SLT 0323 digimag

Vol.

March 2023

A Hatton-Brown Publication

Phone: 334-834-1170

Fax: 334-834-4525

www.southernloggintimes.com

Publisher David H. Ramsey

Chief Operating Officer Dianne C. Sullivan

Editor-in-Chief Rich Donnell

Senior Editor Dan Shell

Managing Editor David Abbott

Senior Editor Jessica Johnson

Publisher/Editor Emeritus David (DK) Knight

Art Director Cindy Segrest

Ad Production Coordinator Patti Campbell

Circulation Director Rhonda Thomas

Online Content/Marketing Jacqlyn Kirkland

ADVERTISING CONTACTS

DISPLAY SALES

Eastern U.S. Kathy Sternenberg

Tel: 251-928-4962 • Fax: 334-834-4525 219 Royal Lane Fairhope, AL 36532

E-mail: ksternenberg@bellsouth.net

Midwest USA, Eastern Canada

John Simmons Tel: 905-666-0258

29 Bugelli Dr. Whitby, Ontario, Canada L1R 3B7

E-mail: jsimmons@idirect.com

Western Canada, Western USA Tim Shaddick

Tel: 604-910-1826 • Fax: 604-264-1367 4056 West 10th Ave. Vancouver, BC V6L 1Z1

E-mail: twshaddick@gmail.com

ers Howard (left) and Doug (right) Skidmore, got back into logging several years ago to increase log supply to their mill. They’ve opted for tracked cutters and now tracks on a skidder as well, allowing them to keep working in steep ground and wet weather. Story begins on Page 8. (David Abbott photo)

Kevin Cook

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E-mail: lordkevincook@gmail.com

International Murray Brett Tel: +34 96 640 4165 +34 96 640 4048

58 Aldea de las Cuevas • Buzon 60 03759 Benidoleig (Alicante), Spain

E-mail: murray.brett@abasol.net

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Southern Loggin’ Times (ISSN 0744-2106) is published monthly by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc., 225 Hanrick St., Montgomery, AL 36104. Subscription Information—SLT is sent free to logging, pulpwood and chipping contractors and their supervisors; managers and supervisors of corporate-owned harvesting operations; wood suppliers; timber buyers; wood procurement and land management officials; industrial forestry purchasing agents; wholesale and retail forest equipment representatives and forest/logging association personnel in the U.S. South. See form elsewhere in this issue. All non-qualified U.S. subscriptions are $65 annually; $75 in Canada; $120 (Airmail) in all other countries (U.S. funds). Single copies, $5 each; special issues, $20 (U.S. funds). Subscription Inquiries TOLL-FREE 800-669-5613; Fax 888-611-4525. Go to www.southernloggintimes.com and click on the subscribe button to subscribe/renew via the web. All advertisements for Southern Loggin’ Times magazine are accepted and published by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. with the understanding that the advertiser and/or advertising agency are authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter thereof. The advertiser and/or advertising agency will defend, indemnify and hold Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. harmless from and against any loss, expenses, or other liability resulting from any claims or lawsuits for libel violations or right of privacy or publicity, plagiarism, copyright or trademark infringement and any other claims or lawsuits that may arise out of publication of such advertisement. Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. neither endorses nor makes any representation or guarantee as to the quality of goods and services advertised in Southern Loggin’ Times. Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. reserves the right to reject any advertisement which it deems inappropriate. Copyright ® 2023. All rights reserved. Reproduction

52 No.3

(Founded in 1972—Our 606th Consecutive Issue)

SOUTHERN STUMPIN’

By David Abbott • Managing Editor • Ph.

Offensive Lines

That was the case after last month’s Southern Stumpin’ Lumberjacks Or Loggers?

In the February 2023 issue of Southern Loggin’ Times, I wrote a reaction to an article that had recently appeared in the Washington Post, in which it was reported that, based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys, forestry jobs rank as the overall most satisfying or fulfilling work in America. Loggers are happier than lawyers. This was self-reported and therefore highly subjective and hardly scientific, of course, but it was positive attention about the industry in a mainstream media outlet, so it seemed appropriate to share it and comment on it.

Now here’s the controversial part. In that original article, the Washington Post writer repeatedly referred to lumberjacks. So I wrote:

he’s a great role model (not every collegiate or pro athlete is; far from it).

I was excited to see his success in Philly this year. With other former Bama stars like DeVonta Smith and Landon Dickerson also on the team, of course, I was definitely hoping the Eagles would win Super Bowl LVII last Sunday. But, disappointment is part of sports, and life. After a close game, the Lombardi Trophy went back to Kansas City, by a mere three points. That’s how it goes. Maybe Jalen will get another shot at it in years to come.

Pretenders

I am not a lot of things, and one of the many things I am not is an athlete. Oh, I wanted to be (still do), but sports never came naturally to me. I was short, flat-footed, near-sighted, slow. None of that stopped me from trying. So I became a football player…in the strictest sense that I was technically on the roster of a football team 30 years ago. But I rarely played at all, and never did I play very well. I gave it my best, for years, but I just wasn’t built for it. So I can’t exactly, in good conscience, claim to have ever been a real football player. I can’t claim that title; I haven’t earned it. I didn’t have what it took. No, I’m only a football fan: I like to watch football, and talk about football, but even when I was on the team, all I have ever really been is a spectator on the sidelines of the game.

In the same way, I don’t pretend to be one of you. I’m not a logger. I’m a writer who happens to write about loggers. I’ve been around it most of my life, so maybe I understand it better than most outsiders. But just like sports, I’ve never had what it takes to be a logger. That’s why I didn’t follow in my dad’s footsteps. I admire the heck out of loggers just like I admire my dad, so I would never disrespect you by pretending to be one of you. I can’t claim the title. I haven’t earned that honor. I’m just a spectator on the sidelines.

I do, however, enjoy being that spectator. Tens of millions of people watch football; not too many get a front row seat to as many logging jobs as I have seen. That’s the best part of my job: traveling around the country, getting in the woods to visit with loggers of all types and sizes, in all terrains, taking photos and videos of their men and machines in action. I’m a storyteller, and I enjoy telling the stories of loggers.

