The Fresno Bee from Fresno, California • 25

MH 0Wa v-y -wf dkUalqb-'4h'--ev ar 5 Sfrvgo Mv qp VN 4y THE FRESNO BEE Sunday Sept 7 1975 Page Cl Lead-Plane Pilot Mary Barr Rates No 1 In Forest Service or SAVE 1 Satin Antitut Satin Fattric Regular 150 Yd Two nf ihr rwiline many drapery fabric in our ctJ-lection Rayon anti acetate antique naliq Labor extra 3 50 yd CUSTOM FABRICS ON SALE Casement: Own- "Stiaau" all ifrawcaw tahm Sheer: (Wt "Snuflie" -Imp-cul MT "Tninr "TnwT 1 1 Shu "H-miron" Hmdrnm" IlSni Unv nl I'nni: Tat- nria" "Urn Cart" "Bandana" HomcVTlarlinatna" Jacquard: "Cnnrrrta" nil and KantUmr 'll "Enne" 100 Cotton Velvet Drapery Fabric 9 we u-v i By TERRY BERGFALK Bee Correspondent PORTERVILLE The US Forest Service chalked up a first when it hired Mary Barr of Redding in July 1974 as its first and only woman lead-plane pilot to fly forest fires She is one' of' three lead-plane pilots (the other two are men) who flew on the fire in the Sequoia National Forest that has blackened 17000 acres of land The blaze finally was controlled Saturday Ms Barr the only woman in the US to hold this type of flying position began her career in aviation in 1944 and now has nearly 12000 hours of flying time In addition to holding every type of flight rating in the book she is an mechanic (airframe and power) a ground school instructor and has taught numerous airline and forest service pilots to fly "Mary was chosen for this highly sensitive flying job because she was the best pilot for the job and knew how to handle it" says Richard Gibson of Feradale an air attack officer with the forest service Gibson who has flown with Ms Barr prior to the Sequioa National Tore! Maze (officially known as the Flat Fire) said has a widely known reputation in the forest service as a top-notch pilot who' can handle any situation apd fly any plane" Th4 mother of two' daughters and the wife of r'i Mary Barr-One of the best forest fire pilots in the business 25 it'ChnaearTtarama'' "laanaaor" liana jj "DwV yiinfilnr I thought I would get the thumbs down treatment but these men are the greatest" As lead-plane pilot on a fire her job is to be air After the first pass she makes a quick turn radios the oncoming tankers the needed information and starts her second run with the tankers following be' Decorator Rods 20 Off tMra of In S2-M 52-w ta R2 to trdVw Hr-pdar 1 1 VO) ITIW No tdr fmnt SIlTOlnSZm ilk In tanker boss and her word hind in her traffic pattern is law to the men who drop' As they make their the fire retardants She is drops Ms Barr quickly only allowed to fly seven makes another turn for a hours a day usually in 2-or third pfcss over the area to 3-hour shifts The air tank- evaluate the retardant a retired commercial pilot Ms Barr operated a charter service out of Susan-ville for 20 years and did charter work for the forest service In June 1974 she heard that the job of lead-plane pilot was open and decided to try for it She was chosen over nearly 100 male applicants I have taken on this she says am amazed at the friendliness the cooperation the assistance and even some instruction by the air pilots and other forest service personnel Being a woman in a world I t'ds Frank Stommel Orol Wallace Jim Crrgg Mrlony Nye Evelyn Thompson Mary Lou Tawney er pilots say "We rely on Mary completely for the success of our drops and our safety with no qualms Her judgment is She receives orders from the air attack officer who is flying high above the fire and is in contact with ground crew bosses and the lead plane When ground crews ask for air support the tankers are alerted and Ms Barr in her four-place Beech Baron makes the first pass over the fire area surveying the situa- tion determining the needed altitude the approach direction and target area for the tankers drop At times she will change the locations of the drops along with altitude and approach direction This system is used for every air drop oq a forest fire When the fire season is over Ms Barr flies transport duty for- the forest service and at times even 1 gets behind a desk for dispatch work love flying" she says a part of me This job as lead-plane pilot is one of the most challenging and