Thursday, December 27, 2007

A Hotshot's Return


Rich Briggs
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan
Rich Briggs '07 addressed the Forestry Club on December 11 on his experiences working this past summer on a hotshot firefighting crew. Rich was based in Arizona, outside Phoeniz, and also worked on fires in Georgia and Idaho. Firefighting is incredibly hard work. You have to be able to climb a mountain and spend all day digging fire lines in smoky, hot conditions. Although the crews do everything to work safely, danger is always present. Yet, Rich really enjoyed the challenge and plans to return to firefighting next summer.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Sunshine Visit



Penn State Mont Alto alumnus Paul "Sunshine" Shogren spoke to the Forestry Club today. In his talk "Past is Prologue", Paul talked about his days at Mont Alto in 1947/48 and his early years working as a forester. In the top picture Paul shows his spiked cork boots he used on logging jobs in the West. The bottom picture shows a closeup of the boots. The box they are in was his laundry box while at college. Each week he would mail home the box with his dirty laundry and his mother would return the clean clothes with a care package. In the middle Paul poses with forestry students.

Among the interesting stories Paul told was how it was common to travel by hitchiking when he was in college. He travelled to Arizona and Oregon for summer jobs using his thumb. After graduation from Penn State in 1951, Paul served as a U.S. Marine in Korea. On one of his final jobs he was assigned to teach officers to pack horses in Quantico to use in operations in Korea. The Marine Corps learned that Paul had worked with burros at the Philmont Boy Scout Reservation in New Mexico.

Paul worked for many years for the U.S. Forest Service and eventually worked on strip mine reclamation in Maryland for the Soil Conservation Service. Retired, he now lives with his wife in Garrett County, MD.
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Monday, October 29, 2007

SAF Convention in Portland

The SAF Convention was a good time! We competed in the Quiz Bowl and attended talks on issues in forestry. The Keynote Speaker, Richard Louv, was very interesting. He wrote the book "Last Child in the Woods," which is about how children today are not as in touch with nature as they should be. I bought the book and it is a very good read!
I attended some talks on silviculture and the Pinchot/Muir debate. There were also booths for businesses and schools, and the Mont Alto crew hijacked the University Park booth. There was and abundance of free merchandise and finger foods. The highlight of the trip, however, was the day we took off from the convention to go sightseeing. We drove out and saw a few waterfalls and wound up at Mt. Hood. The scenery in Oregon is amazing!
All-in-all, it was a great trip.. and seeing hobos is always a bonus!

SAF Convention

Hello all! I am back from Portland, it was a great time and I had lots of fun. We spent most of our time at the convention center in Portland. We attended information sessions, browsed an exhibit hall, and networked with potential employers. On Friday we spent that day visiting Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge. It was a fun time and a great experience. i learned a lot about what is happening in forestry today. All in all it was an awesome trip and I would like to return to Oregon someday. That's all for now, See ya around.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

SAF Convention

At the end of a long day, the Mont Alto delegation: Adam Luther, Chance Yeckley, Andrew Baker, Ryan Thrush, and Tiffany Roddy.

Dr. Linehan with the pendulum in the background.

The registration area outside the exhibit hall.

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Quiz Bowl


Mont Alto fielded a team for the Quiz Bowl for the SAF Convention in Portland, OR. Tiffany Roddy, Chance Yeckley, Adam Luther, and Andrew Baker participated. Mont Alto went down in the first round to Colorado State. Between the jet lag and fatigue it was hard to get to the bell in time. We'll be ready for next year!

Penn State (UP) went on to win the competition.
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Friday, October 19, 2007

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Mont Alto Cross Country Race

On the first circuit Ryan Thrush is in the center followed by Riley Wingert.

Riley Wingert on the second lap, looking strong.

Ryan in the second lap. Is he trying to smile?


