The Patagonia Regional Times would like to acknowledge Ike Isakson as our 2018 Community Contributor for his many years of service to the community.
Ike Isakson has served his community in many roles over the past 40 years, most recently as mayor of Patagonia and as chief of the Patagonia Fire Department. He has been a wildland fire fighter, both locally and as far away as Washington State, a fundraiser, was president of the Patagonia-Sonoita Rotary Club and was president of the IOOB (International Order of Old Bastards), a local organization that worked on town improvements, including the building of the gazebo in the park.
Isakson remembers walking into his first meeting of the IOOB at the Big Steer Bar. “Iree Lewis looked up at me and said, ‘Oh, no. Not another G.D. hippie,’” Isakson recounted.
Isakson moved to Patagonia in 1978. He worked for the telephone company, maintaining the lines in the eastern part of the county, as well as working in Nogales. He moved to Patagonia from Tucson but was originally from a small town outside of Minot, ND, near the Canadian border. “I went from one small border town to another,” he said. He joined the Patagonia Fire Department in 1988 as an EMT and became the medical captain. “I was the only EMT in the department for a long time,” he said. He is also certified as an engine boss for wildland fire fighting. “Wildland firefighting is my dream job. I love it,” he said.
Isakson took over as fire chief in 2016, after the death of longtime chief John Ashcraft. He has seen many changes in the department in the past 30 years, including improved communications, better trucks and the expansion of the fire station.
The station receives no funding from the county, as Patagonia is not part of a fire district. Their budget relies on fundraising, a contract with the town of Patagonia and money earned at wildland fires. The station is responsible for approximately 360 square miles, according to Isakson. He estimates that 90-95% of their calls are for medical emergencies and accidents. “We’ve seen some pretty bad stuff,” he said.
Isakson has also been serving as mayor of Patagonia for the past eight years, a position he is retiring from in January. His time as mayor was not without some controversy. His support of the Hermosa mine project during his tenure as mayor did not sit well with people opposed to mining in the Patagonia mountains and many council meetings were quite contentious.
But he is proud of all that was accomplished during his tenure to improve the town. “The best part of being mayor was being able to get things done,” he said, pointing to water system upgrades, new hydrants, alleys getting paved and getting employees “a little more respectable pay scale. I think we’ve done the best we could with the dollars we have,” he said. Although he is leaving the town council, he plans to attend meetings from time to time. “I’ll still give them my thoughts and ideas,” he said. He would like to see the sewer plant upgraded, more street repairs and for Richardson Park to be cleaned up.
“Ike is great. I have tremendous respect for the guy,” said Jade DeForest, an EMT and resident of Sonoita who has known him for years. “Ike has always been one who believed in service to the community. He won’t turn his back on anybody. Even someone who has said terrible things about him, Ike is there to help them.”
Although he is leaving the town council, Isakson, who will be 74 in July, has no plans to retire from firefighting. “As long as I can walk, and as long as I can get in the truck, I’ll keep doing it,” he said. He recalled a Forest Service agent telling him, “Don’t ever quit coming out here, even if it’s just for moral support.”
When asked why he has devoted so much of his time to public service, he said, “Helping people is what I’ve always done,” adding, “I fell in love with this place. I wanted to do what was best for the community.”