Patroller Chats
Join us as we sit down with past and present patrollers, hosts, and friends of the Pacific Northwest Division of the National Ski Patrol to preserve their stories and grow our History Project together. Patroller Chats was started in 2023.
Tune in for fun, informative, inspirational, and occasionally spirited conversations, where we explore traditions deeply rooted in history and full of heart.
Honoring the NSP Creed: Service and Safety since 1938, we’re preserving our legacy and building lasting connections for the future. Join us on Patroller Chats!
Patroller Chats
What Happens When Service Becomes A Way Of Life?
When Jim Trett first joined ski patrol in 1984, he could barely make it down the mountain. "I'm doing my make a pie and try not to fall down," he recalls with a laugh. That reluctant skier would go on to serve an incredible 40+ years as a patroller, including 33 years being on Mt Hood Ski Patrol at Mount Hood, OR before transferring to Santiam Pass Ski Patrol at Hoodoo Ski Area. This conversation reveals an extraordinary life of service across multiple domains. (Recorded in 2024)
The PNWD History Project: Shirley Cummings, the official history project coordinator, (& all around fabulous lady), has been on a mission: Collect and assemble an archive of stories and pictures from the different ski patrols within the Pacific Northwest Division. Hence, Patroller Chats was born!
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Welcome back to Patroller Chats- where we dive into the people & history of the PNW Division of the National Ski Patrol. We’re off to the slopes to ride the chairlift with volunteers working to keep the patrol running, the mountain safe, rescue guests & help operations run smoothly, often in difficult conditions. Learn what inspired them, unforgettable moments, & what keeps them coming back. Grab your gear, sit back, lower that bar if you have one, & let’s Chat.
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Okay, so I'm going to start with how long have you been a patroller?
Jim Trett:Started in 1974 with Mount Hood. It was there until about probably seven, eight years ago now, and then transferred Because Detroit's only 37.2 miles from my driveway to their parking lot oh, that's kind of nice. Decided I didn't need three ski areas anymore, and steep and deep.
Richard Murphy:Wow, okay, so you've been doing this for 50 years.
Jim Trett:I did 40 this year, no 84. I'm sorry.
Richard Murphy:Oh, you started in 84? 84, yeah, okay. Well, this is kind of easy math because I was born in 64.
Jim Trett:So let's go.
Richard Murphy:Oh, okay, I can do that, you young pup yeah. Yeah, but high mileage, high mileage, jim, that's it Okay. So you've been out there 40 years at Hoodoo.
Jim Trett:So you know, shelly, yes, I do, and I've only been at Hoodoo for about seven or eight. I spent 33 on Hood. Oh, okay, at Mount Hood Ski Patrol.
Jodie Jeffers:Which is basically all of Y-East region.
Jim Trett:Yeah, yeah, and I was the Y-East region director for a while. In fact, I'm the one that changed it from the Mount Hood region to the Y-East region.
Richard Murphy:Oh, were you the region director.
Jodie Jeffers:He was the president, oh.
Jim Trett:But I was also region director for a while.
Richard Murphy:Oh, that's right, I forgot about that yeah, how long were you the region director?
Jim Trett:I want to say I term limited out, so been what. Six years and I haven't. I cannot remember, I do not remember.
Jodie Jeffers:Was that before or after? Rod Legg.
Jim Trett:I followed Rod. Okay, so it was Rod and then me. He kind of sucked me into that.
Richard Murphy:So how did you get I believe the maritime term is Shanghai'd into that job? Because we just kind of did one here a little bit ago and they had to do some ginger cajoling and you know, trying to get somebody in to be the RD for the northwest region yeah, that was Rod, just kind of.
Jim Trett:You know he was traveling, I think, to China a lot for his job and but I can't attend all the meetings. I said, well, I can cover for you while you're gone. And next thing I know he's well, I'm going to leave the position. Nobody else wanted it, so here I am, or was.
Richard Murphy:Battlefield promotion, as I think they call that somewhere. Yeah.
Jim Trett:It was a good time. You know the division people were fun. We had fun getting together. Liz was the PD Division director yeah, division director were fun, we had fun getting together.
Richard Murphy:Liz was the um pd director yeah, division director, and so we had a bunch of neat people yeah, I, let's see, I'm trying to think because I I only have 10 years in, but liz was the. She was the division director because I first started doing stuff for her on the division.
Richard Murphy:So yeah yeah, but she was division director, I think, for like six years or so. Yeah, yeah, she's been in there for quite a while, that's it, so all right. One question I usually ask people is why did you join the ski patrol back in, uh, 1984? What possessed you to do that? Were you a skier beforehand, and not really I.
