Historic Hood River
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5-17-2013
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Western Red Cedar tree diameter 9 foot 7 inches at shoulder height of man in front. Growing on McGee Creek West Fork of Hood River Valley Mt. Hood National Forest. Photo by R.E. Smith Forest Ranger.
Buzz
Not familiar with the McGee Creek country, but it must be pretty wet there. Cedars don’t thrive without a lot of water and this must be on the very eastern range of where it can grow. With the cascade range being the dividing line for rainfall it is interesting how cedar and ponderosa pine can thrive in such close proximity.
nels
Was there a date on this picture?
Chase
Belt and suspenders.
Arthur
I believe McGee Creek is up by Lolo Pass, S of Lost Lake. Sorry, no date on the picture but perhaps someone can research Ranger Smith for an approximate date.
spinsur
Yes, McGee creek is up Lolo Pass, worked on a couple of surveying projects up there. Crosses Lolo Pass Road about two miles northeasterly of Lolo Pass itsef, down in the bottoms, with the powerlines, Ladd Creek, and Red Hill Creek. Lot’s cedar, of course no where near that size anymore, and alder, and large specimens of douglas vine maple in the creek bottoms. This was railroad logging country, all the easy grades, and thru-cuts of the present roads are railroad beds. Have found pieces of track, and a really nice six-foot long steel cook stove. Always wanted to pack that out for a BBQ side table on the patio. No one wanted to help… Rumor has it of an old locomotive still up in a draw after rolling off some track, but I could never confirm that.
Buzz
Noticed the belt and suspenders. Probably not a logger. Would guess a timber cruiser or worked on surveying crew.
Lesa
Nice big patch of Devils Club, there in front of him. Hope he had the good sense to steer clear of it.
AB
Photo probably taken right before it was cut down.
Buzz
Lesa, devils club aren’t a problem. Just let them fester for about 4 days and then pinch them and they pop right out. The good life.
spinsur
tell that to my at-the-time-young bro-in-law who had to, um, relieve himself, and thought those big leaves would make great bum fodder…
Lesa
I learned, fortunately, by the experience of others. Namely as a kid, when my older brother fell off of a log into a patch. He had countless spines stuck in him, and his clothes were ruined, and had to be discarded by my mother. Seeing his pain taught me a healthy respect for the buggers.
Tho funny enough, I have some great pictures, taken at Lost Lake, of a chipmunk, stuffing his face full of Devils Club berries. The spines on them, didn’t seem to bother him at all.
By the way does anyone now why R.E. also went by R.E. Kan Smith? I found records of his reports on forest pest infestations for the Whitman National Forest & Blue Mountains dated from 1907 – 1912. Reports were about beetle infestations and mistletoe.
Also his WW I registration card has his name as, R.E. Kan Smith. It describes him as tall, slender, with brown eyes and dark hair. b.Dec 20, 1879, and at that time he was a Federal Forest Inspector for Tongas Forest in Alaska, but his normal residence was in Portland.
Lesa
Also found his marriage record to Frances McCall Wilson March 15, 1919.
The forest records I found state he was a Federal Forest Inspector, who went out with a crew, usually of about three men. They cruised the timber for infestations and disease. They then marked the tree’s for cutting. These were piled into slash piles and burned, in late fall, after the first snow, or early spring.
l.e.
Tom Kloster has an article about McGee Creek.
http://wyeastblog.org/2008/11/29/just-75-years/
I wonder who McGee was?
Lesa
I did find an Arnold P. McGee in the 1940 census who lived in Pine Grove, along with his wife, Sarah Ellen McGee and children, Kenneth and Ruby. However he was just here working in an orchard, at that time, as a laborer, so I don’t see how a creek could be named for him?! His father, Benjamin Oscar McGee, nor any of the rest of his family ever came to Hood River, that I can find a record of. This family came from St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, to Minnesota, to Spokane, Washington and to Oregon. Arnold died in 1959 in Dallas, Polk Co.,Oregon and is buried there.
Lesa
I thought it might be someone related to past Police Chief Bob Miguel McGee, of Hood River, but he came here in 1962 from California. It is sad to know he passed away this past March at age 80. Obit in HRN
Brian
I have a hunch that McGee Creek was possibly named after W.J. McGee. I’ve not been able to dig up any concrete proof though. l.e. put on your sleuthing cap.
spinsur
Checked my copy of Oregon Geographic Names, no listing for McGee Creek.
Tom Kloster
Terrific image — I’ve only seen a few from that part of the MHNF, and most during/after logging. Here’s a wider view of the upper West Fork that the blog post linked above was taken from:
http://www.splintercat.org/PortlandHikers/1933LostLakeSouth.jpg
This is taken from the Lost Lake lookout site in 1933, and shows a steam engine heading back down from the upper extent of logging (at that time) in the McGee Creek valley. The valley to the west (right) is the Elk Creek valley, and both combine to form the West Fork HR.
These days, most people know McGee Creek by its headwaters, in the meadows below McNeil Point, but technically, a portion of what most people call "Lolo Pass Road" is actually McGee Creek Road — from where it leaves the powerline corridor all the way to Lolo Pass.
Thanks, Arthur – another terrific image brought back to life!