The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, July 28, 1944, Image 4
\ ■
1
ies£
1944
Forest Management jFire Prevention
Assistance To Farms In Kershaw County
As an aid to landowners who desire
to manage their woodland i^operly,
the State Forest service is glad to
fnmtoh assistsnce to them. Upon re
quest, technically trained foresters
ezamihe the woodland area and furn
ish the landowner with a written re
port, included in which are recom-
mmidatlons for reforestation, fire pro
tection and timber or pulpwood cut
ting. If the landowner desires further
assIsUnee, the SUte Forest service
will selectively mark and measure
those trees that should be sold. In
this way, only those trees that should
be Tomoved are marked for cutting
and the landowner knows the volume
of the timber that Is to be sold. Over
and! akvetr this, the landowner is
sisted In making contact with timber
purchasers and is also provided with
a simple sale agreement form for use
when be sells his forest products.
Under an act passed by the General
Assembly la 1941, a small charge
Reeognlsing that **an ounce of pre
vention is worth a - pound of cure,”
g;reat emphasis* is put on preventing
forest fires. Rach year posters and
literature of several different types
are distributed over the county. News
paper articles emphasising the need
for precautions in jtarticularly severe
fire weather are written, and adver.
tisements are sponsored by local in
dustries and firms.
The fire prevention campaign be
gins about the first of September—
the start of the real fire season. At
that time “Stop Woods Fire” posters
County Forest
Protege Asso.
t Causes of Fires
- b Kershaw County
in Kershaw county a protective as
sociation was formed at Liberty BUI
in 19S1 with Mr. W; B. Cnnninitiiaai
as forest ranfef. All the fire contfM
work accomplished by this association
was done through volunteer crews,
which were equipped with hand fire
fighting tools. With the inception of
the CCC program the wo^ of the as-
are post^ on trees,..alongside roads, iorded-ali the-WOOtUanA .M.e> irtimi
and especially country roads. At this
time, too, it being hunting season,
hunters are Urged to be careful with
their camp fires and cigarettes, thru
the display of wildlife posters. Dur
ing conservation week, which occurs
about the end of November each year,
programs emphasising the develop
ment of our natural resources are put
amounting to 20c per thousand hoard on throughout the schools of the
feet on a tree scale basis is made for
the marking of forest products on
small areas. On areas 500 acres in
sise, and larger, the charge is 25c
per thousand board feet During the
fiseal year ending Jane 20, 1244, six
teen requests for management assist
ance were handled and 12 tracts of
timbmr were seleettvely marked for
cutting. On these tracts a total of
ppprozlmately 2 1-4 million feet of
timber were marked, and in each case
the landowner wag assisted with mak
ing a satisfactory sale.
The State Forest service personnel,
consisting of the district forester, two
forest technicians and a timber mark
er, handle the requests as rapidly as
possible.
The Tower Units
There are five complete tower units
to Kershaw County, each of which is
maintained for the purpose of detect
ing and reporting forest fires. The
units are connected by a telephone
system maintained by the Forest Ser
vice and tied to with the Southern
DM ayetem; -Sadrwttft coneists tyf a
neat, 5-roomed house, bam, chicken
house, smokehouse, steel fire tower,
and not less than ten acres of land.
county through the cooperation of
the school teachers. Forestry movie
programs, to which the public is in
vited free of charge, are held in coun
try schools and churches. And in
spring ad educational program
in the form of a quit contest is con
ducted for the benefit of the school
children. This program, similar to
the radio quls programs, is based on
elementary forestry and particularly
facts of interest to people in this sec
tion. Prizes are awarded to the win
ners and a county-wide final is held
in which the individual school winners
participate.
The units, each of which is located so
that the area overlooked interlaps
that of another unit, are maintained
and developed by the organisation.
This year particular attention was
given to the development of the land
at the Blaney and Westville Units, at
which crotolarla vras planted and
erosion control work completed. Oth
er work included the repair and
painting of the Camden, Liberty Hill,
and Westville Units, the entire Job
being done by the personnel of the
orgsinlsation. The untti wru located
at Blaney, Camden, Cassatt, Liberty
HUl, and Westville, and the'public is
urgM to visit them at any time.
sociation was enlarged and gradnaUy
tions, tie
developed into two associations,
second of which was known as the
Camden unit. In 1925 the Kershaw
County Fire Control Act was passed
in order that protection might be af-
the county. Consequently the organi
zation was enlarged by the appoint
ment of, a county ranger, three war
dens, and two towermen. As time
went on more adequate protection
afforded the 271,000 acres of woodland
by'^ the coutmctkm of three addi
tional tow«n, each of which was man
ned and subsequently connected hf
telephone.
The Kershaw County Forest Prq-
tecttve association bemme a fine
control unit in itself, at the head of
which was the Forestry board. The
board serves the organization in an
executive and advisory capacity and
now consists of the following mem
bers: Henry Savage, Jr., chaimum;
Robert Perry, John Rabon, John Oet-
tys, H. 8. Higgins and George W.
Bowers.
