PLSO The Oregon Surveyor March April 2020

Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon |  www.plso.org 11 Featured Article situated on the OIT campus in Klamath Falls since 1998, where his name is per- manently engraved alongside the names of other renowned surveyors who sprang from OIT, such as Bob Dahl. ChuckWhitten, mastermonument hunter, whose career as a PLSS boundary survey- or dates back to the 1960s, and who has also invested a large amount of his time in recent years focusing upon passing his tremendous knowledge on to the next generation, also knew Don quite well and remembers him fondly. Chuck first met Don in the late 1980s, shortly after Don took over the role of Cadastral Surveyor for the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, situated in southwesternWashington, rug- ged turf which Chuck had come to know well. In that role, among other things, Don was charged with reviewing survey work done by several older surveyors, including Chuck, and when recalling those long by- gone years in conversations withme, Don always indicated that he had the highest level of respect for Chuck’s work. That re- spect was mutual, as it always should be between outstanding professional col- leagues, as today Chuck describes Don as being “firm, fair and friendly in all deal - ings,” but there can be no doubt that as a young man at that time Don obtained a measure of his own excellence by soak- ing up some of Chuck’s great knowledge. From all of these men, Don, Mike, Tim, and Chuck, along with numerous other mentors, I have learned that great sur- veyors have no difficulty recognizing each other, and that they treasure their rela- tionships with one another. Over the past century, the human lifes- pan has lengthened dramatically, with a profound effect upon our society. In 1900, the average citizen could not expect to reach the age of 50, as the average age of mortality was 49. When I was a young- ster in the 1960s most people over the age of 60 were either disabled in some way or had been greatly weakened by advanced age. When my father died at the age of 63 in 1977, I felt, as a 19 year old, that he had lived a fairly full life, and I figured I would be lucky to reach such an elevated age. How different things are today, as a typical young person can now realistically hope to reach a much high- er age, and to remain vital and vigorous even in their 70s or 80s, and perhaps even beyond that. When anyone dies too young, its always a devastating tragedy, but it occurs to me that “too young” is, like most other aspects of our lives, a rel- ative thing. As a 62 year old today, it now seems to me that my dear friend Don Karsch, a fine surveyor, but also an avid boating enthusiast, even at the age of 67, was far too young to be swept from this world, because he had a great deal left to live for. The last thing he ever said to me as he waved goodbye was, “I’m going to sail around the world, but don’t worry, I’ll be back to see you again someday.” Brain cancer prevented Don from living out his dream by tackling that last great adventure, but he lived life to the fullest extent, earning the respect of his col- leagues everywhere he went, and I look forward to eventually reuniting with him at last, beyond the veil. – BP x Volume Two of the Land Surveyor’s Guide to the Supreme Court of Oregon is now available at the PLSO online bookstore, in both PDF form and printed form. Help Support PLSO by getting yours today!