Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1925-07-29
HAS LOST ITS IDENTITY
Destruction of Beautiful Tim
bered Highway "A" by
Forest Fires This Spring.

Forest Fires This Spring.
And who is responsible for the
destruction of Natures beauties
along Wisconsin's highways?
Some will tell you it is the lum-
herman; again it is the camper or
traveller who bitches his cigarette
or pipe or cigar any old place-just
SO that he gets rid Of it; then
someone will tell you it Is the state
authorities who don't give hang
whether we have any scenery along
it's highways or not. Think the
latter is more to the point than to
lay it on some other person. When
/ know that the state legislature
wanted to give the whole state the
magnificent" -that's the word to
use instead of munifcent sum of
$4,000 (not $12,000,000) to fight
fire for period Of two years, then
/ realize that the state don't give
a tinker's damn if all the high
ways beauty burns up; the less
spent in fire protection the more
for some commission and political
pulling.
While reading the following ar
ticle from the Milwaukee Journal
about the destruction Of scenic
Highway A over in Langlade
county this summer by forest fire,
I ask myself: Does it ever hap
pen that any of the legislators who
bucked the forest fire appropria-
ton own a single foot of timber?"
| think not; for if they did you
would see them pass some measure
that would give the people of the
state drastic redress if a fire des-
troyed their property. Just read
what the Journal man writes and
see the picture he paints for you,
you who love the beauties of ma
ture:
AS one sits down to write an
obituary. | tell you Of impressions
of a recent drive into the north, re-
turning, as / always have wanted
to do, via county trunk A in Lang
lade county. ] suppose there are
many thousands of folks who visit
Wisconsin each summer who have
felt that part of the exhilaration
of the tour was in driving county
trunk "A.
The road has long been the best
crossover between Amigo and
Crandon. The lower end joins
state highways rs and AZ, few
miles north of Amigo, at Neva
Corners, and the other end JOINS
highway SIS about midway between
Crandon and Amigo. County trunk
A winds and winds through forest
country. "A lover of the north
country, the late Henry G. Camp
bell was fond of driving this route,
describing it as "the most beauti-
full highway in Wisconsin" 1t is
not a road for speed, for the turns
are too many. While they are
nicely rounded, they keep a fast
driver extremely alert, especially
because a good deal of traffic uses
the route.
No More Most Beautiful"
No more can county trunk A
qualify as the most beautiful
highway in Wisconsin" More than
that it is likely to get worse with
the coming years.
One now passes numbering camps,
where woodsmen headquartered
while they wrought destruction Of
the great trees that were the mar
vel of the route. Where tremen-
dous trees for generations raised
their towering length of timber,
their closely placed tops making
the ground dark with shade, the
sunshine now pours through to
beat upon great piles and windows
of slashings. Where the woodsmen
have worked, no great desirable
trees remain.
Sad Disappointment.
Yes, it's sad disappointment for
one who looked forward year after
year to this drive. No more will we
plan to have another Of the party
handle the wheel, and drive slowly,
so that we can look a'plenty into
the passing denseness of the majes-
tic forest. If we go that way at
all, we'll hasten. If we drive it at
night, we won't care. It's just a
road.
| SAID it would get worse. Those
great masses of slashings lie there
ready for the fire. Woodsmen
never did take to disposing of the
brush they left behind. It's the
timber thew want Dsn,,--.. . e