Interviewer
Beth Hodder, Kjell Petersen
Files
Description
Bob Folkestad recalls how growing up in Montana, then visiting to hike, camp, and fish after his family moved, influenced his decision to work for the Forest Service after high school. He discusses applying for a fire lookout position in the summers while attending Seattle Pacific College. Folkestad describes working two summers on the Ashley Mountain Lookout from 1962-1963. He talks about taking his dog Tana with him, receiving supplies by mule train, cooking for himself, and eating a lot of Spam. He recalls the visitors he had including his parents, and young men from the Dominican Republic who were staying at a resort nearby and training for the priesthood. Folkstad notes that visiting with them influenced his decision to become a Christian missionary. He talks about the physical layout of the lookout, mentioning its size and the few outbuildings around it. He reminisces about accidentally calling in a fire that turned out to be moonlight glinting in the trees. Folkstad describes the fire traffic procedures for calling in smoke sightings and lightning strikes, emphasizing that being a lookout required constant surveillance to familiarize himself with the territory. He discusses working on the Castle Rock Lookout in the Cascade Range from 1964-1966, and then the Sand Mountain Lookout for part of the summer of 1967. Folkestad concludes by discussing his missionary work in Mozambique and South Africa, noting that being a lookout provided him with ample time to study the Bible.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
Subjects: Ashley Mountain Lookout; Castle Rock Lookout; Sand Mountain Lookout; Flathead National Forest; Fire lookout; Fire fighting, Montana; Firefighting, Oregon; Wildlife; Christianity; Lightning strikes
Personal Names: Robert Folkestad; Marjorie Folkestad
Corporate Names: U.S. Forest Service; Seattle Pacific College
Geographical Names: Montana; Flathead National Forest; Oregon; Cascade Range; Mozambique; South Africa
Occupations: Fire lookouts; Missionaries
Titles: Holy Bible
Original Date
1-22-2021
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Montana; Oregon
Language
eng
Original Collection
Northwest Montana Lookout Association Oral History Project, OH 453, 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 interview participants and by the Northwest Montana Lookout Association. Permission may be required for use. For further information please contact Archives and Special Collections: (406) 243-2053 / library.archives@umontana.edu
Oral History Number
OH 453-011
Media Type
Moving Image; Sound; Text
Digital Format
video/mp4; application/pdf; text/plain
Run Time
00:49:41 minutes
Local Filename
OH_453_011.mp4; OH_453_011.pdf; OH_453_011.srt
Citation
Folkestad, Bob and Folkestad, Marj, "Bob Folkestad and Marj Folkestad Interview, January 22, 2021" (2021). Northwest Montana Lookout Association Oral History Project. 11.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/nwmt-ffla/11