Photo: Kochia. © 2020 Delena Norris-Tull
Stephen McNamee, Laramie County, interview 2013
[Video interview conducted by Becky McMillen, transcribed by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull. Reviewed & Approved by Stephen, March 23, 2020.]
[Stephen McNamee is the Assistant Supervisor for Laramie County Weed and Pest District, stationed in Pine Bluffs.]
"This last summer was my 43rd summer of spraying weeds in Laramie County. My dad, Stan, was a Supervisor, and I went to work for him when I was 17. I started in 1970.
When I started, our two main weeds were bindweed and Canada thistle. Now, toadflax and leafy spurge are the main weeds we’re concerned about. At first, we did a lot more work on the Eastern end of the County. When we got to work on the Western end is when we saw more toadflax and leafy spurge and some different weeds.
We don’t have much public land. We have 80 acres of BLM land, and some State land. The rest is private land.
When I went to work, we had 2,4-D and Tordon 212. Tordon 212 is a mixture of 2,4-D and Tordon. The next new chemical I remember was dicamba, or BANVEL. Then RoundUp came along. And now you’ve got the Telars and Escorts and all those kind of chemicals. But at first, we had 2,4-D and Tordon 212, the butyl esters. Back then, the butyl esters were not low volatility. You had to be very careful about where you sprayed them. They could travel on a hot day, a long ways. They could do a lot of damage, especially to trees.
Back then, it was hard to calculate the rate of application. Now, on my truck, if your ground-speed changes, you know exactly how much chemical you’re putting on, which is a lot better. My dad taught me how important it was not to over spray. He showed me patches that had been over sprayed, and there was nothing growing there.
My uncle Tom was supervisor for Albany County, in Laramie. Dad only finished high school. Tom had a degree and had been a teacher. He had tried to farm, but couldn’t make enough money. He was voted the most successful farmer in his County in Nebraska. Tom and Stan and Jim Bideler used to play music in the evenings at the Fall Conferences."
[Becky said: Talk about Bob Lee and other people who’ve been important to the program.]
"Bob is the Supervisor for the Weed and Pest Program for the City of Cheyenne. All cities in Wyoming greater than 10,000 people have a City Weed and Pest Program, in addition to their County Program. Bob received the Harold Alley Award last night. I’ve never been around anybody in my life that retains things like he does. It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about weeds or pests or the Civil War or college sports.
He knows how to key out the bugs that people bring to him. He was a medic in Vietnam. He’s a wonderful friend, and has been a huge help for us. He’s done a tremendous amount of good-will for the Weed and Pest program.
Harold Alley was a real teacher to me. He was so knowledgeable, and he held your attention."
[Becky asked: What do you see for the future?]
"I think of all the people that were in there when my dad was in there, people like Lars Baker and Bob Parsons, George Hittle, Steve Brill, Roy Reichenbach, Adrianne Peterson. They laid the groundwork. They’re leaving it in pretty good shape. It will be interesting to see how it progresses from here.
I hope these younger people look back at that, and see how it was done.
Dad was very involved with the development of the Weed and Pest Law of 1973. It was a battle to get it through. Dad was such a good mediator; he knew how to work around people and get them to see things the way he saw them. Dad and Tom both were good at helping people see their perspective.
George Hittle had no bedside manner, but he got things done! There’s a lot of people who’ve done a lot for this organization. Larry Justesen’s done a lot.
One thing that is so unique about this organization is how well the Board members and the employees and the Wyoming Council work together. I think that’s one reason it’s been so successful. They all have mutual respect for each other. Over 43 years, I can only remember a couple of Board members who weren’t that way. I hope this generation coming up can maintain that. I think they will - there’s some good leadership there. It’s going to be hard to replace these people who started it all."
[Becky said: Something that has impressed me with these interviews, is that it’s not just a job.]
"No. It might start that way. It kind of becomes your, well, not your life, but you take pride in what you’re doing. You don’t have to go very far out of the State of Wyoming to see what happens when people don’t take care of this weed deal.
We have a spray-day that we started years ago. We had a guy come from Nebraska. They had lost some ground in Nebraska. They’d about given up on bindweed. He said, “I just want to commend you guys. People don’t realize what you do, or what this country would look like without your work.” That was one of the nicest compliments I’ve had in 43 years. Communication is so much better now. Landowners are realizing that they have to pay attention to the weeds. We’ve sent out pamphlets to educate people, and we’ve had a cost-share program that helps.
When we first started giving certification classes every year, for using restricted use pesticides, we would have 10 to 15 people. Now we’ll have 60 people attending every year."
[Becky asked: What are the biggest challenges for the future?]
"There’s a lot of new invasives. Keeping the chemicals that they’ve got. Educating those people that are kind of butting heads with us. We need to educate people to understand what we do. The young people coming up are smart, and they’ll do a good job at that."
