Parsons, H. H. "Holly" (1902-1990)

Person

Parsons, H. H. "Holly" (1902-1990)

• Parsons, Holly

1902-1990

H. H. “Holly” Parsons was born in Owen Sound, Ontario in 1902; he was a Registered Professional Forester. Parsons attended the University of Toronto and graduated with a BSc. Forestry in 1925. On graduating, Parsons joined the Canadian Society of Forest Engineers now the Canadian Institute of Forestry

Parsons immediately joined the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests, participating in the first James Bay Forestry Survey based near Kapuskasing. He was one of the pioneers of aerial surveying of timber lands and was an expert in the craft of '' aerial sketching'' of northern Canada's forests that were then being surveyed by the new discipline of airborne observation.

Modern forest inventory, then in its infancy, was very different from technologies used today. After hours in the air, sketching stands of timber, Parsons would land, go into the stands with calipers, clinometer and axe, obtaining vital age, height, diameter and stocking data, and then back into the air to continue the sketching. If there was a fire, Holly could do aerial sketches on which fire-fighting operations were based. Because of his skills and his personality, he enjoyed a long and close relationship with many foresters and others in industry.

Parsons worked for 20 years for Lands and Forests, and then a few years for Caterpillar Tractor Co., then became a consultant, working on numerous timber mapping and aerial photography projects. He was also an original member of the Ontario Professional Foresters Association in 1957, becoming a life member in 1969 after his retirement. Parsons died in 1990.

Created 2024-06-17 by Ken Hernden

The Forestry Chronicle, April 1991, vol. 67, no. 2, p. 166.
Places, Planes, People and Pilots, vol. 2, "Memoirs of a Timber Sketcher," by H. H. "Holly" Parsons 1980), edited by H. Robert Galway, 2012.