Interviewer
Dan Hall
Files
Description
Joe Gutkoski describes his experiences as a smokejumper from 1950 to 1963. He discusses the training facilities at the Nine Mile Ranger Station in Montana, as well as the duties of a squad leader and a foreman, both of which he worked as during his career. Gutkoski describes the aftermath of the 1949 Mann Gulch Fire, including the U.S. Forest Service’s investigation of it. He also talks about being a part of the first experiments of jumping out of a helicopter without a parachute in 1954, fighting fires throughout the western United States, and experiencing the rivalries between different smokejumper bases.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
Smokejumpers Montana Biography; Smokejumping Montana History; Smokejumping Equipment and supplies; Forest fires Montana
Original Date
7-22-1984
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Montana
Language
eng
Original Collection
Smokejumpers 1984 Reunion Oral History Collection, OH 133, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula
Digital Publisher
University of Montana--Missoula. Mansfield Library
Rights
Copyright to this collection is held by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. Permission may be required for use of this item. For further information please contact Archives and Special Collections: (406) 243-2053 / library.archives@umontana.edu
Oral History Number
OH 133-043
Media Type
Sound; Text
Original Format
1 sound cassette (60 min.) : analog + 1 transcript (17 p. : 28 cm.)
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
00:58:48 minutes
Local Filename
OH_133_043.mp3; OH_133_043.pdf
Citation
OH 133-043Gutkoski, Joe, "Joe Gutkoski Interview, July 22, 1984" (1984). Smokejumpers 1984 Reunion Oral History Project. OH 133-043.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/smokejumpers/57