Frontier Life

Frontier Life. Rangering the West. At the turn of the century, the wild frontier was rapidly shifting to settled land and the Forest Reserves (predecessor to the Forest Service) quickly became an integral part of life in the region. "Forest Rangers" (a new breed of working men) improved and maintained hundreds of miles of trails and roads, scouted and managed timber sales, enforced laws, supervised road and trail construction crews, assisted travelers and residents, and helped with fire control., District Ranger C.B. "Mac" McFarland, shown here shoeing a mule, was one of the most influential and beloved rangers with the Forest Service. He began his career on the Cascade National Forest Reserve in 1909 (what would eventually become the Willamette National Forest in 1933), and in 1912 he lived and worked at the West Boundary Ranger Station, now beneath the water of Lookout Point Reservoir. Famous for his size and strength, he was more than equal to the hard work of his district., Mac met and later married Ruth Hyland in 1918, granddaughter of Lowell pioneer Amos Hyland. It was an excellent match, in Ruth he found a partner who loved the life of a ranger as much as he did., Ruth was soon running the West Boundary telephone system, administering first aid, packing supplies, and supervising fire crews along with her husband., Practical vs Technical Rangers , The first Forest Reserve Rangers were frontiersmen and cowboys, chosen for their independence, woodcraft skills, strength, and ability to get the job done. These rough-and-ready rangers were gradually replaced in the 1930s by young men educated in forestry schools. The old-style rangers were more than a little skeptical of these "handy-legged bugologists." Some, such as Practical Ranger C.B. McFarland, took it upon themselves to "rub a little Harvard" off the newbies with a few intense forays into the real world of hands-on rangering. C.B. McFarland and other Practical Rangers taught the new Technical Rangers life skills; shooting, riding, cooking, surveying, and reading cattle brands were common skills of the day.