Georgia forestry, Vol. 8, no. 3 (Mar. 1955)

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georgia

GEORGIA FO RESTRY

Editorial

New. .foolz d/-M d/-iYU!4i4

(From t h e Val dosta Dai l y Times)

Th e Georgia forests are cen t uries old but they a re fast acquiring a ''new look".

T he Georgia forests c onta i n enough sawtimber to bu i ld several million fra me dwellings.

Ov e rhead forester-airmen spray them with 1nsecticides , and are vigil ant for fire. Among the trees move strange machines. And in the forest I a by r i n t h , sci en t i s t s wi t h al l their n ew devices a r e hard at work .

Th e cumu lative result

of thes e ac tivities is t h a t

in spit e of the ceas e le s s

drain f o r wood an d wood

produ cts, n e t annua l g rowth

of th e Ge or gia forests n o w

excee ds c ommo dity r emo val

1n by

percen t. Th is i s th e

outstanding omen for the

future o fGeorgia's South-

ern Pine indu stry.

These figures may seem f antastic, but the Georgia lumbermen are bent on ac h ieving even higher goals.
Nor are they content with present measures however effective the results~ In con j unction with other agenc1es, they are condu c ting studies in the field of forest genetics, with the ultimate objective of developing a strain of "super" trees that will grow almost anywhere and which will yield wood produ cts even superior to the fine ones coming out today.

Vol. 8

GEORGIA FORESTRY
1\larch, 1955 Published Monthly
by the GEORGIA FORESTRY COl\ll\liSSIO~.
State Capitol, Atlanta, Georgia Guyton DeLoach, Director

No.3

Members, Board of Commissioners:

K. S. Varn, Chairman ---------------- ------------------------------------------------Waycross

Sam H. Morgan ___ ____ ___ Savannah

C. M. Jordan, Jr. _________________Alamo

John M. McElrath ___________ Macon

H. 0. Cummings________Donalsonville

Georgia Forestry is entered as second class matter at the Post Office under the Act of Au~;ust 24, 1912. Member of the Georgia Press Association.

E DI TOR _

* *____*____ *_ ___ _______ _Richard E. Davis

AS SOCIATE EDITO RS _ __ _ Robert Rutherford, Catherine Dismuke

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DISTRICT OFFICES, GEORGIA FORESTRY COMMISSION:

DISTRICT 1-Route 2, Statesboro

DISTRICT VI-P. 0. Box 505, Milledgeville

DISTRICT 11-P. 0. Box 26, Camilla

DISTRICT VII-Route 1, Rome

DISTRICT III-P. 0. Box 169, Americus

DISTRICT VIII-P. 0. Box 811, Waycross

DISTRICT IV-P. 0. Box 333, Newnan

DISTRICT IX-P. 0. Box 416, Gainesville

DISTRICT V-P. 0 . Box 328, McRae

DISTRICT X-P. 0. Box 302, Washington

Another First
(From the Vidalia Advance)
Figures for 1953, recent-
ly released, show that Georgia led the South that year in lumber production. The state's
production amounted to 2,240, 000,000 board feet. This was an i n c r e as e o f 1 59 , 00 0 , 000
board feet over th e previous year.
The production of s oftwoods was far larger than other
kinds, amounting to 1,917,000, 000 board feet . This was a gain of 176,000,000 board feet over 1952.
Income from forest products industries in Georgia now
amounts to $750,000,000 annually Since 1948 Georgia has led the
South in the production of pulpwood and has expanded its naval stores production.
Today forest products indu s tries in the state employ
175,000,000 per s ons compared with 120,000,000 in 1948.
This growth of the for e st industries is starking i llnsstration of the tremendous strides Georgia is making.
The atomic age finds foresters also probing into the unknown and planning for a brighter era in timber production. One such project now underway in Georgia is the development of superior trees through the grafting of twigs from selected trees to the stems of superior seedlings.
Here Dr. Bratislav Zak, Macon Research Center Project Leader, seals a graft while the backdrop of genetics Chines~ suggests that physicists are not the only ones who delve in symbols and mystics to find solutions.

