I f
Mt.
f .
By CLEVE
; Mail Tribune Staff Writer
' and
AILEEN SIMMERS
f Mail Tribune Correspondent
I Mt. Shasta, the awe-inspiring 14,162 foot giant that
decorates the center of California's Siskiyou county,
means many things to many people,
f It is world famous, but for varying reasons. To some
I it is an enjoyable winter playground, to others an oppor
i tunity for commercial gain.
I, But the mountain is perhaps most widely known for
f Its mystic quality. Religious groups around the globe
I have incorporated it into their beliefs, as sort of a great
f white God.
j- Amid all the clamor. Mt. Shasta stands alone, with
i Shastina, her second peak, nestled on her western slope.
IS Million! Yeari Old
f Peter Skene Ogden. according to history, "discover
f ed" the mountain in 1827, although legends speak of it
f many thousands of years into the past. Scientists say
it is 16 million years oid. Geologists call it a dormant
I volcano with a boiling hot sulphur spring near the base
i , of the main summit pinnacle.
Y ' The awesome beauty and enormity of the mountain
I captures the attention of authors, artists, nature lovers,
t photographers, hikers, skiers and religious groups. But
most people agree that there is something mysterious
U about Mt. Shasta. Even people with no interest in the
I occult aspects of the mountain say that it has a kind of
i magnetism about it.
I . One of the principal legends about Mr. Shasta is that
J It became the refuge of escapees from the sinking con
i,' tinent of Lemuria, or Mu as it is often called, now lying
beneath the Pacific ocean.
Inhabitant! Migrate Eastward
': According to this legend, some inhabitants of Lemuria
migrated eastward when the continent began to sink and
( made their way to Mt. Shasta, which loomed before them
; 1 to the east, seeming to be a natural haven,
jt There are said to be descendants of these Lemurians
f. living on or inside the mountain today. Some say they
inhabit a self-contained underground city eight miles
I , below the peak. Others say they live on the mountain
slopes someplace. There is supposed to be a hidden en
i - trance to the underground city somewhere on the
, mountain.
I Persons who believe in the existence of this under
ground city say that the Lemurians occasionally come
out. Some present-day residents of the city of Mt. Shasta
say they can recognize a Lemurian when he shops in
'(. town.
I An article by Edward Lanser which appeared in the
; Los Angeles Times of May 22, 1932, had this to say
j about the Lemurians:
i Seen on Various Occasions
f "The Lemurians have been seen on various occasions;
r they have been encountered in the Shasta forest, but
I '. only for a brief glimpse, for they possess the uncanny
5 secret knowledge of the Tibetan masters and, if they
desire, can blend themselves into their surroundings and
' vanish.
I "At times they came into the neighboring towns -
s tall, barefoot, noble-looking men, with close-cropped hair,
; dressed in spotless white robes that resemble in style the
f enveloping garment worn by the high-caste East Indian
j women today - to patronize certain stores.
i "Indeed, the records reveal that at one time an of-
I ficial visit was made to the city of San Francisco by a
Forest
By MAUDE ZIEGLER
Mail Tribune Correspondent
Applcgate Valley - What
does today's district ranger
f do the year around? How
does a ranger district op
erate? Offhand one might think
of a district as including
office, public camp grounds,
logging, fighting fires, and
sending out lookouts.
Actually, a ranger dis
trict does a quarter of a
million dollar business an
nually. The total budget
for Star Ranger station last
year was $260,000. This is
equal to a medium sized
business concern In south
ern Oregon.
The ranger Is dealing
with human and abstract
qualities. He is interested
in people and knows a sen
sitivity to people who work
with him and to the pub
lic. Coordinates Services
He coordinates a vast
network of services, mak
ing sure that each com
plements the other, and
that all work together in
harmony.
In an interview with staff
members at Star Rang
er station, it was pointed
out that where jobs are
concerned, the ranger must
get the right man for the
job at hand and see that
he has training for that
job.
"You wouldn't use an en
gineer in a forester's po
sition," a staff member
said. "We are very con
scious of the training pro
gram that goes on all thd
time. Five hundred man
days of training were un
der way last year. Some of
it was formal in the nature
of schools: the need for
learning and development
never ceases."
The men are expected to
seek self development, and
all promotions are competi
tive. A man is never pro
moted for the length of
years he has served, it was
said.
Works In Harmony
In seeing that each phase
of the forest service works
in harmony, it was point
ed out that "there is no
need to have an engineer
design a road if there has
been no timber sale in the
area."
The district ranter is a
public relations man.
Through the utc of press
releases, "show-mc" trips,
and talks to groups he
fC II f ,,
Shasta s Mysftk Quality
TWITCHELL
Service
keeps the public informed
nn what goes on in the dis
trict. He receives com
plaints from forest users,
and if complaints are justi
fied he corrects the fault,
and if not justified, he ex
plains why such action was
taken.
He must treat all peo
ple fairly. He also must an
swer congressional inquir
ies. The ranger is responsi
ble for organization of the
district. During the winter
months he takes a look at
the work load for the next
year. He makes an analy
sis of number of men need
ed for planned jobs and
means of getting men to fill
those jobs.
Write Description
For this he makes out
a form slating how much
work is to be done, how
many hours It takes, and if
the project is not under a
"canned" job description,
he writes a job descrip
tion. He considers the num
ber of men available, and
if more men are needed, he
1 ;:v -
Star Ranger station Ranger Neil Suttcll
i- shown above along Sturgis Ford rd..
uh;-h was rcM-edcd as part of the forest
p-s-'iStr
white-robed patriarch from the mystic village. He came
on foot with an escort of younger men to bring greetings
and assurance of goodwill upon the anniversary of the
founding of their sacred retreat in California . . ."
The article goes on to say that these same white
robed men frequently came into stores in the city of Mt.
Shasta, making purchases with gold nuggets, usually
overpaying. They were said to have large quantities of
sulphur, salt and lard and to have shown little interest
in "the gay materials and novelties of our modern civili
zation." Lanser's article alio claimed the Lemurians
donaled some of their gold nuggets to the American Red
Cross during World War I.
Statement of Existence
This same 1932 Los Angeles Times article also makes
the rather startling statement that the existence of the
Lemurians on or in Mt. Shasta was vouched for some
years before by Edgar Lucien Larkin, for many years
director of the Mt. Lowe observatory in southern Cali
fornia. "Prof. Larkin, with determined sagacity," the Times
article says, "penetrated the Shasta wilderness as far as
he could - or dared - and then, cleverly, continued his
investigations from a promontory with a powerful long
distance telescope.
"What the scientist saw, he reported, was a great
temple in the heart of the mystic village - a marvelous
work of carved marble and onyx, rivalling in beauty and
architectural splendor the magnificance of the temples of
Yucatan. He saw a village housing from 600 to 1,000 peo
ple; they appeared to be industriously engaged in the
District Ranger Has Work Throughout Year
includes In his report the
type of men needed to fit
this job.
Forms for non-professional
jobs go to the Medford
supervisor's office, and if
the work is professional the
form goes to the regional
forester's office in Port
land. A specific case prepared
this winter was the work
load analysis made of the
position of resources assis
tant, now held by Robert
Snoich. It was found that
this position held too many
functions, showing a total
of 5.76 man years of work
being done by five people.
A need was apparent of ob
taining another man to con
sume the remaining frac
tion of man years. The re
port on this detail prepar
ed by the ranger consumed
a small writing tablet, as
well as many hours of
work.
Organizational Chart
An organizational chart
was compiled, request was
made for a position classifi
cation, and a fiscal year fi
nancial plan to take care
.rM'v p'M I
service's road
program.
ftp
of the position was pre
pared. The report was sent
to the regional office, and
I lie position will not be ful
filled until July 1.