Field personnel of the organisation
consists of the county ranger, three
wardens, and five towermen. The
ranger, L. E. Smith, is located in
Camden and directs the work of the
County organizalion, being resposM*
ble to the district forester for Re
prosecution. In this he is assisted
by the three wardens, W. BL Cun
ningham of Liberty Hill, C. L. Mc-
Caskill of Cassatt, and D. G. McLeod
of Blaney. ESach warden is respon
sible to the ranger for Gre control ac
tivities within his warden district,
which consists of, roughly, one third
of the county. Overlookixig the whole
county and serving as the “eyes” of
the organisation are the Gve tower-
men, W. D. Cook of Westville, J. M.
Gettys of Camden, H. T.* Hornsby of
r^Western
Auto
Associate
kSAVEJyOW
mmm
Store
W. R. BOWDEN
Itm Broad St
CAMDEN» S. C.
irHcHMUB^tihSii^ HDi.
and Charles Ray of Caissatt It Is
the duty of the towermen to detec
and report fires to the wardens and
ranger. Additional personnel consists
of It retainer crews .made up of ap-
prozinutely three men each, who are
strategically located over the county.
These crews are paid a very smal
sum annually to promote fire control
to their respective localities and to
assist in the suppression of tires.
In periods of especially severe
weather, these forces are augmented
yby^ the use^ of eo»called flealble help,
men who are employed for a specific
period to assist in the suppression of
GENUINE fIRST LINE
“DAVIS” TIRES
Your precious Grade 1 or 2
certificate entitles you to the
best tire you can find ... A
genuine Dawis Super Safety!
Strictly First-Line Quality
Davis tires have proved their
outstanding safety, ruggednesa
and Super-mileage . . . on mil
lions of cars all over the coun
try .
fires. The organisation, however,
extremely dependent upon volunteers
and looked to volunteer help for very
real aaalstance. >
Fire Suppression
and “C’* Book Holders
Now Eligible To Buy!
—•if you drive over 240 miles
a month and need new tires.
Save time, money and bother
at Western Auto Tire
Headquarters.
Official Tke Inapection
Station.
There’s a WIZARD for
YOUR Car..at a SAVING!
Qualify and DupmndabilHy
Assured by Iron-Clod
Written Guarani—I
^ooJkf Saei»!
Save Time
And Money
If your Battery fails to crank
your car, let us replace »t vdth
a Wizard Battery.
$5.49 to $9.10
GaaraBteedifrom 6 months to
2 yean.
•( Ma^iM Wood Tool
$2418
WUte Ibaf Last
In the fiscal year ending June SO
1944, there were a total of 180 woods
fires that burned some 3S36 acres In'
Kershaw County. Most of these fires
occurred in the fall, which was par
ticularly dry. Many people through
out the County think that the organl
ralinn is mipprwed to right tha fires
alone, but as a matter of fact, the or
ganisation is set up only to help land-
owners in the suppression of tbeir
woods fires. The organization itself
consisting of the County Ranger,
three Wardens, and sixteen retainer
crews of three men each, is not suf
flciently -large to suppress all fires
in the county, but it can do the Job
with the help of Ishdowners and oth
er volunteers, to periods of especial
ly severe fire Weather, extra help is
put on, but funds do not permit the
extensive use of such help. Therefore
The orga&tiatlon Is Targ^y dependent
on volunteer assistance, and the slse
of each fire Is largely determined by
the suDount of this volunteer assist
ance.
During the year, ending June 30,
1944. the drerage size of all Gres in
the County waA. 121.2-acres. There-
were, however, several really large
Gres that were extremely difficult to
handle, and had it not behn for the
Wartime Forest Fire ' Crew made
available to the County throogh funds
provided by the Federal Government,
the losses would have been much
greater^- The Wartime, fbrest jnre
XSfew was seT'up for the s^ckfe pur
pose of providing extra protection to
the areas within a Gve-mtle radios of
the Sonthem Aviation fields and
Rembert field, In order that a smoke
hazard sufGclently severe to prevent
Gylng could not develop. The crew
fought 35 percent of the Grea to the
County, and therefore contributed
greatly to the wont of
tion.
As Is the esse throoghoat tha state, _
the major caaae of wooda firei iUOvflhm DeGmesy was organized for
Kershaw County Is smokers. Next to
toa cornea brash hamtog, and then
raOroada.
Fires censed by smokers eonid be
greatly rednoad, and even stopped, If
everyone traveling the highways sad
wsU^ throngh the woods would he
sure to pat bat their cigarettes. Most
ot these fires are the remit of netii-
tog but carelessness. People driving
along the highwiqr frequently throw a
cigarette or match out of the ear
without thtoktog that it might cause
ForeiR Fire
Fighters Service
tkalaily slgntOeaBt
urged to Jota ap sad help keii
fires to thMr loealitles. sndo^?*
loealitles, sud
Smith as local coordinator, <£32
ark of orranMn*
la 1942 the Forest Fire Fighter
aervioe. a branch of the Office of
•Otothi
the porpoee of providing
tanlty for people in and nw
areas to do their part
effort The Service was designed for
rural people^ Jn*t as other services,
such ss the Air Raid Service, were
designed for those living-to cities and
towns.