Jim Trett:You know it's really wild, because I worked for kaiser fire, as you know, and we did medical stuff. And the year before there had been an article in an art in a magazine or something about ski patrol and I said, you know, that would be fun, but I can't ski worth. But yeah, maybe they could have something in the first aid room, but they didn't talk about that, just working first aid room. So the following year I was mentoring two boys who, uh, who were avid skiers. Their parents had been ski ski instructors, but then there'd been kind of a uh difficult divorce and, uh, they hadn't been able to go. So I took them up to Meadows and, um, you know, they're doing their swish, swish and I'm doing my make a pie and try not to fall down. And I finally looked at about 11. I said, hey, go, you guys, go for an hour, just go, ski your brains out. And they're no, no, no. And I said, yes, go, and I'll meet you for lunch, then we'll go out afterwards.
Jim Trett:So I get in the singles line and the ski patroller comes up from Mount Hood and says follow me. So we got to bust the lift line. Oh, hey, that's pretty cool. And then on the way up the lift, we started talking. He found out what I did and he said well, you should join the ski patrol. I said ski with me and you'll see why I can't, and that'll take you about two turns. And he turns and he told me about what they call the associate program, which would be now today's patroller. Yeah, well, that's exactly what I've been thinking would be fun to do. So I, uh, he said, go into the first aid room.
Richard Murphy:I did, and the rest is kind of history so well did you use the ski patrol to learn how to ski better?
Jim Trett:oh, yeah, you know, I got, I got good enough that. Uh, buzz Bowman, who was a long time patroller with us patrol for over 50 years, he would work with me about four years in he said, you know, you could try out for the hill now. And I, I think the next time I went up yeah, I might do that. And the next time I went out, the weather hit me in the face really hard and I said, you know, I like being in the first aid room on days like this. Let's go back in and have coffee. So and I and I think that's where my skill set was better set, you know I'm kind of klutzy uh, I said, would I want to be in the sled I was pulling? And the answer was no, so I just stayed where I was and I've been very happy for now 40 years see, that's the new recruiting question.
Jodie Jeffers:Do you feel that you would be safe in the sled that you'd be pulling?
Jim Trett:yes, but, uh, yeah, so and that's pretty much how it happened. And then, uh, I intended to just do what I need to do, because I was looking at those two kids, saying I can take them up now and and they can get guest passes, and went from there. But then I really found an organization I really like. About halfway through my training year, my sister was talking to somebody on the phone. She said, yeah, jim's on the ski patrol and he really loves it. And I looked at her and said how do you know? Well, I guess I do, because that's where I am every weekend.
Richard Murphy:Yeah, that's funny. So you've been doing it for 40 years, okay, and you mostly do it in the aid room. So what's been, I guess, your most funny, memorable event during your time at Ski Patrol?
Jim Trett:Oh God, I've had several. I always remember we had a kid who had a concussion. He was from Sheridan, oregon, and he came in and in the time he was in there because they were trying to get an ambulance and it was coming from a long way away. He and I got to really having a good time together and on the way out to the ambulance, when I finally got there, I looked down at him and I said Steve, it's been great knowing you. I, you know, really like getting to know you. I wish you'd remember me tomorrow. And he looked at me and gave me this weird look and about two weeks later I'm in the same first aid room at Timberline and the kid and his dad walk in and his dad points at me. The kid comes over and goes hi, I'm Steve, I guess we're good friends. And I said, yes, we are. And he looked at me and said I don't remember you at all.
Jim Trett:I said I know we had a great one.
Jodie Jeffers:I know one that you need to tell. What's that? That is about you and Darryl Winterborn.
Jim Trett:Darryl Winterborn was our patrol patrol director and this is at timberline. Timberline and daryl is just a big bear of a guy, had beard, easiest guy in the world to get along with, just just a sweet guy. But he gets a call on flocks, which is one of the short advanced runs, or black diamonds, a timberline. But to get to it you have to come down a gentle slope across the flat road and then up a little bit across the flat and then you go down onto Phlox's run. So Darrell grabs the sled and he's picking up speed on the little down so he can get across the flat and up and then across the other flat he gets across. He goes up, he's across the flat just about to go down flocks.
Jim Trett:He looks over and the patient's on his right, not on the run but on this flat part. So he throws the sled into a right turn, catches an edge, edge and when he stops he's laying with his face in the snow and the sled literally at the top of his neck base of his skull. He picks his head up with the sled still on him and looks at the patient who's now two feet away from him with eyes as big as saucers and he goes ski patrol, can I help you? And the lady looks at him and says, is there anybody else? And he goes no, I'm sorry. And from there it went really well. She really appreciated it, but it was just. Only Daryl can get away with that and come up with something that fast.
Richard Murphy:Is there anybody else? Yeah, oh, that's a classic.
