Fire in the Piney Woods: Texas Lookout Towers, the Forest Service, and the Civilian Conservation Corps (The Texas Experience, Books made possible by Sarah '84 and Mark '77 Philpy)

Fire lookout towers are enjoying a retrospective rebirth, attracting the curious and the adventurous, as Americans seeking escape for moments of solitude rediscover the structures’ national significance.Though the Civilian Conservation Corps’ national fire control policies and reforestation efforts have been covered elsewhere, each state’s legacy is as unique as its people, forest conditions, traditions, and legislative history.In Texas, what emerges is a story that shaped national policies and examines the ethos of a generation. Edward Cavallerano’s Fire in the Piney Woods develops several parallel stories.The first describes the Piney Woods and the antecedent conditions that necessitated fire prevention, forest fire detection, and the development of Texas’ fire lookout network.Second, through collected stories, poetry, and primary accounts, it pays tribute to a generation of Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees, foresters, surveyors, and dedicated, self-sufficient lookouts who redev