The news that the U.S. Forest Service will close its Portland office and relocate to Salem felt personal to me. My dad spent over 30 years with the agency. The Portland office was his last assignment. I remember going to see him. 

His office in the multi-floored building felt too spacious in comparison to the one he had in Grants Pass/Siskiyou National Forest. Transferring from what felt like a small community there to the big city was daunting for dad.

His career with the Forest Service moved our family around a lot, from Montana to Wisconsin, to Oregon and Washington and then back to Oregon. Grants Pass appeared to be dad’s favorite career setting. The office building was old, not very attractive and across the street from the motel our neighbors eventually purchased. 

Mom met regularly with other Forest Service “ladies” to play cards. The dads of a couple of kids at my junior high (before the creation of middle school!) worked for the Forest Service, too. Grants Pass High School had a few more of us.

The Forest Service provided for the family I grew up in. Mom stayed home to raise the five of us. After my dad died last year at the age of 94, one of his Forest Service buddies from the Grants Pass days came for the military service. Dale is in his 90s. His son was in my class, and another son graduated with my second brother.

The Forest Service felt like an extended family, so there’s a sadness for me that the Portland office is closing. Even though it didn’t have the community vibe of the smaller forest locations, there was a certain pride in telling people that my dad worked for the U.S. Forest Service. 

I hope the men and women and their families adjust well to the move to Salem. Maybe with its population being smaller than Portland, they’ll gain a sense of community in the new setting.

I grew up thinking Forest Service people were fun, friendly and family oriented. I wish only the best for families just starting out and those ready to retire.

My life and the lives of my mom and four siblings were enhanced because my dad was employed by the U.S. Forest Service all those years.

Jakki Staat McDonald
Eugene