Jim Trett:It went from there. So we had a lot of fun like that. I had a kid family come in one year and it was like an older boy, his brother, his older brother's high school brother, comes in. He's tweaked his knee. I'm filling out the accident form. It turns out he's from Salem and I know you know the street he lives on, as I remember, is Ewald, and he and I are talking and they take him out and a little while later his 13-year-old brother in middle school comes in. He's tweaked something. I think it was his name. And so I'm filling out the accident form and I said so I, you know, and I just wrote his name down. I said you know, I can't remember his name. I said Danny, so I know you live on Ewell, but I can't remember the address. And he looks at me and says how do you know where I live? And it's the only time I've had a fast comeback. I looked at him. I said well, danny, I'm a firefighter and I have to know where these addresses, you know where people live so I can come if they need help. And oh, okay, so he gives me the numbers and I said now do you go to Leslie or Judson, the middle school out that way. How do you know where I go to school? And that happens. And your phone number is this right? How do you know my phone number? And I just keep I'm a firefighter. Finally, I asked him a question, I were telling him the answer, and he goes. He looks at his dad. Dad, how does he know all this stuff? His dad didn't even skip a beat. Sonny told you he's a firefighter and he's got to know where know this stuff.
Jim Trett:Two months later, in a wrestling match at Blisley, where he goes to school, there's his dad. I said how's the kid? He said well, on the way out of the first aid room I said you know, I should tell him that we filled out his brother's form two hours earlier. And his dad goes. Oh no, please don't, I'm going to have to deal with this. So two months later I go into a wrestling meet at Judson and there's the dad. I said how is he? He goes, he's fine, he's right up there. I said did you ever tell him? He said no, no, just go up and say hi. So I go up to the bleachers. Hey, I took care of you when you were at Timberline. How'd you know I was here. I'm a firefighter. I have to know where you are.
Jim Trett:I have to do some follow-up kid Was shaking his head like well, my.
Richard Murphy:God oh my goodness.
Jim Trett:So it's been. You know we've had good times and some not so good times, but you know some cases that I'd like to not think about anymore, but for the most part it's been just a ball.
Jodie Jeffers:you know A lot of friends and a lot of good times on the Hill and off the Hill really. So when I joined it was the Bill and Jim show at Timberline, and literally these two had everybody in stitches and Jim was the first aid chief at the time. But what I never was clear on is were you and Bill high in the same class, or how did you guys start off?
Jim Trett:Well, we were in the same. But see back, then they were still using advanced first aid for the Red Cross, and so when I signed up at EMT, they looked at me and said, well, you don't have to do this because you're already trained. And so I missed and I regret that to this day not being in that class because I didn't get. It was some great people. But when they saw me in October, they're who's this guy? He was never in our class, but bill and I um, that's how we met is at the beginning of that, our apprentice year, and it just kind of clicked between the two of us and he called you know, I called him dupas, he called me moron and they had everybody just always laughing in up atberline.
Jodie Jeffers:It was great. So I know you won't speak of a lot of this, so I have to prompt. And then, being president of the Mount Hood, but tell a little bit of background on how we had the different logos and how Auxiliary Associate Patroller came to be a lot more equal at Y-East and Mount Hood yeah.
Jim Trett:When I first joined, you had to carry first aid supplies, but you had to carry them in your coat pocket. They would like if you had a red coat with nothing on it. They still would prefer you not have a red coat, and so that's how we patrolled. But you got a radio and you had to have an armband with the patrol shield on it. That was instead of how you got on the lift.
Richard Murphy:But so I'm skiing around.
Jim Trett:Yeah, oh, okay, it was just right in front. They didn't want you identified in any way, shape or form on the hill. And when I became first aid chief or associate director, I think it was I was that first. I was talking to Daryl Winterborn and he you know where's your first aid supplies? I said they're in my coat pocket. He said why don't you have them in a fanny pack? We're not supposed to. And so he and I had a conversation and he went to the executive council and said, beginning immediately, all associates will have first aid supplies in a fanny pack. Couldn't have any idea on it. And then they said well, you can put a shield on it, okay, fine. So we did that for a while. There was a push for some kind of logo that said that you were okay, that you were a patroller. So we got this blue coat with this half moon thing with kind of stitching to show the mountain and it did say Mount Hood, ski Patrol, but then it said first aid across it.
Jim Trett:My problem with that became I was skiing down one of the runs one day and there's a little trail that took off into the trees and I and coming down this kid was waving and I went over and he said my friend hurt himself on this run and could you get the ski patrol? I said well, I am the ski patrol, show me where the kid is. So we went in and he hurt his knee pretty badly and I looked at the kid. I said go back where you were. There's a guy coming with a sled. Come on, bring him into here so we can get your friend off the hill. I'm come on, bring him into here so we can get your friend off the hill. I'm taking care of the boy.
Jim Trett:My head, my back is up, pointing uphill, and all of a sudden I hear this very angry voice saying what the hell are you doing to my son? And it was like I'm on the ski patrol and there. And it got a little tense for a while until I could turn around and point to the shield on my, on my breast pocket. And so he oh, okay, we got down to the bottom of the hill and to the bottom of the lift and he looked at me and said I am so sorry, but I just saw a guy leaning over my son in the woods and I said I don't mind. So that kind of amped up our, our push for redcoats and eventually we went to redcoats with full identification, the cross on the back, with the understanding that if you were going to ski someplace where you couldn't ski comfortably, you had to take that coat off and put on an unmarked coat if you wanted to practice. And we enforced that rather rigidly.