MARCH, 1955
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Nurseries
Complete
Shipping

With Georgia Forestry Commission nurse ries approaching the e nd of the 1954-' 55 forest tree seedling s hipping season, nursery superintendents r e ported lll,n01,404 seedl ings have been s hipped t hu s far from the four Commission nu rseries. It is expected that by the time final inventories will have been made, total nursery shipments will come to approximately 114 or 115 mill ion seedlings.

Highest production was re-

corded at Davisboro Nursery in

Washington County. There , ac-

cording to Superintenden t Mack

Neal, 35,568,781 seedlings

have thus far been shipped .

Hightower Nursery in Dawson

County, which provides the

majority of forest tree seed-

1ings shipped to the North

Georgia area, had shipped

19,093,050 seedlings by the

clcse of February, according

t o Superintendent

Buster

Harris.

Veteran Nursery Superin ten dent W. E. Murphy reported s hipments thus far at the Herty Nursery near Albany have totalled 26,393,208 seedlings; and the Commission' s newest nursery, Horseshoe Bend, in South Georgia's Wheel er County, has shipped 30, 546 ,365 seedlings. J. K. Jone s is Superintendent of Horseshoe Bend nursery.

Most Of Georgias Plants

Utilize Forest Products

More than half of Georgia's manufacturing plants are engaged in making lumber and lumber products; and the state now is t hi rd 1 n t h e S o u t h a n d f i f t h i n th e n a t i on i n t he number of firms manufactur1ng su c h p r o d u c t s
Th e s e fa c t s , rep o r t e d 1n a recent survey issued by the U. S. Department of Commerce, cited the high position whi ch Georgia now holds in the lumber manua c t u r i n g wo rl d.
The repo r t showed that 3,500 of 6,n00 manufacturing industries in the State were engaged in the manufacture of lumber and lumber products. The only states wi t h more 1 umbe r firms were New York, with 4,100; North Carolina, with 3,700; California, with 3 , 7 0 0; and 0 r ego n , 4, 10 0.
In other manufacturing operations, Georgi a was listed as having 800 food

plants, nOO e ngaged in tex-
tile, apparel and 1 eather activities, 600 in printing and publi shing, 400 in the manufacture of metals and itsproducts and 700 others.
Georgia's high rate of lumber manufacturing helped con tr i b u t e t o w a r d t h e state's third place ranking in the South and thirteenth in the United States in the n urn be r o f m an u fa c t u r i n g plants now in operation.
The tabulations were issued by the Commerce Department's Office of Business Economics in Washi~g ton. They credited Georgi a with a total of 6,n00 manufacturing plants. This was exceeded on 1 y by No r t h Carolina's 7,400 and Texas' 10 , 20 0 i n t h e So u t h , a n d those of Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Wiscons1n, and California elsewhere in the nation.

WOOD IS RAW MA'lliRIAL FOR MAJORI'IY OF GEORGIA PIANTS--Lmnber mills such as these are among the 3500 plants in the state which use wood
as raw material and serve as the basis of a $750 million industry.

Slash and loblolly p1ne once again proved the most popular of the species. The four nurseries have shipped 84,905,923 slash pine and 2 4,8 97,501) loblolly.

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GEORGIA FORESTRY
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Newton Demonstration

" Growing t r ees fo r bi gger pro f its'' was the theme of a Ne wton c oun ty forest r y demons tr ation last month in which mor e t han 75 citizens from that area were shown latest me thods of good woodlot management.
Held on the farm of Robert McGiboney nort h of Oxford, the demonstrat ion feat ur ed tal k s a n d p r esentat ion s by pe r s onn e l o f the Fou rth Di s trict Offi ce , Ge orgia Forest ry Canmi ss ion, a nd by Newton Count y Ran ge r Carl Denni s .
Count y Age nt W. H. McKinne y was mas te r o f ceremoni es .

of p u lp wood and left 170 trees pe r a c r e on the area to produce additional tree crops i n t he futu re .
J o hn Hammond, Farm Forester , Georgia Forestry Commiss ion, des c ribed the thinning ope ration and told how services of th e Commission's 10 farm foresters can be obtained free of charge for planting, insect and di s ease, and marketing advi ce and for marking.
District Forester Curtis Barne s conducted a hardwood e radi cation demonstration and pointed out the statewide probl e m in cull hardwoods exi s ting today. Seve r n] methods of hardwood eradi cation were shown.

