Peeling Back The Bark
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January 29, 1935: And the Schlich Award Goes to…
By Eben Lehman on January 29, 2009On this day in 1935, the Society of American Foresters presented its first-ever award, the Sir William Schlich Memorial Award Medal, to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt was recognized for his “interest and effective work for forest conservation,” with specific acclamation given for his establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The award was named for…
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January 21, 1892: Hoo-Hoo International, Not Your Father’s Skull and Bones
By Amanda T. Ross on January 21, 2009There are few things I desire more in this world than to unmask secret societies and to find derivations of “concatenate” in unexpected places. Imagine my delight when I learned that FHS holds a small collection of records for the International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo. On this day in 1892, the International Concatenated Order of…
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Who should the president appoint to his cabinet?
By James Lewis on January 16, 2009As President-elect Barack Obama’s cabinet nominees are being finalized with little controversy, we here at Peeling Back the Bark can’t help but think back one hundred years ago and wonder what might have happened if, as newspapers speculated, Gifford Pinchot had been appointed to a cabinet position in William Howard Taft’s administration. Here’s what the…
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January 7, 1851: It's your day, Bernhard Fernow!
By James Lewis on January 7, 2009Bernhard Fernow (FHS Archives) Happy birthday, Bernie! You helped bring forest management and forestry education to the United States and Canada, and we are forever grateful! Have an extra piece of cake on us! Born in Prussia on January 7, 1851, Bernhard Eduard Fernow trained for both law and forestry. He served in the Prussian…
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Seasons Greetings!
By Eben Lehman on December 24, 2008In honor of the season, Peeling Back the Bark would like to feature a small selection of just a few of the holiday cards and greetings found in various Forest History Society archival collections. The following selected materials represent just a fraction of the many collections available in the FHS Archives. Below each image can…
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New Collection: National Fire Danger Rating System
By James Lewis on December 12, 2008A key instrument in fighting wildfires is the National Fire Danger Rating System — used to anticipate fires ahead of time by predicting the potential danger for fire in a specific geographic area. The Forest History Society Library and Archives staff recently processed a collection that provides a history of the Forest Service’s creation of…
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FHS in the News!
By James Lewis on December 11, 2008The Forest History Society has appeared twice in the news recently! Staff historian Jamie Lewis was interviewed for a story about the drop in the number of visitors to national forests on an annual basis written by Associated Press reporter Jeff Barnard. “National Forest visitors down, no one knows why” appeared in newspapers around the…
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December 1, 1874: A [Red] Star is Born
By Amanda T. Ross on December 1, 2008On this day in 1874, Raphael Zon was born in Simbirsk, Russia. From Russian radical to New World immigrant, Zon achieved national and international influence as a forest researcher. Gifford Pinchot even proclaimed, “Mr. Zon is my old and valued friend. . . There is no higher authority in forestry in America.” In Simbirsk, Zon…
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Historian Char Miller Ruminates on SAF Birthday
By Guest Contributor on November 30, 2008What do you give a professional organization on its 108th birthday? Warm wishes, I suppose. But in the case of the Society of American Foresters, formally founded on November 30, 1900, in the cramped office of its first president, Gifford Pinchot, it seems appropriate to offer up something a bit more meaningful than an air-kiss…
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November 30, 1900: Society of American Foresters Founded
By Amanda T. Ross on November 30, 2008On this day in history, leading conservationist Gifford Pinchot and six other foresters founded the Society of American Foresters in Washington, D.C. In its 108-year history, the Society has grown to become the largest professional organization for foresters in the world. Currently representing more than 15,000 forestry professionals and students working in private industry, educational…
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November 26, 1908: The Biltmore Forest Fair
By Eben Lehman on November 26, 2008One hundred years ago today, Dr. Carl Schenck, resident forester at George W. Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate and founder of the Biltmore Forest School, opened a three-day forestry fair on the Biltmore grounds. At a time when forestry work in America was still very much in its infancy, this unique fair was designed by Schenck to…
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Hot off the Press: Forest History Today fire issue
By James Lewis on November 20, 2008With the forest fires still burning in southern California and some suggesting that fire season there is now a year-round event, the publication of the Fall 2008 issue of Forest History Today is rather timely, to say the least. The Forest History Society is proud to present in this special issue the papers delivered at…
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The 10th and 20th Forestry Engineers of WWI
By Eben Lehman on November 11, 2008Ninety years ago today, on November 11, 1918, at 11:00 am Paris time, an armistice treaty was signed between the Allies and Germany, officially ending WWI on the Western Front and marking victory for the Allied forces. To further mark the historical significance of November 11th, we would like to announce the launch of a…
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National Parks Offer Veterans Places of Refuge and Rehabilitation
By Amanda T. Ross on November 11, 2008Since 1919, Americans have honored their servicemen and women on November 11. Originally established as Armistice Day, President Woodrow Wilson declared a day of remembrance on the anniversary of the cessation of hostilities between the Allies and Germany. In so doing, Wilson exalted the “heroism of those who died in the country’s service” in World…
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[Reminder] The Next Environmentalism: After the 2008 Election
By Amanda T. Ross on November 7, 2008With votes cast, ballots counted, and winners announced, what does the 2008 election portend for the environmental movement? Please join us as historian Robert Gottlieb discusses “The Next Environmentalism” in a public lecture on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at Duke University. The Next Environmentalism: After the 2008 Election Dr. Robert Gottlieb November 11th at 4:30 p.m….
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October 27, 1858: Happy Birthday, Teddy Roosevelt!
By James Lewis on October 27, 2008Today marks the 150th birthday of Theodore Roosevelt. Considered one of our greatest presidents, it’s not for nothing that he’s on Mount Rushmore and still widely admired around the world. He packed a lot of living into his sixty years. An avid outdoorsman and naturalist, you can add cowboy, cattle rancher, sheriff, big-game hunter, war…
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Driving the River
By Eben Lehman on October 24, 2008Six brand new photo galleries featuring more than 160 historic photos documenting various aspects of river log drives were added to our website today. River drives were a standard way of moving large amounts of cut timber to sawmills during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, prior to the expansion and adoption of railroads…
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October 20, 1964: Cradle of Forestry Dedication Ceremony
By Amanda T. Ross on October 20, 2008On this day in 1964, foresters, government officials, and others gathered near Asheville, North Carolina, at the site of the historic Biltmore Forest School. At this joint annual meeting of the American Forestry Association and the North Carolina Forestry Association, officials laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Forest Service Visitor Information Center, dedicating the Cradle…
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The Next Environmentalism: After the 2008 Election
By Amanda T. Ross on October 15, 2008The American environmental movement has periodically experienced shifts in focus and organizational priorities following key elections. Notable transformative junctures include the 1970 and 1972 congressional elections; the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan, which sent ripple effects throughout the environmental movement; and the 2000 election of George W. Bush, which arguably witnessed the most significant shift…
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China's Syndrome
By James Lewis on October 8, 2008A recent article in The New Yorker investigated where China gets its wood from now that logging has been widely banned in the country. “The Stolen Forests: Inside the Covert War on Illegal Logging” states that the ban was instituted after the Yangtze River watershed flooded in 1999, killing more than three thousand people and…