However, writing sometimes reminds me of when I used to play on the offensive line (and not just because I wasn’t especially good at that either). When you do a good job (as a blocker or a journalist), the spotlight will shine on other people (the playmakers on the football field, or the loggers I write about). But when you do a bad job—missing blocks on the offensive line, or writing offensive lines, as in lines that someone finds offensive—that’s when people notice, and let you know.

I cringe whenever I hear an “outsider” use the term “lumberjack.” Is that the proper term? I suppose it probably is, but in my experience it is pretty much only outsiders to this industry who call loggers “lumberjacks” anymore, unless they’re talking about history or maybe timber sports. It just sounds so old-fashioned; I hear “lumberjack” and I imagine guys 100 years ago in flannel shirts and suspenders swinging an ax and driving a big blue ox. Or maybe I hear it used in a trendy way, such as by hipster dudes from a big city who’ve never really been in the woods, guys who wear big beards and unmuddy boots ironically, with skinny jeans. To me, lumberjacks compete in shows to entertain, like rodeo cowboys, displaying skills that are impressive but largely obsolete in modern practical use. When you’re talking about people who work in the woods cutting timber, I think you mean loggers. But hey, what do I know?

I meant it as a humorous, tongue-in-cheek commentary on mainstream media and millennial fashion. I didn't mean that there was anything wrong with being a lumberjack or calling oneself a lumberjack. It's just that, as I said: in my experience, most people don't. I’ve never heard many, if any, use lumberjack as a common term in the modern industry. My great grandfathers, working with horses and crosscuts 80 years ago, called themselves loggers. My dad, who worked for Riggs Cat in the ’60s, Timberjack in the ’70s, and ran Abbott Logging Co. in Alabama from the late ’70s through the 2000s, says, “The only time I ever heard anyone say ‘lumberjack’ was on TV.” So I didn't expect anyone to be offended by my comments.

Well…I was wrong. I got some very passionately negative reactions to that paragraph. “I NEVER heard ‘lumberjack’ as being anything but a proud label for a hardworking tree cutting man,” one reader wrote. “Logger usually means one that moves or hauls cut trees. I know plenty of loggers that never cut a tree or even got out of a truck.” Obviously there's a difference in terminology, but more importantly, I learned that many do still identify proudly as lumberjacks, and that I had insulted their heritage. Which is the exact opposite of what I had intended.

I truly appreciate those who reached out to let me know I had offended them. I want to clarify that I never meant to imply there is anything wrong with the term lumberjack, nor did I mean that I cringe at the word. I cringe at its uninformed use in mainstream media by people who know little about it. And I was referencing the “lumbersexual” fashion trend of urban millenials who do not work outdoors or with their hands but like to dress up as what they think lumberjacks look like. I meant to poke a little good-natured fun at the pretenders who culturally appropriate your image without earning it.

I was certainly never trying to insult the cultural heritage of actual lumberjacks or professional timber sports athletes, like those who compete in the Lumberjack Championship in Wisconsin. In context, I think the rest of that article was praising timber cutters. I’m always writing to celebrate and advocate in favor of loggers and lumberjacks, regardless of which term you prefer. So, if my words insulted you, I sincerely apologize. By any name, hard working tree cutters are awesome.

The Right Tracks

■ Skidmore brothers Doug and Howard use G&R Tracks on skidders to work wet and steep terrain.

Dname fool you: Skidmore Lumber Co. centers on a mill now, but the family-owned business has its roots in the woods, and today fields a top-notch logging crew, one that’s ahead of the curve in its area. Owners Doug Skidmore, 60, and his brother Howard, 62, have been running the show here together since they took over from their dad Oreal and other brother Odis in the early ’90s, about 30 years ago.

Some families have trouble working together, but that’s not the case here, the Skidmores agree. “We get along great,” according to Howard, who performs a mechanical engineering role and focuses on day-to-day production at the mill. Doug, who oversees operations in the woods and manages business in the mill, says he couldn’t ask for a better partner.

Their father started out in the woods, but after getting into the

thought. “We got plum out of logging,” Doug says. But, about seven years ago, the brothers set out to

going to do that, we decided we were going to do it safe,” Doug adds. To that end, they invested in

against the idea of cutting trees the old fashioned way,” Howard stresses. “That just isn’t what we wanted to

TrackedmachinesallowtheSkidmorestokeepworkinginhillsandswampsalike.

do. Around here it is still mostly a man on the ground felling with a chain saw. That is still very common here, the most common by far. There are getting to be more machines in the woods though; 10 years ago there weren’t very many.”

Instead of chain saws, the Skidmore brothers opted to start out with a used Bell feller-buncher. “We had an employee who knew how to run one,” Doug says. The machine worked well, but had limitations; for example, he adds, “You go down a hill in the Bell and the only way to come out is backwards, and you can’t see. You really had to watch what you were doing. They didn’t have cameras on them back then, but they cut a lot of timber.”

Bells were known as three-wheeled machines, relatively lightweight and very maneuverable in tight spaces. The Skidmores actually had two, one of which ran on tracks. “It would go anywhere,” Doug says, but it was a rough ride over uneven, often rocky terrain. Since then, they’ve replaced it with other, larger tracked feller-bunchers: first a Komatsu, and now a Timber Pro. “This one is heavy enough, if you hit a rock, it will usually crush it.”

The current machine is a Timber Pro TL745D with Quadco 2900 intermittent saw head. Brad Arlen, Jr. runs the machine (his father, Brad Arlen, Sr., is crew foreman). Having grown up in the business, the younger Arlen is a solid machine operator. He graduated top of his class at State Technical College of Missouri, and, thanks to his own experience, was able to help teach a lot of his fellow students. “This can be hairy sometimes, too,” his father, Brad, Sr., cautions of mechanized tree felling.

“These more advanced machines can get you in some hairy places, but it is a lot better than a chain saw. When a limb hits the cab, well, that cab’s hardhat is tough and strong, so you’re safe inside.”

Working with the two Brads, another Arlen fills out the woods crew: Rusty, brother to Brad, Sr., and uncle to Junior.

ground, and yet the skid trail looked as smooth as a road, Doug says. “When we ran a wheeled skidder for a day, just one day, it had ruts everywhere. We went right back to the track machine, and after a day or two it looked like a road again; it just leveled it right back out, even though it was still wet. That’s dozer work I don’t have to do later.”

