Southern Stumpin

By David Abbott • Managing Editor • Ph. 334-834-1170 • Fax: 334-834-4525 • E-mail: david@hattonbrown.com VOTE!!

It’s that time again…the most wonderful time… I’m talking, of course, about football season! Thank God, because I really wasn’t sure we’d get one this year.

And of course, in case you haven’t heard...it’s also election time. Yay.

Ok, so politics isn’t as fun as football, but it might be almost as important. Maybe. And politics has been on my mind, not just because of the election, but because of my new side gig as a 7th grade civics teacher. See, since mid-August, thanks to coronavirus concerns with schools starting back in our county, I have been sharing my office space at home with my four kids who have been doing virtual school for the first nine weeks. This means that, while juggling my duties with Southern Loggin’ Times, I have had the pleasure of helping my younger step-daughter Allie figure out multiplication and division, and the honor of introducing my younger son Logan to the study of the American political system.

While going over the history and concepts underlying the Constitution, I’ve been reminded of just how much there is to appreciate in our republic, things we too often take for granted. It’s far from perfect, but our justifiably lauded Founding Fathers designed our system in recognition of its inevitable limitations—because if it involves human beings, there will be corruption and incompetence.

That’s why our Constitution has built-in measures to keep the various factions of government and media in check and in balance with one another. Yes, even the media, for all its faults, plays an important role; that’s why it’s in the First Amendment. It’s a constant give and take struggle, this system; it’s messy and frustrating, but that’s, I think, how it was meant to be, and how it has to be, to keep any one group from gaining total control.

I explained to my son the division and sharing of powers among the branches thusly: it’s like rock/paper/scissors, I told him; each one can stop, or be stopped by, the others. Everyone in every part of the government has someone who can tell them no, including, ultimately, us, the voters.

That’s the most beautiful and remarkable thing about it: we do get a say in it. I know it’s easy to be cynical, but think about it. We can voice our opinions, formally and informally, and engage in public discourse about policy. Not everyone everywhere has always had that right; in fact before we did it here it was quite rare. We can protest (peacefully—like John Lennon sang in “Revolution,” when you talk about destruction, you can count me out). We can openly criticize our own government, without fear of legal repercussion, imprisonment, or execution. You know that wasn’t the case in most places historically, and it’s not the case in a lot of places now (try to speak against Putin in Russia or the little rocket man in North Korea, and see what happens).

When our leaders break the law, they can be exposed (by the media, when they do their jobs right). They can be arrested and imprisoned. Don’t think so? Ask Don Siegelman and Mike Hubbard, our former Governor and House Speaker, respectively, down here in my sweet home Alabama. Heck, it sometimes seems like half of our state leaders are indicted, in prison or otherwise in trouble. That’s something that also wouldn’t be the case under despots and tyrants.

Here, we can meet with our representatives, we can get involved in the process, we can even run for and serve in office ourselves, thereby taking a direct role in leading and shaping public policy. And at the most basic level, we can vote. Don’t like the government? Throw the bums out; give some new bums a try. Our leaders are accountable to us, ultimately.

Loggers, and those of us connected with this essential industry, have seen this first hand. Many of you have been to Congress, and to state legislatures, to have input on public policies that impact your businesses directly. We’ve seen your state and national associations try to secure for loggers a share of the COVID relief funds from Congress. We saw a logging representative speak at the Republican National Convention. We’ve elected loggers to state legislatures (in Maine and Georgia that I know of, and I’m sure elsewhere as well). That’s all civics in action.

Our Time

Now, as I mentioned above, there’s actually an election this year. I know you may not have been aware of that, because it’s not something people talk about much on TV news or social media (sarcasm alert). By the time this issue hits your mailbox, there will be just about a month left before we collectively get the opportunity to vote on our President, a third of the Senate, all of the House of Representatives and a number of state and local offices.

I’ve voted in every election since I turned 18 in 1996 (I voted for Bob Dole that year, but somehow Bill Clinton won anyway). My wife actually just registered and voted for the very first time in her life this summer, in a Republican primary runoff here in Alabama (former Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tubberville against former U.S. Senator and Attorney General Jeff Sessions). I didn’t pressure her to do that; she just decided on her own she was ready to take part in the system. And I’ve seen a lot of other people say they’re voting for the first time this year; people who have never paid attention to or cared at all about politics now say they see what’s going on and they want to do their part.