In Kershaw county volunteer assist
ance on fires has been greatly handle
capped ty the movement of farmers
toto todnstry and the'armed forces.
Therefore the development of the
the work of orgahMng
crews.
Steady progress was msde ta tw
development of craws under SI
I an oppor- Forest Fire Fighters service, sai w
ear forested d94S meat of these crews were
to the war fb the nse of hand Ora Gghtlag iSS
and as rapidly as possible, eqiS
with pumps and rakes. To date, iZ
Gftean crews consisting of ssn3
mately thrae men each liaTe
organized throoghoat the couaty?
it it expected that more crews* 3
jhe‘ formed this year. Fari^ 3
urged to show thefar^ Interest is S
prevention of .Gr^~l>y making sJ?
cation throngh the Comty Rsag^^
the greateat number of “snadeer” Gree
occur along' highways. Hunters and
eampara, of course^ also cause somer
Gres as they pass throngh the woods
and oarsleasly drop a cigarette or
matdh.
Tha seooad major cause of foreet
Gres, hnuh and old Geld-bumtog li
tning radaced as fsrmars learn to be
mora careful wlto their Gres. These
Gres dtold be eliminated ft every far
mer and tenant would taka the follow-
lag preeantioBS bafora aattlag a bmih
fhra:
L Chooaa a calm diy and bam ear-
^ to tha morning or lata to the eva-
nlng- ,
2. Ploogh a atrip around the area
to be burned.
8. Bum against the wind.
4. Have as many men ss possible
available and ready to Gght the fire
If necessary.
5. Be sure the Gre is out before
leaving U.
Forest Fire Flj^kter aerviefr was par- thM loeal Flra WaMea.
The Fire Law
to 1982 a law was iwssed making
the setting of Grec'throngh careless
ness, msllelonsneBS, or negligence on
lands ot others a misdemeuior. There
fore, the cause of each fire is thor
oughly tovastigated and tboae gnllty
of setting them apprehended and
proaecuted. It ia, of course, dlfGcult
to apprehend the person guilty of set
ttog Gres, hut a determined effort Is
made, and tiila year twenty-two ^rose.
aatkw xzara—oUatoedr Urdtoarfly
Its to remmo ms twat
TO HApnH
THE PR. PEPPSRi
Asa IN
11
ftoaa ware Impoeed by tha Maglstrato,
and to the case of aMaors, admonltary
aottoa taJrsB.
Boj War Boada aad
MRMRMER
HE’S FIGHTING
WITH YOUR LCXJS
AND PULPWOOD
Food and plenty of it is needed
to keep Unde Sam’s fighting men
in trim. And plenty of lumber for
crates and boxes,, pulpw^ for
paper cartons and containers is
ni^ed to put the food across.
Wood shortages, due to lade of
suffident men cutting trees in the
forest, have caused a critical bottle-^
neck. ‘ Farmers are zx>w being
called upon to turn out and har
vest victory timber in their wood
lands; just as they are producing
food for freedenn from their fidete
and pastures. Proper cutting of
woodlands mercooes their vsdhie
provides continuous crops of
timber. Baoes,for all forest prod
ucts are at a pe^. - For advice on
proper iparicing and cutting or for
hdp in marifding, cdl on your
Faro Forester or Timber Project
Forester. Ask your County
Agent Cut wisdy, but
Cut Them NOW
a • a a a
/*
the organlza.
The South Carolina
Forest Service
in 1927 the State Commission of
Forea,try was created through the ac
tion of the General Aseembly for the
purpose of protecting and developing
our forest reeourcef. A State Forest
er wu appointed, and so began the
forestry program In South Carolina.
Five Districts, all but one of which
comprises nine counties, were, devel
oped, with a District Forestw in
charge. The District Forester is di
rectly responsible to the State For-
ester, Mr. Chas. R Flory, of Colum
bia, "8. C., for all aotlvitler within the
District and plans and directs the
work of the Coun^ orimultatlons. to
this he Is assisted by the District
Ranger and one or m<we Technlehum.
The Camden District, comprisiBg the
following nine ooontles, with head
quarters hero to Camden, has been
organist since 1982: Chester, Chsa-
tsrfleld, FslrGsild, Kirshaw, Laacast-
or, Lss. RichlaBd, Snmtor, and ToHl
Personnel of this office ooasista :
Dlrtrlot fiorsster, Smast ’ Natttog;
Farest TedmldaB. H. R. Lsssslhaam;
^mt Tsehalelaa. R. S. OUrer; Dto-
triot Baagar, T. R. Mtoai: Thalar
Ma^, M. L. Wan and Sserotary,
PrMema naatkam.
.•.Mtor 1
Caies of fixxPHaigdy
carrotB and sausage fo
tiie focegrocmd—piled on
a New Caledonia dodf for
rediftribiitioci to men at
teUB grPHTs
9
i
This Message ^emsored Qy—
ers
for Tra^or Repaiis and
‘.-I su;
US
St'iS, -♦ C|
T