Howard adds, “We got those tracks to use in wet weather, but we’ve ended up using them 12 months out of the year because it can go in the slopes.” Anywhere the Timber Pro can go to cut trees, the tracked skidder can now follow and drag the logs

out. “If we are not running tracks, sometimes the TimberPro has to take it somewhere where the rubber tire skidders can get to it,” Doug adds. “It is unbelievable where it will go.”

The Skidmores credit the G&R tracks for allowing the crew to keep working when conditions would likely have otherwise halted production, especially since many of the hardwood tracts this crew tackles are in areas that are difficult to access. In fact, Doug estimates that those tracks on that skidder have probably pulled about 75% of the wood that has gone into their sawmill in the last two years.

Of course there are some places too steep for even the tracked machines to access. Last fall they cut on a church property that was almost a vertical incline at points; that required cable skidding and chain saw felling in some places. And one down side of having extreme condition machines, Doug mentions, is that if they break down on a hillside it can be hard to get to them with repair trucks.

The Skidmores are planning to purchase a second set of G&R tracks for one of their Deere skidders, a 748L-II with low hours on it. Their Tigercat dealer is the MidSouth Forestry Equipment branch in Spring-

field, Ark., about 300 miles away; that’s the closest option. The distance isn’t ideal, but Doug says MidSouth has taken excellent care of them. “I like Tigercat machines, and the guys at MidSouth are great to work with and very knowledgeable about their equipment.” He deals primarily with parts manager Garrett Thurman there.

Operations

Besides the tracked machines, the Skidmore crew uses a pair of John Deere 748L-II rubber tired skidders; one of them also came by trade with John Woodie, while the other was

The logging crew cuts hardwood primarily to supply the company sawmill. Barko and Rotobec self loaders get trucks ready to haul.

bought new from Martin Equipment in Columbia. A Barko 595B knuckleboom loader, purchased from Ozark Machinery in West Plains, Mo. and paired with CSI pullthrough delimber and ground saw, handles sorting and merchandizing. Several companyowned Western Star and International log trucks also have Rotobec and Barko self-loaders mounted on the back. They pull shop built pup trailers, customized to the Skidmores’ specifications.

One company truck has an automatic transmission, and Doug says

it pulls just fine coming out of the woods. “We don’t have but about 8,000 miles on it so we are still learning,” he allows. “It will downshift on a corner if you don’t watch it. If you go into a corner too fast, it will let you know; it will shut you down. But it is a nice truck. It is more expensive and you have less power but it is so easy. If you stop on a hill, you don’t worry about a clutch, or taking off if the ground is soft.” Howard adds, “It’s not so hard on drive lines, there’s less to repair, and it’s so easy to move

around back and forth and to get situated. And it is quiet.”

The crew averages about three to six loads daily in hardwood; it varies depending on timber quality and skid distance. With pup trailers, that’s about 5,000 board feet. The crew mostly cuts white and red oak, sycamore, soft maple and cottonwood for the Skidmore Lumber mill, selling walnut and the occasional veneer log elsewhere. They also sell some white oak to McGinnis Wood Products, a stave mill in Cuba, Mo.

“The red oak market is dropping like a rock,” Doug says. White oak lumber market has been dropping too, but not as much as red oak. White oak veneer market is good, he reports, and calls the stave market fabulous.

The Skidmores aim to do more than just profit from their operations in the woods. They strive to act as responsible stewards of the timberland they harvest. “We focus on land management as well as logging,” Doug says. “When we are done in the woods, we have a John Deere dozer with a six-way blade and a skid steer that we use to put in water breaks on all our skid trails, because we are on hilly ground. We try to take care of the land.”

The brothers use Polaris Ranger and General side-by-side UTVs (utility task vehicles) to get around on job sites in the woods.

The Skidmores are members of Missouri Forest Products Assn., where Doug served on the board for 10 years or so. He is a current board member of the Missouri Wood Industry Trust, through which Skidmore Lumber obtains workers’ comp insurance. “It has been a good thing for us, especially in the woods,” Doug says. “Workers’ comp would eat a man alive almost.”

Family

Doug was also a member of the Knights of Columbus for many years, and the brothers are both members of their local Catholic church. Doug has been married for 26 years and has two daughters, 18 and 28. Howard and his wife have been married for 38 years and their two sons both work at the mill, Jamie buying logs and Jeremie running the head saw.

All three Skidmore brothers (Odis, Howard and Doug) grew up working in the family business. Their dad Oreal cut cordwood even before he went into logging fulltime. Later, he got into the sawmill business almost by accident. Sometime in the ’70s, somebody owed Oreal a large debt that he was unable to pay, so, in lieu of the money, he traded a sawmill he owned.

In 1981, the same year Doug finished school, an accident at the mill carriage cost Oreal his right leg at the knee. To allow him to continue working, the family bought an automatic mill in Freeburg, moving operations from the original location to the current spot here. Even after Howard and Doug bought him out in 1994, Oreal did continue working at the mill till his retirement in 2000. He lived until two years ago; his tombstone reads 1921-2021, but he died just shy of his 100th birthday. SLT

TAR-nished Industry

■ The birth, development and demise of the South’s important Naval Stores sector

By DK Knight

It was dirty, demanding, and destructive, a remarkable forestbased industry that endured for most of three centuries and even today is survived by a distant remnant.

First Of Three Parts

It was a major component of the South’s economy, but it wiped out untold volumes of longleaf and slash pine timber and scarred the lives of many who toiled at the tasks it entailed. And, in some instances, it left a shameful wake of social wrongdoing.

When wooden ships and boats were the thing, tar and pitch were essential in keeping them seaworthy, as they excelled in keeping vessels watertight, preventing shipworm infestations, and preserving rigging. Tar and pitch were known as ‘naval stores,’ a term that eventually included turpentine and rosin.

