"SUMMERS OF FIRE" the poem, by Stephen Chaffee

 

My quarters at Florida (Flor-ee-da) Ranger Station, 1976

 

I met Steve Chaffee about 14 years ago, when we were both attending a local writers group. With my background as a firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service, and him being a retired National Park Ranger, we found we had much in common. Even more so when we discovered we both loved to hike the Santa Rita Mountains of Southern Arizona, where my Forest Service career began.

Fast forward 10 years. Steve knew I painted in watercolors (and had, in fact, purchased one of my paintings about 12 years ago). After his first poetry book published, he wanted to write one specifically about the Santa Rita Mountains, and asked me if I would be interested in providing illustrations for some of the poems, and maybe even the book cover, possibly using the painting he'd purchased from me. Of course I said yes!

After 4 years and 17 paintings later, Steve's book: Wild Ruminations: Poems Inspired by the Santa Rita Mountains (Wheatmark. February 3, 2026) released into the world. I'm so honored to have been asked to contribute to this book! I'm also quite touched that my Forest Service career inspired one of Steve's poems. I'd like to share that poem here:

            Summers of Fire                                                  

 

with sunrise

cold, heavy air descends

steep Florida* Canyon slopes

cascading around and through

mammoth Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine,

Arizona walnut

then over oaks, mesquite, juniper

and an historic work station

built years ago

by Depression-era young men

yearning for a better life

 

            Florida Ranger Station

Forest Service firefighters

train long and hard

for summers of fire

build firelines

bust knuckles

swing Pulaskis

haul packs and gear

chase spot fires

work to exhaustion

tongues like shoe leather

back and shoulders taut as

a charged fire hose

perseverance and grit prevail

over burnt landscapes

 

after a shower and supper

guys and gals meet at a cabin

for cards, music, laughter,

good ribbings, and beer

and perhaps, companionship too

 

            if these walls could talk

what intimacies

what secrets of the heart

what hurt, pride, and loss

would reveal

a fire crew’s

summers of fire

 

 

flor-ee-da*

 

Dedicated to the fire crews of ‘76 ‘77 ‘78

 

 

 

"Tell Me What It's Like" podcast with Stacy Raine

 Come listen!

 

I joined Stacy Raine on Tell Me What It’s Like to talk about what it was really like to be among the first women on a US Forest Service fire crew in the 1970s. We discussed:
- What a fire crew did beyond fighting fires 
- How I reacted to the discrimination I faced
- Why I loved the job despite the hardships 

Here's the link: Tell Me What It's Like 

The underlying story of Summers of Fire

 

I'm often asked: Why did you want to be a firefighter? What was your goal?

This excerpt from Chapter 19 of my memoir is a glimpse into how taking on a firefighter job went from 'wanting to do something different' to a formal career choice. 

If you've not read my book, I hope this passage is intriguing enough to give it a try!

(I've just returned to Florida (Flor-ee-da) Ranger Station after spending two weeks on a 55,000 acre fire.)

Like a loyal friend, Florida Station had waited for my return. Tomorrow would be my last day here. I reported to work in the morning, turning in my gear, key, and driver’s license. Glenn allowed me to clean up my quarters and pack on government time.

On departure day, I simultaneously wanted to go home and not go home. I missed my mom so much my heart ached; but I sensed that Florida wanted me to stay. Joe did, too.

After stashing the last box into my car Skyer, I turned toward the government truck pulling in behind me. Glenn. My breath hitched. Get a grip. I cared for him more than I knew was right. He stood before me, his thumbs hooked through the belt loops of his Levi’s, his cowboy boots shuffling in the dirt. He gazed at me from under the brim of his ever-present Stetson. That always got to me.

In his slow and deep voice, he said, “I want you to know that I think you did a real good job in Northern California on a tough assignment.”

My heart somersaulted. From a man who said little, that simple sentence touched deep into my soul. He was proud of me. Not sure what to say or do, all I managed was, “Thanks.” But I also stood there waiting for him to give me some kind of sign…that what happened in that motel meant more to him than just sex. It was not there. I desperately wanted to hug him, but feared he would not hug me back, or worse, back off. Driving away I checked my rearview mirror to see if he watched me leave. He did.

In Prescott, I rushed to enroll in forestry-related classes at Yavapai College, which I hoped would advance my new career. Despite the aching in my legs from hiking up and down all of those hills on the Klamath, I had a lightness in my step. There were so many challenges last summer: brutal long hours, backbreaking work, intense heat, danger, smoke inhalation, bad food, and no sleep for days on end. Why did I put up with it? Because this job made me feel important; it gave me a purpose in life. Plus, if I could handle those grueling conditions, I could do anything; and what I wanted more than anything was a permanent Forest Service position.

 

My interview on eReads Podcast with Liz Bullard

 

 

Liz and I talk about my memoir writing journey. I hope you'll come listen! 

