The men stood on the ramp. There were 31 of them now. They waited to hear the news. The first jump was scheduled for yesterday but high winds and a storm cancelled the flight. The foreman walked in and out of the dispatch center across from them.

The men stood and looked up at the tower. It was 40 feet high. The United States Forest Service was in love with 40 feet. It’s how they planted their lookout towers - 40 feet up on the highest ridge or mountain.

Bill Kuntz’s father homesteaded (in Boundary County) in 1900. The family moved away but returned in 1917. Bill was about 20 years old when he began working for the Forest Service in 1929. He helped build lookouts, constructed trail, fought on big fires and hung telephone line.

The men stood in line. There were 38 of them. Yesterday there were 46. But today there were only 38. They wore cotton jeans and shirts of khaki or blue. Like most of them, he wore the shrink to fit 501s. They all wore hardhats.

Ranger stations were scattered all over the County. Shiloh, Myrtle Creek, Copeland, Smith Creek, Round Prairie, Meadow Creek, Skin Creek in addition to Snyder Creek. A passenger train traveled near the Meadow Creek and Snyder Creek Ranger Stations. You could flag it down to catch a ride. As a young teenager, Al Flory and a friend would hop on board and ride between stations.