Long accustomed to producing naval stores from their native conifers, European immigrants who settled in southern Virginia and eastern North Carolina built inground kilns—typically large, smol-

social punishment. In a separate process, tar was boiled to produce thinner pitch. Primary market for the products was England, whose ships ruled the seas for generations. As a bonus, the process turned lightwood into charcoal, which blacksmiths used as fuel.

ax and wooden maul to chop one or more boxes, or cavities, in a tree a few inches above the ground. On large trees, up to three boxes could be made; on smaller ones, usually one or two.

dering mounds—to extract (sweat) tar from abundant resin-rich lightwood found on the forest floor.

According to historical documents, this crude, pungent activity surfaced around 1700 and was the beginning of one of the New World’s first significant industries.

Depending on the kiln size, the process could take two weeks and required constant 24/7 monitoring to maintain the proper temperature. A large kiln could hold many tons of lightwood and produce up to 5,700 gallons of thick tar, used by colonialists as axle grease, a fence post preservative, a healing agent for livestock wounds, and yes, for

In the early 1800s, the process of distilling turpentine from raw gum harvested from live trees evolved and slowly expanded. This refined product was used by colonialists for many purposes, among them medicine, solvent, and water repellent. Primary source for lightwood and gum was the longleaf pine, which covered an estimated 92 million acres from southern Virginia to present day east Texas when settlers arrived on the East Coast. Over time, slash pine would join longleaf as a favored gum resource.

Early Gum Harvesting

Some colonialists reportedly bored holes in trees and let the gum pool in holes dug in the ground, but by far the most widespread early gum harvesting practice was known as the ‘box’ method. In the winter months, ‘boxer’ teams used a broad-

The area above a box was then prepared for the flow of gum. To ‘corner the box,’ a worker used a felling ax to remove bark above the box, then relied on a heavy, specialized tool called a hack to open or chip the initial incision and to periodically continue the process, which was done in narrow grooves typically spaced just less than an inch apart in a chevron pattern.

Some operators limited the distance the chipped area, or face, extended up a tree, but others went up 15 feet or so, particularly with the beginning of the 20th century. In such cases, workers used a long-handled ‘puller.’ A high face extension resulted in increased gum evaporation and greater crystallization. Regardless of the face height, lower value crystallized gum had to be scraped away once or twice during the March-November season to facilitate gum flow. New grooves were cut every week or two during the season.

Areas of the tree bole scarified for gum production were known as

‘cat faces’ in that they resembled a cat’s whiskers. The gum flowed down these channels and into the box, which could hold up to two quarts of resin. Every 3-4 weeks workers known as dippers went from tree to tree, scooped gum into heavy buckets, each of which could weigh up to 50 lbs. when full, and emptied them into 40-gallon barrels, which were transported via wagon (later a farm tractor) to a distillery.

Wood-Fired Stills

Early on, these wood-fired stills were not found in the woods, but this changed with advances in technology so that smaller stills, which used a process similar to their moonshine relatives, could be set up in all but the smallest operations. In

North Florida activity,early 1900s

An artist’s rendering of tar kiln,circa early 1700s

Depiction of chopped box,chipped face

New grooves were chipped every 1-2 weeks.Note trash protection across gum cup.

most instances, a still was accompanied by a barrel-making shed, a cooper and a helper.

Stills became more efficient over time, but early vintage types were often sloppy and wasteful. For example, some still operators made no attempt to capture the important rosin byproduct, allowing it to flow onto the ground. Later, devices would not only capture rosin but also filter it multiple times for improved purity. Given often crude construction, a wood-fired boiler and sticky, highly flammable gum and rosin, untold numbers of stills caught fire and burned. This, and the handling of high-temperature liquids, made working in a still the most dangerous of all turpentine tasks.

Industry Growth

The labor-intensive industry consisted of large, medium and small operators, some of whom owned or leased pine stands and owned and operated fire stills. Some simply harvested gum and sold it to distillers. Tar kilns continued as part of the mix. Factoring houses, or factors, eventually arrived on the scene. These well financed entities controlled vast timber tracts, which they leased to turpentine operators and routinely advanced capital and/or provided equipment and goods, thereby helping stabilize an industry known for up and down cycles.

North Carolina quickly emerged as the leading producer of naval stores and this dominance continued for decades. By 1850, the state accounted for almost 96% of the nation’s naval stores output, much of which continued to be exported. A few years before the Civil War began, more than 1,000 turpentine fire stills and numerous tar kilns were reportedly operating in eastern North Carolina. It’s no wonder that North Carolina came to be known as the Tar Heel State.

Resin harvesting soared dramatically around 1850 as demand for gum turpentine increased due to new industrial uses for the product. However, the Union blockade of southern ports brought the South’s naval stores industry to a near standstill, and after the war, wood shipbuilding declined, lightwood availability dwindled, and various

petroleum products began replacing naval stores in certain applications. But brighter days were ahead.

‘Turpentine Trail’

Most longleaf stands in North Carolina had been almost entirely decimated by the start of the Civil War, prompting turpentine interests to migrate south and west. Following vast stands of virgin longleaf and slash pine, they moved on to coastal South Carolina, southern Georgia, the northern half Florida, and to parts of Gulf Coast states. Many brought their workers, mostly former slaves, with them, creating a phenomenon known as the ‘turpentine trail.’ Novelist Donna Everhart used this phenomenon as the platform for her book, The Saints of Swallow Hill, released in February 2022.

In another book, Tapping the Pines, Robert Outland chronicled the rise and fall of the South’s naval stores industry. Concerning one group of Georgia workers he wrote: “Of 178 laborers working at camps along the Macon and Brunswick Railroad in 1879, 80% were black, and 70% were born in North Carolina.” Some North Carolina whites and a few Native Americans joined blacks on the trail, with some of the collective group eventually venturing as far as east Texas.

The industry slowly recovered from the impact of war and related fallout, and accelerated sharply in the 1880s. It attracted newcomers and led some producers to expand their businesses. Some operators leased property from factors or private landowners, and some private landowners worked their own timber for gum or partnered with larger operators. Regardless of the setup, trees were typically worked in crops consisting of some 10,000 faces per crop. The largest operations worked 10 or more crops per year and required lots of labor. Typically, a tree produced about 8 lbs. of gum

per week and was good for up to 10 years of gum harvesting. Workers were based in remote camps that ranged from decent to dismal in terms of housing and overall infrastructure. Most camps had a commissary where essentials could be purchased. Wages were typically paid in company scrip or coin, redeemable at an on-site store. Some camps had churches and school buildings, and racial segregation ruled. Most had a ‘juke joint’ for Saturday night entertainment.