Jodie Jeffers:But that didn't come about until what? 2010?
Jim Trett:2010, something like that. Yeah, it's been a while, Maybe a little before that. I can't. Time flies. I lose track of Maybe about then. Yeah.
Richard Murphy:So if you weren't an elegant and graceful skier, you had to go put on your personal jacket. If you're on a green run doing well, you could wear the white cross but yeah, it was.
Jim Trett:Well, it wasn't. It wasn't even green, it was. They just said, if you can ski that, run whatever it is blue or or, uh, green or even an easy black you could do it. But you had to look like you knew what you were doing and if you wanted because we had a lot of people who joined the patrol didn't have the skiing ability, so they joined as an associate in a couple years, work on the skiing, kind of like I did, and then try out for on the hill, and so we had a lot of people going through that way.
Jim Trett:In fact there was some talk by some of the more senior ski patrols saying that's how we should bring all our new people on, as you worked the first two years in the first aid room. So that was where we said, if you're going to ski something where you're trying to get better, put on a coat that doesn't identify you as ski patrol, because you have to look like you know what you're doing, which I totally agree with, and they enforce that pretty well. I mean, if you see a kid or an associate patroller, as we call the patroller thrashing around on a hill, we'd go up to them and say, go in and take that coat off, and if you didn't bring another coat, don't ski it. So but it worked, and slowly. I guess now with Mount Hood they can take some extra training to confirm this and actually run empty sleds and they've become part of the sit-bump and everything else that is something that happens at Timberline.
Jodie Jeffers:I know for sure.
Jim Trett:Yeah, so I mean it's evolved over the years and I think they've done a great job.
Richard Murphy:So what was the transition like? Going from Timberline over to Hoodoo?
Jim Trett:Interesting. You know they did things. First thing you have to remember is I had to figure out is they did things differently. They had their own way. Some of it I was really comfortable with. Some of it I still kind of go. I like the way we did it at the other place, but I'm sure if I'd gone the other way it'd be the same thing.
Jim Trett:It's more of a family kind of resort. I remember the first year I was there I was eating lunch in the cafeteria, looking out at the bowl, at the base of the runs, the lifts, and I'm looking at here comes a snowboarder, here comes this, here, here comes a snow bike, here's a little girl running a remote controlled truck out in the basin with her dad there. She was doing it by herself, doing a great job. And then here comes a paraglider because they would let them ride the lift up. And I, yeah, this is a real family resort and they've done a real good job being a family resort and taking care of families. So it's different. It's, you know, like with Mount Hood Ski Patrol. You had your choice of really four ski areas. Well, three Timberline, ski Bowl and Summit and Mount Hood Meadows. But they went to teams fairly quickly. So yeah, but at Hoodoo it's just a nice family feel there and we go from there.
Richard Murphy:Yeah, my brother skis at Timberline all the time. That's kind of his deal and he brought his kids there. But Timberline all the time that's kind of his deal and brought his kids there. So of all the places that are on Hood, that's the one that I know the best. So it's fun. I like skiing there.
Jim Trett:I haven't been down to New.
Richard Murphy:York. I want to get down there and I need to make a pilgrimage to all of the resorts that we have in this division, because there's some fun skiing, that's around.
Jim Trett:Yeah.
Richard Murphy:It's nice.
Jim Trett:Let me know when you're coming. Well, we'll put you out there or something, and that, right there is why I love the ski patrol because you have a built-in community of people that just love to ski hey, if you're coming over here.
Jim Trett:You know it's like, if you want to come over to crystal mountain, call me, we'll get something worked out okay, no, it's just, it's, it's good, feel, you know, um, it's a smaller patrol than than, uh, mount hood, mount hood and uh, uh, so you really get to know everybody. We only have about 48 members and I think it's less than that right now, um, where mount hood had 250, 300 people. So, um, but we still had good times up there. That's where I got better at skiing, because I never had a patrol or ski away from me. I'd be going, you guys go ahead, I'm just going to do my wedge. I was a little past the wedge by that point, but no, no, we're going to stick with you until you get this right. And they did.
Richard Murphy:Yeah, there's a guy who just became an alumni member. I think I got his email two days ago. He sent it out to the patrol, ross Bishop, I don't know if you know Ross. He's been around for 50 years and he said after 50 years I'm going alumni. But when I was doing my senior I spent, yeah, 10, well, seven years just really learning how to ski again because I was self-taught. So Ross spent hours and hours nagging my ski ability, getting me to. You know ski properly and drills to do and, you know, arranging for PSIA level three guys to come out to our mountain so that we could have you know, professionals come out a couple of times.
