For half a century Bob Frakes pursued his “Forest Lookout Tower” hobby. All the time he collected papers, pictures, stories and friends. He was urged to put his memories down in a book and not let them be forgotten.
“Remembering Missouri’s Lookout Towers – A Place above the Trees” is finished.
It contains history. What preceded and created a need for the towers? It has stories. What is the goat doing on the top steps? It has technical information. What is the difference between an LS-40 and a MC-39? It has interviews. Those who worked the towers remember. It has submissions. Individuals who lived the life share their thoughts on themselves, what it was like and relatives. Others share their technical knowledge on fire finders, dispatch maps, the forest today, map projects, dozers, etc.
And of course, there are the pictures. The book contains over 300 images. Some are archival and one of a kind and many are in color. You can take a tower trip and never leave your living room.
You will also find tower names, towers moved, Bucksnort Foodstand, tower mysteries, Smokey Bear, the Royal Order of Squirrels, wood towers, steel towers, lookouts not towers, drone shots, and much more.
Missouri is often cited as the nation’s #1 conservation success story. Come examine this part of the story as to how it got that way.
About the author
The author was born in St. Louis mid last century. He still has relatives scattered here and there in Missouri. His Dad was transferred to Southern Illinois where he would grow up and live. However, he and later with his wife would ‘keep the road hot’ between there and Missouri.
Always a big believer in hobbies, he had several that followed him for much of his life. ‘Towering’ was one of them. More than just a hobby, it would provide a source of many smiles shared with many ‘tower friends’.
A public school teacher for over 30 years (American History, World History, Geography, Government, Civics, Yearbook, and Golf Coach) he holds undergrad and graduate degrees from SIU and EIU.
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