I think that’s great. Even if I don’t agree with your views, I’d still want you to vote. It’s our God-given, constitutionally-protected right, and, in my view, a sacred responsibility, one people have literally fought and died to give us.

Every election, every two and four years, the pundits and propagandists on both sides say the same thing: this is the most important election of our lifetime. If our side doesn’t win, then kiss your freedoms goodbye! Now on the one hand, I think that’s hyperbole. The dire warnings and lofty promises either way tend not to really come true.

But from another perspective, despite their hyperbolic rhetoric, those partisan cheerleaders are also always kind of right: every election is the most important election yet…because it’s the one happening now , and the future always depends on the choices we make today, just as the present grew from the choices we made yesterday. It’s a never-ending story, and this right now is our time to write our part of it. Let’s not waste it.

I wouldn’t dare try to tell you who to vote for…I trust each and every person reading this can figure that out for yourselves. But I do hope every one of you will get out and vote for whomever you honestly believe is the right person for each job. I feel safe in observing that many, perhaps most, of the people I encounter in the logging community are fans of President Trump, and if he’s your man, then I say go cast your ballot for Trump. If you like Biden instead, then I say vote for Biden. If you don’t like either one of them, then write in Mickey Mouse and vote on your local and state reps.

I don’t care who you vote for, I just want you to vote. Even if you choose the wrong candidate—wrong as someone else might reckon it— voting is always the right choice. So please, like I’m teaching my son, let’s all do our civic duty on November 3: vote.

New Addition

This month we are presenting the inaugural edition of a new monthly column we're going to try out in SLT: From The Backwoods Pew, on page 30. The writer, Brad Antill, is a forester and a Christian minister. I know a lot of our readers are people of faith, so I thought his forestry-related perspective of spiritual matters might be of interest to a lot of you. Check it out, and let me know what you think. SLT

■ The Givens family stands strong together, not giving up or backing down.

By David Abbott

SPARKMAN, Ark. I had a little trouble finding the place— GPS is good but it ★ has its limits in the woods, and the pin originally sent me to a spot a highway mile or so away from where Gene Givens Logging, Inc., was actually set up on August 12. My guess is the little gravel road I first found was probably an exit somewhere on the other end of the block that Gene and his son Gregory were working at that time. A brief phone call to Gregory quickly righted my course. A few minutes later: pay dirt, I knew, as I could now see two Givens log trucks about a quarter mile off Highway 9, past a shooting house on the right.

I was optimistic as I turned off the blacktop that the little Chevy Equinox (classified as a compact SUV) in which Enterprise Rent-ACar had placed me could make it down what at first looked like a pretty smooth log road. Not 30 yards in, just past the tree line, I realized I was wrong and put it in reverse. A pickup, better suited to the deep puddles and mud than that Equinox, came out just behind me and stopped on the side of the paved road. The driver was Mack Smith, a forester with Idaho Timber, a mill in Carthage with which the Givens have a long relationship. I had figured I could walk in, but Mr.

Gene, left, with Gregory, right, and Grant Givens, 8, who can hardly wait another decade till he’s old enough to work with his dad and granddad

Smith gave me a ride to the landing.

The road was slick, the mud was thick and the accumulated puddles were deep. Rain like this has been par for the course for the last six years, as Gregory explains: “In 2011, 2012 and even in 2013, we hit it real good. It was dry in the summer and it stayed dry. But ever since then, give or take a spell where it’s dry for a few weeks, then, like today, it comes a three inch rain. So we take one step forward and two steps back.”

Early August continued that trend. The day before Southern Loggin’ Times paid the Givens crew a visit, it was 97 degrees and dry. That next morning, Nashville and Ashdown reported 10 in. in 12 hours. The Givens tract between Fordyce and Bearden got three and a half inches.

It’s been almost 50 years since the family company’s patriarch, Gene Givens, started working for himself. “Logging has changed over the years so much,” he reflects. “You have to change with it to keep up with the times.” His daughter April, who, like her brother Gregory, plays an integral role in the business, adds, “You can’t predict it, so you have to be versatile. We are at the mercy of the weather and markets.”