Th e d e mon stra tion l e ade r s e arli e r had thinne d one t e nth o f an ac r e o f for es tland on t he McGibon e y f a rm. Th e thinnin g , p e rf o rm e d on a s tand appr o xi mate 1 y 28 y ea r s o 1d, y i e 1de d 19 co r d s p e r a r r e

R. Wayne Manning, Assista nt Distri c t Fore s ter in char ge of fire control, and Ran ge r De nni s c ondu c t e d a plan t in g d e mon s tration anJ desc rib e d bes t method s of plantin g.

Waycross Bank
To Honor Pine
"The bank that pine trees built," the First National Bank of Waycross, will honor the tree that has been its source of strength and growth during many years.
On a s pecially reserved plot on the parking lot the bank has planted and will keep growing a selected Slash Pine which will stand through the years as a symbol of the jobs, payrolls, commerce and economic power that is embodied in the pinelands of Ware County and Southeast Georgia.
The honors will be extended in ceremonies to take place at th e bank on March 22 in which the growing tree will be formally unveiled and dedicated.
Prin c ipal speaker for the occasion will be Guyton DeLoa ch, Director of the Georgia Forestry COmmis s ion.

DEMONST!t/'dlON SCENES--Curtis Barues, Uistrict Forester ot the Georg ia Fo r estry Commission's Newnan office, (left photo), tells Newton County citizens how rapidly trees grow in their area when wild f ire is kept out and good forest management methods are used. Farm Fo r es ter John Hammond, (right photo), shows spacing: of tree .:;
rings to i llustrate how good cutting releases tree-. for more rapid ~
growth .

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DEDICATION SCENESMuscogee County officials, (photo at left), get acquainted with some of the leaders of the Junior Rangers Club. The group in cludes, left to right, Billy Logan, County Commissioner Roy Waller Sr., Chief Lloyd Booth, of ~1Us
I~ Ranrrn etub. cogee County Volunteer Fire Department, and Donald

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Ellis. Mrs. Virginia Waddell, (right photo) , smashes a bottle of Chattahoochee River water against the new building in dedication cerermnies. Looking on, left to right, are ttanger Floyd cook, Donald Ellis, Forestry Board Chairman Fred 11. Schomberg, and District Forester Olin \H therington.
dltuf/.te ~ecJicdeJ

Country music, barbecue, and a rousing tribute to the Chattahoochee Valley citizens who made possible the Smokey Bear Junior Forest Ranger Club and Camp highlighted ceremonies dedicating the organization's new club house in Muscogee County last month.
Tribute also was paid Ranger Floyd M. Cook and his Muscogee County Forestry Unit personnel, who, between fighting fires in the county and performing the many other tasks which fall upon a County Unit, found time to construct the building and to organize the club- - only one of its kind 1n the Southeast.
Mrs. Virginia Waddell, who donated the land on which the structure was built as well as some of the surroundin g forestland which will serve as a ''workshop'' for the Junior Rangers, also received tribute at the event and was present to open the clubhous e officially by smashing a bot t1 e of the Chattahoochee Ri ver 1 s ''clearest and coldest'' against the building.

