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Note: Fred Berry was twelve years younger than his sister, Emily Wyckoff Berry. Fred finished high school at Montclair, New Jersey. In high school he was a long distance runner where he developed tremendous lung capacity. His first real job was in a stock broker's office in New York City with the International Paper Company. He worked there for one and a half years. Long hours and lack of exercise contributed to his developing tuberculosis. Fred went west in 1903 for health reasons and took a job punching cattle for two and a half years in the White River Valley of Colorado. His health restored, he returned to his former job in New York, but not for long as his health immediately deteriorated again. On a return visit to New York, Fred had arrived at a hotel and asked for a room. He was wearing western clothes--boots and a broad brimmed hat. The desk clerk, much to Fred's amusement, took a condescending look at him and warned, "Don't blow out the gas." In 1906 Fred arrived in Wenatchee, Washington and got a job as a chainman for $2.00 a day on a survey crew. Another sources says that he was deputy County Engineer for two and one half years before being County Engineer in 1908. Two years later at age 26 he was elected engineer for the county and served four terms. During World War I he served as first lieutenant in the engineer volunteers. By this time he was married with four children. He was an engineer with Sone and Webster in building the Rock Island Dam across the Columbia River 1929 to 1932. When the Depression came, he was out of work and broke. he took a job as superintendent of the Icicle Camp of the CCC in 1933 just prior to going with the Bureau. He was hired September 3, 1933 by the Bureau of Reclamation on the Columbia Basin Project. He remained on the Coulee Dam Project until his retirement in 1950. The typographic survey of 2,430,000 acres of basin land, of which he was in charge, was the highlight of his career. It was the most extensive survey of its kind ever carried on and completed. He prepared the map of the area from his findings and supervised 165 engineers. In following the two foot interval contours the Rodman walked 25,000 miles. Fred also had an apple ranch. In 1962 he had three daughters, one son, eleven grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
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