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Like Twisp itself, the smokejumping community is tight.
Just as it’s no surprise to find yourself rubbing elbows with Diana Hottell or Hank Konrad at the post office or TwispWorks, it’s perfectly natural for local retired smokejumpers Bill Moody and John Doran to release memoirs of their smokejumping exploits within days of each other.
Moody, of course, predated Doran at the North Cascades Smokejumping Base (NCSB) by more than a decade, logging hundreds of jumps prior to his first year as Base Manager in 1972—the very year that Doran was himself completing his own rookie jumps.
After three years with the NCSB crew, Doran moved on to long careers as a Wenatchee firefighter and rancher. Moody, meanwhile, stayed with smokejumping—and aerial firefighting, including development of the 747 Supertanker program.
In Tales & Truths: 60 Years of Firefighting from Hells Canyon to the Amazon, released in December by Methow Press, Moody recounts his journey from rookie smokejumper to world-renowned aerial pioneer. The book includes summaries of Moody’s more memorable jumps plus reprints of articles he has written over the years for various publications.
Hook Up & Get In the Door: Smokejumping Stories, 1972-1974, John Doran’s memoir of his intense time at NCSB, is a rollicking account not only of many of the spectacular fires he fought—including his first jump as a “booster” in Alaska, which came dangerously close to wiping out the entire crew—but also of the off-hours headaches he and his fellow rookies caused Base staff, including Bill Moody. Doran’s entertaining yarns were also published by Methow Press in December.
The two ex-jumpers shared a mic at the Twisp Grange late in November for an early presentation of their books sponsored by the Twisp Library. Both will also appear on the program at the Third Annual Methow Valley Authors Fair, March 28-29 at Casia Lodge. Their books can be found at Nightshade Bowery in Twisp as well as at Trail’s End Bookstore in Winthrop.
