CLEARWATER COUNTY
BERTHA HILL
Clearwater Timber Protective Association
40N-5E-35
40N-5E-35
June 7, 1912: :The organization of the Clearwater Fire Patrol is now proceeding rapidly under the guidance of Theodore Fohl, its manager and controlling spirit. The patrol this year will number approximately 50 men and will patrol a country many miles in extent, reaching from the St. Maries to the banks of the Clearwater, says the Orofino Republican. The headquarters on Reed's creek will be maintained as before. The main lookout is on Bertha Hill and is in telephone communication with headquarters." (Elk River Sentinel)
1913: "5 miles of old line from Headquarters to Bertha Hill, constructed in 1911 with No. 12 line wire was replaced this season with No. 10 line wire. This work was done at a cost of $157.75." (7th Annual Report of the Clearwater TPA)
June 26, 1914: "E. J. Weseman left Saturday for the lookout at Bertha Hill." (Clearwater Republican)
1915: "Improvements can be made at odd times during the dry season at no extra cost to the Association, because when there are no fires the men can be working on their lookouts and still be on the watch for fires. In this way we built during the summer one tower on Bertha Hill thirty-seven (37) feet high, and cut down a lot of worthless timber which was obstructing the view." "Bertha Hill Lookout Cabin..................(35-40-5E) $150.00." (9th annual Report of the Clearwater TPA)
1931: "Lightning has taken its toll of life, with men stationed on seemingly spindle-legged towers on mountain peaks overlooking thousands of acres of forest. Lightning killed one man working with the association on Bertha Hill and injured another during a severe storm in 1931." (Lewiston Morning Tribune - 7/18/1948)
1933: A 40-foot round timber tower with an L-4 cab was constructed by the CCC men from Company 1645 of Camp Browns Creek.
October 10, 1955: "The lookout was erected on Bertha Hill in 1910 by the Clearwater Timber Protective Association and consisted of a snag with a small platform on top. Curtis, who is CTPA fire warden, said the lookout is the oldest in the nation. He said it was the duty of Mabel Gray, CTPA camp cook, to climb the frail ladder attached to the snag and sit on the platform to look for fires when she wasn't busy cooking." (Lewiston Morning Tribune)
1955: "A 40-foot wooden L-4 type lookout tower and house was built on Bertha Hill in 1934 with the aid of Civilian Conservation Corps workers. This tower through normal wear and tear has become costly to maintain. Accordingly, work was started during the summer of 1955 to erect the lower 56-foot portion of the Scofield steel tower at Bertha Hill. When completed in 1956, the new steel tower at Bertha Hill will be equipped with a 12' x 12' glass and steel house on the top of the 56 foot portion. Also included in the plans is a two foot wide walk-around and provision will be made for a possible new development in the electronic field which is presently being considered in other forest regions. The new Bertha Hill tower of steel house on top of the 56 foot portion. Also included in the plans maintenance cost. The remaining portion of the Scofield steel tower is planned to go to Bald Mountain Lookout and replace another 1934 wooden structure. The new steel Bald Mountain tower will be 46 feet in height and will complete the useful relocation of the steel from Scofield Lookout." (Clearwater TPA Annual Report - combined 1955-56)
1956: "A new steel lookout tower at Bertha Hill started in 1955 was erected. Some work remains to be done on this project for 1957, principally completion of a house on top of this 56 foot steel tower." (Clearwater TPA Annual Report - combined 1955-56)
August 4, 1957: "Lookouts are a far cry from the first lookout established in the area on Bertha hill near Headquarters. This lookout--the site was first established in 1900 and it was built in 1902--was part of a cruiser camp. Men who were a part of a cruiser crew stayed there while they were checking the amount and grade of good timber. Before the founding of the associations the lumber companies used such points in order to protect their own interests. This lookout consisted of a small platform set atop a tree snag and was only a few feet high. This was the first lookout in the United States." (The Idaho Sunday Statesman)
1957: "The steel tower on the Bertha Hill Lookout was completed this year with the exception of some finishing work on the interior of the observer's house." (Clearwater TPA Annual Report - combined 1957 - 58)
1958: {Caption under photo of two towers} "The wooden tower on the left was built during the CCC days in 1934. Its maintenance has been costly. On the right is a new development in steel towers and shows the lower 50 feet of a 100 foot steel tower which was built during the CCC days at Scofield lookout. This new 56 foot steel tower has modern living accommodations in 14 foot square structure. Just below is the observatory platform, beyond which people who visit the tower are not permitted to go. The observatory platform is reached by a stairway with hand rails and other safety features. A 200 gallon water tank has been fabricated into the roof above the living quarters so that the lookout may have hot and cold running water. Propane gas is used for cooking and refrigeration." (1958 Annual Report of the Clearwater TPA)
June 10, 1962: "Among the lookouts being readied farther north is a new one atop Bertha Hill, on land guarded by the CTPA. This fancy steel-girdered tower was built last year to replace an old lookout of heavy timbers, and which in turned had replaced the first fire protective lookout in the United States -- a tall tree stump with a ladder running up one side." (Lewiston Morning Tribune)
July 17, 1964: "A 20-year-old girl who was spending her summer as a fire lookout, was found dead at the foot of her lookout tower Thursday afternoon.
Maida Talbott, a student at the University of Idaho in Moscow, failed to check in at the regular time from the Bertha Hill Lookout Station about 35 miles northeast of Orofino, officials of the Clearwater Timber Protective Association said.
Her body was later spotted by an air patrol at the bottom of the 52-foot tower from which she had apparently fallen, said an official of the association.
Miss Talbott was describes an experienced lookout, having worked last summer." (Idaho State Journal)
1964: "A tragic event struck the Association on July 16 when the Bertha Hill lookout, Maida Talbott, fell to her death from the cat walk of the tower. A complete investigation was conducted by the Clearwater county Coroner, the Chief Fire Warden and the State Forester and the death was determined to be accidental." (Clearwater TPA Annual Report - combined 1963-64)