How did my search for Rhumb Line end up here?

The original title for this website, “Rhumb Line”, apparently led to some confusion. As a matter of convenience and as a means of introducing our new name “Pacific Northwest Forest Service Association” (formerly the 30-Year Club) and our even more user-friendly nickname, “OldSmokeys”, I dropped Rhumb Line from the title.

I continue to leave the Rhumb Line explanation posted here because some search engines are aimed at that name, and it is also left here just to satisfy the curiosity of some individuals.

Some have wondered why the name, “Rhumb Line”, was chosen in the first place. It’s a good question. The short answer is that when my wife (Ruth) and I were in Kennebunkport, ME several years ago we stayed at a lovely out of the way motel called, “The Rhumb Line”. I was intrigued by the place and by the name so I looked it up and it just kind of stuck with me. Somehow it just popped into my mind in my search of a name for our new website.

A Rhumb Line, by definition, is “a curve on the surface of a sphere that cuts all meridians at the same angle—the path taken by a ship which maintains a constant course”. How does that name relate to the Forest Service and its retirees? It really doesn’t. But those of us that were a part of the “old FS” like to remember an organization that “maintained a constant (compass) direction”. Right or wrong, we at least thought we knew where we were going and how to get there.

The “Rhumb Line” may or may not have been a good choice, but the club didn’t choose it, I did, and I accept full responsibility for any confusion that it may have caused.

The “OldSmokeys” website has been updated continually since the original site was first created in March 2001, and it continues to be updated, sometimes on a daily basis as time and subject matter allow.

Links to external websites are scattered throughout OldSmokeys, and they are grouped on the “Links” page.