Whether suitable or far from it, housing was temporary (often portable) as trees were gradually ‘tapped out’ and the camp had to be relocated. SLT

(Part two of this series will be carried in April SLT and will focus on 20th century innovations and developments. Note: Some information and illustrations in this article appeared in Naval Stores—A History of an Early Industry Created from the South’s Forests, James P. Barnett, U.S. Forest Service, June 2019.)

A‘puller’ was used to extend the face,in some instances up to 12-15 feet.

Crystallized‘scrape’ had to be periodically removed.

SLT Scrapbook

■ Vintage clips from the archives of SLT's 50+ years.

Music stars came out for log- ging shows in the '80s and '90s.

Logos In The Rear View Mirror

Spotlight On: Chippers, Grinders, Etc.

Bandit

Since 1983, Bandit has manufactured equipment for a multitude of wood waste processing markets. The vision since the beginning is to build quality, highly productive, easy to maintain equipment providing years of dependable service. The commitment for quality, innovation and dedication is instilled in every employee and is one of the main reasons why Bandit became an Employee-Owned Company (ESOP) in 2018.

Bandit’s line of horizontal grinders known as “The Beast” are the most versatile units available on the market today. These units are the most efficient way to process wood waste. The heart of each Beast Recycler is the Patented Cuttermill that will cut material apart opposed to the beating action of competitive grinders. A wide variety of towable and track units are available ranging from 18" to 45" diameter capacity and engine options up to 1,200 horsepower.

A line of durable and productive whole tree chippers is also available in capacities ranging from 18" to 36" diameter capacity and engine options up to 1,200 horsepower. Tracks can be equipped on most units and a cab and loader is available on select models. The Patented Slide Box feed system provides unmatched pulling and compressing power reducing the need to trim or reposition material.

Morbark

Morbark recently introduced a new, patent-pending Vtection System option for their 3000, 3400, and 6400 series Wood Hog Horizontal Grinders. The VTECTION system monitors rotor vibration to reduce damage from contact with unshreddable objects or other causes of damaging vibration like an out-of-balance rotor, broken insert, defective bearing, or extremely hard wood. The system features two operating modes: grinding protection mode and service and maintenance mode. When coupled with Morbark’s BreakAway Torque Limiter, these devices provide customers with the best solution in the industry for hammermill protection.

To use the VTECTION system, the operator sets an acceptable operating vibration level through the electronic controller. Since different feedstocks produce different vibration levels, the operator can quickly fine-tune the trip point to match the grinding application. Adjusting the trip point based on the feedstock can help avoid unnecessary stopping of the infeed from normal operating vibration.

If an unshreddable object enters the grinding chamber while in grinding protection mode, the VTECTION system will sense the spike in vibration or trip point and instantly stop and reverse the infeed conveyor. By reversing the infeed conveyor, the VTECTION system lowers the rotor’s chance of repeatedly striking the foreign object.

Once the VTECTION system is triggered, Morbark’s Integrated Control System (MICS) initiates several actions to remove the tramp material out of the rotor area. The sequence of these actions includes: reversing and stopping the infeed, bringing the engine speed to idle, disengaging the clutch, and a warning message is displayed on the MICS screen. At this time, the operator can inspect the grinder and remove the object that caused the trip point before resuming operation.

During the service and maintenance protection mode, a user can hook up to the system software and monitor vibration levels during different engine loads (Low idle, High Idle, Clutch engage, No Clutch, etc.). Vibration specifications will vary based on the machine model. The system can be programmed to monitor and extract data. These signals can then be visually observed, and various readings can be recorded to verify that the machine is within acceptable vibration levels. Multiple programs can be used to evaluate the system data.

Southern Loggin’ Times invited manufacturers of in-woods chipping and grinding machines, as well as related components and supplies, to submit material for this section. The submissions of those who participated are presented below, edited only for style.

This system cannot guarantee a machine is without defect. Please use caution after the system trips and service work begins, as have experienced damage.

Ship-out kits are available for in-field installations on preexisting 3000X, 3400X, and 6400X horizontal grinders.

Please contact Morbark sales at 800.831.0042 or your local Morbark dealer (morbarkdealers.com) for additional information and p

Quadco

Quadco Group is pleased to announce our new product line of tub and horizontal grinder carbided teeth.

Quadco is a leader serving the forestry industry for over 30 years with several product groups: Log Max, South Star & Quadco attachments as well as our proven Cutting Tools division serving the saw and mulcher teeth markets and now grinders!

First introduced in 2020 with unmatched research regarding base forgings and proprietary carbide overlays, the Quantum teeth have proven their performance in wear tests compared to the competition, with over 1.5 times the life. The net result is lowering your operating costs not only in the teeth but down time. We also help get the product to you FAST, with multiple manufacturing and distribution facilities in Canada (Montreal & Kamloops) and the USA (Lexington, SC & Kalama, WA).

The Quantum teeth are stocked in several carbide patterns (4 weld with reinforced carbide overlays on the corners and 6 weld carbide overlays, top & bottom face and ends as well as the sides ). Most major grinder makes and models teeth are in stock. With over 30 styles, including sharp steel versions for customized applications, we have the style of tooth you demand from Astec to Zehr!

Our highly trained product specialists have travelled the country meeting with clients, helping them learn and grow with our Cutting Tool and Grinder teeth programs with great success and we welcome the opportunity to always meet your needs.

Come see us at Con Expo, Las Vegas: Diamond Lot, booth 1156. March 14-18, 2023. Visit www.Quadco.Com or call customer Service: 800-668-3340.

FROM THE BACKWOODS PEW Multi-Tasking

We hear much today about multitasking: the ability to do many things at the same time. It is certainly a requirement on any logging job. I submit to you that it was not the invention of Windows that started the multi-tasking phenomenon. Let me give you an example.

