Forestry News & Views: 100 years of forestry in Minnesota

The DNR has published a 104-page pictorial history of early logging in Minnesota and the history of the state forest service. The book, “Connected to Our Roots,” is available at the Minnesota Book Store, 660 Olive St., St. Paul MN 55155. I also think they can be purchased at area Forestry Offices.

As I have served as a Minnesota forester (mostly county) starting about the mid-term of the 100-year history. I find the book very interesting. Ten of the 14 forestry directors serving the division for the past 100 years were active during my period of duty. In fact, William Aultfahter, serving as director from 1969 to 1973 was a classmate in 1951 when we attended the Cloquet Forest Experimental Station.

Since most readers of “Forestry News & Views” will not buy the book, I will provide comments on some of the forest history covered by this book.

In 1903, the school of forestry opened at the University of Minnesota eight years before the establishment of the state forest service. Most of the graduates of that time entered the U.S. Forest Service. In 1909, the Cloquet Forest Experimental Station opened. Attending a tour of the Forest Experimental Station, it was remarked that many of the 100-year old trees at the station would now be considered “old growth” and preservationists may not want to have them cut.

I see by the exams given in 1922 and 1936 for employment by the state forest service, a person had to have a broad education in land cruising, mapping, English, math and general science. The pay of $100 a month seemed rather high in 1911 as in 1941 Aitkin County was still only paying $5 a day for timber cruisers.

In 1911 forest patrolman were often offended by the local rural population as they didn’t like outsiders telling them when to and not to burn. Even in the 1950s some rural citizens didn’t like college-educated foresters coming to their counties attempting to manage local forests.

The book predominately presents the early pictorial history of fires in Minnesota, both before and after the Cloquet fire of 1918, and the Baudette-Spooner fires of 1910. The book summarizes the early attempt to control fires with nothing but shovels to the development of helicopters, aircraft, and modern rural fire departments and state equipment.

One of the major mission of the Division of Forestry is still to prevent and control forest fires. Without forest fire control any forest management activity, such as planting and harvesting trees, would be useless. The protection of towns and homes in the forest areas is also a very important to people living in the areas.

What was remarkable in Cloquet fire of 1918 was the rapid recovery of a town of 9,000 where virtually every home and building in the town was replaced within 12 years. Being born in Cloquet in 1924, and at the age of 6 — 12 years after the fire — there was no evidence remaining of the destructive fire. In the fifth of six grades at school, we always had some elder eye witness of the fire speak to our class. To us the fire almost seemed unreal and was boring to hear about it every year.

Apparently the federal government that owned the railroad at that time was held responsible for the Cloquet fire and many home owners received payment for their loss. My grandfather, Henery Pitt, moved to Cloquet after the fire to build homes. The large house we lived in on Carlton Avenue was probably built in 1920 over a smaller basement of a former house.

Many of the homes built during that period were built over smaller basements. This resulted in basements having old inner walls and larger outer foundation walls with dirt filling the voids between.

Ridlington was a forester in Aitkin County from 1957 to 1980 and district forester in Park Rapids for seven years.