Earl Madden and Tracy Strating

00:06 My name is Tracy straighting. I'm 52 years old today is September 12th, 2015. I'm in the Chicago storycorps and I brought my father on this fear of his 75th birthday.

00:23 Emerald Madden lb75 on the 25th

00:29 Today's the 12th of September.

00:33 Where in the Chicago Cultural Center and Tracy is my daughter?

00:41 So I brought some questions to ask you and the first one is what is the most impressive view or place you've ever seen?

00:53 I don't know. It'll be really tough to pick one. But I guess if I had to had to narrow it down to one it would be the Aurora Borealis in the yard when I was working up there.

01:08 Those are some real religious experience will be there. Probably the most spectacular.

01:17 Was that when you were there when I was in like 2nd grade before the pipeline started it was one of the oil was they were just first prospecting for the oil in the yard.

01:37 So that's what I worked up there and you were gone for like 3 or 4 months and came back.

01:53 So how did you end up in the article explain? Like I had a friend at work has gone up and work there and and so I just loaded up my it was even hard on him.

02:08 Hell nah flew into the Arctic and we were in camps on skis and traveled going to refill those camps with dozers and

02:21 We were doing seismic work prospecting for the oil then.

02:26 Cuz Arco had one rigging in the Arctic and 69.

02:32 I swear I saw a polar bear.

02:39 So the Eskimos come and running back into camp and I couldn't figure out what they were afraid of come to find out it was you I bear coming in off the ice on the ocean and they were afraid of him.

02:52 And rightfully, so but anyway, I got to see the full repairing. It was I need the experience, but I think that

03:01 Aurora Borealis with most spectacular thing. I think I've ever seen him the gungeon lighting curtains like big theater curtains and shafts of white light coming down through it.

03:24 He kills you at home with your mom and

03:29 I can remember wish and I wish you know that we could share that so.

03:34 Anyway, my next question for you is what or who do you think created Your Love of the outdoors and nature and science that you gave us as a gift as children.

03:52 Well, I think

03:56 I had a Sunday school teacher when I was a little kid that was into it Roxy. You did a lot of lapidary work and kind of geology stuff. You don't think you'll be interested in that then.

04:11 My uncle Glen who was married to my aunt at that time.

04:16 A horse a real Outdoorsman. I don't know if you know it was it was almost like it was a natural thing for me. We were camping out by ourselves when we were 10 12 13 years old.

04:34 I know John my older brother and I spent a lot of time in the woods.

04:40 I think of you always kidded. Oh and I said Mom send us out in the woods hoping we were back but we always did, but it was a great time. She know you didn't have to worry about the war had just ended when I was six and a second world war and peaceful times and no drugs. No.

05:04 Old kidnapping smooch or anything, so I had a great childhood.

05:11 What would you do if it was your last day on Earth?

05:21 We'll just see if I couldn't remind all the people around me that how much I love them and how much I care about him and it'll be wonderful to see if you don't have time to say goodbye. I think that would be a good good thing, you know.

05:38 The noon

05:41 We just left.

05:44 I thought that was a big question. That one wasn't mine. Why did you decide to join the Airforce? What made you leave Colorado and and go into the airport to feeling like that every kid. I think after a while you get to where you want to Branch out and get away a little bit and get it and you don't have a

06:06 Different experience and you know, it was just a good time, too.

06:11 2

06:13 Hello, Dad. I was interested in airplanes and I wanted to spend some time around aircraft and feeling so far. So I think that's what was my motivating factor.

06:26 Friend of mine live joined together we could have been the Air Force in the Navy. We just flipped into a corner and decided that I was glad that it turned out to be the Air Force.

06:43 It was mostly my love of airplanes. I think you know.

06:48 I remember you narrating along the highway with her. I mean along the Airfield when we were kids. We thought it was a big day out and you'd narrated the pilots came in. I remember what was the happiest moment of your life.

07:08 I don't know about a lot of happy moments. I guess I don't know what was happiest moment of my life. I guess one of each you and Lisa were born. I mean, I mean, there's two of the most happy moment to my life. You were healthy and

07:29 Hell no, you know, I I don't I don't get I can't think of any particular incident where your instance that was happier than those two moments.

07:40 And your mother was okay.

07:44 Share when Tracy was born with that they could you share what you were feeling when we were in the military at that time.