ger Cook introduced guests and read a list of 100 firms and individuals- - some as far away as mid-Alabama--which had donat ed materials for the camp.
District Forester 01 in Witherington, of Americus, expressed appreciation of the Georgia For estry Commission for the interest taken in forestry activities by citizens of the Chattahoochee Valley. The District Forester described services provided by the Commission and told of future plans of the Commission in the Valley area.
Television p e rformer "Spec" Wright and his band provided mus1c, and barbecue was furnished by the Muscogee County Volunteer Fire Fight ers organ-

ization, under dir ection o f Chief Lloyd Rooth. Be n Parsons, of WRPL TV, wa s ma s ter of ceremonies .
The building includes a long room equipp e d with livin g room furnitur e and is l a r ge enough for at l east 25 co ts , a kitchen, two bathrooms, a shower room, storage room s and an office.
The Muscoge e County Junior Forest Ranger or g anization wa s formed 18 month s ago. Memb e r s carry out mode rn-d ay fo r estry practices. A summer camp 1s plann e d, du r in g which f o r estry courses will be taught and junior for est rangers will be given practica l i nstru c tion in v2.nou s phases of fo re st ry .

COUNTRY TUNES--PLENTY OF BARBEaJE--Spec Wright and his boys , (l eft photo), provide music as Hanger Floyd Cook, right photo , se r ves barbecue. In the "receivin g" I in e are Mrs. Virginia \\addel l and Bobby Wi lsoo.

Th e Rev . Ernest M. AI tman delivered the invocation. Ran-

To Fish, Sleep .1\nd Eat

t;~ 1f/. ~D994 ~tUVYted 'It ~et~
?l/te~t IK ~ea!W Se'Wtee 1n i1ttxp( etut~tt~

1. Floyd County' s "1\'lr. Forest Fire Protection," Ranger G. W. Boggs, has headed the Floyd Fbrestry Unit since its inception 18 %years ago.
2. Ranger Boggs starts up a tower ladder to check with his towerman. No smoke must go unchecked in Floyd County.
3. THE BOGGS TEAM AT WORK--Mr. and Mrs. Boggs shown in their ~sual day' s work as they check re~orts and records.

When George Washin g ton Boggs ''Mr. Forest Fire Protection of Floyd County'' by reputation, steps down next month from the position of County Forest Ranger, he will make the last entry in an outstanding 18 and one-half year record of service to his community and s tate , and de votion to a conservation cause that always has, and always will, burn intensely within him.
His retirement also will mark the first carried out under prov1.s1.ons of the newly installed retirement system of the Georgia Forestry Commission. It is fittin g that this should be true, for he also was the first Forest Ranger to head the Floyd County Unit when it was or ganized as the first County Forestry Unit in the state to operate purely as a single county entity.
As Mr. B('ggs announced his retirement, Cl.Vl.c, forestry and agricultural 1eaders, his associates and co-workers, and many citizens and 1andowners, joined in praising his years of service, his leadership in ores t conservation,
and unfailing 1oyal t y to the

job - a job l.n which he has fought more than 7,000 fires, traveled more than a quarter million miles by vehicle (another 10,000 by foot, he says, much of it almost straight up and down), and directed the actl.Vl.tl.es of nearly a hundred permanent employees. He never has had an automobile accident during his entire period of service.
The years of Mr. Boggs' service have seen many revolutionary advancements in fire protection and forestry activities of the Commission and the county units. In fact,durl.ng these years, he has seen state forestry grow from struggling infancy as a shoestring operation to the giant of today.
It was the cold day of No-
vember 1, 1936, that Mr. Boggs
stepped in to the ' 'harness' ' of Forest Ranger at the fabulous salary of $50 a month, out of which he furnished his own car as transportation and also provided a worker from his farm as the other half of the fire crew. ''Payments on my car and washing machine
came to $44'' he relates, ''so
by the time I bought gas, I wasn't making much money.''

Boggs was f orced to farm for a li ving, and in order to speed up his atta ck on fires ne ri gged a siren on his 1ou se . When he and his assistan t were in the field, Mrs. ~ggs , upon receiving word of a fire , would sound the siren, and Mr. Boggs and his assis-
an t would double time to the ~ ouse and start for the fire.

Tel ling of the trials and

t ri bu lations - many trials and

f ew tribulations

of the

early years of the Floyd Unit,

t he Ranger says the usual

quest ion was not ''Where's

t he f ire?" but "Where's the

Horst fire?" The utter in-

~ de qu acy of the men and equip-

men t, coupled with the absence

o f volunteer help, made it im-

po ss ible to promptly attack

all fires.

