Of the summers spent working for the Association, I would choose the two spent on Bertha Hill Lookout as my (our) favorites. Bertha Hill has historical significance due to the fact that it was the first lookout run by an organization that predates the U.S. Forest Service. The initial lookout was a tree located at the top of the 5508-foot mountain. Following the 1910 fire that swept across Montana and Idaho, it became necessary for forest landowners to take steps to establish a system to spot and extinguish forest fires. CTPA was a pioneer organization in that effort.
The area around Headquarters had lookouts on many of the prominent hills in the area. Along with Bertha Hill and Shanghai there were many lesser-known towers like Billings Point, Township, Dull axe, Bald Mountain, etc. Most were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Often, the person manning the lookout also was required to fight the fire themselves. Some of the towers had old time crank telephones to communicate with nearby fire camps. Air patrols eventually replaced some but not all of the lookouts. There was one sad occasion when a college student, Maida Talbot fell from the tower. When she didn’t check in at her appointed time, a patrol plane was dispatched and discovered her body at the bottom of the 52-foot structure. Her death was ruled accidental and a safety fence was installed to prevent other falls. Similar barriers were installed on many other lookouts throughout the region.
I was stationed on Bertha Hill in 1973. It was pretty cool to wake up on a sunny morning and see deer or elk walking around the tower. I had a chipmunk that would join me when I made trip down to the outhouse.
Summers in those times included the annual 4-H Forestry Tour for local sixth graders from the Clearwater County elementary schools. One day as the kids were ascending the tower, I heard one of the kids yell out, “Hey, Mr. Ward.” He had been one of my students in Lewiston before moving to the Orofino area. It was a pleasant surprise; I couldn’t escape from them!
In August, our first anniversary found us on Bertha. I made arrangements to have Beth’s present delivered by air mail. It consisted of a charm for her charm bracelet and a cupcake with a candle. Joe Monahan flew over the tower and dropped the box with a streamer in the open area by the tower. The cupcake was a little bent, but it’s the thought that counts, right?
On one occasion, there was a bad fire in the cedar decks at Potlatch’s Jaype Plywood Plant. It was started by sparks from one of the loaders in the log yard. From Bertha Hill, I could see the huge column of smoke about fifteen or twenty miles away. As I was looking around the area for smokes, I noticed the windows were vibrating for some reason. I looked North and to my surprise saw a B-17 bomber heading down from Coeur d’Alene with a load of fire retardant to drop on the fire. It along with two WWII torpedo bombers had been dispatched to help with the firefighting efforts. The props on the four-engine antique were out of synch which caused the windows to rattle. It was quite a spectacle watching a piece of history fly by along with the other two TBMs.
In 1976, my wife took over the lookout duties and I commuted to HQ as brush boss. This marked the final year of employment for us with C-PTPA but our appreciation for the Association extends to the present. Great times and lasting memories remain.
Leave a reply