Richard Murphy:It was just. It was fantastic. I have lots of warm feelings in my heart for Ross Bishop. I'm sure I ruined many ski days for him when he was helping me learn.
Jim Trett:That'd be me with Buzz Bowman. He'd just look at me.
Richard Murphy:No ski, pretty ski pretty, jim, just ski pretty, you'll be fine. Yeah, that's it. So how do you know, jody?
Jim Trett:she joined the patrol um jody jim first. I can't remember which came first it.
Jodie Jeffers:Well, it was how did no, okay, so I joined the patrol. You were the first aid chief, and then, um, there was a group of people that um sort of organized, that would get together weekly on Friday nights at Porter's Pub.
Jim Trett:Yeah, and that had nothing to do with ski patrolling, but it was a fun group. We'd get together on Friday night and we became something I developed when I was a disc jockey. I put together the church and the seven-day drinkers one day on an air shift because I had nothing else to talk about. So my news guy and I came up with it and then when I joined the fire department, we just started. Friday night we went out for dinner just to kind of end the week. Friday night a bunch of us would go out for dinner just to kind of end the week, and I told that story one night and all of a sudden the church was in full bloom every Friday night at Porter's Pub in Kaiser and some night we'd have up to 25 people there for services quote-unquote on a Friday night.
Richard Murphy:So I'm just going to go back. See, I've been making notes. So currently you're the mayor of Detroit. You work for the fire department. Were you the fire chief at one point?
Jim Trett:No, I was a line guy, worked the engine and stuff like that. The last 14, I was the public education information officer. I've done a lot of work with kids and when they wanted to move into school classes, especially educate you know fire safety, first aid, cpr things they just that's you. And then, because if you're ever in broadcasting TV or radio, anytime you join any organization they make you part of their PR committee. And I became the public girl, the public information officer for the fire district, and actually I had it unofficially before that.
Jodie Jeffers:And then Jim was first the fire chief of Detroit before he became the mayor of Detroit.
Richard Murphy:Yeah, okay, so I'm making this to us here. Fire chief of Detroit. Yeah, okay, so there's my alexa nagging me, so, um, but you mentioned something there. It closing just a couple of seconds ago. You were also a disc jockey. When were you a disc jockey?
Jim Trett:oh god, that was my first radio career, or my first career. I was going to college. Actually, when I was in high school I was the oregon youth chairman for the muscular dystrophy association and we had this campaign of doing record hops against dystrophy. They'd go, they'd go into a town and ask the radio station to do this promotional thing for a month or two and and I'd go in and record the commercials and I kind of thought that was pretty neat.
Jim Trett:And uh, the guy I worked with at a radio station in salem for that promotion, about the time I went to bend to go to college, he went to bend become a program director in a daytime radio station and he looked at me. We kind of hung on to each other because we knew each other. And uh, we were not really well from salem but we knew each other. And and all of a sudden he looked at me and said, hey, I need an afternoon guy playing rock and roll. Would you want to do that? I could use a job, sure. So I did that and then ended up going full time into it for about 12 years.
Richard Murphy:So what radio station was it? And so you were first question. You were drive time like in the afternoon.
Jim Trett:Afternoon. Well, that's a pretty popular thing in the radio business. Well, except that station went off the air at sunset.
Richard Murphy:Well, still, you were yeah.
Jim Trett:Back then they had daytime radio stations. You could come on at 6, but you had to go off at sunset. So January December, we were going off the air at 4.30 in the afternoon. Oh, okay.
Richard Murphy:I did not know that.
Jodie Jeffers:What was the call sign?
Jim Trett:What was the call sign? And then it was KGRL, k-girl, and it was a fun little gig, did you?
Jodie Jeffers:do it at another spot.
Jim Trett:Then I came to KBZY in Salem, so yeah, I moved around, so what was it?
Richard Murphy:KGBY KBZY in.
Jim Trett:Salem. So, yeah, I moved around. So what was it? Kgby, kbzy, okay, yeah, and then it went down to KFLY, kejo and Corvallis, so it was an AMFM operation. So yeah, it was an interesting job. Glad I got into it, glad I got out of it it was an interesting job.
Jodie Jeffers:Glad I got into it, glad I got out of it. But then from there.
Jim Trett:When did you start working for? Was it a judge or who? Was it in Oregon legislature? Well, I went to work for the minority whip, wally Carson, heidi Kuhn, really highly looked upon by both Republicans and Democrats. He was a moderate Republican back then, but nothing like it is now. So I was his legislative staff. I just wanted to see what it was like. I was going to volunteer and all of a sudden he said hey, we have this.
Jim Trett:It was right after I'd left the radio, I was trying to stay in Oregon, and he said well, I need this legislative staff guy if you want to do that. And I said sure, and so worked with him for a couple of years. You know his last term because when I met him he was running for what he said was going to be his last term and it was his last term and it was. He went on to become the chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court and is, as of right now, the longest-serving chief justice. And I didn't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat. Every Democrat I've talked to even said he's a guy that I can support. You know, a lot different than it is now.
