Distinctly Montana Magazine

N O R M A N M A C L E A N S P E C I A L I S S U E 2 7 Scan the QR code to see more about... The landscapes of Norman Maclean http://bit.ly/maclean406 DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL d d d Norman Maclean, born De- cember 23rd, 1902, in Clarinda, Iowa, was just six years old when his father accepted the position of pastor at the First Presby- terian Church in Missoula, Montana. Homeschooled by his father for many years, Maclean graduated from Missoula's high school and attended Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Graduate school at the Univer- sity of Chicago followed, as did a distinguished career as an English professor at that school. During his life as an academic, he spent his summer breaks at the cabin he helped his father build on leased U.S. Forest Service land on Seeley Lake, Montana. After retirement, he would stay at the cabin until the onset of winter. After retiring in 1973, Maclean began writing for a non-aca- demic audience. He published only one book before his death in Chicago on August 2nd, 1990. A River Runs Through It and Other Stories appeared in 1976, with a subsequent edition in 1983. The latter did not contain the "other stories" but did have a selection of photographs taken on the Big Blackfoot River by Maclean's son-in-law Joel Snyder. A 1989 edition includes illustrations by noted artist Barry Moser. In addition to the title story in A River Runs Through It and Oth- er Stories are two narratives based on Maclean's summers work- ing in the woods as a teenager. USFS 1919: The Ranger, The Cook, and The Hole in the Sky is a fictionalized account of seventeen-year-old Maclean's summer in the Selway region of northern Idaho. The novella is divided between time in the mountains and time spent coming out of the mountains through Blodgett Canyon. The final scene of the novella has the ranger lead- ing a pack team back up Blodgett Canyon. Maclean, watching the team disappear, describes the scene thus: "After a while, the sunlight itself became disembodied. There was just nothing at all to sunlight, and the mouth of Blodgett Canyon was just nothing but a gigantic hole in the sky. 'The Big Sky,' as we say in Montana." d d d After Maclean's death, the University of Chicago pub- lished his unfinished manuscript about the Mann Gulch fire of 1949, Young Men and Fire (1992). Maclean's son John helped to prepare the manuscript for publication. August 5th, 1949 proved to be a pivotal moment for the U.S. Forest Service. On that day, spotters noticed smoke in Mann Gulch, a remote area north of Montana's state capital, Helena. Forest Service Smokejumpers flew in from Missoula and landed on a steep hillside. Within an hour, thirteen young men were dead or dying, including a ranger who had left the Smokejump- ers because his mother feared that profession would kill him. Mann Gulch, then as now, was inaccessible by road. Today it lies within the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness. The only way to access the area is by helicopter, boat, or, like the Smokejumpers, by jumping out of a plane. Maclean visited the area repeatedly, again try- ing to understand this tragedy. His descriptions HOME TO THE MACLEAN FAMILY CABIN SITE OF MACLEAN'S SHORT STORY ABOUT FOREST FIRE FIGHTERS Blodgett Canyon, Seely Lake

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