Interviewer
Beth Hodder
Files
Description
June Ash describes the summer of 1952 when she and her husband, Rod Ash, worked as fire lookouts on the Big Swede Lookout in the Kootenai National Forest near Libby, Montana. Ash tells how they moved from Berkeley, California, after attending college for their lookout jobs with the U.S. Forest Service. She shares memories of their time as lookouts, and notes the Big Swede was a hub of activity and they entertained a number of visitors including railroad workers, members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and people from other lookouts. Ash describes baking bread and making jam on a wood stove, and doing laundry both on the stove and at the laundromat. She recalls how their time as lookouts had a positive impact on their lives even after they returned to California to teach, telling how they purchased a summer cabin in Condon, Montana, returned often to visit the Big Swede, and became lifelong Forest Service volunteers.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
Swan Valley, Montana; Condon, Montana; Kootenai National Forest; Fire lookouts, Montana; Forest fires, Montana; U.S. Forest Service; Big Swede Lookout
Original Date
11-1-2016
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Montana
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 Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. 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 453-003
Media Type
Sound; Text
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
00:48:51 minutes
Local Filename
OH_453_003.mp3; OH_453_003.pdf
Citation
Ash, June and Ash, Gordon, "June Ash and Gordon Ash Interview, November 1, 2016" (2016). Northwest Montana Lookout Association Oral History Project. 3.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/nwmt-ffla/3