Richard Murphy:Wait a minute. So he is currently the chief justice.
Jim Trett:No he's retired, oh, okay, yeah, but he became the chief justice after he left. Well, he got appointed to circuit court, then the Supreme Court and then finally, chief justice.
Richard Murphy:Wow, you hang out with some heavy hitters.
Jim Trett:Oh yeah, I did work on Tom McCall's second campaign for governor. He was a broadcaster in Portland, just make a name. I saw him once in dedication to the Boys and Girls Club. I was on the board but I was working at KVZY there and he'd been a political analyst for kgw in portland and until he got to be the governor and he's running for his second term and he's there to dedicate the boys club and we're having at the diaz and I'm comparing his 33 years of broadcasting to my two or three at the time.
Jim Trett:At the end of it I said well, governor, if you're running for re-election, if I wanted to get involved, how would I do that? Call ron sch, call Ron Schmidt my press secretary. Okay, I didn't. And then three months later I'm at the dedication of a pool at Hillcrest School for Girls and he's there to cut the ribbon. I'm supposed to judge the beauty contest. That was interesting, and afterwards we're doing the social hour. He comes up to me. I say hi, governor. He said Trent, you never called Schmidt. I said I'll do it tomorrow, sir, and ended up on his campaign staff as a troubleshooter. So great guy.
Jim Trett:Great guy Wow so what does a troubleshooter do? I wasn't married and living, you know, sharing an apartment here in Salem and they would call me. Schmidt was my main contact. He was the governor's press secretary but took a leave of absence to run part of the campaign. And they'd call me from the Portland office and say, hey, we need somebody in Ontario tomorrow morning at eight o'clock. Can you leave right now? And I'd say I can leave in an hour, Okay, fine. And I'd go over and they'd tell me what the problem was and I'd go flying over and I guess, because I was from the office or campaign headquarters, they took stock in what I did. I'm going. I have no, I'm just telling you what they told me to tell you. But so they moved me all over the place and well, from there it was. It was an interesting time, Great job, I loved it. And when the election was over, it was over, so I went from there.
Jodie Jeffers:But all this, I think, helped you when you had the major event where the fire came through the canyon and burned up Detroit.
Jim Trett:Yeah, yeah, 90% of town went down. How long ago was this Huh?
Richard Murphy:How long ago was this?
Jim Trett:This was 2000 and. Labor Day weekend 2020. We got hit by two nights in a row by two different fires, but the Beech and Creek fire yeah, the big event that happened, where multiple towns got burned up.
Jodie Jeffers:Yeah, I remember that you were safe up in Washington.
Jim Trett:Yeah, yeah, 90% of Detroit went to the ground those two nights. What's it like now we're coming back.
Jim Trett:Fema says we're coming back faster than most cities they've ever worked with. Part of that is because they can't help second homeowners and so the second homeowners said, get out of the way and took care of their property but also began helping their neighbors who didn't have insurance or older folk who are underinsured and all that kind of good stuff. So we're coming back fairly fast. We still have about probably five, six years to go before we're back to some kind of normal, but it's coming along. We have good days and bad days.
Richard Murphy:Right, that's so a huge chunk of your infrastructure burned to the ground.
Jodie Jeffers:I mean, wow that, wow 90 of the town yeah, yeah, you guys probably didn't hear about it as much, um, because it's the one that went down the canyon and went into gates lions um down in medford area, where talent and phoenix all burned up so there were about four major fires burning that weekend.
Jim Trett:Actually, the Echin Creek fire came down, kind of hit Detroit, went down the canyon towards Salem, then went north and they actually got as far north as almost Oregon City 183,000 acres burned out. But so it's been an interesting time. I mean we were without water for seven months because our water, everything above ground of our water plant system, burned down. So, uh, we're just now rebuilding the permanent water plant because we got a bunch of money from fema for it, but it's taken three years to get it, you know yep, that was uh.
Jodie Jeffers:I was working in the ear that night at salem and got off in the morning. But we had heard I think it was about three o'clock or I can't remember what time in the morning was start uh, discharging as many people as you can because uh, silverton uh hospital had just had their er shut at, transferred everybody out. San diem uh hospital had to transfer all their patients out and just have the core if anybody happened to come into the er and uh. And then you just saw this orange ball just keep coming closer and closer. It was scary.
Jim Trett:Scary couple nights yeah.
Richard Murphy:Yeah, I believe it or not, I delivered internet to these base camps via satellite years ago and I never really understood the whole firefighting thing until I was driving to my first, you know, wildland fire and I was going off of GPS coordinates, you know, back in the day. So I was looking, trying to find out, and I was looking on the map and all of a sudden it opened up into this field and there was a city in the middle of this field. And there was a city in the middle of this field and by city it was tractor trailers that had restaurants, you know, for all the firefighters, a shower facility, first aid. I couldn't believe everything that they trucked in to, you know, make these firefighting things possible. They had the prisoners from the jail that were actually cooking. You know all the food for the firefighters, I was like holy man, this is some serious business.
