volunteers set up mechanical post pounder	stringing new wire

On October 13, Eleanor & Don Wegman (St. Thomas the Apostle, Naperville), Vern Witte, (Sts. Peter & Paul, Naperville) and Bob Jansen traveled to Townsend, MT. The purpose of this mission was to join with MDS, who since September, have been assisting ranchers whose fences and winter feeding supplies were devastated by the forest fires that raged through Montana during the late summer.

There was a large group of volunteers; in addition to the Catholic IL group, 15 Mennonites from PA were included as well as 2 from Canada and 1 from Mississippi. Most members of the group were 20 to 30 year olds, but, we, the 50-60 year old "CCCers" held our own, save running up and down the hills.

On Friday and Saturday 13/14 October, rain and snow came to the area and work in the early part of the week (16/17 October) was restricted to lower elevations. Later in the week we were able to work the high country.

The work involved clearing old heat damaged wire and burnt posts, as well as cutting partially burnt trees to clear a path for reconstruction. The trees were also removed to avoid future problems with dead trees falling on the new fence. Once a path was cleared, treated wooden posts were set using a hydraulic post pounder. Where the hills prevented the use of the post pounder, steel posts were driven by hand. This was particularly hard work, especially on the steep slopes (30 to 45 degree incline) and rocky soil. After the posts were set, barbed wire was strung, tightened and attached to the posts. Once the posts were set, stringing the wire went fairly fast.

A total of 840,000 acres of Montana forest and fields were burned during this season. The area had already experienced a three-year drought which had caused a diminished food supply for the cattle. The fire seemed to be the final blow to many of the smaller farmers and ranchers. The need to repair their fences before winter was a crucial one. It was evident that the presence of the volunteers was providing both the physical and emotional boost that brought many of the ranchers we met from a feeling of hopelessness to optimism. One particular example occurred on Tuesday afternoon. Monday had been a fairly difficult day for all of us flatlanders. We did not expect that the terrain that we would be working in would be so mountainous. We had to get used to using our "mountain goat legs" and we finished the day fairly well covered with ashes and soot. On Tuesday morning we had cleaned up another burned out fence line. When we got to the end of our assigned line we crossed over onto another rancher' s property only to find the rancher and his wife, surveying their damaged fences. As we had accomplished our assigned work, we decided to spend the rest of the time doing what we could for this couple. In about two hours time, we had cleaned up the damaged fence posts and barbed wire and put in new fence posts of a considerable distance including a deep ravine. We observed the transformation on the faces of this husband and wife from one of frustration and hopelessness to true elation. They could just not stop smiling and expressing their gratitude. This, alone, would have been enough to make the trip worthwhile.

During the week we worked on about ten miles of fence line, completing a five mile line. The ranchers and farmers worked along with us and we had the opportunity to learn much about their way of life. The scenery was beautiful and the weather during this particular week was a real blessing.

Due to the relatively large volunteer group, there was marginal space in the large ranch house used as MDS camp headquarters. As a result, our CCC group stayed in the rectory at Holy Cross Catholic church in Townsend, MT. The accommodations there were better than excellent. Fr. Joe Byme, the pastor, was a great host; he provided us with not only comfortable, quiet bedrooms and bathroom, but information on the area and people. He even did our very dirty laundry one evening while we attended a barbeque at one of the rancher' s homes. One drawback, however, was that we missed much of the evening socializing with the other volunteers. It really didn't matter that much; we were too tired to do anything but go to bed anyway!

Breakfast was served at the ranch house; lunch was brought to the worksite, chuck wagon style, and dinner was prepared and served by various churches (Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, and Catholic) in Townsend. One evening, the Flynn family, one of the ranches on which we worked, had a steak BBQ for the entire group. This was a gala event and a great chance to talk to several ranchers about their ranching operations and the effect the fire had and will have in future months.

About the fire itself; the ranchers mix cattle raising, including hay production, with some wheat production in the area where we worked. On top of many of the plateaus, there is sufficient tillable soil to raise wheat. (Montana is one of the US primary wheat growing states.) The summer of 2000 was particularly dry and fire was a definite possibility. Apparently, the Maudlow-Toston fire, as it is referred to, was started by the spark from a wheat combine machine. The spark either originated from the engine exhaust or as a result of metal hitting a stone in the field. Efforts to contain the small fire were hampered by a strong wind that quickly sent the fire into a large heavily wooded thicket nearby. The fire swept up various valleys and across ridge hills burning or partially burning everything in its path. The fire continued for nearly 30 days before it was controlled.

Much of the wildlife, particularly, deer and elk feed upon the forest grass in the high country. Much of that area was burned; therefore, they now have very limited food supply. The ranchers have seen unusual numbers of deer and elk in the low country and assume they will compete with their cattle for food during the winter. To avoid feeding their limited hay supply to the deer and elk, ranchers will have to fence in their hay supply. They hope that the forest rangers will increase fall hunting quotas to reduce numbers of deer and elk.

This is the fourth time that the Diocesan Catholic Construction Corps has joined with the Mennonite Disaster Service. Working with the Mennonites is a wonderful, prayerful, and inspiring experience. Their joy in living out the teachings of Christ is something that has to be observed to be appreciated. Hopefully, our presence has created a better understanding of our faith. This mission offered a particularly great opportunity to connect with people of various Christian faiths.

Initially, I (Eleanor) was a little reluctant to join this particular mission trip, asking myself what a retired grandmother could contribute to building fences in Montana. I found there was much I could do, aside from pounding posts which was done by the younger volunteers. I will be eternally grateful that I said "yes" to the nudging of the Spirit. As always I felt that I gained much more than I gave.

This was a particularly interesting and satisfying service project. Our group got to see a part of the US we had never before seen and lived a rancher's lifestyle for a week.

On Sat. 21 October, we started back home with an appreciation of the plight and problems caused by the fires of summer 2000. It was a satisfying project; but Don said he did not want to come back again the following week! We stopped by Yellowstone Park for a short visit and saw the bubbling mud pits and Old Faithful. It was a miserable cold snowy day, so we headed south toward home before the snow closed the roads.

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Eleanor Wegman and Vern Witte