Duri ng his first two years
l S Ranger, the County Unit b ead made a c ompl e te house-
(Con t i nued on Page 9 )
~. The re are 37 years of service to forestry represented! here. Mr. and Mrs. Boggs ~mi le happily as they reflect upon what ave been "t he lJest years of our lives."

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6. 1946--The Floyd County
equipment here posed with

Unit shows its manpower forestry supporter Dean

and mobile Covington,

extreme left, owner of WROM and WROM-TV. Others from left are

.11111r

Boggs, Herman Shelley, and Milton at extreme right is Patrolman H.

ROlan, former F. .Salmon.

employees,

and

~ 7. TODAY' S 20TH CENTURY SUPPRESSION EQUIPMENT--Tractor-and plow suppression units are used by the Fl~d Unit to provide the most efficient fire suppression. Pictured with the vehicles are standing, left to right, Ranger Boggs, Patrolman Salmon, and Dispatcher W. H. Hardin. Kneeling are Patrolman Bill Lawson, and Tractor Operator Joe Yrung.



His farm home in Texas Val-

ley doubled as headquarters -

there were no telephones or

towers, and two rakes and two

hand pumps constituted his en-

tire allowance of equipment.

Mrs. Bo gg s served as dispatch-

er at no remuneration

a

''job'' she held for nl.ne

years.

As a fledgling Ranger, Mr.

UNIQUE PLANTER ATTACHMENT ASSURES CORRECT SPACING FOR SEEULINGS--Chattooga tree farmers using one of the county's mechanical tree planters are greatly aided in properly spacing seed1ings by the "wheel and bell attachment" constructed and placed in use under the direction of Forest Ranger J. B. \\hite. The assembly, which is joined to the rear of the planter, consists of a wheel, be II and spring knocker, tripper arm, and attachment arm. The wheel is of such diameter as to make the bell ring when struck by the spring knocker which has been first engagedbYthe tripper ann secured to a spoke of the rotating wheel. lhe distance traveled by the planter during the interval between bell signals is the spacing des ired. Each time the bell sounds the uersons on the planter insert a seedling. In top photo, \\hite and Joe \\il ey, of the SCS, denonstrate use of the spacer. In center photo, White 'boin ts out how tripper ann engages SITing knocker and rings the bell. Sideview in lower photo shows arrru1gement of parts of automatic soacing device.

SPA Meets
April 4-6
Many Georgia retail and whol esa l e lumbermen, wood workers, supply dealers, home builders and foresters are expected to be among those atte nding the Southern Pine Association's fortieth annual convention at New Orleans April 4-G.
Accomplishments 1n quality improvements and cost reductions will highlight this year's session, according to S. P. Deas, Association Secretary Manager.
Progress in mechanical ef ficiency will rece1ve special attention. Major technological developments and other measures which helped produce a five per cent increas e in demand for Southern Pine lumber 1n 1q 5 4 wi 11 be rev i ewe d . Th e best tools in the industry's arsenal will be on display at a logging and sawmill machinery exposition to be held at New Orleans' Municipal Auditorium.

MARCH, 1955

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Rangers In The News

The part carelessness plays In fires was vividly demonstrated ~ at a recent forestry camp in Richmond County for Negro Boy Scouts of the GeorgiaCarolina Council, according to Forest Ranger T. M. Strickland. Failure of the boys to bank a campfire carefully before going to bed resulted In the fire's burning up a tent, several blankets, clothing and food. Tenth District personnel of the Georgia Forestry Commission instructing at the camp reported the incident mad e a strong irrpression on the boys in making them realize the need for care in extinguishing and banking campfires.
A similar camp was held for white troops of the Council. Instructors were District Investigator Tom Shelton, Farm Forester John Hammond, and Ranger Strickland. Ten thousand trees were planted at both camps .

Safety techniques in highway vehicles and with forest fire suppression equipment highlighted a meeting 1ast month of Forest Rangers of District Seven The meeting was held at the Floyd COunty Courthouse in Rome.