Richard Murphy:And then when you look, you know way, you know in the distance, because these base camps aren't anywhere near the fire you can see how fast that fire is moving and it's just, it is unfathomable really. When you see a fire moving at like 50 miles an hour, it's like whew, that's just the amount of smoke it produces. Yeah, it's scary, scary business.
Jim Trett:Well, every year I do first aid CPR training for their firefighting crews for the summer. Actually, that starts next week and I always look for the new hires because we get into the class and they have a friend up there that is a wildland firefighter. He's one of their hierarchy guys, so he'll come into the room I'm teaching and as soon as I see him I'll look at these new hires who are young, going to fly fire kind of people, and I'll look at them and say, oh, by the way, I think you guys are totally nuts. And they look at me like what? And I said you fight fires that can outrun you. That is stupid. And then Russ, in the back of the room, who's the guy that's been there forever he'll trip up from the back saying no, no, no. You structural fires are total idiots because you run into buildings smart people are trying to run out of, and by then the new hires are going huh and we just okay, let's go back to first aid.
Jim Trett:So we have some frying pan to the fire.
Richard Murphy:Yes, oh, good lord, there you go from there well we've been on looking for that we've been on the phone for like 40, well, it's just now 40 minutes, it's amazing how fast those things go when Jody and I first started, you know, trying to put this thing together, we go yeah, well, you know people may talk for 10, 15, 15 minutes. Remember that, jody. Even though Jody's on mute, I'll talk for her.
Jim Trett:Yeah.
Richard Murphy:And she was like, yeah, oh yeah, it's only going to be just a couple of minutes. And then we started talking to people and we go, you know, 30, 40 minutes just getting some history on you know different people that have been in the ski patrol and it's funny, you know, at 10 years.
Richard Murphy:I am just now getting to where most of the people I know have been in ski patrol, because I'm always amazed where you've got somebody. You 40 years, you know it goes 30 years, 20 years and here I am like 10 years. I just feel like a neophyte. But with all the stories that are on there, it it's like oh my God, it is so interesting talking to a bunch of alumni.
Jodie Jeffers:So I appreciate you spending this time. Yeah, I think it's just amazing and we need to find out more about when people came in. But I mean, their life history is just flabbergasting to me of wow, it is really we have from A to Z and back again of people's different experiences. But with the patrol, what would you say would be the top three things that you've noticed big changes with overall, with ski patrol?
Jim Trett:The growth in emergency care because, like I say, when I started it was advanced first aid and then we went to the WEC and then the OEC changed. You know, I had a guy here at Kaiser Fire who joined the patrol for a few years and he had just completed, and here's how this was when it was WEC, he was trying, he had just finished his EMT basic class and he's now it was WEC, he was trying, he had just finished his EMT basic class and he's now taking the WEC class and back then they had the textbook and then the workbook. And he's going through the workbook trying to answer and all of a sudden he looked at it and he really started reading. He ended up taking the cover off of his WEC book and the cover off his EMT basic book and putting the WEC cover on the or the EMT cover on the. What was it? He'd put the WEC book cover on the EMT book and turn it in because it was already complete and it was right. The only thing that was different were the pictures and uh, so I mean, so you've seen that, uh, and you know it, it's become, um, a little more intense, I think, than when back then, because we did. Finally, I think, recognize as volunteers. Even though we're volunteers, uh, we really are professionals. I mean, we have the same level of training, if not more, than some of the pro patrollers. Some of them have more. But I just think that's. Those are some of the big changes that I've seen, you know.
Jim Trett:And patrolling is also like I told you. I took those two kids up because they hadn't been skiing for a couple of years and gave them that experience. It ended up I do a lot of mentoring and it got to the point where any kid that I started to mentor, okay, let's go up, you're going to learn how to ski or snowboard. Timberline was great with that because I wasn't supposed to have a family pass, because I didn't have a family. But Darrell was one of them that started it.
Jim Trett:He said if you're bringing up kids who are in this big brother type program that we had in Salem at the time, you can bring up two or three of them, not just one. Bring up a couple of their friends. And so those kids were exposed to the sport and some of them have carried on with it. They still go to Timberline. So Timberline has benefited because a lot of the kids that learned there. That's where they're taking now their kids to teach, and some of them come to Hoodoo because I'm there and they go from there. But that's the other thing that patrol has done, at least in my world, is it's made it possible for me to make an impact, I hope, on another program that I really feel strongly about.
Jodie Jeffers:Yeah, and then also you had that happen at Summit when Charlie Wessinger was the owner.
