Last Wednesday at an Open House at the 2nd-5fth Ward Meetinghouse, longtime Malad resident and Forest Service employee, Paul Clark, was honored on the occasion of his retirement from the U.S. Forest Service.
At that time, well over a hundred friends, relatives and associates from Oneida County, and all over the region, joined to pay tribute to a man, who for 35 years, has given outstanding and energetic service to the people he has worked for and with. During the afternoon, Clark was honored with tributes and gifts, given as tokens of friendships and lasting respect.
Paul’s Early Days (Picture of Horseman, Paul Clark)
Hiring on in the early 1950’s as a seasonal worker for the Malad Ranger District, Caribou National Forest, Paul worked part time for the Forest Service as a laborer, helping with maintenance of range improvements and doing general District work.
Prior to that he had worked as a range rider for the Malad Forest Users, as a construction foreman on the railroad, and had been self-employed in farming while living in Clarkston, Utah, where he was born and raised.
A lot of his early duties consisted of helping with the fencing crews. He worked six months on and six months off. He and his wife, LaRene, lived at the guard stations at Power House and Deep Creek. The first office that he worked out of was located in the basement of the courthouse.
In 1958 he was given full time status as a General Forestry Aide. Then in 1961 he was promoted to the position of Range Technician. Each year that he worked at the Malad Ranger District, he endeared himself more and more to his colleagues in the office, as well as to those who had permits to run cattle on the forest ranges.
Many of these paid tribute to him during the special program at the Open House.
After telling of a tour he had taken with Paul to the Curlew National Grasslands in western Oneida County, one said, “Paul’s knowledge of the history of the Grasslands and the District, and the way he could display it was really interesting and a great experience.”
Another credited Paul for his knowledge of cattle and grazing techniques.
Paul Nordwall, supervisor of the Caribou National Forest, said, “If I had to pick a group of employees for a team or anything else, Paul Clark would be one of my choices.
Memories of a Happy Man
Among the traits Paul is best known for are his quick wit and jovial nature. He was always able to make working fun, associates say. And few there are among Forest Service employees who managed to escape a practical joke or two along the way.
Paul still laughs when he remembers all the pranks he and Lois Arbon played on the Forest people when they would go to Snowville to eat. Flies glued to spoons…spiders in the biologist’s sandwiches…were just a few of the tricks they played.
Once, too, when it was time for members of the Buiste Cattle Association to round up their cattle and move them over to the Forest, a strange thing happened. Somehow their saddles got all tied up and hung from windmills, fences and corrals. This was discovered when daylight came.
After much frustration and a great many accusations, George Neal and Paul Clark were tried and convicted of the affair.
Occasionally, though, in some instances, his cohorts managed to get one back on him- unsuspectingly, of course.
Such is the case of another fun story involving fish freezing in Sweeten Pond out in Holbrook.
Paul tells how at one time he told Fish and Game biologists that the fish in the pond were frozen in the ice with just their heads sticking out; and with this, the eagles were feeding on them.
Naturally, the wildlife experts were quick to go to the rescue, but much to their surprise, when they arrived there were no dead fish as they had been led to believe, nor were there eagles anywhere to be found.
This incident resulted in Paul receiving orders to be detailed in Tonopah, Nevada, for a wild horse study. His gear was packed, and Paul was excited to take his rope and camera and leave, when the day before his appointed departure he was notified the trip was all a hoax and he could stay home.
Wild Horse Hunts ( Picture of Paul Clark)
Many memorable times were had for Paul and his friends running wild horses in Nevada and Idaho during the late 1950’s. Cowboys and others included in these trips were; George Neal, Gayle Neal, Levell Neal, Tom Palmer, Brooks Clark, Ray Eliason, Kent Taylor, Lew McDermott, Lynn Davis, Carl Steed, Jess Showell, Don Eliason and Clarence Corsi.
There was one incident in particular Paul recalls that brings back memories of the fun times.
It was Ray Eliason’s birthday, he said, and the cowboys decided to present him with a birthday gift. They gathered wild flowers and shrubs from off the desert and cooked a nice supper, including a birthday cake.
But when Ray arrived at the party, he picked up the flowers and threw them out. So the cowboys decided to honor him some more. They proceeded to place some bloomers and a bra in his bedroll. They told his wife when he returned home that they had treated Ray just like he was treated at home.
Another experience was when Kent Taylor’s horse fell and nearly killed him. At the time Kent didn’t know if he was in California or Nevada, Paul says, but he did survive with only a concussion.
One time when Lew McDermott roped a wild horse, the wild critter pulled his saddle right off his horse and drug him out through the brush, “Lew stayed in the saddle and took quite a ride across the flats, “ Paul chuckles.
The Curlew National Grasslands
Much of Paul’s time has been spent on the Curlew National Grasslands in one capacity or another.
The nights in the Huffman Hotel trapping sage grouse brings a grin to his face even today. For readers who don’t know, the Huffman Hotel isn’t really a hotel, it is nothing more than a clump of tall sagebrush out on the grasslands which foresters use as their headquarters when trapping.
Many cold winter nights were enjoyed with Wendell Johnson, Frank Gunnell, Clyde Williams and the Idaho Fish and Game on trapping expeditions. Often a big fire was built to orient the trappers and keep them from ending up in Malta. Hunting at night, boxes, plastic bags, and pop cans were often netted, thinking they were sage grouse, Paul laughs.
He enjoys telling about the first ride he took with Frank Gunnell on the Grasslands.
Frank was riding the old government horse named, “Sam,” he said. When the two crossed a ditch, all of a sudden the horse decided to buck, and Frank stayed in the wash, as he decided to just leave poor Frank.
Of course, Paul didn’t laugh, and his lips have been sealed about the incident ever since!
Oh My!
There have been many humorous and exciting experiences over the years, but perhaps one that gets folks chuckling the hardest was the day Paul was surprised while riding his horse on Oxford Mountain. He said he was leisurely meandering around the mountain looking for suitable sites to build livestock ponds when, much to his surprise, he rode upon an unclad woman out sunbathing . Paul waid it scared his horse so bad that he never even got a good look.
It’s All Been Great
Paul treasures the fond memories and happy experiences.
In 1968 he was recipient of a Distinguished Service Award presented him by the then Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary Harding. He and his wife were flown to Washington D.C. for the presentation of the award and subsequently escorted on a tour of the Washington D.C. area. In addition, there have been several merit performance awards over the years.
But perhaps his most cherished memories have to do with the many close friends he has made. He says his work with the livestock permittees and the close associations with them he has had in managing the cattle will always be remembered, as will his associations with his fellow employees.
He says the sourdough biscuits and nights at the Grandine Camp with Swede and the permittees were some of the most enjoyable times he can remember.
He will miss these associations, and says to all, “If you get a chance, come on up and see the old man up on the hill, cause I’m going to take it easy for a while.”
Thanks, Paul, for all the good times. Good Luck!
Editor’s Note: ( In the 35 years Paul Clark worked for the U.S. Forest Service he served under nine different Rangers; Ed Clabbey, Ivan Dyring, John Neibergall, Kent Taylor, Mark Kary, Wendell Johnson, Don Ward, Larry Hudson, and Frank Gunnell. He has also worked with eight different secretaries: Margaret Richards, Helen Wight, Zella Swenson, Rula Evans, Carol Jones, Sharon McClellan, Kara Lee Davis, and Iris Blaisdell.)