You’re 12 years old. Instead of a cell phone, you are working on four pieces of bubble gum, blowing bubbles with every other breath. You are holding a fishing pole, which has a fancy lure attached to it. If you give the lure even a minute to sink, you will lose it to snags on the bottom of the river. The river has a current, and because you failed to spot the halfsubmerged log that the boat ran over, that log tore up the motor; and you

have been sentenced to paddling. If you miss a stroke, your lure will get hung. Casting with one hand, paddling with the other, you also have a bottle of soda clamped between your knees, an honest to goodness glass bottle that you popped the tin top off of between casts. A candy bar is missing a bite and sitting on your leg. Multi-tasking indeed, the average twelve-year old in 1973 was a master of it. Come on Silicon Valley, you

didn’t invent multi-tasking, you just gave it a fancy name. We always knew it as “fishing.”

Ask the new mom, who is chasing toddlers, toting a baby, caring for a husband, and maybe working a job, if she understands multi-tasking! She will most likely glare at you as she stirs a pot in preparation for supper. Ask the husband, working two jobs in an effort to support a family. It would seem we are doomed to multi-task.

The trouble we run into with multi-tasking is when it becomes the “driver,” when it becomes the dictator, controlling the actions of our lives, demanding that we must do all of these things. We have lost our sense of priorities, and perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in our walk with God. When did you last have time alone with him? When was he your main priority?

Not even going to church guarantees that you aren’t going to be distracted. Even now, many of you reading this article have stopped to check for a text or an email.

Israel had the same problem. Busy? You bet. Still going to church? Absolutely. But was it making a difference in their lives? Not in the way it was supposed to. Instead, all of their multi-tasking was driving them away from God, and he had reached his limit with their distracted attention.

“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts…I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. ~ Isaiah 1: 11,12,13b

Do you see it? They were full of iniquity, i.e., evil, yet still going to the sacred meetings. Their time with God was not changing their lives. The people were busy, doing a lot of stuff. Yet even in their worship, they were just going through the routine. Their heart was not in it. The same is true in many of our lives today. We have allowed a lot of stuff to get in the way of our true needs and desires. We have watched our marriages and families erode, and our relationship with God has become tarnished.

“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD,

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” ~ Isaiah 1:16-18

Our need to worship should be as strong. We were made to worship; and the truth is, we all do. It may be God that we truly worship, or it may be something else we have elevated to take his place. The first commandment states:

“You shall have no other gods before Me.” ~ Exodus 20:3

Notice it does not say “if” you have other gods. There will always be competition for the throne of your life. When life gets difficult, what do you turn to? When the ambulance is backing into the driveway, where does your heart go to for relief? When the last dollar has left your hand, and the cupboard is bare, where do you turn in your need? When the echo of eternity is sounding, where is your hope? How you answer these questions will show you if God is just another task in your life, or if he really is your life.

Bradley Antill is a forester, and an author. “Multi-Tasking” is an excerpt from Reflections on Rebellion and Redemption, available at www.onatreeforestry.com

Byrd Rose To Top Of Logging Ranks

Twead “Jack” Byrd, longtime CEO of highly respected logging and trucking businesses operating as T.W. Byrd’s based in Branford, Fla., died January 18. He was 80.

Byrd, a lifelong resident of nearby Mayo, owned and operated the business along with his brothers, J.W., Earl and Paul, with numerous other family members working in the trade. The business was honored multiple times by state and national organizations, including being named National Outstanding Logger

The sons decided to expand the logging side, and became a massive producer, growing it to as many as 12 crews, while running a large fleet of trucks.

Byrd was passionate not only for the logging industry but also agriculture. He believed that hard work would get you anywhere. He lived by three simple words, “Faith, Family, and Forestry.”

Byrd was a member of Hatchbend Apostolic Church. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Patricia Byrd; sons: Jack Everette Byrd (Jerri) and Jerry Brian Byrd (Shanna); sisters Ethel Jackson, Joyce Byrd, Joann Bass (Craig), Susan Warren (Rudy) and Benita Byrd (Daryl Sandlin); brothers J.W. Byrd (Delania), Earl Byrd (Karen) and Paul Byrd (Sandy Touchton); eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his sons Jason Byrd and Patrick Byrd.

Services were held at First Baptist Church in Branford. Private family burial was planned in Hatchbend Apostolic Church Cemetery.

“Jack Byrd will be deeply missed but we are so fortunate for the legacy in logging and agriculture he has left,” the family said in a statement.

Sawmill In Camden Gains New Life

Executives at Astara Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm, along with Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and other state and local officials, gathered to mark the opening of the Camden Timbers sawmill in early February.

Astara Capital Partners earlier formed Camden Timbers to acquire and restart the former Victory Lumber, SYP sawmill in Camden. Camden Timbers is Astara’s second sawmill investment for its ACP Lumber Holdings platform, following its acquisition of Cross City Lumber in Florida in April 2021.

“Astara is proud to invest in

American manufacturing companies, and today’s ceremony highlights the wonderful team at Camden Timbers and its special partnership with the state of Arkansas,” commented Astara Managing Partner Michael Ranson, who came to Astara in summer 2020 from Blue Wolf Capital Partners, also an equity firm that has invested in and sold sawmill operations.

Camden Timbers will create more than 50 jobs in the area. The company expects the sawmill to produce more than 50MMBF of timbers and dimension lumber through its sawmill, kiln and planer operations.

RoyOMartin Goes Back 100 Years

RoyOMartin is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of Roy O. Martin Lumber Co., which was legally organized and incorporated in Alexandria, La. in 1923. Led by Indiana native Roy O. Martin, Sr., the company was born after the entrepreneur’s purchase of an older sawmill and began without a single acre of land. Today, the trade name RoyOMartin represents a group of vertically integrated companies owned by

the Martin family, focused on sustainable land and timber management and woodproduct manufacturing.

“For 100 years, the Martin family has built a business model demonstrating corporate responsibility benefiting its shareholders, stakeholders, team members and our families,” states Roy O. Martin III, grandson of Martin Sr. and Chairman, CEO and CFO.

In addition to being a leader in responsible forest-management practices and overseeing 550,000 acres of highlyproductive timberland, RoyOMartin and its subsidiaries operate three manufacturing facilities supported by nearly 1,300 employees: an oriented strandboard plant in Oakdale, La.; plywood and solid wood products plant in Chopin, La.; and an oriented strandboard plant in Corrigan, Tex., which is currently expanding by constructing a second mill at the site.