07:55 We went in to take my wife into Military Hospital which wasn't much and therefore we were stationed and she had a a 22 or liberal. I remember and it was so freely agonizing for her. You don't want a long session and back in those days. Of course, you know, they wouldn't let the men weren't we didn't go in with the wife, so

08:21 I couldn't be there to hear encouraged or anything and it was it was a long session. So I just thought Agony and I'm in a huge relief, you know when it was finally all over and you were feeling your mother was okay. So it was kind of an agonizing experience for me not to you don't know it like you see you now where the husband to the room passes out when the kids born. Anyway, that's basically the experience.

08:58 One of the questions that one of the grandkids asked me to ask you what is the place that you haven't seen or been to that you'd like to see or that you wanted to go that you haven't gone.

09:10 Really ghosts top of Everest would be a good start to the top of Kilimanjaro in Africa. I'd like to see the you know, the animals are the planes in Africa.

09:24 Hell no, you don't love no. I would love to when I was younger go to Antarctica. I'd like to I would have liked to done that but

09:37 There's a you know, any place that I haven't seen is where I'd like to go.

09:42 I think we have that in common that you've ever known.

09:58 Well known all that fascinating people, I think.

10:03 There's two people that stand out in my mind one of my cell Bill caywood and hoof is like kind of like a surrogate grandfather to me when I was a kid.

10:14 He was the last wolf trapper in the western part of the United States. It was really an interesting Old Gentleman was back in the forties and

10:30 Google is really an interesting guy and in the second most in Terraria for the other interesting person in my life was Wilbert Manning to say he was truly like a little like a father to me and could taxidermist in a wonderful and I absolutely wonderful compassionate person.

10:52 I know you're everybody should have gotten too good to know. We'll burn.

11:05 What's the most unbelievable thing that ever happened to you?

11:22 I don't know. You know, I've had a lot of really really interesting things happened, but I don't I don't know sunbelievable thing that I ever saw was.

11:32 Who's up on the wing of a B-52 at Mather in Sacramento working on him and looked up and saw a fighter coming down the the Run play just cuz

11:47 A small aircraft is Cessna took off from secondary Runway and turned right into it was right in front of as soon the whole thing took place, right?

11:58 Right in front of us and the two planes crashed and killed killed the pilot to tooth of the small plane.

12:08 The two guys in the fighter ejected and got out, but I was an unbelievable coincidence and of course.

12:19 It'll do just spontaneously think about the most unbelievable thing you seen it takes a little bit of research in your memory, but

12:28 There's a lot of things like that. I guess I remember you talking about the fire on the horses above Timber when you were working in the forest service the fireballs and the light for Michelle.

12:43 We got caught above Timberline into with the horses and the mules and

12:50 St. Elmo's Fire was rolling down the horses back and off the end of their tail just balls of static electricity in

12:59 It was pretty unbelievable and hair on the back of your neck stand up and vibrate and I would actually shocked you just barks and Chill from your color to your neck.

13:14 Pretty pretty spectacular is probably as close as I ever came to dying and you know without it actually happening.

13:28 What was it like growing up in Hodgkiss? And then again later in Collbran? I mean it.

13:35 Do you want to say about that recent history and it is it that you know, I was 6 years old in the second world war end. Did I can still remember the headlines in the paper? And I can remember are the veterans coming home and a lot of them are selling pots and pans back in those days. You know, they didn't they didn't recognize post-traumatic stress disorder or anything like that PST.

14:15 Great times peaceful, Janome new crime rate was next to nothing where we were no, no drugs who didn't know anything about marijuana none of that.

14:27 All we had to do was just playing be good kids and if in fight and scrap and it feels great time to go up absolutely do most and I just kind of went into a. Of isolationism. You know, I was before Korea.

14:46 No, no, I was just great real piece of oil.

14:51 It was great times to go up.

14:56 I was really fortunate, you know compared to what kids have now. We didn't have any computers new internet nothing.

15:03 It wasn't nearly as tempting as a kid or biggest erotic magazine was his Wards catalog.

15:14 So, you know, we were fortunate we didn't have the little bit that way about the way we grew up where we grew up make it more.

15:42 What accomplishment are you most proud of?

15:49 It's probably the only construct you think I ever accomplished know. It's true.

16:00 Uno

16:04 What's the best advice you ever got?

