Sensational Seniors – June 2019

This month’s “Sensational Seniors” article focuses on four retired men who dedicate hours each week doing “hands on” work at Jacksonville’s Forest Park, a 1,460-acre gem one mile out of Jacksonville. This hardy foursome, made up of a miner and three retired school teachers, acknowledges their senior advisor, 83-year-old Tony Hess, who was instrumental in the campaign to create Forest Park.

Born in Ohio, Tony’s family eventually settled in Utah, and Tony was to graduate from high school in Salt Lake City. Two years at Dartmouth College and a year at the University of Utah ended when Tony got his draft notice and was to serve his time in the Army repairing code breaking equipment. Once out of the army, Tony returned to the University of Utah where he received a degree in accounting. This led to a job with Brothers Drilling Company, first in accounting, but later as a driller which eventually had him becoming the northwest drilling manager with drill sites in Washington, Idaho and Montana. His hard rock drilling career continued, culminating in co-owning a small drilling company in Montana.

Tony’s initial involvement with what was to become Forest Part started in 2003 when he was appointed to a Jacksonville Citizen Advisory Committee to study whether or not to sell the entire watershed to the Motorcycle Riders Association (MRA). At the first meeting, Tony was elected chairman. After a year-long study, they recommended that Jacksonville not sell the property but maintain and manage it. One recommendation was to consider a land swap with the MRA which eventually happened, and Forest Park was born. In 2008, Tony and park volunteer friends started building an extensive network of trails, bridges, kiosks and historical site designations.

One of these early park volunteers was Gary Sprague of Medford. Gary was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1945 and, after graduation from high school in Bondurant, Iowa, attended Morehead State College in Minnesota where he received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry followed by a master’s at the University of Illinois. His service time was spent in the Air Force where he used his teaching degree to teach weather classes. When his service time ended, he came west and settled in Medford where for 29 years he taught chemistry and astronomy at Medford High School in addition to managing the well-known and popular Medford High School planetarium. Gary retired in 2002 and immediately started “looking for something to do.” An advertisement in the Jacksonville Review for volunteer Forest Park Rangers caught his eye. The park ranger program was the creation of Jacksonville City Councilman, Dick Ames, who was instrumental in the creation of Forest Park. Gary remembers, “There were six of us chosen to be park rangers. We were asked to patrol Forest Park and even had a citation book in hand.”

While the Forest Park Rangers did not last, the spirit of volunteerism it created did. Gary and Tony were there from the beginning in the development of the trail system, starting with Norling and Ridgeview trails in addition to the creation of the first parking lot (P-1) at the beginning of the trail network as well as building the first kiosk at P-1 and the construction of the first bridge to connect to Rail Trail. Their efforts were initially aided by a donation from Dr. Doug and Jane Naversen and later by a $38,000 Oregon Parks and Recreation grant as well as financial support from the Jacksonville Woodlands Association, the City of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Boosters Club Foundation.

Clayton Gillette came on the scene in 2013 after he retired after 31-years of teaching at Griffin Creek Elementary School. A native of Jackson County, Clayton was born in Medford in 1956. He attended Jacksonville Elementary School through the sixth grade and then went on to Medford for his junior and senior high school days. He was a paperboy in Jacksonville and worked in the orchards in the spring and summer. After graduation from high school, he joined the Navy before returning home to enter Southern Oregon State College, where he was to receive a master’s in elementary education. An experienced trail runner of some 40 years, Clayton and a companion have in their resumes the feat of running the 2627-mile Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada over five summers, experiencing some harrowing and “life-threatening” experiences in the process.

At Forest Park, Clayton is known as a “trail building phenom” who only knowns only one speed, fast! Tony Hess tells it best: “When Clayton has a McLeod trail building tool in his hand, it is best to stand back because he will tackle the hillside with a vengeance.” Clayton is proud of the fact that, “Every foot of trail since 2013 has been hand dug… and that is a lot of miles of trails.”

The fourth and newest member of the Forest Park volunteer crew is T.J. Murphy. T.J. was born in Ontario, Canada in 1956, but his family moved to Eastern Washington soon after where T.J. was to receive his schooling. After graduation from high school, T.J. relates, “I was on a ten-year college plan, working some, playing some and going to school some. My one claim to fame is that during these ten years I taught swimming in Alaska.” After T.J.’s ten years of college was up, he left SOSC in 1979 with a degree in elementary education and was to teach in the Medford school system for the next 28 years, ten years at Howard Elementary and 18 years at Griffin Creek where he taught with Clayton. Like his three Forest Park cohorts, T.J. wanted an active retirement. “Ever since I was a kid, I have been a hiker, so when Clayton asked if I would like to help build trails, I jumped at the chance. I work two days a week at REI, but the other days you’ll find me in Forest Park. I am really the gopher for Clayton and Gary as they engineer the trails, but I am pretty handy with a McLeod.”

At the end of my interview with Tony, Gary, Clayton and T.J., I asked what drives them to almost daily tackle difficult and strenuous trail building in terrain that is seldom flat. The senior member of the group, Tony’s response was, “If we didn’t really like what we are doing out here each day, you couldn’t pay us enough to do it.” Gary’s rationale is a little different. “When I was a kid, I wanted to be a forest ranger, something that was pretty difficult in Iowa, so this is the next best thing.” For Clayton this is his public service. “After 40 years of running on trails, I now feel a need to give back by building and maintaining trails.” It is very simple for T.J. who notes, “For me it is just great to be in the woods every day, and, since I am here, I might as well be working.”

To date, this energetic foursome has built and maintains 40 miles of trails, constructed seven bridges over three streams that meander through Forest Park, designed and built four shelters and created two kiosks, many of which were Eagle Scout projects. Not surprising, the last words were Tony’s, “And don’t forget all the work we have done to keep the sediment from running into Jackson Creek. I estimate we have reduced the sediment run-off by two-thirds, no small achievement. Our efforts include reforestation of the park with over 1,200 trees planted.”

If you have not yet experienced the wonders of Jacksonville’s Forest Park, now is the perfect time to visit. The wild dogwoods and wildflowers are in bloom, snow runoff is keeping the streams active, there are numerous benches with spectacular views of our valley and you have a good chance of coming across the four Forest Park volunteers. If you do, don’t forget to thank them for helping preserve this wonderful Jacksonville property for public use forever.

Featured image is of Tony Hess, Gary Sprague, Clayton Gillette, and T.J. Murphy