Redwood logging 1947

Rugged made
Wesspur
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I watched it a few times, I believe that some of the mill scenes were in Scotia. The railroad was Pacific Lumber's, somewhere up the Van Duzen, I have a pic of a PL spar tree that looks just like the one in the film.
I was born in Scotia, back in the wooden sidewalk days, third generation.
kids.jpg

Me, my Bro, cat, dog and Sis.
No, I don't know which one I am in the photo, my Bro and I are twins.
 
Great video. The mill looked like PL in Scotia. The logging might have been out in the Yager Creek country...Carlotta maybe. Those were great days. We sure never figured logging would turn out like it has.
 
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RandyMac said:
Yager, the second hottest place on earth.
Click to expand...

I had to edit my post a little but you're right...I got my first sunburn out there. My dad was born in Carlotta and the house he was raised in is still there. My granddad was one of the first Catskinners at PL...it was the only job he ever had...worked there over fifty years. They made him retire when he was seventy...boy was he pissed!
 
Jeeze, you don't suppose I had to dodge him do you?

After the '64 flood, we went to school in Hydesville and Cuddyback, being on top of the hill had it's advantages. Bob, did you know the Thompsons on Starvation Flat?
 
1947

Thanks for Sharing the video and the photo. Some of us (my friends and I) that are not professional loggers have often wondered how in the world did those guys get it done back in the day.
 
tomtrees58 said:
nice but a sin to cut them don't get me wrong i cut the biges trees on L I tom trees
Click to expand...

Well, thanks to people like you who consider it a sin to cut redwoods we don't cut them much anymore. People far away from our north coast whose lives weren't really affected one way or another by redwood made decisions based on emotion and we've been dealing with the results ever since.

I was born and raised in the redwoods and I was lucky enough to start logging when we were still cutting trees like the ones in RandyMac's video.

If you, and all the people who think like you, were to come out here you'd see that there are literally thousands of acres of virgin redwood forest left untouched. They'll probably never be touched, either, because they're in state and federal parks where logging isn't allowed.

Those trees will mature, and die, and fall over, and lay there...forever. All that wood will go to waste. It won't provide building materials, it won't generate wages, it won't do anybody one bit of good. There's your sin, Tom.

When the government, responding to well meaning but terribly misinformed people such as yourself, locked up so much of the available redwood it forever altered the lives of those whose living depended on timber. It didn't alter them for the better either.

I don't want to see all the redwoods cut but wasting a resource, no matter what it is, is just wrong. We have the knowledge and technology available to manage our old growth and to harvest it in an environmentally sound manner. Not doing it is the sin.
 
Gologit said:
Well, thanks to people like you who consider it a sin to cut redwoods we don't cut them much anymore. People far away from our north coast whose lives weren't really affected one way or another by redwood made decisions based on emotion and we've been dealing with the results ever since.

I was born and raised in the redwoods and I was lucky enough to start logging when we were still cutting trees like the ones in RandyMac's video.

If you, and all the people who think like you, were to come out here you'd see that there are literally thousands of acres of virgin redwood forest left untouched. They'll probably never be touched, either, because they're in state and federal parks where logging isn't allowed.

Those trees will mature, and die, and fall over, and lay there...forever. All that wood will go to waste. It won't provide building materials, it won't generate wages, it won't do anybody one bit of good. There's your sin, Tom.

When the government, responding to well meaning but terribly misinformed people such as yourself, locked up so much of the available redwood it forever altered the lives of those whose living depended on timber. It didn't alter them for the better either.

I don't want to see all the redwoods cut but wasting a resource, no matter what it is, is just wrong. We have the knowledge and technology available to manage our old growth and to harvest it in an environmentally sound manner. Not doing it is the sin.
Click to expand...

great post, Bob. You deserve some rep for that.
 
I have this vid on CD along with four others similar to it. One was from the days of silent movies. I bought it on ebay brand new for 10 bucks. I think I used "forestry" as the search term.

Thanks Randy for pointing it out on Youtube.
 
Gologit said:
Well, thanks to people like you who consider it a sin to cut redwoods we don't cut them much anymore. People far away from our north coast whose lives weren't really affected one way or another by redwood made decisions based on emotion and we've been dealing with the results ever since.

I was born and raised in the redwoods and I was lucky enough to start logging when we were still cutting trees like the ones in RandyMac's video.

If you, and all the people who think like you, were to come out here you'd see that there are literally thousands of acres of virgin redwood forest left untouched. They'll probably never be touched, either, because they're in state and federal parks where logging isn't allowed.

Those trees will mature, and die, and fall over, and lay there...forever. All that wood will go to waste. It won't provide building materials, it won't generate wages, it won't do anybody one bit of good. There's your sin, Tom.

When the government, responding to well meaning but terribly misinformed people such as yourself, locked up so much of the available redwood it forever altered the lives of those whose living depended on timber. It didn't alter them for the better either.

I don't want to see all the redwoods cut but wasting a resource, no matter what it is, is just wrong. We have the knowledge and technology available to manage our old growth and to harvest it in an environmentally sound manner. Not doing it is the sin.
Click to expand...

Well put! Too bad I can't give you sinner's rep. Next time.
 
I didn't even know they had trees back then. Did ya'll see the guy with the chains wrapped around his legs for a harness? YEEEOUCH!
Yes, Thanks for posting. Completely amazing.
 
RandyMac said:
I watched it a few times, I believe that some of the mill scenes were in Scotia. The railroad was Pacific Lumber's, somewhere up the Van Duzen, I have a pic of a PL spar tree that looks just like the one in the film.
Click to expand...

Did a job last winter off the Van Duzen, had to float the river at first, then got flown in. Went in at the right off 36 at the dairy that has the rock pit on the ranch. We then flew out of the PL mill yard Hydesville Div.

A friend of mine, Chester Niewinski lives in Scotia. I stayed at the bull bucks house outta Carlotta, by the fire station. His name is John Church.
 
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Great video, I appreciate you posting this one. Being a lifelong Northeastern
lad I have always wondered how they got some of this really big timber out of the woods and to the mill. I have a much clearer picture now. Must have been one hell of a dangerous occupation back in the day as it still is now of course even with all the safety gear. I probably will never see a genuine real live redwood on the stump but this was the next best thing.


Regards,

Maplemeister: :chainsaw: :clap: :clap: :chainsaw:
 
Gologit. That was the best post I've read since joining this site. How do I do the rep thing? Whatever I got in reps is yours.

That same mentality is what has crippled the west coast troll fishery as well.

Dang, that really was well written.

Randy, cool post.
 
Bushler said:
Gologit. That was the best post I've read since joining this site. How do I do the rep thing? Whatever I got in reps is yours.

That same mentality is what has crippled the west coast troll fishery as well.

Dang, that really was well written.

Randy, cool post.
Click to expand...

Thanks but I have more rep than I really deserve already. What I said isn't special or unique. Anybody that's watched what happened to logging on the north coast, and logging in general, could have said the same thing. I just got there first. After so many years of watching these things happen I guess I'm just kind of spring-loaded in that direction.:)

And I'm not upset with TomTrees...he's just saying what a lot of people feel. It's too bad they're so misinformed.
 

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