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FIRE DANGEK SIGN--Wilkes county citizens easily can learn the forest fire danger rating in their county by looking at a new "danger barorreter" at Washington, Ga. Assistant Histrict Ibrester 1\. R. Randall insrlects the newly erected signboard. Wilkes County itanger T.II. Eullard determines the fire danger reading at noon daily and .::lmnges the sign a,r:conlingly.

REFORESTATION AID IN COWETA--J. R. Jlaymes and Lamar Uaymes ( driver), plant pine seedlings on the Arnold ~iills property in Coweta County as A.P. \\ells, (left), of the First National Bank, and Jimmy Lang, of the ~Ianufacturers National Bank, look on. The machine is one of two new planters purchased by the two banks for use of Coweta County farmers. Ranger E. P. Eubanks Jr., supervises scheduling of the machines, which are kept at the Coweta Co mty Forestry Unit. The Ranger pointed out there are 20,000 acres of idle land in CowPta County in need of reforestation.

Investigator Bob Gore emphasized the necessity of safety in handling equipment. He also advised rangers on locating persons setting fires and de- scribedhow charges are brought aga i n s t t h e m. S g t . Wi I 1 i am Goodwin, of the Georgia State Patrol, gave the Ran gers tests on vision and drivin g ability.

GEORGIA FORESTRf 9

Qeo.~r;ta BP'W

PkntUu; Plot
More than 75 members of the Ge or gi a Fe derat i on of Pu s i ness an d Pro fess ional Women gathered l ast mon t h at Ve t e r ans' Me morial Park In Cri sp County fo r dedication of a five- a c r e "Ge org ia BPW pl ot".

Norman R_. Haw} ey, head of the Geo r ge \Val ton Expe rimental Forest, U. S. Fore s t Service, Cordele, addre ssed the group, 1auding Georgia's business and professional women for the "out s tandin g part you have played in the field of forest conservation".
Mr s . Rosebud McCormick, memb e r s hip c hairman and vice
pre si de nt of the Georgia BPW Fed e r at ion, explained that during the past year pine seedlin gs have been planted at many are a s in the state where t he organ i zation's local clubs were l oc a t ed. Clubs had planted on e s e e dlin g for each member.

I
San ford P. Darby
Dar by Named
Acting Chief
Sanford P. Darby Jr., forme r Re fares ta tion Fie} d Assistant, h as been named Ac ting 01ief of Re for es ta t ion of th e Georgia Fore s try Commi ss ion.
A nativ e of ~ avannah, Mr. Da rby i s a g raduate of the Unive r s i t y of Georgia Schoo] of Fo r est ry, and formerly worked wit h Ga ir ~oodland s , Inc. and t he At omi c Ene r gy Commi ss ion.

(Continued from Pa ge 6)
to-house canvass of all rural areas of the county, explaining in detail the purposes of his unit and mode of operation and soliciting and encouraging pub} ic cooperation. From the thousands of acquaintances and friendships started at this time and during the contact work that has followed stemmed much of the Increasingly fine cooperation we have experienced through the years, according to Mr. Boggs.
A major advancement of the early years was the construction of fire lookout towers in the county by the C.C.C. The 100 foot Hermitage To wer was erected in 1937, and the 80 foot Agate Tower in Southwest Floyd County rose the fall owing year. In 1951 the present steel tower on Alto Mountain replaced the Agate Tower.
In 193Y, the Hermitage Tower was manned by veteran J. C. Lowery, who today, 16 years later, is still at his post. Another veteran employee of
( Cont i nued on Page 10 )

P I NE PLANTATION FOR BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN--Dedication ceremony participants, (photo at
left}, included, left to right, Miss Anise Troth,
of Atlanta, President, Georgia Business and Profess ional Women's Club, Norman R. Hawley, head of
t he South Coastal Research Center, u. S. Forest
Se r vi ce, Cordele; Miss Helen Barrow, President,
Cordele BPW ; John Mann, Assistant Director, State
Parks Depa r t ment: Miss Elizabeth ~lason, u. S. For-

est Service, Atlanta; Judge 0. T. Gower, of Co r dele; and Mrs. Rosebud McCormick, membership chairman and Vice President, Georgia BPW. Inspecting planting activities, (pi~ to at right), are left to right, John Pate Bridges, Manager, Veterans' Memorial Park; ~Irs. ~lcConnick: Mrs. Ouida King, membership chairman, Cordele BPW Club, and Mrs. Madge Acheson, Vice President, Cordele BPW.