16:14 But I think the best advice I ever got was just tell the truth faces and and you know, you can deal with it no matter what the circumstances if you if you know the truth you can always deal with it and I think those

16:31 Probably the greatest piece of advice I ever got.

16:44 Probably was

16:48 And what matters the most to you now and why?

16:54 Well, you know my time as good a little shorter, you know, who's mortalities finally real soaking in. So I think what matters the most to me is it my family knows how much I love how much I care about him.

17:13 It's about you know, that it really I just want people to know how much I care.

17:21 Bluetooth

17:26 I think about things like when we spent time on the mountain when we when I was a kid. I mean basically every weekend of every summer of my childhood was engaged in some sort of activity that involved nature whether it be out panning for gold or are you no fishing or hunting or camping or even when we work together when I was really young when it was just picking up rocks ahead of whatever you were whatever. You know, what are you driving the greater or whatever you were doing? It always felt like pretty much we were centered on what was going on out there that was related to the natural world and so many ways and and even focus down sometimes to you know area is as small as a square yard in a way to see and

18:17 That's the kind of thing. I think that we all are so thankful for that. You gave us was an appreciation for everything even down to a small yard. But yeah any part of it is interesting and Aunt is interesting in what's interesting to watch a beat watch a beer a beaver and a DOT drug and takes time. So, you know to do that and really appreciate it because

18:47 It it's it's just a special it really is.

18:52 To tried to do that.

18:57 Talk about when you came home to get married and what that was like from the military.

19:03 The Hedgehog from Sacramento, California to

19:08 Palisade Colorado took me

19:12 We used to drive that in 22 hours. I hitchhiked in 20 and 18. I think it was anyway.

19:23 Enough

19:26 Got married, I mean, you know where you could get up and hitchhike with the uniform on people to pick you up cuz they trusted you know.

19:45 That's one of the most painful things for me now is to look around and realize that people can't have them blind trust anymore that we were able to have, you know, you can trust the fact the other really good that if if you saw a guy in uniform these out here till I can use a good guy and he was headed home or headed back. So

20:10 People didn't see the danger. They wasn't there like it is now, you know, it's just a shame that we screwed this place up as bad as we have you no breaks. My heart to people can't have that innocent face that we were able to have that's that's one of the things it pains me the most

20:35 Is it young people now? Okay to have that blind trust that we used to be able to have for the most part and it's too bad. You know, it's just a shame.

20:48 Anyway

20:51 I'll tell you when I'm going to get married with you. Came home just up my uniform and we got hit in the church and took off and went to California.

21:04 So

21:05 So your uncle Glenn was a big part of your early life. And then after that you were a big part of my early life and now the kids have that piece as well as they move forward from there. So hopefully this one has been able to pass the

21:27 The constructive parts of what we do and hide the bed parts and hopefully there's somebody picks up the good parts and goes on it's supposed to get better revolver. It is our generation school, you know come along it's supposed to get better.

21:46 You look think that it would if we could just eliminate all the bed parts and pass on the good part time difference for me. But if that I have some of the same feelings and some ways you do but I feel like you know, those pieces are always there to a certain extent and each of us sees our life in that Continuum. You know what I mean? I think that cuz I feel that way too sometimes about about our kids that you know, what's next for them. But I know that for them that next part feels the same way probably very close to the same way it did for me or for you.

22:35 Pluto's time so, you know, I just hope that I can continue on that people can.

22:43 Hello, I'm don't have to live in so much fears. They have to you now.

22:47 Anyway, remember that Christmas that we had like five different types of wild game for Christmas. We didn't have a turkey like or a ham. We had Tucker's a stuffed rainbow trout and probably some little bit of elk or something. Yeah, all those all those years all those things that you brought to the family to. I mean partially out of necessity mean you you haven't hunted for food now in a lot of years, have you been doing Kirby? We ate a lot of elk and deer and pheasant and duck.

23:30 She wanted it really helped, you know, having had that Brett's of and held things in my hand. I think and it teaches you so much about the world to realize I mean used to tell me a lot about nature and what nature could teach me and I don't know that I always learned all those lessons as well of it as I should but you know that the natural order of things was an important part of learning about living in the world.

