Peeling Back The Bark
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McNary, Arizona: A town on the move
By James Lewis on May 7, 2012When my wife and I moved from Washington, DC, to Durham in 2003, we only half-jokingly said we wished we could move our friends and some of our favorite restaurants and stores with us. When the Cady Lumber Corporation decided to move in 1924 to get access to more timber, its owners did just that….
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Forgotten Characters from Forest History: Sniff and Snuff
By Eben Lehman on April 13, 2012Everyone knows Smokey Bear, Woodsy Owl, and maybe even Ranger Rick Raccoon, but there are many other forest and forestry-related fictional characters that long ago fell by the wayside. Peeling Back the Bark’s series on “Forgotten Characters from Forest History” continues with Part 8, in which we examine Sniff and Snuff. During the 1960s, the…
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"On April 5, 1895, I passed the Statue of Liberty…"
By James Lewis on April 5, 2012On this date in 1895, Carl Schenck arrived from Germany to the United States to replace Gifford Pinchot as forester at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Three days after arriving in New York, Schenck met with Pinchot, then just 29 years old and seemingly without a care in the world. To mark the…
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Why we need Obama's Veterans Conservation Corps (op-ed)
By James Lewis on March 8, 2012The following is an op-ed piece written by FHS staff historian James G. Lewis that appeared in the Asheville Citizen-Times on February 19, 2012. In his State of the Union address last month and again at a recent press event, President Obama touted the idea of “a new conservation program that would help put veterans…
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Forest History Today issue on the Weeks Act now available
By James Lewis on March 1, 2012The new issue of Forest History Today is now available. It’s all about the Weeks Act, which turns 101 years old today. Forest History Society members have received a copy as a benefit of their membership. If you’re not a member but would like to purchase a copy, contact Andrea by email or by calling…
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Spring-cleaner, spare that box of old photos!
By Guest Contributor on February 16, 2012Three cheers for the diligence and hard work of archivists! Without their labor it would be next to impossible to write informed historical narrative. In this blog entry, David Brownstein conducts a conversation with Tom Anderson, Provincial Archives of Alberta, and with Peter Murphy, Forest History Association of Alberta, regarding the Canadian Forest History Preservation…
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Placing the "Jesus statue in Montana" controversy in a forest history context
By James Lewis on February 2, 2012Over the past several months, U.S. Forest Service officials have become ensnared in controversy over an unusual topic—a mountaintop statue of Jesus Christ on the Flathead National Forest. After some initial hesitation, the Forest Service announced on Tuesday that the nearly 60-year-old statue would remain for another ten years. This was met by an immediate lawsuit…
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Forgotten Characters: Spunky Squirrel
By James Lewis on January 20, 2012Everyone knows Smokey Bear, Woodsy Owl, and maybe even Ranger Rick Raccoon, but there are many other forest and forestry-related fictional characters that long ago fell by the wayside. Peeling Back the Bark’s series on “Forgotten Characters from Forest History” continues with Part 7, in which we examine Spunky Squirrel. January 21 is Squirrel Appreciation…
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Happy 125th Birthday, Aldo Leopold!
By Guest Contributor on January 11, 2012On this date in 1887, author, forester, ecologist, and conservationist Aldo Leopold was born in Burlington, Iowa. The founder of the science of wildlife management and a major influence on the wilderness movement, wildlife preservation, and environmental ethics, he is perhaps best known for his book, A Sand County Almanac (1949). In honor of his birthday,…
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Forgotten Characters: "Ev’rett the Friendly Evergreen" and the War on Christmas trees
By James Lewis on December 13, 2011Everyone knows Smokey Bear, Woodsy Owl, and maybe even Ranger Rick Raccoon, but there are many other forest and forestry-related fictional characters that long ago fell by the wayside. Peeling Back the Bark‘s series on “Forgotten Characters from Forest History” continues with Part 6, in which we examine Ev’rett (the Friendly Evergreen). In the 1950s,…
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Looking Back at the National Christmas Tree Tradition
By Eben Lehman on December 1, 2011Tonight, December 1st, President Barack Obama and his family will officially light the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse south of the White House. The tree lighting ceremony dates back to 1923, when President Calvin Coolidge personally lit what was then called the National Community Christmas Tree. This first national tree was presented to Coolidge by…
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November 14, 1921: First-ever National Fire Control Conference held
By James Lewis on November 14, 2011On this date in 1921, the U.S. Forest Service convened the first national conference on fire control at Mather Air Field near Sacramento, California. Virtually all the agency’s leaders and brightest minds came together for the conference, including six district (now regional) foresters and six forest supervisors, numerous Washington office people including Chief William Greeley,…
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Forgotten Characters from Forest History: "The Fire Wolf"
By Eben Lehman on November 3, 2011Everyone knows Smokey Bear, Woodsy Owl, and maybe even Ranger Rick Raccoon, but there are many other forest and forestry-related fictional characters that long ago fell by the wayside. Peeling Back the Bark’s series on “Forgotten Characters from Forest History” continues with Part 5, in which we examine the Fire Wolf. A blood-curdling howl echoes…
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October 8, 1871: Peshtigo, Wisconsin, is Consumed by Fire
By James Lewis on October 8, 2011On this date in 1871, the town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, and several smaller surrounding communities were obliterated by fire. The “booming town of 1700 people was wiped out of existence in the greatest fire disaster in American history,” according to the memorial marker that still stands in Peshtigo as silent sentinel watching over the graves…
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Happy 40th Birthday, Woodsy Owl!
By James Lewis on September 15, 2011Give a hoot—and a holler—for Woodsy Owl! Today’s his birthday. Or at least it’s the 40th anniversary of the press conference announcing Woodsy’s arrival. And that’s close enough for us. We won’t bore you with the details of how he came to be. You can learn that at this blog post. Instead, we’ll share the original…
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September 11, 1893: Forest Fire Researcher Harry Gisborne’s Birthday
By James Lewis on September 12, 2011Family and friends probably had to be careful when they lit the candles on a birthday cake for Harry Gisborne. As the first true specialist in forest fire research in the country, he might have held court about fire danger while the candles burned down to the icing. Kidding aside, Gisborne’s work included fire danger…
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American Tree Farm System Collection Open to Researchers
By Eben Lehman on August 26, 2011Recently processed with the help of graduate student intern Shaun Trujillo, the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) Collection is now open to researchers. The tree farm movement began in June of 1941 with the dedication of the Clemons Tree Farm in Washington. Since then, the American Tree Farm System’s membership and focus have moved from…
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Take a virtual hike to the Pulaski Tunnel
By James Lewis on August 21, 2011This weekend marks the 101st anniversary of the “Big Blowup,” when 3 million acres of forestland went up in flames during the 1910 fires. In July of this year, I finally made the hike to Pulaski Tunnel outside of Wallace, Idaho, something I’d wanted to do for some time. The tunnel is where Ed Pulaski…
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Forgotten Characters from Forest History: Cal Green
By Eben Lehman on August 2, 2011Everyone knows Smokey Bear, Woodsy Owl, and maybe even Ranger Rick Raccoon, but there are many other forest and forestry-related fictional characters that long ago fell by the wayside. Peeling Back the Bark’s series on “Forgotten Characters from Forest History” continues with Part 4, in which we examine Cal Green. Cal Green was a child…
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“I Would Have Sold it for a Candy Bar” (Weeks Act Series)
By Guest Contributor on July 14, 2011To help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Weeks Act, we’ve asked Dr. Bob Healy of Duke University’s Nicholas School for the Environment and co-author of classic book, The Lands Nobody Wanted, to write a series of blog posts about the impact of the law. We invite you to join the conversation and post comments…