The job analysis took
the ranger five man days
to complete. Establishing
a promotion or filling a po
sition requires a similar
procedure.
The ranger is responsible
for personnel management
of the 79 summertime em
ployees. Twenty-five are
kept on the staff during the
winter. The morale of the
staff is dependent on the
ranger. It was noted that
the morale and accomplish
ed work In the Star Ranger
district are completed ac
cording to standards and
more. The fire record for
last summer was cited,
showing several fires, but
with acreage burned held
at a minimum.
The ranger corrects his
staff members and com
mends and gives promo
tions when work is well
done.
Financial Management
Financial management of
bank stabilization seeding
i- ,--:."!ijiif'-'- ' :n' .,.: r : !-A' . .. '.;,,,.':'.'..:'.- ''.',,7;
4
California's Mt. Shasta
the district is the responsi
bility of the ranger, lie sub
mits requests for money
and plans expenditure of
money appropriated by
congress. He sees that jobs
do not exceed the allotted
money. He handles 80 dif
ferent accounts resembling
the methods of household
budgeting. An example of
this budgeting is seen in the
report of 260 miles of trail
to maintain at a cost of
55,500. The money is not
sufficient, but the job is
completed and above stand
ard most of the time.
Other details of a ranger's
duties include reading,
checking, and signing of all
reports and correspondence
going out of the district
office during the course of
the year. Last January
alone had 18 separate re
ports. The ranger reads all
memos within the depart
ment where they refer to
policy. The office secre
tary types from one to two
dozen memos daily through
the year.
The ranger Is obligated
by law to manage the five
renewable resources under
multiple use and sustained
yield concept; these Include
forage, recreation, wild life,
wood, and water. The law
says no one resource has
priority over another.
Welfare of Personnel
The safety, health and
welfare of all persons on
the district are under the
ranger's supervision. Prop
er tools are supplied, and
their use is taught in train
ing and safety meetings.
As a part of the safely
program, a standard and
advanced Red Cross first
aid course was given to
20 men this winter with
Douglas Finch as the in
structor. All persons are
supplied with poison oak
preventive, and are given
prompt care by a physician
in case of accidents.
The ranger has an in
spection and control pro
gram, keeping abreast of
what his assistants are do
ing. He makes unexpected
visits to lookouts and rides
trails to sec that work !s
done to standard. He checks
timber sale administration
to see that contract require
ments arc being met.
Ranger Neil Suttell has
five assistants at Star Rang
er station to whom he del
egates much of the techni
cal work of the Applrgate
district.
Head Departments
George Berschcid is in
charge of timber manage
ment; Jack Fitch, business
management; Robert Rcid
er, engineering: Robert
manufacture of articles necessary for their consumption.
They were engaged in farming in the sunny slopes and
glens surrounding the village - with miraculous results,
judging from the astounding vegetation revealed to Prof.
Larkin's spy-glass."
Evidently this was not an underground city but one
somewhere on the surface of Shasta's slopes.
According to the bonk "The Mt. Shasta Story," by
A. K. Eichorn. Sr., published in 1057, some observers
doubted tliHt Professor Larkin ever made the statements
attributed to him. Others, however, arc reported to have
said that the professor did "accidentally" discover the
Lemurians.
The Lemurian legend has been the subject of numer
ous books and newspaper articles. Perhaps one of the
earliest books on the subject was "A Dweller on Two
Planets," written in 1186 by Frederick Spencer Oliver,
who is said to have discovered evidence of a strange race
in the Mt. Shasta area, following which he said he felt
a strange feeling come over him that prompted him to
write down a manuscript by a being named Phylos the
Thibetan.
One of the more recent articles to come out of the
Lemurian legend, according to Eichorn's "The Mt. Shasta
Story." was an article in the Oct. 30, 1955 San Francisco
Examiner (originating from the Siskiyou Daily News at
Yreka) reporting the discovery at the 11,000 foot level
of a gigantic footprint with three toes.
Another legend mentioned in Eichorn's book deals
with bells. The book quotes a journal entitled "Cali
fornia Bell Legends; A Survey" reporting that the in
Snoich, resources; Robert
Webb, fire control.
Eilch of the assistants is
responsible for keeping the
ranger informed on progress
of work either by prog
ress reports of memos. The
ranger in turn must report
to the Rogue River Nation- ,
al Forest supervisor four
times a year on progress be
ing made. This is called an
accountability report con
sisting of 10 pages. The su
pervisor then reports to the
regional forester's office
in Portland.
In addition to these as
sistants there are three pro
fessional (graduate) for
esters on the staff. They
arc Wallrr Bennett, Joe
Genre, and Kenneth Mey
er. There arc three engineer
ing technicians. They are
Logan Evans, Kenneth Pcr
rcard, and Donald Wyatl.
The four forestry techni
cians are Jack Crump, Joe
Jewell, Donald Moulton,
and Pete Purricr.
Fire Control Technician
Fire control technician is
Ben Twiss, and the super
Inspecting rangeland In the Applcgate
distrirt of Rogue River National (rirest are.
Features Spoils
medford jjffiTRiBUNE
SFCTION B MEDFORD. OREGON, SUNDAY, MARCH 3. 1983 PAGE 1 In
visory fire control aide Is
Francis (Pete) Gregory.
The three fire control
aides are Dave Hopfcr, Bu
ford Wcls, and Hal Von
Slein. John Henderson is
a forestry aide.
Mrs. John Henderson is
office secretary. All of the
personnel are full time
civil service employees.
During the winter the
ranger annually makes an
appraisal of the previous
year's work, and plans the
training program for the
coming year. In winter, the
men arc engaged in scaling,
maintenance of buildings,
construction of camp
grounds, limber sale ap
praisal, and road designing,
The ranger's assistants
arc delegated the authority
to make decisions In accor
dance with regulations, but
the responsibility and ac
countability for work prog
ress and policy decision
rests with the ranger.
Example of Decisions
As an example of these
decisions is the question of
putting a logged clear-cut
on a hillside visible from a
habitants of a city called Yaklayvia underneath the
mountain created bells with a sound so mighty that it
was able to move vast masses of rock within the moun
tain and hollow out room for the city.
Still another Mt. Shasta legend concerns t'.c "Little
People." An article by Eugene H. Drake of Los Angeles,
for instance, reports that the writer encountered during
1951 and 1952 large numbers of tiny beings who had the
ability to appear or disappear at will.
The Mt. Shasta area today Is occupied by a number
of groups with various beliefs about the mountain - t
among them the "I Am" group, Rosicrucians and others.
Following are the results of interviews with a number
of individuals connected with these organizations:
Lemuriani She Knowi
Mrs. Mildred Coleman, a Rosicrucian, tells of the
Lemurians that she knows live in the mountain. They
come to town, but remain incognito. She tells of the
Ascended Masters who have a mammoth temple under
the mountain at the 12,000 foot level. The mountain it
referred to as God's Mountain - one of His shrines
The temple was hewn out by spiritual labor.
' She says Lemuria is due to rise and the ocean will
come in. The coast range will be leveled. Safety for the
people lies within a ten mile radius of the mountain.
Miss Ruth Light joined the "I Am" religious activity
in 1932. She tells of the founder of the organization,
Guy W. Ballard, being sent to the Mt. Shasta area by a
mining concern 30 years ago, and of his encountering
St. Germaine at a mountain spring one day while he
was hiking on the trails of McCloud River valley, seek
ing peace and inspiration.
An electric current went through his body when St.
Germaine spoke and gave to him a cup of the Water of
Life. Thus was born the "I Am" Activity. This group
refers to rcimbodiment, rather than reincarnation as do
the Rosicrucians of this vicinity. To conquer self is the
group's goal as well as to project light, to bless, to heal
and to prosper. The annual "I Am" pageant, staged in
the huge outdoor amphitheater in Mt. Shasta, draws
visitors from all over the world.
