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Wednesday, July 27, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Local author loves the outdoors
By Erin Borla
Correspondent
Roger Blain has lived his
life in love with nature and all
that it has to offer. After years
working for the National Park
Service as a park ranger and
any other job he could find
that would keep him outside
and teaching others about
nature and wildlife — he has
written a children’s book,
“Why Salmon Cry.”
“Why Salmon Cry” was
self-released this past month,
It is a story told from the per-
spective of a Native American
boy hearing the legend of the
salmon migration as told by
his grandfather.
“I used to guide interpre-
tive tours and fishing expe-
ditions up near Olympic
National Park and I remem-
ber always being curious
about the journey of the fish,”
Roger said. “I would catch a
salmon in the river and won-
der what their life was like
before we harvested them.”
Blain has a lifetime of
observing nature, which fur-
ther inspired his decision to
write his book. His love affair
with the outdoors began at an
early age.
“I failed first grade,” he
recalled. “All I wanted to do
was be in nature — I spent
days in the creek behind the
school catching minnows
and crawdads instead of the
classroom.
“The future is with the
children,” he said. “There is
so much controversy over
wild salmon; so many runs
are endangered. I hope with
this book to inspire children
to care about wild salmon —
so maybe there is hope for
them in the future.”
In November of 2014,
while living outside Olympic
National Park in Washington,
Roger was diagnosed with
ALS, commonly called Lou
Gehrig’s Disease. Close fam-
ily friends Jennifer and Hal
Boley, whom they met when
working at Sequoia National
Park, had recently moved to
Sisters and invited Roger and
his wife Leslie down to share
Thanksgiving with them after
Roger’s diagnosis. The cou-
ple decided to move to Sisters
after that brief visit.
Roger and Leslie met
on a blind date in Virginia
at the drive-in in 1966. The
two were married in 1968.
Blain did a brief stint in the
U.S. Army, where he served
in Korea. It was the only
time the two were apart. The
couple spent time hiking and
bicycling through Europe
and North Africa including
Algeria and Tunisia in the
early 1970s — then a variety
of odd jobs around the mid-
Atlantic coast before Roger’s
perfect job happened upon
him.
It was when Roger was
working in an Outdoor Store
in Fairfax, Virginia, that his
dreams finally came true. He
had wanted to be a National
Park ranger as long as he
could remember, but he could
never get in the door to get a
job.
One day a park ranger
came in to purchase climbing
equipment, and then was back
in the store a few days later.
“I just asked him — how
do you get to be a park ranger?
I’ve never been able to get in
the door,” he recounted.
The ranger was a super-
intendent at Great Falls
National Park. He quickly
got Roger an application and
then a seasonal position at the
park. Not long after, Leslie
also got a position at the park.
The seasonal position became
permanent and Roger transi-
tioned to Chesapeake & Ohio
Canal (C&O) National Park,
a 185-mile ribbon park along
the Potomac River.
Roger’s story is certainly
one of persistence and never
giving up. Soon after he tran-
sitioned to C&O, the National
Parks Service announced 38
jobs nationally for supervi-
sory rangers. He applied, but
didn’t get an interview.
“After I didn’t get an inter-
view, I called Washington,
D.C. I wasn’t whining, I just
wanted to know what I could
do to improve,” he said.
A clerical error had not
listed him as a permanent
employee; once the error
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was corrected he received
an interview. Over 4,000
people applied for the 38
jobs offered, 400 were
interviewed.
“After my interview, I
found out I didn’t get the job,”
he said. “I was so depressed.
I called Washington D.C.
again, just to find out how
I could improve. I was put
on hold and then asked
‘would you like Yosemite or
Sequoia?’ I was so happy, I
was walking on clouds. It’s
true, never give up on your
dreams.”
I would catch a
salmon in the river
and wonder what their
life was like before we
harvested them.
— roger Blain
Blain and his wife
spent two years at Sequoia
National Park where the
United States Christmas Tree
stands in Grant’s Grove —
not in Washington D.C. as
many people would believe.
The Blains then moved to
Everglades National Park,
where Roger oversaw over
one million acres; then to
Acadia National Park in
Maine, where they opened
the Raptor Rehab Center and
Roger mastered the art of
falconry.
photo by erin borla
after a National Parks career, roger Blain has become an author.
In 1993 the Blains transi-
tioned back to Sequoia fol-
lowed by their final move
for the National Park Service
to Olympic National Park.
Throughout his career Roger
served as a naturalist, law
enforcement officer, emer-
gency medical tech, search
and rescue team member,
and firefighter — all with the
same job title.
After Roger’s diagnosis
and their Thanksgiving trip to
Sisters the couple decided to
make another move.
“I got back to Olympic
and knew what I wanted to
do,” said Roger. “I wanted to
move to Sisters.”
“Everyone has been so
great here,” said Leslie. “We
love going out and experienc-
ing the beauty; we’ve been
to the head of the Metolius
several times, became mem-
bers at the High Desert
Museum, and are looking for-
ward to more adventures in
nature.”
“Why Salmon Cry” is
available directly through
Roger and Leslie for $16.95
by emailing crittermom48@
yahoo.com. Wholesale oppor-
tunities are also available.
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