The Story of Richard Bruce "Dick" "Specs" Matheny
From his obituary:
Dick died of cancer June 4, 2016 in Quincy. He was born November 29, 1936, in Blackduck, Minnesota. Dick lived in Averill, Minnesota for eight years as a child. The family moved back to Blackduck where he completed high school. Dick lived there until he moved to Quincy in 1962 to begin his career with the U. S. Forest Service in the Plumas National Forest.
First, he worked on a hotshot fire crew. He became permanent in 1969 working as an Assistant Fire Control Officer at the Quincy Ranger District. In 1979, he quit working full-time. He became a spotter in the lookout on Smith Peak until 2001.
Dick is survived by his siblings, Kent Matheny (Myrtle) of St. George, Utah; Anne Nowery (Don) of Overton, Nevada; Kaye Hentges (Richard) of Mesquite, Nevada; Pat Matheny-White of Olympia, Washington; and six nieces and nephews.
Family who preceded him in death were his parents Keith and Elvie (Alsop) Matheny and brother Allan.
From his obituary:
Dick died of cancer June 4, 2016 in Quincy. He was born November 29, 1936, in Blackduck, Minnesota. Dick lived in Averill, Minnesota for eight years as a child. The family moved back to Blackduck where he completed high school. Dick lived there until he moved to Quincy in 1962 to begin his career with the U. S. Forest Service in the Plumas National Forest.
First, he worked on a hotshot fire crew. He became permanent in 1969 working as an Assistant Fire Control Officer at the Quincy Ranger District. In 1979, he quit working full-time. He became a spotter in the lookout on Smith Peak until 2001.
Dick is survived by his siblings, Kent Matheny (Myrtle) of St. George, Utah; Anne Nowery (Don) of Overton, Nevada; Kaye Hentges (Richard) of Mesquite, Nevada; Pat Matheny-White of Olympia, Washington; and six nieces and nephews.
Family who preceded him in death were his parents Keith and Elvie (Alsop) Matheny and brother Allan.
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Reflections on Richard Matheny from Sue McCourt, Plumas National Forest, Beckwourth Ranger District, Fire Prevention Battalion Chief 1989-2006, retired.
When did you first meet him? I first met “Specs” in 1989 when I came to Plumas County. I supervised two fire lookouts at that time, Mills Peak and Smith Peak; where Specs had his second home. How would you describe him as a person to those who did not know him? Specs was a minimalist. He led a simple life and loved his time on Smith Peak lookout overlooking Lake Davis. He was the most self-sufficient lookout I ever met! He liked to open and close up the lookout himself, and pretty much was the handy man if anything broke too. He worked ten days on, four days off in those days. The only thing he asked for was water delivery once in a while. Specs had spent his early career as an Assistant Fire Control Officer on the Quincy Ranger District. This afforded him a lot of fire fighting experience and supervising fire crews, which made him an exceptional lookout. We were so fortunate to have excellent reports of conditions and updates with accurate fire behavior updates. He came to Smith Peak in 1981 and stayed until he retired in 2010. Specs wasn’t much of a social guy until his later years at the look out. I think his perfect day would have included no visitors! He loved his peak, the seasons and listening to his radio. In conversations with the firefighters that worked with him in the 1970’s he was a “jack of all trades.” The district “lore” was that he kept a stack of paychecks in a drawer at home and when he needed money he grabbed one of the checks and cashed it. Yes indeed, the simple life! Any good stories you can share with us? I always loved it when he was on duty. I was especially appreciative, as he looked right down on my home in Portola watching over my home. I can still hear “Plumas- Smith Peak… smoke report!” What great reports of conditions and locations he gave for us responders! He was spot on. Often he would give detailed directions, point out nearby water sources, and sometimes addresses to residences. He could even differentiate the type of fire for responders, structure vs. vehicle vs. wildfire. Watch out if there was a quiver in his voice - you knew it was a fire that had potential. When we would get a lightning bust he could multitask reporting, coordinating and directing the ground forces in to fires with great accuracy. He was one of the few lookouts that could keep it short and sweet on the radio. Now THAT is a fine art! I remember having a hard time getting in to some of the lightning fires at dusk, he would always stay up monitoring the radio and being that “human repeater” when we couldn’t get through to the main dispatch center in Quincy. He often reported fires that were on the other side of the next lookout. No one scooped Specs on a smoke report! Specs as an artist At the “Artist at the Lookout” reception in Quincy in November 2016, many of us that were attending were so happy that we could see Specs through his artwork. I knew he painted, but never had seen the scope of his work. It was truly amazing to see the depth of his landscapes. His lookout paintings are a treasure for us wildland firefighters who spent many years hearing the lookouts on the radio or took care of the men and women manning those lookouts over the years. He took photos and would spend his winter hours painting. Another rumor was he was self-taught by watching Bob Ross, the popular artist seen on PBS television in the 1970’s. We’ll never know, as he was such a private person but it makes sense! Richard’s paintings were donated by his family to the Plumas National Forest and can be viewed at all the Ranger Stations on the Forest. |
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See the slide show of photos below.
