Jim Clark’s career at Hinton started in 1955, as assistant chief forester. In 1966, he was assistant woodlands manager to Stan Hart, when he resigned to become woods manager for the new pulpmill being developed in Prince Albert Saskatchewan by Parsons and Whittemore. When Stan Hart left Hinton in 1968 to return to a St. Regis operation in Maine, Jim Clark was hired back to replace him as woodlands manager, where he remained until he retired in 1985.
Among his other accomplishments, he served terms as president of the Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF), as well as the Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA). He is also credited with providing the inspiration as well as the organizational resources to design and implement a forestry/wildlife program at the Hinton forest, the first such industrial program in Alberta.Jim Clark began to write this story in 1994 with the intention to produce a novel but it soon became a memoir. In 1997, Peter Murphy interviewed Jim at his home in Hinton, adding background to many of the events and clarifying details which we have used to enhance and clarify details in the memoir where appropriate. The interview reflects his first-hand observations of early days of the Hinton operation.
Former Chief Forester Jack Wright also reviewed the memoir to correct some of the historical details and the names of people involved. His view was that in the main, Mr. Clark’s recollection of events was clear and in many ways enlightening.
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