demanding flying jobs I have held It requires all the alertness and knowledge? of forest fires that I have acquired over the in Is Trails anrhenter Center 3636 Rbekntone Ave 229-501 1 Fresno SHOP AT SEARS AND SAVE SaiitfadiM Guaranteed or Your Money Bock 'AES SOBBUCK AND CO The Bee Wont Ads thrifty habit 89" eMIVEllW Nearly a century ago a man by the name of Muir made a name for himself in the mountains of California with monumental observations of the natural sciences Today another man with the same name is following in John footsteps Mis name is James Muir He is a great-grandnephew of the famed naturalist and a sea- sonal interpretative ranger at Grant Grove in Kings Canyon National Park a lot of us" Muir explained 'recently from the side of the family that stayed home and did nothing" get constant ques- tions from some of the park visitors once recognized the name" he said somewhat proudly James Muir said the original Muir family was a large one and John had three brothers and four sisters although the famed citizen of the Sierra had but two daughters guess you could say I followed in his footsteps I live in Glendora during the balance of the year and teach botany and earth sciences in Pasadena at the John Muir High School" the lean and lanlqr summer ranger ex- plained Now in his 11th summer at Kings Canyon the modem Muir leads nature walks through the tall groves of big trees and to -other scenic sites around Lassen National Park in northeastern California But when does James Muir take his vacation? told my wife that our vacation is Christmas and Easter Then we go and visit some of the other National he grinned Grant Grovei Altogether the great-grandnephew of the famous Scottish immigrant' his been 'leading' such activities every summer since World War II except for four summers Muir says he particularly enjoys leading the park visitors through the giant Sequoias Another favorite nature walk is the Kings Canyon overlook which he affectionately calls biggest ditch in the The easy-going naturalist is so attached to the big frees that he has several growing in the yard of his Glendora home Sequoia grows almost all over the world now" he explained been planted many places several growing in my front yard you'd be surprised how fast they really Now 52 Muir will fold his tent this week and return to his Southern California classroom really changed much here over the years" he said The most pronounced change here has been the people There are a lot more people today than there were a decade ago Fortunately most of the people toddy are aware of the conservation problem they are better informed as to the necessity of preserving these natural Besides 11 summers in the local Sierra park Muir has seen similar service at SAVE -f i on Ah-h Bras for hours of beautiful comfort Now there are three ways to make a liody say Ah-li Sears famous underwire bra Our totally soft natural rup and contour cup bras All offer soft natural look shaping great support and a comfortable fit that moves with you Ah-h Bras sale 5 rrpdr750 salc649 regular 850 sale 3" ale gular 6 regular 6 rei soft support: contour cup Nothing but softness touches you as our contour cup helps round and fin out your figure Cups are seamless for smooth sleek underlining It's available in basic white 34A-36C underwire: seamless lace cup The Ah-h Bra to wear when you want a totally smooth look under your dingly things Nylon lace cups nylon and spandex frame In white 32B-42C 340-3800 Regular $950 749 soft support: natural cup soft ms sigh Sleek seamless cups help give you a natural rounded look and a smooth appearance under efingy things Comes in white 34B to 38C 34-38D Regular $7 1499 underwire: our seamed cup Soft nylon tricot spandex bra White: 32B-42C Polyester lace nylon spandex bra White: 32B-42C Tricot ondlece bras in 3404000 in white Regular ts50 mIc 649 FULL WARRANTY FOR THE II IE OF AUH BRUIN UNDIRS IRE If your AH-H Bri omlmriic dm Ml toy pln for lb life of ihe Mnwrt mun bra loony Sranrtorr hr nf I hr ftrmmi fnr nf tarpr CHARGE IT oa Scar Revolving Charge Thin Ad Effrrtive thru Wednrnday SHORfA-ErSEARSIAfDiSAV fi i 1 tn tm SEARS ROEKCK Al CO James Muir.