Columbia Helicopters' founding Father dies

[Greystoke]

http://http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/founder_of_columbia_aviation_d.html
Just read this, even though it is over a month old. I worked for this outfit off and on for 7 or 8 years. Wes Lamatta was an amazing guy; 8th grade education...goes from making 20,000 dollars the first year of his business in 1957 to grossing 100 million by the mid 1990's! That is the American dream! I remember getting a nice Christmas bonus every year, along with a very nice company Christmas dinner, top notch 401k and profit sharing plan, travel pay, and top notch medical insurance. I also remember getting newsletters about different non-profit programs that they donated too that were all good-hearted. They do have a lot of bosses; some of them I definitely butted heads with; but if I was a young, single Timber Faller again...I would still be working for them, living the gypsy busheler life-style, working 6, sometimes 7 days a week, go go go all the time then you are laid off...feast or famine...falling timber in one of the many states in this country one day, off to timbucktoo the next...I miss it Thanks for the adventure Wes...Rest in Peace

 

[2dogs]

Rip. Wonder if there are Chinooks in heaven?

 

[oregoncutter]

http://http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/founder_of_columbia_aviation_d.html
Just read this, even though it is over a month old. I worked for this outfit off and on for 7 or 8 years. Wes Lamatta was an amazing guy; 8th grade education...goes from making 20,000 dollars the first year of his business in 1957 to grossing 100 million by the mid 1990's! That is the American dream! I remember getting a nice Christmas bonus every year, along with a very nice company Christmas dinner, top notch 401k and profit sharing plan, travel pay, and top notch medical insurance. I also remember getting newsletters about different non-profit programs that they donated too that were all good-hearted. They do have a lot of bosses; some of them I definitely butted heads with; but if I was a young, single Timber Faller again...I would still be working for them, living the gypsy busheler life-style, working 6, sometimes 7 days a week, go go go all the time then you are laid off...feast or famine...falling timber in one of the many states in this country one day, off to timbucktoo the next...I miss it Thanks for the adventure Wes...Rest in Peace

Here a few years back I stopped to buy some beer at a little store afterwork, and ran onto a couple of his cutters doing the same thing, ended up we only working about a 1/2 mile apart from each other. We b.s d awhile every day after work and, over and over they mentioned how much they enjoyed working for Columbia, and when they finished up asked if I would be interested in a job there, too much travel for me. I remembered them talking about Wes though. Too Bad when a good man has his number called. I think heaven probably has nice ground and lots of good timber considering the number of good loggers young and old that have went up there to harvest it!

 

[slowp]

Yes, they were very professional to work with also. They knew how to work on FS land and caused no problems, except for the day of the Smurf Feet eruption. What a business to have built!

 

[wvlogger]

RIP Wes you will be remebered

 

[Jacob J.]

He was a pioneer in aviation on the fire and logging side for sure...

I only worked for them once but they treated me real well. My cousins have done real well with them. RIP Wes!

 

[hammerlogging]

guess who showed up today....
busy busy busy, and got to get that rest of the wood down asap!

good outfit, glad ya'll with closer ties affirm that.

 

[Greystoke]

Working for Columbia...Living like a Gypsy

Here a few years back I stopped to buy some beer at a little store afterwork, and ran onto a couple of his cutters doing the same thing, ended up we only working about a 1/2 mile apart from each other. We b.s d awhile every day after work and, over and over they mentioned how much they enjoyed working for Columbia, and when they finished up asked if I would be interested in a job there, too much travel for me.

I had a lot of fun on my adventures, but you really do live like a gypsy...not so bad if you are single but I got married and had two kids while working for them, that throws a hitch in it real fast. When I was working in Humboldt County for them it was almost like being a home guard, as I was there for about four years, with a couple of stints in the sierras, and one broken leg stint. I have a buddy that is contracting and cuts for them, which seems to be the way they are headed.

Thought I would throw a couple pics of my gypsy homes:

40' teton with two slides; It was our home; This pic was taken in 99 on our way to Humboldt County, driving through the Redwoods:

Camp cape Muzon; Float camp in Alaska that I spent four months in '96; This was one of the nicest camps that I stayed in...but I only have a couple of short stints in others, because I hate stayin in camp :bang:

I will have to try to find the pic of my first fifth wheel that I used to tow my little Chevy luv work pickup behind (my little logging train)...we looked like redneck timber tramps goin down the road with that outfit!

 

[slowp]

The Columbia Helicopters guys always had the nicest trailers. Erickson's crew had older trailers. I didn't see the trailers of the guys who were here.
Some of them traveled with the whole family. They started the school year here, which made one little girl very happy. She usually was the only one on the school bus for quite a ways. The Helicopter Kids (her name for them) got on the bus before she did so she had company. Her dad was falling on the same sale but on a skidder unit.

I have been spending quite a bit of time cutting little alders out of a road so the heliloggers do not scratch up their pickups so much when they start. The last group didn't believe in carpooling, so when I make it back to the end of the road (a washout) I'll need to make parking spots. Maybe stick in a handicapped or reserved sign for my space!

 

[Greystoke]

I have been spending quite a bit of time cutting little alders out of a road so the heliloggers do not scratch up their pickups so much when they start. The last group didn't believe in carpooling, so when I make it back to the end of the road (a washout) I'll need to make parking spots. Maybe stick in a handicapped or reserved sign for my space!

Yeah, they are usually proud of their fancy rigs...usually don't see too many Yota's on their crew!

 

[slowp]

Yeah, they are usually proud of their fancy rigs...usually don't see too many Yota's on their crew!

Some of our local fallers and the gyppo they were working for were envious.
The gyppo was working on the same sale and would be logging the unit later that the heliloggers were using as a landing. So, he was constantly trying to get me to "make those rich helicopter loggers rock that road. They can afford to do it." That unit and the helicopter one across from it are still not done. Prices need to come up.

 

[Greystoke]

Some of our local fallers and the gyppo they were working for were envious.
The gyppo was working on the same sale and would be logging the unit later that the heliloggers were using as a landing. So, he was constantly trying to get me to "make those rich helicopter loggers rock that road. They can afford to do it." That unit and the helicopter one across from it are still not done. Prices need to come up.

Yep, it is definitely a toss up...on one hand you can tramp around and make more money, drive a fancy rig and be the envy of the homeguards, or you can be a home guard, generally not make near as much, but you are home (a real home, with an address and everything) every night, and your kids can actually have some friends other than the other "gypsy" kids, and you can be the envy of the gypsy timber tramps I prefer the latter