24:02 Really owes a lot to do with the you're moving into the violence of Nature. And yeah, if you understand that you understand life and death, you know, I'm in 2024 through the peace and Tranquility of it. It's all there's all good lessons there that people can come learn if they take the time to observe if you know that you've learned. Well, I think you have to learn that first of all that nature is cruel that there's nothing fair, you know, it's all about chance in about how you present yourself to it and

24:42 The teachers about the life and death, you know, if you watch a mountain lion kill a deer or wolf killer and you understand and you know, that that's Nature's of violent place, but it can be one of those peaceful places in the world. I think of you want to contemplate to the Kona play just get out nature and take a moment and listen and you can hear it. You know, it's so quiet that you can hear it actually.

25:18 I know it's so it teaches you I think a lot of patience and she would and because you know, those are those people that charge through and don't have any patients. They never see anything. They don't ever see the ants working intricate the hills are they don't see the lizard on the Rock and no, I don't know.

25:44 So it teaches you that I think it teaches you quiet power of observation and appreciation for what's out there and it always helped me. You know, I'm dealing with people the Lord who do all the patients in and realizing it.

26:02 It's not always fair, you know, so you have to have to understand that and realize it doesn't always go your way. It's not always going to be that way. You just have to find out a way to deal with it.

26:17 So that's what I learned from nature when you would take us up at to go camping and you were her mom or somebody was concerned that we get lost. So you taught us how to observe things as a way to keep from getting lost boy from camping out in the trees in the brush and then leave you in and tell you to find your way back and hold it talk to you I think was in to pay attention when you're going and that way you'll be able to see how you can come back and it was so funny. She was frightened about of course. I never did let you I'll let you know. I was always there but it helps

27:08 Develop a sense, you know and I feel like find it to be especially true in the cities. I get such a kick out of it. Now, you know what people with your navigation systems of someone they don't pay any attention to where they're going and when they have systems cruise up there done for you know, you can't you have to pay attention so that you know how to get back and forth and it was a lot of fun and I think it was a good lesson for youth kids for girls.

27:38 Tracy what was one of your most favorite trips into nature with your dad there were a lot of really great trips. But I think the thing that was the that I thought when I was really young that was the coolest was sometimes I get up and get ready and go to school and then he would come to school and get just me just by myself and then so we can go fishing and I'd have on a dress and and you know tights and and but we go fishing that day. So usually like one day of the school year you'd go to school thinking you were going to school and then he would come in and get us some we would do things. So that was that was really cool. But we we had trips where you eat weird to get out of the truck because he would went the truck up into the trees with the winch on the front and we don't have to get out cuz it wasn't safe to be in there while you was doing that. We wouldn't see a human being for the whole week's the whole time. We were

28:38 Another person. It was it was really pretty unbelievable. And now at the time of course, I just want to go to Disneyland, but now I get it now I get what that brought to my life and to finding my way home, which is what I learned how to find my way home.

29:07 Any more stories you want to tell me more things to capture for posterity stories, you know, you have to be specific.

29:19 Will tell you this is the thing that I think is really fascinating about you and that is that I it's almost like being with a rockstar. Like when when you go to the Elk Foundation dinner, there isn't anybody else that other people seem more interested in talking to than you when you go to back to our home town or places like that people want to know about you. And so I think that that that's that intense curiosity and interest that you have in others is is an incredible thing because it builds this rapport with people you have an extraordinary gift for that and I think that the forest McDonald's I mean people that we knew over the years that were eccentric that probably wouldn't have talked to anyone that would tell you everything about their lives is really a gift.

30:15 Well, you know, it's I don't know. I've always just been really interested in people. I'm so interested in other people's stories and how they, you know things that they've accomplished in Shawano.

30:29 Hello are you know I have many many people to thank for teaching me the things that I learned and you know, it's it's what I always used to tell the guys at work don't ever be selfish with your knowledge. You know, you want to try to Shell it share this with other people can don't be jealous of what you know and help others make sure job a lot easier anyway.

30:56 You know if you are.

30:59 I think that to you. I just always been interested in other people and how other people accomplish things in the skills that other people have

31:09 Built my career on the skills that other people have you really really good at figuring things out too because I would watch you like build something that you never built before fix something that you've never seen before and I could almost see this process of elimination in your head while you went through that process. Whatever that thing was that you were either working on or doing or trying to make hot or trying to make it work, you know the old to go get somebody to Hardy fix it. You got to fix it yourself and you learn how you learn how to do that, you know, so

31:56 It's so it helps to you know to know those things.

32:03 I don't have anymore written all the questions the kids gave us. So I'm all done with those. It was just trying to capture anything else that you wanted to share that you feel like, you know made you who you are so that as we go on in time we can have that forever.

