Former Wenachee National Forest Fire Lookout writes about his "Summer Of 42" ~ October 2006
"I was in my junior year at the University of Washington and had finally settled on a major: Speech and Speech Correction had caught my interest," relates Ham Rideout in his recently published Memoir, "Fire Watch: A summer to be remembered at the Steilico Point and Badger Mountain lookouts."
That writing project had been in the works for decades -- mostly excerpts shared with fellow writers in Steilacoom's "All My Somedays" group.
The group is facilitated by Cy Happy. Local writers such as Rideout have met at the Community Center for almost two decades, writing about highlights from their lives. "Ham" (short for Hamilton) finished the project; now he's busy promoting it.
"It's never too late," says the 84 year old author, who has been gratified by the response to his story.
"So there I sat," Ham's story continues, "awaiting my turn to make a three minute speech that covered who I was and explained what I was planning to do that summer."
After covering the first two areas, Ham says he took a deep breath and stated, "I have an offer to go to Alaska to work in a fish processing plant chow hall or work for Foss Tugboat Company as an oiler on Puget Sound. What I would rather do is work for the U.S. Forest Service on a trail crew, fighting fires, or be stationed on a lookout."
When class recessed for the day, Ham's teacher, Prof. Norman Howell, suggested that Ham might want to contact Ranger Wally Wheeler at the Wenachee National Forest.
The result? A fire lookout job that forms the backdrop for Ham's personal "Summer of 42." It's an experience that took him from atop a fire lookout station to the Marine Corps where he experienced combat duty on duty on Iwo Jima with a 60 mm mortar crew in February 1945.
At the War's conclusion, he spent 7 months in Japan on occupational duty. Ham returned to Seattle, married, and worked in retail sales before moving his family (wife Carol, and their children Cris, Jay, and Danae) to Steilacoom to work in home furnishings.
"What we found in Steilacoom," Ham says, "was even nicer than what we had in Seattle." Retiring from selling, he taught canoeing and cross country skiing for Pierce College.
Over the years, he has made many contributions to community life. Jay and his wife, Claudio, live not far from Ham.
Canoe racing (now kayak racing) at the annual end-of-July salmon bake is one that has become a town tradition. Ham's name is prominent among those race winners' names listed on the commemorative trophy that's displayed in the business of the race sponsor.
During one race, "in the 80s," Ham shared a canoe with an International Racer who showed up at the event and won all the events he and his partner entered.
At a Fort Steilacoom Run/Ride and Row Event, the race course extended from Sunnyside Beach to Chambers Creek to a buoy south of McNeil Island and back to the ferry dock. Before he and his partner had reached Chambers Creek, they were in first place and maintained a fast pace all the way.
Although Ham no longer races competitively, he continues to kayak on the Sound.
The Childrens Section of the Steilacoom Branch of the Pierce County Library is another place where Ham has made a contribution. The wing is named for Rideout's daughter, Danae, who died while rock climbing. As Ham and his wife, Carol (also deceased), looked for a way to memorialize the young woman's life, they made arrangements through the Library Foundation to honor her.
When the library facility opened in 1995, two of Danae's paintings were hung in the room. Since then, proceeds from sales of boxed note cards featuring reprints of Danae's paintings pay for an annual children's lecture series.
Proceeds from this new book also will go into Danae's Library Fund. contact Ham at 253.584.4772 for details.
The 1895 Bair Store on Lafayette Street in Steilacoom is one of Ham's favorite local hangouts. He's usually there on Friday mornings to enjoy coffee and conversation with other long-time residents.
With one book completed, he's also eager to start the next.
"From the distance of almost a half-century, as I look back at my Lookout career in the Wenatchee National Forest and with the U.S. Marine Corps," he says, "I realized how many more stories there are yet to be told." ~ Ham Rideout
To order "Fire Watch" online using your credit card
($15.25 plus 3.00 shipping)
All Proceeds go to Danae's Library Fund and
The Childrens Section of the Steilacoom Branch of the Pierce County Library
"I was in my junior year at the University of Washington and had finally settled on a major: Speech and Speech Correction had caught my interest," relates Ham Rideout in his recently published Memoir, "Fire Watch: A summer to be remembered at the Steilico Point and Badger Mountain lookouts."
