On Saturday, June 23, 2012 there is going to be a dedication ceremony for the Smokejumper Heritage Tree at the Historic Siskiyou Smokejumper Base. This historic museum is located at the Illinois valley airport, just a few miles south of Cave Junction.
They will be having activities from 8:00 AM until 2:00 PM, and if you would like to learn more about this event, please click here to see their flyer. We hope to see you there!
My husband and I had the opportunity to visit the Siskiyou Smokejumper Base as part of the Josephine County Historical Society's "Passport to History" program two years ago. The following is a portion of what we learned.
Josephine County Historical Society's "Passport To
History" - Siskiyou Smokejumper Base - Cave Junction, Oregon by Gary
and Wendy Swanson, 2010
Smokejumpers
- The heroes of yesteryear.
Continuing
on our Josephine
County Historical Society's "Passport To History"
program, we arrive at the Siskiyou
Smokejumper Base.
Gary remembers one of his high school classmates heading out west to become a
smokejumper as soon as they graduated.
The
Siskiyou
Smokejumper Base was Oregon's first aerial firefighter
base, and is the only original smokejumper base in the United States still
remaining.
It
has been proposed that the National Smokejumper Museum be located here, and
after seeing the community support and restoration efforts underway.
We
were so fortunate to meet Roger Brandt, who is a wealth of information, and a
real asset to the future museum.
Roger
informed us about all of the volunteer groups that have been tirelessly working
on this restoration project. He was a great help in our research.
Thank you Roger.
The
Siskiyou
Smokejumper Base began in 1943 during World War
II. Since most men were already called to service, the first smokejumpers
to enlist were conscientious objectors who were mostly Mennonites. This
way they served in a way to fit their beliefs.
This
building was the first headquarters, and was located at the Redwood Ranger
District in Cave Junction.
The
smokejumpers lived in tents at the ranger station, because there was no
electricity or water at this airstrip.
Work
progressed on the base, and in 1948 the first of two barracks was built.
This is the remaining barracks, and the bath house.
This
photo shows the headquarters building being brought over from Cave Junction.
This
building was the mess hall, where the smokejumpers ate "family
style." The food was placed on the tables and passed around rather
than going through a cafeteria-style line.
It
is believed that the main reason this base was located in such a low populace
area, was the danger from the Japanese "balloon bombs."
The
Japanese had spent years prior to attacking Pearl Harbor in studying the jet
stream, and they began sending bombs aloft that were landing throughout the
Northwest. Very clever mechanisms controlled by altimeters would release
sand bags if the balloon dropped too low, and kept them flying until they
reached the Northwestern United States.
One
party of five were killed near Ashland, Oregon when they found an unexploded
bomb hanging in a tree.
Japan's
purpose was to strike terror in the American people, but the U.S. government
kept the bomb caused fires classified as "top secret," so very few
people had any idea we were under attack.
The
base finally closed in 1981, but the airport that has been here since 1939
still waits for her crews to return.
These
concrete pads were made for the staging areas for the planes.
The
fire boss made it clear that no one was to put their initials in the
concrete. Period! He inspected the job when it had been finished,
and left satisfied.
After
he left, and before the concrete had hardened, the clever Capp Rowley went back
out, and found the end of the parachute cord that he had embedded with this
name in cursive, and when he pulled it out, his name was permanently etched in
the pad.
So
he wouldn't take all the heat, he "thoughtfully" included his buddy's
name. Good thing he was good at his job, because there is no record of
anyone jumping without a chute.
Tommy
Smith was the only casualty of the Siskiyou
Smokejumper Base. He had successfully fought a fire
in the Illinois Valley, and being exhausted and weighed down with equipment, he
drowned while crossing the Illinois River.
These
are "Gobi Stones," so named because the Smokejumpers nicknamed this
base "The Gobi," as they said it reminded them of the Gobi Desert.
These
rocks were so abundant that when they were constructing this "Parachute
loft," they placed tons of them inside the foundation. Notice
how high the foundation rises above the ground - just to accommodate all the
rocks!
This
"Parachute loft" housed the making and repairs of the chutes.
It contained 17 industrial sewing machines, one as big as a man.
The
peaked end of the building was erected as high as they dared for aircraft
clearance, and its floor is at ground level (no stones underneath). This
allowed for hanging parachutes for examining them full length after recovery
from jumps.
They
had to be inspected for cuts, tears, and "loads of
grasshoppers." Upstairs housed all of the fabric categorized by
section of the chute, as many sections were of different fabric and
grain. New parachutes were purchased in "kit" form and
assembled on site.
Those
who ran the operation lived on site, along with a few people who maintained
the Siskiyou
Smokejumper Base in "off-fire season."
This is a photo of Betty Stoltenberg manning the phones and radio.
This
building was used to house the equipment; saws, axes, ropes, etc.
One
luxury afforded our Siskiyou
Smokejumpers that was not heard of at other camps,
was that each man was able to have a personal "diddy bag." This
was up to five pounds of personal gear such as a toothbrush, candy, or whatever
else they were able to keep under the weight limit. When called out for a
fire, they dressed, grabbed tools, and hung their "diddy bags" on
themselves, and ran to the plane.
Roger
explained that hoses were kept in two of these structures on either side of the
well house for fire protection of the facility.
This
was the USFS warehouse.
This
was the managers' residence and garage.
Volunteers
continue working hard on restoring the Siskiyou Smokejumper Base back to
its' original condition, right down to the types of windows and paint colors.
