JOHN WILLIAM DUCKWORTH

This is “Pap” on his favorite horse “Daisey”

The photo on the left is the Three Legged Tower

Lady is someone in the family, but I don’t know who.

John William "Wil" Duckworth worked the Dans Rock Tower and Delivered the Mail to Vale Summit and Eckhart. When his health got bad my father Lawson S. Duckworth worked the Tower until "Pop" (which my father called him) died, May 31, 1936. He rode a horse up to the Tower for transportation. He worked the Tower when it was a three-legged tower and then the state built a four-legged tower. I still have the "Old Key" that was used for both towers. In the summer of 1958, we have a 8mm home movie showing when Dad and Leonard Wilson crawled under the fence surrounding the Tower and climbing up to the trap door and Dad trying the "Key" and it worked. The state of Maryland transferred the Lock from the old Tower to the 4-legged Tower. Dad opened it up and he and Leonard climbed inside for a few minutes and then "locked it back up".

I knew Anthony Urbas, he lived on the lower side of the road, which the State replaced in the 1950’s. Tony was always upset with the way he was treated by the State of Maryland when they placed the road (route 55) where it is today. Tony knew my Grand pap “Wil” Duckworth. I never got to know him, he died in 1936 and I wasn’t born until 1941. The following is an article that Tony wrote about the Dan’s Rock Tower. I thank Tony for paying respect to my Grandfather “John William Duckworth”.

The following was written by:

ANTON URBAS

For the

Bicentennial Memories

Allegany County, Maryland

In about the year 1925, a series of costly damaging forest fires, primarily in the immediate neighborhood of Dan’s Mountain, prompted concerned officials of the Maryland Forestry Service to erect a 30-foot-high watch tower on the western side of Dan’s Rock. A weatherproof metal-framed structure was built on three metal supporting legs with the viewing area supported by glass-framed windows on four sides. The floor material was wood and the interior furnished with a small table, two chairs, a kerosene heater and telephone service. A metal ladder was incorporated into one of the east supporting legs and extended up into the interior of the room. Entry to the room was controlled by a hinged wooden trap door, which swung to one side and was secured to the underside with a padlock when unoccupied. About 1933 – 1934, the viewing room was transferred to a 60-foot, four legged tower.

The Location of this watch tower at an elevation 2900 feet enabled a fire spotter equipped with binoculars an opportunity to sweep into the distant areas of West Virginia and Pennsylvania while maintaining control of the closer areas of Western Maryland.

When the position of fire spotter was advertised, the salary offered was $40.00 a month. Tower hours were from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. or longer if necessary. Expenses incurred traveling to and from the site were borne by the spotter. The work period extended from April 1 to the last day of November, with a seven-day week during the “alert” seasons (early spring and late fall).

William “Bill” Duckworth, a framer engaged is small scale farming in the upper limits of Montel Hollow, located on the easterly fringe of Loartown, was one of the aspirants vying for the position. In prior years he had been a mail carrier under a yearly contract, hauling mail to and from post offices in Eckhart Mines and Vale Summit. A year before the erection of the fire tower he was temporarily employed to be a spotter from the bare pinnacle of the “Rock”. If he saw smoke arising from forest fires he was to go down to the Ed Llewellyn’s farm homestead, over a half-mile away, and phone his report to a dispatcher in the Cumberland office.

Duckworth’s familiarity with the mountainous terrain, his knowledge and even-tempered disposition, combined with clarity of speech were the prime factors in his being chosen for the position of the first fire spotter in Allegany County operating from the “Rock”.

Bill was a raw-boned man about six feet in height with a weight of 170 pounds, self taught, friendly and a good-witted conversationalist. He walked with a limp in his right leg due to a previous fracture from a logging accident. He had keen eyes, an asset in spotting fires of any kind and location, and the ability to determine whether they were controlled or uncontrolled.

At early dawn he left home on his horse for the two-mile ride, his lunch and coffee and feed for the horse swung over either side. When he reached the “Rock”, all the way observing wind and weather conditions, he tethered his horse, sometimes storing the blanket and saddle under a ledge after checking for rattlers. After the laborious climb to his post he checked the horizon and called in to his superior’s office on the third floor of the county courthouse. And so began his long day. Occasionally, if I were in the vicinity at noontime, I would walk his horse to a nearby spring for water and feed him. I was always welcome to visit Bill in his cozy observation post and sometimes we would visit for hours. One time we talked of the meager salary he was receiving, the bare existence level of his wages for the very long hours of work.

Bill said to me “Tony, would you believe when I was first accepted for this position I was reminded that if I lost time on an ‘alert’ day my monthly wage would be docked accordingly to compensate for the day’s wages of the replacement? (At a time when he would be working seven days a week!). So far I have not missed one day here. No matter how bad I felt, I still reported for duty”.

In the latter part of 1933, I noticed that Bill’s color on his face was not as ruddy as in the past. When I asked about his health, he said he was often short of breath, probably because of old age. At a time when his salary was still only $50 a month, he resisted going to the doctor. By April of 1936 his salary was up to $55 but his health had deteriorated to the point that his son “Lawson, had to haul him up to the “Rock” in the car. Bill worked until about a month before he became bedfast and died on Decoration Day of 1936 at the age of 62. He was buried three days later in the Chester Loar Cemetery above Montel.

Bill and his wife, Liz (Elizabeth Robinette) raised a family of eight children: four daughters, Laura, Zella, Alice and Ethel; and four sons, Harry, Dewey, Lawson and Milton.

The Dan’s Rock fire watchtower was phased out of service between the years 1946 – 1947. The forestry service revamped its management of fire patrols to mobile units equipped with short-wave transmitters and receivers. Fire Wardens were assisted by trained personnel in the handling of fire retardant chemicals with high-pressure pumps. Mobile units could move more rapidly to the site of a fire to prevent its gaining momentum. Finally, the burden of forest fire suppression was quietly imposed on the shoulders of local volunteer fire departments, which are now the first line of defense.

THANKS TONY

Lawson L. Duckworth

llduckworth@hotmail.com