Lumberjacks on the River Front
July 31, 2004
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For a town with its roots firmly in the lumbering and "timber felling" industry of the 1800's, it's been a long time since since the river front echoed with the sounds of saw, axes and lumber mills. That changed on Saturday when the Bay County Historical Society sponsored its first "River City Lumberjack Festival".
This festival is one of a dozen or so that occur throughout the midwest during the summer and fall. The sport has its roots in the competitions held in the old lumber camps, andmany of the events would be familiar to that legendary "terrible timber feller" Paul Bunyan himself. And that's logical since many people feel that the Paul Bunyan legend is rooted in the exploits and life of Bay City native Fabian "Joe" Fournier.
This weekend's festival was organized by Lee and Diane Heritier who own Heritier Saw Mill and "Reflections of the Wild" gift and craft shop in Crump. As Diane Heritier explained, "Several of us take turns organizing and sponsoring the events. The Bay County Historical Society came to us with the idea for this festival and we agreed to get it going." Lee acted as master of ceremoniesand announcer most of the time, but he's also a prize winning competitor in many of the events. "Lumber Jill" Stephanie Morris from Battle Creek says that she's been participating in these events for 25 years. "We come from all over the mid-west and Canada, but we all go to the same events. We're something of a family." The season runs from April through October with events in many of the neighboring states.
Timber Sports has a long history. In the 80's many eventswere organized by the Michigan Woodcutters Association. Things died out a bit until ESPN began running professional timber sports events on television. The Stihl Chain Saw company has become a major supporter which has given the sport a new life... andsome serious prize money!
Timber sports, obviously, require some timber. For this event the Heirtier's trucked in a large supply of poplar milled to standard 8x8 inch logs which are carefully mounted, measured and marked. Judging is based on time but also proper cuts. Before long there was a large pile of 8x8 slabs of wood. Alex Gwizdala (left) shows off his collection of autographs on a block of that wood. Alex said this was his second lumber jack event and he is already looking forward to the next one.
Most of the events featured wood cutting. Chain saws are the tool of choice for modern lumberjacks, but the one man and two man cross cut saws where the tools of the past. Modern cross cut saws, which cost as much as $1,500, are works of art precision ground to exquisite sharpness. Before each event the competitors strip away the bark and dirt which could damage the blades. They inspect the log for defects which might affect their cut. Then, when the timer says GO, they fly through the wood as though it were butter. Thesaws are so sharp that the the growth rings are almost as clear as if the wood had been sanded smooth!| Despite the beauty of the cross cut saw's work, the chain saws provide the muscle for the event. For regular events competitors use standard Stihl chainsaws to give everyone an even chance. The competitors warm up their saws then turn them off and put them on the ground. Each person must put his hands flat on the timber to be cut. When the timer says go, they grab their saw, pull the starter cord, then cut once down, once up and a third time down in a four inch marked section. It only takes a few seconds! (In case you plan to try this at home, note that these pros pay $200 just for their chains... then pay more for professional sharpening.) |  |
The last chain saw event of the day is another story entirely. This is one you will not try at home; it's the "open modified" class and these saws mean business. The saws are large, they're modified, they have motorcycle exhaust pipes, and they burn methenol and nitro rather than gas. These bad boys are loud and super fast. According to Stephanie Morris, some of the pros replace the chain saw engines with snow mobile or motor cycle engines. Theycan make three cuts in about 3 seconds!
Throughout the day there were ax throwing competitions, including a separate area was set up where spectators could try their hand. Some folks did a pretty good job. The axes are double bit with sweeping tips. Provided the handle doesn't hit first, something is going to stick if they hit the target at all. Jason Helsel is shown at left, but Lumber Jack Robert Freeman showed how it's done with a perfect score of three bulls eyes in a row.The other ax event was the underhand chop. A two foot section of 8x8 is mounted on a stand which is staked to the ground. The Lumber Jack stands on the wood with his legs spread and chops between his feet. This is not without risk! Everyone in this contest wore chain mail on their legs and feet as protection. Larry Ebare wore sheet metal armour which could have come from the middle ages. Robert Freeman won this event with a time of 14.6 seconds.
 before taking aim at his toes. |  |
Perhaps the best fun of the day came with the "WATER BOIL". As Lee Heirtier explained to the crowd, "In the lumbering era, the Lumber Jacks would get up and have to make coffee. The faster they could boil their water, the sooner they could get into the woods. That lead to a popular contest to see who could boil water the fastest." It's not as easy as it looks on awindy day like Saturday.
Prior to the event, Diane Heirtier carefully measured a cup of soapy water into old coffee cans. In the meantime the contestants were busy picking a couple of those 8x8 slabs of poplar from the cutting contests. One would become a base for the fire and the other a chopping block. "You want the driest piece you can find for the fire" said Greg Gordon (shown atright). "If the block is wet the fire draws out the moisture and cools the flame... at least that's my theory and I'm sticking to it!"Each contestant finds a spot on the ground and sets up his or her chopping block, fire slaband can of water. It looks pretty scientific as they carefully place each piece within easy reach. They're then given 3 matches, which everyone holds in their teeth, and a piece of very dry cedar which will become tinder and firewood.
When the timer started the event the chips started to fly. Fires were going in seconds and contestants were soon flat on the ground blowing strength into their fires. In the end, it seems experience won out as 64 year old Larry Ebare (who races stock cars when he's not chopping wood, throwing axes, and boiling water) won with a time of 3 minutes, 48 seconds.
By all accounts, the weekend event was a great success. Some felt that the crowds were not as large as they could be, but this was the first year. Everyone this reporter talked to said they had a great time and look forward to next year's event.
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 Goulais River, Ontario |  |
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Stephen Kent |
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