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BOtf94 Reii~UU---

(Continued from Page 9)

the Floyd Unit is H. F. Salmon who joined Mr. Boggs in 1941. Frank J. Pullen, veteran Rome District Forester, also has shared many of Mr. Buggs years of service.

In 1936, Floyd County estab-

lished what was the first

County Forestry Unit and began

operations on a $1,200 yearly

budget.

At that t ime the

county was divided into three

sections and two extra em-

ployees were added. During

that year, the handtool al-

lowance was also increased to

six hand pumps and six rakes.

The first forest fire lookout

tower was placed in operation.

In 1942, the Floyd Unit ac-

quired its second pickup

truck, marking an early mile-

stone in the continuing pro-

gress which has always charac-

terized the Unit uncle r Mr.

Boggs' direction.

In 1946, headquarters of the County Forestry Unit was moved to Rome, and Mr. Boggs was named Chief Forest Ranger. A runabout jeep was added to the growing force, and the yearly budget was increased to $2,400.
After two years of temporary locations in a service station and an abandoned cafe, the Unit moved into its present buil diQ.g.

Probably one of the greatest advances of the early years of organized protection in the County was the construction of a telephone line by the C.C.C. in late 1947. The I ine extended from Armuchee in the Northwest section of the county to Mr. Beggs' home in Texas Valley about six miles west of Rome and from there six miles to Berry Tower .
In 1949, the Floyd Unit acquired a half-tonjeep p1ckup

PLANT GFWC DEMONSTRATION AREA--Eighth District foresters recently completed planting of one of the perpetual demonstration areas established in Ware County by the Georgia Federation of \\omen' s Clubs. Pictured setting out the rows of seedlings are Raymond Hill, Assistant District Forester, on the planter, and tractor operator Johnny Hickcox. B. S. Booth, District Ranger, standing, inspects the seedlings.

bringing to four the number of vehicles.
The following year, 1950, marked the first use of a truck and tractor combination by the Floyd Unit. A second tractor was purchased in 1951, bringing the equipment allowance abreast of developments in the modern era of fire control techniques. The annual operating budget now approximately $20,000 yearly.
The saying goes that behind every successful man there is a woman - and the Boggs' story is no exception. Beside him throughout the 18 and one-half years - his constant helper, adviser, and source of encouragement has been the very gracious and friendly Mrs. Boggs. Besides donating her serv1ces as dispatcher for a number of years, she has many times during rush periods served as the Unit's ''gene ral coordinator,'' which includes many odd jobs.
What are Mr. Boggs plans for the future? He will live on

his 1, 000 acre farm in Texas Valley and, in his own words, ''fish, eat, , sleep and help my wife do the odd jobs a round the house.' ' He built a I ake two years ago and will not be 1acking for sport. The farm is the girlhood home of Mrs. Boggs, and he is remodeling the house, will plant a garden, and will develop the 700 acres of timber. It is also a good bet that he will be unable to deny the urge to climb a fire tower occasionally and check his beloved Floyd County woodlands or man a tractor to cut a few fire lines.
How does Mr. Boggs feel about retiring? In his own words, ''It hurts me to thin k of 1eaving - a great work and I love it today and have loved it always. Meeting the people of the county as I have, and the friendships I have made, have meant much - very much in my life. If I were to go back 18 years, I would again J 01n the Commission, and I thin k one of the finest things any county can do is to operate a fares try unit.' '

Georgia Forestry
March, 1955

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Entered as second class matter ~t the Post Office. Atlanta, Georgia

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~PREVENT FOREST FIRES!

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