From the moment I stepped off the plane in Luxembourg and onto the bus that would take me into West Germany, I knew I was in for the experience of a lifetime. It was May 29 and for the next three months, I was to spend the time working for the Baden- Wuarttemburg State Forest Service in the Black Forest of West Germany. I must admit, it was a dream come true

Schone, Jim

English

From the moment I stepped off the plane in Luxembourg and onto the bus that would take me into West Germany, I knew I was in for the experience of a lifetime. It was May 29 and for the next three months, I was to spend the time working for the Baden- Wuarttemburg State Forest Service in the Black Forest of West Germany. I must admit, it was a dream come true.</p

Digital Repository @ Iowa State University (ISU)

A   Summer  Inthe Black ForestbyJIM SCHONEFrom   the   moment   I   stepped   off  the   plane   in-Luxembourg and onto the bus that would take me intoWest Germany, I knew I was in for the experience ofalifetime. It was May 29 andforthenextthreemonths, Iwas   to   spend   the   time   working   for   the   Baden-Wuarttemburg State Forest Service in the BlackForestof West Germany. I must admit, it was a dream cometrue.It  all  started with involvement in an organizationhere on the Iowa State University campus called theSummer Trainee Exchange Program. There were tenISU students from various academic fields, all wantingjob   experiences   in   West   Germany.   Through   anagreement   with   the   Berman   Academic   ExchangeService wewouldbeassignedGermanjobsin ourfieldofstudyifwecouldfindjobsforGermanstudentsinIowa.The preliminary work started in October but itwas notuntil lateMarch thatwehadreceived ourjob offers andknew for sure that we would be spending the summerabroad. From then until the time I left O'Hare Airport,my    time    was    spent    busily    preparing    passportapplications,    reviewing   my German, attending   atraveler's courses and getting use totheideathat I wasgoing to be workingin an area that I had only dreamedof ever seeing.Upon arival in Germany, I realized how rusty myknowledge of their language  really  was.  Although  Ihave had six years of high school German, I have notkept up with it in college, so m} rash review was notenough. The firstdays there werefilled with many-nowfond memories but at the time--frustrating experiencesin trying to communicatewith people. I was amazed bythe  large  number  of people  who  spoke  English  andspoke it quite well, but I had promised myselfto avoidusing it except in emergencies, so I struggled onwards.My work papers stated that I was to meet mybossinSchopfheim    which    is    in    the    state    of   Baden-Wuerttemburg in the very southwestem corner ofWestGermany. Itwasatthetown'straindepotthatIwasmetby  a  very  courteous  man  in  his  Herman  Forester'sUniform consisting ofa green coat and knickers. I wassorelievedtohavefinallyreachedmydestinationinonepiece and although I was still among total strangers, Ifelt that I was with someone I could trust.Afteravery pleasantintroductionto thetown, weleftSchopfhaim  which  is  located  near  the  Rhine  Rivervalley and traveled up into the hills ofthe Black Forest.I was struck bythetremendousbeautyofthelandscape.18I guess I would compare it to theAppalachians atleastin sizebutquitedifferentinvegetation.AsIwastoleanlater,  the  Black  Forest  received  its  name  from  theextremely  dense  growth  of  white  Fir  and  NorwaySpruce  that  looks  black  in  appearance.  These  twospecies  along  with  European  Beech  were  the  maincomponents of the forest in the area in which I was towork.After a half-hour drive, we reached our destinationwhich  was  a  small  agricultural  village  nestled  inamongst the hills call Hasel. Theyhad arranged formeto staywith a familyin Hasel which is whereIwouldbeworking. It was with this family that I experienced mycloses  contact  with  the  German  people.  There  werethree children, all about my age, still living at home.Theytookmeinwith open arms andthroughthecourseof the summer, I felt like I became part of the family.They included me in all their activities and much ofwhat I leamed that summer was fromthetimes I spentwith them.I had oneeveningtogetsettledinmynewhomebeforemy firstdayofwork was to begin. I admitit was quite arestless nightthinking ofwhatlay ahead butitwasnotlong before the  sun rose above the hills of the BlackForest and itwas timetogetready.Thatmorning,Iwastreated to a breakfast of coffee and fresh baked breadwith homemade jam. This was to become my regularmoming meal for the rest of the summer.That first day, I was assigned to a five-man loggingcrew with four forestry apprentices, again all aboutmyage,  and  one  supervisor.  The  work  usually  centeredright around Hasel, so we did not have to travel too farto the work areas. After a few friendly introductions tothe rest ofthe crew, we were set to begin. Theentirefirstweek ofwork consisted ofdebarking the White Fir treesthat the supervisor felled. In trying to understand thereasoning behind this hard work that was done with atool that looked like a long-handled spatula, I came torealize that ifthe bark was left on, insects would attackthe douned tree. These pests have a habit of workingtheir way into the wood and decreasingitquality. withdebarking,  they  can  reduce  the  number  of  insectsattacking  the  log,  decreasing the potential  economicloss. Itwas inthisfirstexperiencethatIfacedwhatwasto become my greatest frustration of the summer: nothavingagoodenoughcommandofthelanguagetofullyunderstand    the    technical    reasoning    behind   thethings  that  they  did  in  the  forest.  This  frustrationThe  1982provided  excellent  motivation  for me to work on myGerman, and still manage to learn a great deal abouttheir practices.Throughout the summer, they never let me get boredwith  any  one  activity.  Almost  every  week  the  crewmoved on to something new. After the debarking, westarted  on some thinning work in stands of NorwaySpruce.   Later   activities   included   such   things   ascompetition control in areas that had been clearcut andreplanted  with  White  Fir  seedlings,  log  transport  oftrees that had been damaged or knocked down duringheavy    snowfalls,    road    surveying    and   roadmaintenance. Whiledoing allthesejobs Iwas abletogeta good look at their forests and forestry practices.I guess what struck as the most interesting was theintensity of their operations. The head forester in thedistrict spent a day with me explaining his part oftheBlack Forest and what they were tryingtodo withit. Heshowed me a map ofthe entire area with age class andstand descriptions for every hectare oftheir forest land.The records from which this information comes date allthe way back to 1830! With such a smalllandbase, WestGermany itselfis about the sizeofOregon, theGermanshave to get as much as possible out of what they haveand their forestry practices reflect this philosophy.It is impossible for me torecount all ofmyexperienceshere,  as I could go on forever. When the time came, itwas extremely difficult for me to leave Hasel and allthewonderful people that I had come to know. Each andevery  day  of  the  summer  had  been  a  tremendousleaning experience,  and after three months I felt asthough I had only touched the surface. In looking backnow I realize that I learned a great deal about Germanyand its people, but I also learned a lot about my owncountry in  seeing it from  a new and totally differentperspective. It was an experience that I wish everyonecould share.Jim   Schone   i,s   a   student   at   Iowa   StateUniuersity   and   is   majoring   i,n   both   ForestManagement and Business Administration.AMES  FOPESTEPCastle and t{Forstant" Zwingenberg at the Neckar.19

A Summer In the Black Forest

https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/6184

A Summer In the Black Forest

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