In 1923, after working in the lumber industry in Indiana, Illinois and Tennessee for 11 years, 33-year-old

Roy Otis Martin Sr. wanted to go into business for himself and wanted to buy a sawmill in an area where lumber was reasonably inexpensive. His search took him to Alexandria, where he and his wife, Mildred Brown Martin, purchased the nearly dilapidated Creston Sawmill for $32,000.

On November 10, 1923, the Roy O. Martin Lumber Co. was officially organized and incorporated, with Roy O. Martin as its president.

The company has thrived through

a variety of changes and challenges in its 100 years—from sawmills and lumberyards to retail outlets, creosote treating, real estate, and wood product manufacturing—to become a timber-and-manufacturing industry leader.

In 1929 Martin Sr. made his first land purchase when he bought 6,500 acres in the Black Lake swamp area in northwest Louisiana. Since then, the company has become one of the largest private landowners in the state.

Throughout three generations, the Martin family has remained in management roles. In 1962, company leadership passed to the second generation, with Roy O. Martin Jr. serving as president, followed by his brother Ellis Martin in 1978. The

ROM is building a new OSB plant in Corrigan,Tex.that will procure pulpwood size logs.

third generation took the helm in 1994 when Jonathan Martin (Ellis’ son) and, later, Roy O. Martin III assumed the top positions of president and CEO.

Log Yard Upgrade Should Be Helpful

According to a report in Louisiana Logger newsletter, WestRock is investing $97 million to upgrade its

mill in Hodge, La., which includes log yard upgrades that should reduce log truck turnaround time.

Loggers will be especially interested in the two new radial cranes that will replace a single linear crane that will essentially double the rate that log trucks can be unloaded.

The upgrade will increase the capacity of chips made at the mill site, and new equipment will allow logs to be chipped more efficiently as WestRock replaces an outdated slasher

process with a state-of-the-art long log system.

Ponsse Names Vidgren To Oversee Dealers

Samuel Vidgren has become the area manager responsible for Ponsse’s dealer network in the U.S. The development of the dealer network in the U.S. is carried out in close cooperation with Ponsse North America. Samuli Heikola, who was previously responsible for the dealer network, will continue working for Ponsse North America as a business development manager.

Vidgren has worked at Ponsse in various capacities including sales and marketing. In December 2022, he received his Master of Business Administration (MBA), specializing in international business and management, from the University of Tampa.

New Mississippi Law Simplifies Light Safety

A new Mississippi law that went into effect in 2022 has simplified low visibility light requirements for log hauling, according to Mississippi Loggers Assn. Executive Director David Livingston. A similar law passed in 2011 to allow log hauling in low-visibility conditions with an amber light at the rear of the load ended up with a permit requirement, load length limits and time con-

straints once it was implemented by the Mississippi Dept. of Transportation, resulting in loggers not applying for the permit.

During last year’s legislative session, Livingston says, MLA sought to get ironclad legislation allowing hauling during low-visibility times, like neighboring states. The new law, SB 2519, accomplished that without any length limitations or specific time frames. “It simply says that any time visibility is less than 500 feet or headlights are needed for visibility the light will be required to be affixed to the rear of the load,” Livingston says.

Study Confirms Forest Carbon Neutrality

Enviva Inc. and U.S. Industrial Pellet Assn. (USIPA) praised a recent study, “Impacts of the U.S. Southeast Wood Pellet Industry on Local Forest Carbon Stocks,” published in the scientific journal Nature and confirming that the wood pellet industry has met the overall condition of forest carbon neutrality in the U.S. Southeast between 2000 and 2019.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), if harvest volumes (for wood products and energy) and losses related to mortality and disturbances do not exceed growth across the whole forest, there is no net reduction in forest carbon stock. The 2022 study in Nature additionally confirms, by data, that carbon neutrality guidelines have been met by biomass producers in the U.S. Southeast, which is the world’s leading region for wood pellet production and export.

Between 2000 and 2019, data and observations were collected from more than 19,000 forest inventory tracts maintained by the U.S. Forest Service. At the completion of the study, researchers concluded that, “Our estimates offer robust evidence that the wood pellet industry has met the overall condition of forest carbon neutrality.”

In addition, The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s “Special Report on Climate Change and Land” stated, “In the long term, a sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fiber, or energy from the forest, will generate the largest sustained mitigation benefit.”

“These studies build on the scientific literature that consistently shows existing regulations are working as intended to ensure biomass is responsibly sourced in the U.S. Southeast to provide a positive impact on the climate and the environment,” says Amandine Muskus, Executive Director at USIPA.

Logging Equipment Loss Due to Fire

BACKGROUND: On a logging job in the Lake States Region during February, an operator of harvesting equipment had blown a hydraulic hose. He called for assistance from a skidder operator for a tow to the landing where the equipment could be repaired.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: The experienced business owner has been logging for nearly 50 years. This was the first time in his career that he experienced an equipment fire.

UNSAFE ACTS AND CONDITIONS: A blown hydraulic hose leaked a flammable fluid that came into contact with a hot surface.

ACCIDENT: While operating

the equipment, the machine operator noticed a hydraulic hose had blown. The hose leaked a hydraulic fluid that was ignited when it contacted a hot surface. The operator and several other workers attempted to put out the fire with multiple fire extinguishers but were unsuccessful.

INJURY: No injuries resulted from the equipment fire. The machinery was a total loss that significantly impacted the production and profitability of the logging business.

FIRE PREVENTION FOR LOGGING EQUIPMENT:

l Identify ignition sources on logging equipment. Hot engines, electrical faults, and

exhaust surfaces are considered “hot spots.”

l Schedule preventative maintenance to inspect machines for worn parts. Aging equipment may need to be inspected more often.

l Debris from logging, such as leaves, branches, and sawdust, can accumulate on hot surfaces. Inspect these areas several times throughout the day. Shut down the machine and clean debris from hot surfaces if found. Common spots for debris accumulation are belly pans, side shields, and access guards.

l Check for a buildup of grease, oil, and fuel from leaks or spills.

l Implement a proactive review of electrical

systems and wiring components. Log inspections and monitor the frequency of inspections.

l Keep fully charged fire extinguishers on board the equipment.

l Shut down equipment before fueling.

l At the end of the day, remain on site for 15-30 minutes to monitor machinery for fire ignition.

l Consider installing an onboard fire suppression system.