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Mont Alto hosted a Commonwealth Campuses cross country race yesterday. The track, laid out by coach Mike Doncheski circled the campus and included a run in the Michaux State Forest around the water tower on the new logging road. About 5o runners competed from all over the state. Forestry student Ryan Thrush came in sixth overall. Mont Alto's Riley Wingert came in seventh. Thanks to the forestry club members and all the other volunteers for making the meet a success.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Cardboard Canoe Race


P1020218
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan
Four Mont Alto forestry students participated in the Cardboard Canoe Race sponsored by the Forest Products Society of the School of Forest Resources.

Dr. Linehan ran in the first heat with "Titanic" and was just glad to finish relatively dry!

Mike Wagaman and chance Yeckley came in second for the fastest race.
Tiffany Roddy and Kevin Braun won for the quickest sinking.


Here are the rest of the pictures:

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Forestry Day 2007

Will this be a new tradition? The Woodmen Team gave a great demonstration of the different events as members qualified for the North Carolina meet. It was great to see the alumni who came back to see the current team and show how it's done. Next year will be bigger and better!

Friday, September 14, 2007

Forestry Picnic Pics

Oak Road Cleanup


P1010924
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan
Twenty Mont Alto forestry students participated in the Oak Road cleanup in the Michaux forest near campus yesterday. The most unusual item we found this year was a small truck hood and two tires.

After the work was done everyone went to Arturo's for pizza!

Click here for more pictures.

Friday, September 7, 2007

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Use A Map

This is a new tool I found on the Ogle Earth Blog . Simply put, use a map lets you create a map location with a simple link address. When you click on the link you then have the option of viewing the map in Google, Yahoo, or MS Live. With new features you can also add pictures and other annotations.

Here is a map I made for Peaks Island, Maine: http://useamap.com/peaks
Here is another for the Penn State Mont Alto campus: http://useamap.com/MontAlto

It's easy to use and a great way to send maps to someone.

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Another tubing picture

Who says the forestry faculty don't know how to have fun? (Brantley, Houghton, and Linehan)
Thanks to Matt Groves for this picture.

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Zooming towards the fnish


Zooming towards the fnish
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.
I'm not sure who this was? But it was definitely sub-zero on the tubing course last night (2-5-07). You really needed to dress up. What a great stress reliever! We should do it before exams all winter long.

Here's a link to Whitetail in Mercersburg, where they have more pictures. http://www.skiwhitetail.com/index.htm

The track


The track 2
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.
Here's a view of the tubing track at Whitetail Ski Resort

Thursday, January 25, 2007

First Forestry Club Meeting of the Spring 2007 Semester

UPDATES FOR TUBING:

For those who were unable to attend the Forestry Club meeting there are some updates to the activities calender.

On February 5th, there will be a trip to Whitetail Area to use the Tubing passes that some Forestry Club members have obtained. Being a Forestry Club Member is not a requirement to go, and if anyone else wishes to attend the night of fun to go tubing, passes can be purchased at the time of arrival to the Whitetail Area. The cost for 1 hour is $12 and 2 hours is $16. The bus will depart from the commuter lot at 7pm, so if you decide to go at the last minute, just meet in the commuter lot. We will be tubing for 2 hours, but not everyone has to tube for 2 hours. Those who do not want to tube for the full 2 hours can check out the lodge and hangout until we leave. There is no need to R.S.V.P. just show up at the time of departure in the commuter lot.

On February 8th, the Forestry Club will hold their next meeting at 7:30pm.

On February 10th, the Forestry Club and Woodsmens Team will be teaming up to cut firewood to raise money for the clubs. The time is unknown at this point, but updates will be coming soon.

The last topic discussed at the meeting was the Allegheny SAF 2007 Winter Meeting to be held February 13-15. Those who are SAF student members and would like to attend the SAF Meeting please see Doctor Linehan for a Schedule. For any other questions feel free to email, and your questions will be answered as well as possible.

Angela G. Kellert
Forestry Club Secretary