Links to the other Wyoming County interviews:
Stephen McNamee, Laramie County, interview 2013
[Video interview conducted by Becky McMillen, transcribed by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull. Reviewed & Approved by Stephen, March 23, 2020.]
[Stephen McNamee is the Assistant Supervisor for Laramie County Weed and Pest District, stationed in Pine Bluffs.]
"This last summer was my 43rd summer of spraying weeds in Laramie County. My dad, Stan, was a Supervisor, and I went to work for him when I was 17. I started in 1970.
When I started, our two main weeds were bindweed and Canada thistle. Now, toadflax and leafy spurge are the main weeds we’re concerned about. At first, we did a lot more work on the Eastern end of the County. When we got to work on the Western end is when we saw more toadflax and leafy spurge and some different weeds.
We don’t have much public land. We have 80 acres of BLM land, and some State land. The rest is private land.
When I went to work, we had 2,4-D and Tordon 212. Tordon 212 is a mixture of 2,4-D and Tordon. The next new chemical I remember was dicamba, or BANVEL. Then RoundUp came along. And now you’ve got the Telars and Escorts and all those kind of chemicals. But at first, we had 2,4-D and Tordon 212, the butyl esters. Back then, the butyl esters were not low volatility. You had to be very careful about where you sprayed them. They could travel on a hot day, a long ways. They could do a lot of damage, especially to trees.
Back then, it was hard to calculate the rate of application. Now, on my truck, if your ground-speed changes, you know exactly how much chemical you’re putting on, which is a lot better. My dad taught me how important it was not to over spray. He showed me patches that had been over sprayed, and there was nothing growing there.
My uncle Tom was supervisor for Albany County, in Laramie. Dad only finished high school. Tom had a degree and had been a teacher. He had tried to farm, but couldn’t make enough money. He was voted the most successful farmer in his County in Nebraska. Tom and Stan and Jim Bideler used to play music in the evenings at the Fall Conferences."
[Becky said: Talk about Bob Lee and other people who’ve been important to the program.]
"Bob is the Supervisor for the Weed and Pest Program for the City of Cheyenne. All cities in Wyoming greater than 10,000 people have a City Weed and Pest Program, in addition to their County Program. Bob received the Harold Alley Award last night. I’ve never been around anybody in my life that retains things like he does. It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about weeds or pests or the Civil War or college sports.
He knows how to key out the bugs that people bring to him. He was a medic in Vietnam. He’s a wonderful friend, and has been a huge help for us. He’s done a tremendous amount of good-will for the Weed and Pest program.
Harold Alley was a real teacher to me. He was so knowledgeable, and he held your attention."
[Becky asked: What do you see for the future?]
"I think of all the people that were in there when my dad was in there, people like Lars Baker and Bob Parsons, George Hittle, Steve Brill, Roy Reichenbach, Adrianne Peterson. They laid the groundwork. They’re leaving it in pretty good shape. It will be interesting to see how it progresses from here.
I hope these younger people look back at that, and see how it was done.
Dad was very involved with the development of the Weed and Pest Law of 1973. It was a battle to get it through. Dad was such a good mediator; he knew how to work around people and get them to see things the way he saw them. Dad and Tom both were good at helping people see their perspective.
George Hittle had no bedside manner, but he got things done! There’s a lot of people who’ve done a lot for this organization. Larry Justesen’s done a lot.
One thing that is so unique about this organization is how well the Board members and the employees and the Wyoming Council work together. I think that’s one reason it’s been so successful. They all have mutual respect for each other. Over 43 years, I can only remember a couple of Board members who weren’t that way. I hope this generation coming up can maintain that. I think they will - there’s some good leadership there. It’s going to be hard to replace these people who started it all."
[Becky said: Something that has impressed me with these interviews, is that it’s not just a job.]
"No. It might start that way. It kind of becomes your, well, not your life, but you take pride in what you’re doing. You don’t have to go very far out of the State of Wyoming to see what happens when people don’t take care of this weed deal.
We have a spray-day that we started years ago. We had a guy come from Nebraska. They had lost some ground in Nebraska. They’d about given up on bindweed. He said, “I just want to commend you guys. People don’t realize what you do, or what this country would look like without your work.” That was one of the nicest compliments I’ve had in 43 years. Communication is so much better now. Landowners are realizing that they have to pay attention to the weeds. We’ve sent out pamphlets to educate people, and we’ve had a cost-share program that helps.
When we first started giving certification classes every year, for using restricted use pesticides, we would have 10 to 15 people. Now we’ll have 60 people attending every year."
[Becky asked: What are the biggest challenges for the future?]
"There’s a lot of new invasives. Keeping the chemicals that they’ve got. Educating those people that are kind of butting heads with us. We need to educate people to understand what we do. The young people coming up are smart, and they’ll do a good job at that."
Links to the other Wyoming County interviews: