Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1942-09-12
EASY" RANGER
JOB TURNED OUT
TO BE HARD ONE
W.. ]. DERRICK TOOK POSITION
IN FOREST SERVICE AFTER
TURN AT MINING

plains Of Dakota territory, and he al
ways wanted TO go back-and he did,
only 70 find that the mountains Of
Montana had made a confirmed noun
tain man out Of him. Maybe, ne
thought, it was becahse his grand
father had been a guide in the Alps OF
Switzerland.
So he same back to the mountains
Of Montana.
He worked as an assayer at gold
and silver mines. Then, one day when
he was fed up" with mining as q
career. he heard of q new kind Of Job.
The United States government was
hiring young men to be something
called rangers" IN what were then
new-fangled things referred to as for
est reserves" the forerunners Of the
modern national forests.
It sounded like an easy JOB. All you
had to do was ride around on horse
back and look at trees in the noun
tains. And he'd like that. SO he took
the examination at Missoula. AFTER
he'd been told that he'd passed, he
had TO wait the best part Of a year
for another Of the rare reserves TO De
established before he could begin his
lob. Finally the proposed reserve be-
came a fact, and he became ranger.
Almost at once he found out there
was more involved than riding horse
back and looking at trees. 1t was naro
work, with whole lot Of responsible
ity and very little equipment But ne
liked it. And he stuck, because the
forests as well as the mountains got
hold" Of him.
Now Derrick, supervisor Of Custer
national forest, is about to retire after
So years in the service.
Thirty-six years Of caring for the
nations timber reserves, and fighting
fires, and providing grazing for live
stock, and developing and protecting
the recreational value Of the woods
it's a long time. Long enough, any
how. for Derrick to have witnessed the
growth of the forest service from an
awkward pioneer baby in our national
life into its present impressive stature
where it is recognized part OF every
citizens welfare, and right now, per-
tinent factor in the war effort.
In those 80 years both the general
field of practical and applied science.
and the specialized science OF forestry,
made big strides. Derrick watched
those strides and helped forestry keep
especially in what is now
known as Custer national forest, with
administrative offices In Billings.
Lived In Switzerland
Derrick,s maternal grandfather,
Francis Walter, spent many years IN
his native Switzerland as an Alpine
guide before he turned to America as
8 land of greater opportunity. When
he came to the United States, he set
tied in the middle west and followed
the occupation Of furniture dealer and
undertaken.
Derrick, the present supervisor OF
the Custer forest, was born Nov. ~,
1880. in Detroit. At that time Detroit
was only one of the towns" In Michi-
gan. AS a matter Of fact, where now
are located some Of the vast automo-
tive formerly automobile, in wartime
airplane) industries, Walters fatner
operated a stock farm.
When he was year old, the father
moved to Dakota territory. That was
quite a while before the territory was
divided into North and South Dakota
and admitted to the union as two
states. The family settled in what later
became known as SPHINX county, near
the present town Of Condo. In 1897
they moved to Webster, where Walter
entered, and later was graduated from'
the local high school
1t was here that he learned how
to herd sheep, and wait on customers
in a drug store, and later q confec-
ttonery store. His father died when
Walter was 10, and the boy had TO
help support the family of a mother,
three sisters and two brothers.
Left for Neihart at IS
When Derrick was 19-to be specific,
on July IL, 1900-he set out for Mel
hart. Mont, where a sister and broth
er-irl-law had settled. Derrick found
employment with the Diamond-R
Mining Co., which operated silver
mines in the neighborhood, First OF
all he was an office boy, later night
Waterman, and later still he was put
into the assay office. Here he learned
to do the fire work." as opposed 70
the chemical work, in assaying for
silver and gold. His duties consisted
of running analyses by heating specl-
mems in crucibles and judging the re-
suits according to the assay routine
In vogue at that time.
In the spring Of 1902 Derrick WenS
to Philipsburg for an affiliated COM
pany. He served as assayer for the
Sunrise and Bunker Hill gold mines
However, his employment was season.
al. and sometimes he was forced 10
supplement his earnings by tours as
cowpuncher, stock feeder or Just plain
garden variety of hay hauler. He
worked for the Basin Gulch placer
mines. 20 miles southwest OF Philips
burg during the summers Of 19O3-1sO4,
and for the Granite -BimetaIlic Con-
solidated Mining Co., Philipsburg, IN
1905.
1t was In Philipsbwg In 1905 that
Derrick inadvertently became par
tcipant in anv old-time mining town
incident. AS he describes PhilipSburg
at that time, "its heyday as tough
frontier mining camp was beginning
to wane, but it was stin Wild, wooAly
end plenty tough"
Derrick says that there was new
invention appearing In the west and