I know over the past year or so, I have not written much about my father. It is not that I disliked the old man, I admired him because he was a hard worker. He kinda liked his beer a bit too much. I held that against him until I got married and the wife gave birth to my son. I then understood just why he would drink. Dad was born in 1914 and married my mother in 1935. Mom was 16 years old at the time and had the first child in 1936. I was their 8th child in 1946. The majority of dad’s family worked in the wood industry. It was either building roads or hauling pulp. It wasn’t until 1950 when the one-man chainsaw came into being that dad was able to work for himself and try to make a living by cutting and hauling pulp to the mill. Prior to the one-man chainsaw they had to work for a larger company. It was not unusual in the early days that men would get paid less than $2 per day. In 1942 if you stayed in one of the logging camps, you would get paid $2.50 per cord. Using the axe and crosscut you could produce up to 1 ½ cord a day. When you stayed in the logging camps, you paid $18.50 per month for board. If you bought tobacco for chewing or smoking at the logging store, this would be deducted from your pay. This was one of the lowest paying jobs in the state. It was also one of the most dangerous. Doing a little math, working 6 days a week on a good week you might make $22.50 for the week, At the end of the month, you might clear $90 minus anything you bought at the company store. That is “if” it didn’t rain or snow or you got sick or hurt.

Now, let’s stop a moment to realize what was going on in the world between 1914 and 1946 when I was born. World War One took place from July 1914 until November 1918. The Great Depression went from 1929 until 1939. This brought on the stock market crash in October 1929.Then there was World War Two from 1935 until 1945. Times were tough and living off the land was the only way to survive. It wasn’t until after 1945 that the wood industry really started taking off big time. This is why dad tried to make it on his own. In the 1950’s you got paid $18 per cord. If it was peeled pulp you could get $22 per cord. A lot of trucks carried only six cord at a time. If everything went well, a good crew could make three load a week. That is almost $400 a week minus expenses. This would then be divided by the people who helped produce the pulp. I can remember in 1955 working all summer to get out wood for dad to haul. I was too young to run a chainsaw. My job was to work the horses. We would take two days to produce 6 cord of wood. When we had enough pulp for a load, the men would then load the truck. If they started early enough, they could haul it that day. Usually they hauled it the next day though. Of course, I got paid only when there was extra money for the week. But to get any money was nice. My brother, sisters, and I could go to the move for only 25 cents each. We would have to walk the two and a half miles into town. We didn’t mind though. It was all downhill to the movie theatre.

Working in the wood industry was very dangerous. I can remember one of my brothers sticking a pulp hook into his leg right under the knee cap. In trying to save on gas, the axe was usually used for cutting off the smaller limbs on a tree. One other brother went to cut a limb off and the axe bounced. The axe did not stop. Axes were kept sharp and it did a good job cutting his boot

and his foot. There was no such thing as safety equipment. Gloves and a leather apron was just about the only extra you would get in the 50’s.

Even though we had chores and were expected to work the farm. I would not change anything. Times were indeed tough, but we did survive. Life in the cities was a lot easier, but it was a different type of living with a lot less freedom. You were not supposed to “take care of people” as you would living on the farm. If an animal became a big problem, you would just “take care of it”. Life was indeed so much simpler then.

Have a fine day now folks Ken White COB