In the summer of 1972 the seasonal fire crew of four people were put to work clearing the roadside brush leading into the Bluff Creek Guard Station on the Orleans Ranger District of the Six Rivers National Forest. This work was done with hand tools and the brush was piled in a Forest Service pickup to be hauled off to a burn pile. Most of the brush was blackberries mixed with poison oak. Nobody on the crew was familiar with poison oak. It was a hot day and some members of the crew had taken their shirts off as they gathered up the brush and put in the bed of the truck stomping it down. The next day these people were human blisters in need of medical attention.
A collection of stories from the life of Michael Burke. He worked for the Forest Service in Alaska, California, and Oregon. He lives in Oakland, OR. His wonderful wife, Celia, passed in May of 2021
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THE HOLIDAY SEASON
This time of year living alone with no family nearby can be depressing. Being alone one can lose track of what's happening during the...
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It is four years today when Celia left this word, something I think about every day. It is not all sorrow as I think back on her humor, w...
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My old friend Arthritis showed up last weekend and took advantage of my right knee. By Sunday afternoon I was confined to my chair in pain...
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This time of year living alone with no family nearby can be depressing. Being alone one can lose track of what's happening during the...
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