ARTIST REFLECTIONS FROM THE LOOKOUT
Plumas National Forest and Plumas Arts hosted an evening of Artist Reflections from the Lookout at the Plumas Arts Gallery on Friday evening November 18, 2016.
The gathering was a tribute to longtime Smith Peak Look-out Richard Bruce (Dick) “Specs” Matheny with an exhibition of his paintings. “Specs” moved to Quincy in 1962 to begin his career with the US Forest Service in the Plumas National Forest on a hotshot fire crew, then served as an Assistant Fire Control Office and after retirement as a spotter in the Smith Peak Lookout from 1980 to 2010. Matheny passed away June 4, 2016 and as told by Lee Anne Schramel, Public information Officer for the Plumas National Forest, “Unbeknownst to most of us he was a talented, self-taught painter.”
Matheny and his family donated a number of his art works to Plumas National Forest. The paintings were on display for the month of November at the Plumas Arts Gallery and nowl hang in the Mt. Hough, Beckwourth and Supervisor’s office of the Plumas National Forest. The generous donation by the family, Schramel adds, “allows us all to see the forest through his (Specs’) eyes.”
The lofty vantage and time spent in solitude at the lookout in the embrace of Nature provides significant inspiration. Here is an excerpt from a letter sent to his family after Matheny’s first season in the lookout in 1980:
“Had an enjoyable summer on the lookout. Peace and quiet, sun and wind, brilliant sunsets, hawks and eagles making their rounds, an occasional turkey visiting but most visitors interested and interesting, a camaraderie via radio with other lookouts whom you never meet but feel you know by season’s end, the challenge of not being scooped on “first report” of smokes in your area, the cheerful flute-like song of a Canyon Wren who made his home nearby and brightened some dull days, and always the clouds that come to mean so much— a change in the weather, sometimes flexing their muscles shooting off sparks of lightning, sometimes sculpted by the wind to exquisite forms and the canvas that brilliant sunsets are painted on. I’m hooked.”
Plumas National Forest and Plumas Arts hosted an evening of Artist Reflections from the Lookout at the Plumas Arts Gallery on Friday evening November 18, 2016.
The gathering was a tribute to longtime Smith Peak Look-out Richard Bruce (Dick) “Specs” Matheny with an exhibition of his paintings. “Specs” moved to Quincy in 1962 to begin his career with the US Forest Service in the Plumas National Forest on a hotshot fire crew, then served as an Assistant Fire Control Office and after retirement as a spotter in the Smith Peak Lookout from 1980 to 2010. Matheny passed away June 4, 2016 and as told by Lee Anne Schramel, Public information Officer for the Plumas National Forest, “Unbeknownst to most of us he was a talented, self-taught painter.”
Matheny and his family donated a number of his art works to Plumas National Forest. The paintings were on display for the month of November at the Plumas Arts Gallery and nowl hang in the Mt. Hough, Beckwourth and Supervisor’s office of the Plumas National Forest. The generous donation by the family, Schramel adds, “allows us all to see the forest through his (Specs’) eyes.”
The lofty vantage and time spent in solitude at the lookout in the embrace of Nature provides significant inspiration. Here is an excerpt from a letter sent to his family after Matheny’s first season in the lookout in 1980:
“Had an enjoyable summer on the lookout. Peace and quiet, sun and wind, brilliant sunsets, hawks and eagles making their rounds, an occasional turkey visiting but most visitors interested and interesting, a camaraderie via radio with other lookouts whom you never meet but feel you know by season’s end, the challenge of not being scooped on “first report” of smokes in your area, the cheerful flute-like song of a Canyon Wren who made his home nearby and brightened some dull days, and always the clouds that come to mean so much— a change in the weather, sometimes flexing their muscles shooting off sparks of lightning, sometimes sculpted by the wind to exquisite forms and the canvas that brilliant sunsets are painted on. I’m hooked.”
