Siskiyou Smokejumper Base - Josephine county, Oregon

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.

Come on out to the Historic Siskiyou Smokejumper Base and put your name on the volunteer list, it'll be appreciated!

Flyer for the Siskiyou Smokejumper Base Heritage Tree Dedication Ceremony