FINDING MEANING IN MEMOIRS: LINDA STRADER'S INSIGHTFUL JOURNEY

Podcast interview with Marci Nettles: You're (Blank), What Next?

 

Join me with Marci Nettles as we talked about how I am faced with a worst case scenario, and find a way to move forward.

 

You're Facing A Worst-Case Scenario...What Next?

Working in Alaska by Becky Shufelt

 

This is me and my tanker crew, Kenai, AK, 1980

My guest today is Becky Shufelt, who hosts a podcast called "Life in the Wildlands." Becky's goal is to encourage and support those interested in working in the great outdoors.

This episode I thought was particularly interesting, having had worked in Alaska back in 1980. 

What is it Like to Work in Alaska?

Tragic loss of a former crewmate

 I just learned today that my former Alaska crewmate, Karan, was killed in 1996 by a drunk driver on her way home from work. 

Karan and I worked together the summer of 1980 at Wildwood Station in Kenai, Alaska. While we weren't close, we were friends, and I liked Karan. She had a good sense of humor, and we had fun working together.

 

At the time of her death, Karan and her husband had 2 children, ages 8 and 11. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for her kids and her husband to lose her when she was only 41 years old.

 Here's a photo of Karan and me, sitting alongside Skilak Lake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

New release! My essay on resilience

 

 

 

 "The Resilience I Didn't Know I Have"

 

JUST RELEASED!

Storyteller's True Stories of Triumph

Published by Chicago Story Press 

November 27th, 2023

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

Writing Rampage Newsletter by Artemis Savory

 

 

I met Artemis online about six months ago when she was looking for authors to interview. Artemis is a marketing specialist, and I'm delighted to be featured in Artemis Savory's Writing Rampage newsletter today, October 31st, 2023! I hope you'll check out her website, and if you are a writer, you might want to subscribe to her delightful newsletter.

Linda Strader is the author of Summers of Fire: A Memoir of Adventure, Love, and Courage, and Uprooted: A New Life in the Arizona Sun. Linda is a woman who knows what she wants, and goes after it with ferocity. That’s how she became a firefighter in 1976, in a time when few women worked in male-dominated fields. “I never thought of myself as a tomboy, or [wanted to] prove to men that I could do that tough job, I just went after what I loved.” She stuck with firefighting for a solid seven years. Her first memoir, Summers of Fire, is about her experiences fighting fires, but it’s more than that.

Linda didn’t attend college until she was 29. “I was certainly not a writer,” she said, when I asked if writing came first for her. She graduated in 1990 with a degree in landscape architecture, but the economy was terrible and she couldn’t find a job. So, she returned to school in l992 and earned a master’s degree in land planning. And then she went into land development, because that was where the money was. “I wanted to be a landscape architect for the Forest Service,” she said, “but that didn’t work out.” Although Linda didn’t study writing in college, she had taken a creative writing class, where she wrote an essay about fighting her first fire. In 2005, she ended her 23-year marriage. Shortly thereafter, she lost her job. Unemployed for the next two years, she decided to spend her free time writing about her firefighting experiences. “I kept detailed journals,” she said. She didn’t want to forget the stories. First, she wrote 90 pages and sent it to friends. They told her to keep writing. “I got out my journals and started to write, and I wrote 400 more pages.” Her local newspaper interviewed her, and they connected Linda to a local author, who had published traditionally. This author encouraged her to join a writers group. Linda learned a lot, but eventually she was ready to leave that group. “I figured, [I] have everything I need to finish this book and make it right. I no longer need that writers group.” As all writers know, not every writing group is created equal, and some of us do better without a group at all—perhaps this is most true for book-writers. It is tough to get full feedback in a group setting. Over the course of two years, Linda queried over 200 agents. She also queried small publishers. After waiting for agent replies that never came, she said, “I chose Bedazzled Ink Publishing in California, and I have no regrets.” Her book was published in 2018. Linda said, “2018 was a big fire year. California was burning up. All the west was burning up. It was good for my book, but it was also tragic. A lot of homes were lost. Every time when fire season starts, a whole new interest in fire damages [emerges].” Linda said that the book isn’t just about firefighting. “It’s about how I figured out how to do that job in a world where women are not welcome.” Linda said that her idea of writing success was getting her story out there. “Total strangers have picked it up and said, ‘This is a really great story…’ I had this career that I loved more than anything, but it all fell apart. It all fell apart, and then... I figured out how to rebuild my life. I’m grateful that my story is out there. I had a great career, one that most men and women wouldn’t want to do. Yes, it all fell apart, but that wasn’t the end of the story. Everybody has a different take on my book. What’s interesting is that most of my readers are men, and some of those men have written really amazing reviews. One guy started out with ‘I was thinking what kind of person actually wants to fight fires? And I discovered by the time I finished that book, a perfectly normal one.’”