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Liberty man went back to the 1800s for the summer
By LINDA M. LINONIS
LIBERTY
Living in the past is making the present more interesting for Evan Coombs.
This summer, the 20-year-old worked as a “living character,” specifically a logger from the 1800s, at an interpretive history camp at Philmont Scout Ranch, a national Boy Scout camp near Cimarron, N.M.
Coombs lived his character, “Bluenose McCombs,” 24/7.
Coombs said the idea is to demonstrate what frontier life was like. Philmont, which covers about 214 square miles, is the Boy Scouts’ largest high-adventure base with 34 camps. Activities, in addition to interpretive history, include horseback riding, burro packing, gold panning and chuckwagon dinners.
Coombs said the Scouts involved in the camps are age 14 to 18, and the staff is mostly college-age. Staff members work nine days and have three days off. The remoteness of the camp limited off-duty activities; Coombs said he sometimes visited Taos, N.M., an arts community.
He is a junior government major at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and a 2008 graduate of Liberty High School. The son of Janice and Frederick Coombs, he was a Boy Scout and attained Eagle Scout.
Coombs said the camp demonstrates segments of the logging industry to Scouts. His character was employed by Continental Tie and Lumber Co. and executed high-line logging. Coombs described this method as “using a pole, setting up rigging and using a cable” to drag a tree out of the mountainous terrain.
Coomb said one of the most interesting and challenging elements of his character was spar pole climbing. That is using gaffs, climbing spurs, to work one’s way up a tree. “We spent a lot of time outdoors,” he said.
As his logging character, Coombs wore long-sleeved shirts, canvas pants with suspenders and leather boots. He also sported a beard.
Campers used a wood-burning stove for cooking and had no modern conveniences such as restrooms. They used latrines.
“We did have a solar- powered CB for communication,” he said, adding that was for safety’s sake. A water-purification system also was solar-powered. There was no electricity in the camp, Coombs said. And though most campers did have cell phones, getting a signal was problematic in the mountain wilderness. “Once you used up your battery, you couldn’t recharge it,” he said.
Another element of his life as a logger was playing the banjo around campfires. Coombs has played the instrument for about five years. “We played old folk songs,” he said.
Coombs said he plans to apply for a staff position next summer. “It’s nice to get away from technology ... you learn a lot about yourself,” he said. “And it’s interesting to learn about what was.”