The beauty of the hills was a sermon

“To him the mountains were . . . a book to which there was no end.  The beauty of the hills was a sermon.”

 – from the obituary of Judge John Waldo

John B WaldoJohn B. Waldo (1844-1907) was an Oregon politician and state supreme court justice with asthma.  It was the asthma that led him on horseback sojourns each year into the Oregon Cascade Mountains for relief.

His love of the mountains led to his support of William Gladstone Steel’s efforts to make Crater Lake into a National Park.  He even encouraged Steel to expand his vision to preserve the entire Cascade Range in Oregon.  His proposal would have protected 12 miles on either side of the crest for the entire length of the range.  The proposal never made it through the Oregon legislature and thus it never reached Washington.  Still,  these ideas led to formation of the Cascade Range Forest Reserve that ultimately became several National Forests.

From illness to a massive legacy of conservation.  It all began with a horseback ride.

A book with no end . . .

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