Supplied by Forest Resources Assn.

MACHINES-SUPPLIES-TECHNOLOGY

Deere Crawler Loader

Designed for logging contractors of all sizes, John Deere offers the new 2956G crawler log loader as a machine that provides the best combination of engine horsepower and hydraulics capabili-

ty, while maintaining a machine weight of less than 90,000 lbs.

Aimed to help ease transportation, the 2956G crawler log loader features an overall shipping width of less than 11' 6". The design on the 2956G not only helps simplify transportability, but also helps save on costs relating to transport due to its less restrictive transportation requirements. In addition, the new mounting of the log deflector adds

additional strength to the right-front corner of the machine and the new, clean, and simple design of the hood profile, aligned with counterweight, helps to enhance debris shedding.

The 2956G crawler log loader features excellent engine power for a machine of this size. When combined, the engine power and hydraulic flow significantly boost loading capability, speed, and the

capacity to run the Waratah 624. Also, customers looking to increase efficiency in roadside processing can expect improved productivity when running the Waratah 624 head as compared to the 2654G.

Visibility enhancements have also been prioritized in the design of the new 2956G. Enabling additional visibility to the right track, as well as reduce overall impact, the RH front corner log deflector has been strategically moved to the back on the machine. A rearview camera, light and JDLink antennas have been integrated into the counterweight for additional protection. Visit johndeere.com/forestry.

Cat 558 Forest Machine

The new Cat 558 next generation forest machine features several design upgrades for boosting production. Available in Log Loader and General Forest configurations, the new 558 is powered by a Cat 7.1 engine that generates 25% more power than the previous series. Add in the machine’s new electrohydraulic control system that produces 30% more swing torque and 15% more travel power and hilly work becomes easier to accomplish.

Smart mode automatically matches engine and hydraulic power to working conditions to help do that work with maximum fuel efficiency. Also, with cold-start capability of25˚ F (-32˚ C) and high ambient temperatures reaching 126˚ F (52˚ C), the machine can work year-round.

The new Certified Forestry cab with its reinforced structure and thick polycarbonate windshield enhances operator safety. Available in a choice of rear or side entry, the cab’s interior space is 25% larger, allowing most operators to stand without hitting their head.

Operators have multiple options for starting the 558’s engine, including an easy-to-reach push button, Bluetooth key fob, or unique Operator ID function.

Compared to the previous model, the 558 next generation will consume 50 fewer filters over the course of 12,000 hours, which contributes to lowering maintenance costs by up to 15%.

Fuel filters feature a synchronized 1,000-hour change interval –double the service life of the previous model. A new hydraulic oil return filter improves filtration and delivers a 3,000-hour service life, which is 50% longer than previous designs. Visit cat.com.

IRONWORKS

TOLL

FREE: 1-800-669-5613

CLASSIFIED AD RATES: Classified advertising rates are $55 per inch. Space is available by column inch only, one inch minimum.

DEADLINES: Ad reservation must be received by 10th of month prior to month of publication. Material must be received no later than 12th of month prior to month of publication.

CONTACT: Call Bridget DeVane at 334-699-7837, 800-669-5613, email bdevane7@hotmail.com or visit www.southernloggintimes.com

COMING EVENTS

March

28-30— Kentucky Forest Industries Assn. annual meeting, Embassy Suites, Lexington, Ky. Call 502-695-3979; visit kfia.org.

30-April 1—Southeastern Wood Producers Assn. annual meeting, The Okefenokee Fairgrounds, Waycross, Ga. Call 904-845-7133; visit swpa.ag.

April

26-28—Virginia Forestry Summit, Williamsburg Lodge, Williamsburg, Va. Call 804-278-8733; visit vaforestry.org.

July

22-25—Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Summer Conference, The Homestead Resort, Hot Springs, Va. Call 336-885-8315; visit appalachianhardwood.org.

28-30—Georgia Forestry Assn. Annual Conference, Jekyll Island, Ga. Call 478-992-8110; visit gfagrow.org.

August

11-12—Southwest Forest Products Expo, Hot Springs Convention Center, Hot Springs, Ark. Call 501-2242232; visit arkloggers.com.

15-17—Virginia Forest Products Assn. Annual Conference, The

Omni Homestead Resort, Homestead, Va. Call 804-737-5625; visit vfpa.net.

17-20—Virginia Loggers Assn. annual meeting, Hotel Roanoke, Roanoke, Va. Call 804-677-4290; visit valoggers.org.

23-25—Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Expo, Music City Center, Nashville, Tenn. Call 504443-4464; visit sfpaexpo.com.

29-31—Florida Forestry Assn. Annual Meeting & Trade Show, Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort, Miramar Beach, Fla. Call 850-2225646; visit flforestry.org.

September

5-8—Tennessee Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Marriott Cool Springs, Franklin, Tenn. Call 615-883-3832; visit tnforestry.com.

7-9—Great Lakes Logging & Heavy Equipment Expo, UP State Fairground, Escanaba, Mich. Call 715-282-5828; visit gltpa.org.

10-12—Alabama Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Orange Beach, Ala. Call 334-265-8733; visit alaforestry.org.

15-16—Kentucky Wood Expo, Masterson Station Park, Lexington, Ky. Call 502-695-3979; visit kfia.org.

22-23—Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show, Starkville, Miss. Call 800-669-5613; visit midsouth forestry.org.

26-28—Arkansas Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Oaklawn Hotel & Spa, Hot Springs, Ark. Call 501374-2441; visit arkforests.org.

27-29—North Carolina Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC. Call 800231-7723; visit ncforestry.org.

October

3-6—American Loggers Council annual meeting, Sunday River Ski Resort, Newry, Maine. Call 409625-0206; visit amloggers.com.

18-20—Texas Forestry Assn. annual meeting, The Fredonia Hotel, Nacogdoches, Tex. Call 936-6328733; visit texasforestry.org.

Listings are submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with contacts prior to making plans to attend.