32:23 Well, I need to know what's interesting to me that my experiences are still happening. It's like this. I never dreamed that I would ever come to the big screen or the big city is intimidating for me, but but to come to the city and to sit and visit with you and try to record some portion of my existence for posterity is a little overwhelming, you know, you'd like to think that

32:51 I mean, you know, this is really an interesting experience for me. So I'll real remember this until I croak but you know, that's it just means that some of those memories won't be just echoes in people's minds really actually be a permanent thing. That's pretty interesting to do know that and I know that you've become interested in and Uncle John to become interested in our past our family is fast and so, you know it sorted to me it sort of is that idea as well, you know a hundred years from now somebody that's looking back at their past that comes from our family will have something they can see or listen to I mean that is about you know, the pat their past cuz I do see it I see so much of you and me and so much of you and the in your grandchildren. It's just pretty amazing.

33:51 I'm supposed to work, you know if it's a genetic thing doesn't seem like it till you see it happen though, you know, that's when you really see it at you can't you can't share them all you have to make your own stories.

34:15 Fusion learning

34:25 You know, honestly, I guess it was learning but probably the most challenging thing I've ever learned is to deal with customers and people who are impossible to deal with who just absolutely will not listen to reason or call more and I had to learn to do that because I had for quite a few years. That's what I did I was

34:52 You're not a lot of crews out there working on it and then head to resolve a lot of issues and I was kind of the farm and I think probably that's the biggest challenge you ever had. How do you how do you communicate with someone who just doesn't want to communicate or listen to what you think is reason and we don't actually know that it isn't to have the patience to stand there and just

35:21 You don't want to wring their cotton-picking neck still have to deal with it. And I think that was probably the biggest challenge that I had not physical but mental.

35:34 Tova saying

35:36 Cuz you know there's times when you just think my guy should know just pinch your head off and get over it and get it over with and I need to go one time when he was small man, and he had small man syndrome bad, but he was wealthy and a lot of money and then we have done a big job for him and he was just impossible to deal with and he was really nasty to the girls in the office. He was hateful nasty.

36:07 Someone that went to talk to him. I went out to talk to him and I stood in the gutter and put him up on the sidewalk so that he was

36:16 You know what? It could almost look me in the eye. He only liked about a foot down and being able to look me in the eye instead of killing him, you know, and then he came around he actually came in and apologize for the girls. And so you just learn to deal with them, you know.

36:36 You just do you just have to have a lot of patience. So I was really glad when I retired and then I could lose my patient.

36:45 And nobody can tell you different you were great parents. I mean, I I don't think you realize until you get older and appreciate how secure you feel when you can fuss and argue with somebody who's in charge of feeding you and taking care of you and then you're in your secure enough to be able to do that. I think that says an awful lot about your childhood and how secure you feel me the fact that you and I could cuss at one another and disagree and and still love and care about each other and show up in those hard times.

37:32 It was good.

37:42 Are we doing for time? Did you ever miss having a boy? I guess that's a question that you know, I do. The only know I didn't that's why I tried to teach you girls about how to run a backhoe or how to use a cutting torch acetylene torch for the carburetor was and how to change a tire and someone always just felt like it wasn't fair that girls. A lot of times don't get to learn those things that are practical, you know that they may need later in life. And so I know but I know I never did.

38:23 I never even thought about the name, you know, me and Carrie and I didn't concern me at all. I was perfectly happy to have two healthy kids, you know, it didn't matter to me which

38:37 You know, I would have preferred that you would have been able to cut wood a little better, but

38:43 Real me to buy it would have been better being left a little more graceful would have been good. I thought my name was hold the light still damn it till I was about twelve and you learn anything else.

39:09 I'm just so grateful. We got to do this. I think all my life have had so much respect for you. And I think there have been times when you have not felt that and I really wanted to respect all you taught me and all you've given me and our family and the world and it in a larger way and I hope that you had a chance to hear that today. Have you known that what really is heartening to me is to know that there are times when I didn't deserve that and I still got it. So thank you for that.

39:45 Hello, there's nothing better than to be able to be forgiven for you know, the mistakes that you made can have people realize that you're human and make mistakes and still not to take any love away for that show.

40:02 I'm pretty much complete, you know.

40:07 I think so.

40:09 Thank you. Thank you.