaab, Eric

Yoder, Gary

Regional State Park Managers (Western Operations)

Anderson, Chris

Ecker, Cynthia L.

Harris, Charles (Chuck), Regional Deputy Manager

32 The Glades sTar

Deep Creek Lake State Parks—Rangers

Forest Rangers in Allegany County

Green Ridge State Forest Superintendents/Managers

Green Ridge State Forest Rangers and other key staff

Rock Gap and Dan’s Mountain State Parks Superintendents/Managers

Rocky Gap and Dan’s Mountain State Parks Rangers

Forest Rangers in Washington and Frederick Counties

Forestry Supervisors in Allegany County and Washington County

Baker, David W.

Blizzard, Caroline (Naturalist)

Burrell, David K.

Caple, Wayne H.

Christensen, Karl

Friend, Brian

Gowans, Thomas E.

Mash-Manown, Patty

Metz, Christopher Todd (Naturalist)

McMillan, Mark

Rexrode, George A.

Riley, Darryl

Skipper, Connie

Walker, Carole L.

Wilburn, James O.

Brown, George

Caton, James F.

Dixon, Tom

Fletcher, MarshalL

Glass,Walter C. ( Pete)

McDonald, Harold L. Sr.

Robeson, Owen B.

Slider, William (Bill)

Beals, Mark

Floyd, Custer

Hartman, Harry

Johnson, Ray

Mash, John

Robertson, Herb

Sipes, Eugene

Zumbrun, Francis

Bowman, Reese (Mechanic)

Roland, Robyn (Ofﬁce Manager)

Boyer, Donald

Cihlar, William

Deckelbaum, Michael R.

Maas, Mark

Riley, Harold

Amann, John L.

Baumann, W. David (Conservation Aide)

Cage, Harry

Deckelbalm, Michael R.

Dieterle, Curt W.

Gregory, Kristen

Herndon, Jeffery

House, Robert S.

Livingston, Elizabeth

Milbourne, Sarah

Morgan, Jr., Charles T. (Maintenance Chief)

Moses, Terry M.

Mossburg, Ken

Norris, Alicia

Rexroad, George

Ruark, Jeffery

Miller, Shelly (Naturalist)

Shoemaker, Harold W. (Maintenance Supervisor)

Yoder, Dennis (Park Technician III)

Barnhart, Sam E.

Burch, ??

Hill, Richard A,

Morgan, Larry

Bodkin, Brook (Covered Allegany and western Washington Counties)

Upole, E. Harland (Covered Garrett, Allegany, Washington and Frederick Counties)