10 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 46, No. 6 Featured Article a plumb bob, and hold the end of the 100' chain with the right tension, and to give him a sight while holding the plumb bob, if needed. Our ranch was in the Redmond School District, even though we lived closer to Bend (nine miles to Bend but eleven miles to Redmond). My Dad finally sold the ranch in the summer of 1963 and we moved into Bend, at 659 East Franklin Street, which was within walking distance of Bend Senior High School. I graduated from Bend Senior High School in 1964. Surveying with my Dad was primarily during summers in high school and college. I was always working on the ranch with him, and got used to not being paid but always being provided for; that’s the way of a family farm. In exchange for helping my Dad survey in the summers, he paid for my college education. He believed that a college degree was important, because he never completed his degree and he thought it had held him back. One time I calculated that my higher education cost my Dad the equivalent of paying me a minimum wage for my work for him. My higher education has been worth every penny to me. The experience and support that I received was outstanding. I went to Central Oregon Community College my first year, taking pre-engineering classes; then I transferred to Oregon State University (OSU) and majored in civil engineering, primarily to get a surveying education. I essentially minored in surveying, with a class in surveying every term for three years. Professors Shultz and Seaders were my instructors. I soon found out that Professor ShuItz knew my Dad. I was hooked on surveying. This was Vietnam War time, and I was facing the draft. I was fortunate because I was able to use my education in the military. I applied and took a competitive exam for the Navy Civil Engineering Corps, and was accepted. OSU was in the top ten engineering schools nationally and my education there paid off in my seeking this assignment. Several of my classmates were also accepted. I went to NAVOC in Newport, Rhode Island, on January 3, 1969, and upon graduation on May 9,1969, I was assigned to Seabee Battalion Three, stationed at Port Hueneme, California. My first 8-month deployment was Okinawa as Engineering Officer. I was in charge of 20 Engineering Aides. A second deployment took me to Da Nang, Vietnam, as Charlie Company Commander, overseeing about 60 men who did general concrete, steel, and timber construction. I was released from active duty on May 10, 1971, moved to Gresham, Oregon, and started my surveying career. Our Equipment To start his surveying business, my Dad needed survey equipment, and since he didn’t have much money, he bought a used transit that he had found in central Oregon. It was a Gurley with a 30-minute vernier. I inherited it and, based on the serial number, it was manufactured in 1931; it was 27 years old when he bought it. The leveling screws had seen plenty of use, and they were on their way out. I have used this transit since my retirement for leveling projects around my house, and it’s a challenge to get it leveled. The tripod must have been worn out, so my Dad bought a new tripod. He also got a new 100-foot steel tape for measuring distances. He bought a couple of Hudson Bay axes for clearing line and driving stakes. I still have one of his axes. My Dad occasionally would break an axe handle, and he would just buy a new axe. When he retired, he replaced all the broken handles that I had inherited. I kept one axe and gave away about four axes to friends. I love that axe. Here is a link to the history and background of the Hudson Bay axe: https://www.awesomeaxes. com/what-is-a-hudson-bay-axe/. continued Our first survey vehicle was our family ranch vehicle, a Chevy Carryall with a four-speed shift on the floor with compound low. We could go amazing places in compound low. I had learned to drive our Case tractor as soon as I could reach the clutch, and got my drivers license when I was a sophomore in high school. I did most of the driving while working for my Dad. (I was also the primary family driver to keep the domestic peace: neither of my parents liked the other’s driving.) When my Dad sold the ranch and moved into Bend after being in business for three to four years, he upgraded his Gurley to a Wild T2 one-second theodolite! He also traded the Chevy Carryall for a used Jeep Wagoneer with a straight six, and purchased a new American Rambler for a family car. That Rambler was a great car to take a girl out on a date! Later still, after my Dad started making more money while I was in college, he purchased a new Jeep Wagoneer with a V-8 for the family car. My Dad told me that when it was time to put the Jeep into four-wheel drive, it was time to turn around. We mostly used the four-wheel drive on snow when skiing at Mt. Bachelor. Near the end of my college years, my Dad switched to a Kern DKM2 theodolite, which he used for the remainder of his surveying years. Dad had followed the problems Heinrich Wild had with the Wild Company, and joined Kern Aarau, where he designed an even better competing Okinawa 1969–70. John wearing Marine greens; Seabees support the Marines. John by the Chevy Carryall.
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