Jim Trett:Yeah, and you know I could take good old Charlie Summit, if you don't know, is kind of this one lift 800 foot vertical and they had a ski instructor and I'd bring kids up and say they need a lesson and I'd get out my checkbook and Charlie would just, oh no, just put him in the class. So I mean he supported it that way and we went from there. But it was, you know. So a lot of kids got some experiences that they probably wouldn't have had other than that. So without the program and without the help from those areas, had other than that.
Richard Murphy:So without the program and without the help from those areas, that's so you do a lot of the big brother kind of mentoring.
Jim Trett:Yeah, I, I became a big brother when I was in san francisco for a little bit and then when I moved back up, here I was, I was a ymca brat growing up and, um, I got to know a guy who was blinded in World War II by a sniper. I just idolized him. I came back up here and he said well, how long are you here for? I said I moved back. Well, what did you do down there? I said, well, I got involved with the Big Brothers of America. He jumped up. He was blind. He jumps up, leans across, grabs my arm and said we're starting a program like that here at the Y. You're on the committee.
Jim Trett:I may be moving to Portland, I'm not sure You're on the committee, the director of the program, for about three years as a volunteer, and then I did take it over for a little over a year because of a grant and I would have stayed with it. But when the grant expired they wanted to break up what that position did to about four different positions and I said no, the passion is working with kids in single-parent homes and the other stuff is going to take too much time. So I had another job off in the private sector and off I went.
Jim Trett:But, I still mentor kids and I've done some fostering.
Jodie Jeffers:Yeah, yeah, and but you were down in San Francisco, was that? When you had joined the Navy? Yeah, yeah.
Jim Trett:So, uh and and went from there. So yeah, it's. It's been an interesting, I've had a fun time.
Richard Murphy:All right. So when were you in the Navy?
Jim Trett:I joined halfway through my junior year in the Reserves and then went active and then got kicked out because I was technically blind in my right eye and shouldn't have gotten in in the first place.
Richard Murphy:What year was that 1964?
Jim Trett:to 1966 in there somewhere alright, holy cow.
Richard Murphy:Wow the US Navy. I grew up in a Navy town, so I know all about the Navy except I was a CB, so I spent more time with the Marines.
Jim Trett:Oh okay, yep, Fully, understandable, I never got on a ship that left the port.
Richard Murphy:Yeah, you know at NAS would be. They barely have any Marines there. They used to. They don't even do gate security anymore. Back when I was a kid that's the pool, so we would go there to go learn how to swim and do these other things all on base. You know now you can't even get anywhere near that bloody place. But the pool I learned to swim in was in Officer and a Gentleman. When they take the dunker they go through, it's the plane that hits the water and flips over. That was the pool that I learned to swim in. My mom taught there. That's neat.
Jim Trett:That's neat, that's neat oh yeah. Good catch for stuff.
Richard Murphy:Yeah, that was good. Yeah, my mom did a lot of volunteering, so I'm a big proponent of that, which is why I love to volunteer.
Jim Trett:It's good, I'm glad.
Richard Murphy:You've done a lot of fantastic stuff over the years, holy cow, it's good.
Jim Trett:I'm glad You've done a lot of fantastic stuff. Over the years, holy cow Every now, and then I look at myself in the mirror and say, why are you doing this? But then something else happens and it's okay.
Jim Trett:I've always said with the volunteer stuff I've gotten back more than I've ever given. I had a kid one time. He was two brothers. The younger brother was really quiet. I got to where I could read him and if something was wrong, what's the matter? I need nothing and I'd stick it up. Finally tell me and I always remembered, you know I'd usually at the end of our conversation, okay, here's, I understand, you know. Sorry, this is going on, it'll get better, kind of thing, and I put my arm around his shoulder and say, hey, it's going to be better tomorrow, you'll be fine. So one day his mom had a chance to go on vacation with her girlfriend.
Jim Trett:So I'm playing dad to these two kids and I had a really, really bad day at work, and this was they were in Portland, I'm in Kaiser, so I'm driving back up. This is when I was at the walk. I'm going to be dad, everything's everything. So I'm cooking dinner and David, the younger one, comes in and he's helping me a little bit and then all of a sudden I hear what's wrong and I went nothing and he kept it up. So after dinner I'm sitting on the couch watching TV and he comes up and he'd never done it before. He sits right down, right next to me, leans into me and says what's wrong? And I said, david, I just had a bad day at work. And he starts well, you know, that was today. I bet you tomorrow's going to be better. And his arm came up around my shoulder and he said you're going to be fine. And I said it just got better right now. So I mean you give and you get. That is a sweet story.
Richard Murphy:That is nice yeah.
Jim Trett:So and I've had experiences like that a lot of times, where all of a sudden they know something's wrong and they want to give back, so yeah, so that's why I keep going About the time I think I need to give this up, something like that happens. No, I need to do this more. So they go from there.
Richard Murphy:Well, I got to say, Jim, it has been fantastic talking to you. We're coming up on an hour, so we have sorry about that? No, no, no, no, no no no, no, no, no, no no. We, yeah, we no no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no no no no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no no no, no.