Extra Sensory Perception
The Great White Brotherhood believes in extra
sensory .perception and metaphysics. Its members de
clare that there is nrfdeath and lose all fear of it, feeling
that there is a survival of human entity after death of
the body. They too have a great affinity to the mysterious
power of Mt. Shasta. 1
Whatever their tastes, beliefs or traditions, all these
organizations embrace the mysticism of the mountain
and it's Lemurians or whatever inhabitants are there.
Appear As Earth People
According to one source, Lemurians appear as earth
people. To another source they are seven feet tall with
extra large heads and long arms, with a marble like
skin covered bump in the middle of their foreheads, a
third eye which enables them to sense the presence of
earth people long before the earth people know they are
around, and do disappear at will.
In every book written about tribes of Indians living
in the area around Mt. Shasta, mentioned always is the
mystic, strange atmosphere of the mountains.
In all the religious organizations that have sprung
up in the region of the great white mountain, myster
ious powers arc attributed to it. Lights arc seen on its
lowering sides, bells ring, strange occurances which can't
be explained take place. Some persons make yearly
pilgrimages and many others have moved to the area to
make their homes in Us shadows.
recreation road. The rang
er decides that the clear,
cut is permissible if It is
small or is screened from
view.
Another decision may
come in the probability of
two road sites, each ac
ceptable from a financial
standpoint. The ranger dis
cards one location because
it would mar a recreation
site. Such decisions are
made the year around, and
many are in the planning
stage now.
Winter weather this
year has permitted the
ranger to visit many of the
mountain ureas to be con
sidered for projects. In
other cases, reports may be
received from foresters who
have been In Ihc area.
Depend on Financial
Plans made now are de
pendent upon available fi
nancing, and reports on
this are not forthcoming
until the beginning of the
fiscal year July 1. If the
money is not available the
ranger reshapes his plana.
The spring work sched
ule, including maintenance
left to right, Mike Mcrricklc, Ed Finley,
Paneer Neil Suttcll nd Bruce Merricklc.
and tree planting, begins in
March.
Snow surveys in Jale
winter occupy some of the
personnel for a time, and
arc made for the soil con
servation service, one uf
the federal agencies with
which the forest service co
operates. Measurement of
snow depth and water con
tent each year permits a
forecast of the summer's
water supply.
Snow Measurements were
made this winter by Joe
Genre and Dave Hopfer,
who made the trips this
year without Bnowshocs. In
years of normal snowfall
the Tucker Sno-Cat Is used
to reach the courses.
Shows Great Interest
The public shows great
interest in all branches of
the forest service. One indi
cation of this is the number
of people who stop at the
log scaling station at Little
Applcgate. Some inquire as
to the meaning of "seal
Ing," so to make the nature
of the work apparent to
motorists, the sign at the
station has been changed to
read "log measuring" in
stead of "scaling."
Many inquire about fish
ing and hunting and seek
knowledge on plants, trees,
rocks and flowers. Some
ask, "What do we do if we
find a fire?"
Star Ranger station per
sonnel say that these ques
tions are gratifying, and
they encourage people to
ask questions. The ranger is
In demand In public speak
ing, particularly at schools.
Available For Fires
Men and equipment arc
available for house fires
even in the winter.
A good many people
working In the district arc
making forestry work their
careers.
In order to qualify as a
district ranger one must
have four years of college,
including technical forestry
subjects and related social
sciences. He needs to have
4 to 10 years of experience
In some branch of the field.
After college. Ranger
Suttell started in fire con
trol as a lookout, next be
coming a fire patrolman
and forestry aide. Ho
served as an engineer for
private Industry for a time,
then went into timber man
agement work, which in
cluded - engineering, fire
control, conservation, and
study of wild life. Eight
years after college gradu
ation he was promoted to
the position of district ran
ger and was sent to the
Applegate.