Markets

Markets have been down for six to nine months, Gregory admits. “And to be honest, COVID has not affected us much yet, but I think it will. I think it will affect us indirectly in the near future.” His dad considers, “When COVID came up and they started talking about shutting things down and telling people they can’t work, I told the kids, ‘Hey, I might get a little time off.’ But April told me nope—logging is essential.” Pandemic-related or not, markets have been down this year, but the Givens don’t let it get them down. “I feel we have been blessed thus far to go like we have been going,” Gregory says. “I say we are fortunate because it is not as bad as it could have been and not as bad as it has been in some other places. And we are fortunate to work for Idaho Timber; it has been steady.” Mack Smith and Tony Carder are the Idaho foresters who keep the Givens busy.

Givens has been working with Idaho since 1993. “They’ve been

good to us,” Gregory says. He figures they cut timber Idaho buys nearly 75% of the time; most of the rest of their time the loggers cut tracts they buy for themselves or on part of the 5,000 acres of land they already own. “Especially, primarily what we own,” Gregory emphasizes.

“When we buy, we buy on hills to cut in the winter when it’s wet…you know, not like it is today,” the younger Givens jokes, nodding at the puddles and mud everywhere. Idaho generally puts them on pure pine log stands or a 50/50 mix of pine clear cut stands and select cuts.

When working on Idaho contracts, the Givens send pine logs to Idaho’s mill in Carthage. Other outlets for pine logs include Georgia-Pacific in Gurdon, Ray White Lumber in Sparkman and Anthony Timberlands in Bearden and Malvern. The Givens also work with Andy Taylor, who in this case is not a good-natured sheriff in a sleepy town called Mayberry but a forester for Georgia-Pacific. The Givens currently haul their pine pulpwood to Georgia-Pacific’s OSB plant in Fordyce and hardwood pulp to Evergreen Packaging in Pine Bluff.

Highland Pellets in Pine Bluff is still shut down for upgrades. “We need them to come back online bad,” Gregory says, while his sister April interjects that she heard a new pellet mill might be coming to somewhere near Bismarck, 40 minutes from Sparkman.

“The hardwood pulpwood market is really bad,” Gregory continues. “They shut the G-P Crossett paper mill down, and I think Domtar in Ashdown is about to shut a line down, too. It is all because of demand. Last year we sold hardwood pulp for $70 a ton delivered to the mill; now it is $30 a ton, with strict quotas on pine pulp. Hardwood is wide open but it brings no money, while pine pulp is one load a day.”

Chip-n-saw goes to Shields Wood Products in Arkadelphia, while hardwood saw logs are bound for Rogers Lumber in Camden and Brazeale Lumber Co. in Sparkman. Light poles head to any of three Stella Jones locations in Rison, Leola, and Delight, whichever is closest at the time.

The crew averages 50 loads a week, though in the right conditions they have doubled that.

History

This summer, clan patriarch Gene Givens marked 47 years since he married his wife Jeannie on June 15, 1973. He started logging a few months later. He had grown up around the business—his dad had a groundhog sawmill—and he had already been working for another logger. He bought his boss out to

It was dry the day before, but that morning Mother Nature dumped more than 3 in. of rain on the job site. The crew worked on, undaunted; God's given the Givens the gift of a good attitude, it seems.

start this company with a used C65 single axle Chevy and Prentice H model loader. With the addition of a new Timberjack 240 cable skidder, “I was off to the races, or I thought I was,” Gene laughs in retrospect.

He was 22 then; he’s 69 now, and he always said he’d work till he turned 70. Now that that age is in sight, he’s changed his mind; he might “retire” next year, but he’s not going to stop working. “I enjoy what I do too much,” he explains. “The good Lord has been good to me and I am in good health. As long as that continues, I plan to continue.”

Gene started logging the same time as Mack Smith started working as a forester. They’re the same age, only a few weeks apart, born

respectively in January and February. His relationship with Idaho Timber started when the company from Boise bought what had been a shuttered C&S Lumber mill to which Givens had previously hauled. “Since we had hauled so much wood over the years to C&S, they recommended dad when Idaho

wanted to know some good loggers they could trust,” Gregory recalls. Mack and another Idaho man, Jack Beverage, came to visit Gene and Jeannie in 1993; the kids were in grade school.

Gregory joined the business in 2000, after graduating high school third in his class. “I had to leave work

Gene has given nearly every brand a try, spreading the love among Deere, Tigercat and Barko.

Gene Givens, right, with Tony Carder, Idaho Timber forester, left

early to make it to graduation,” he recalls. He could have gone to college wherever he wanted, but where he wanted to go was the woods.

It was the same for Gene. It only took him one semester at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia to know academia wasn’t for him. “This is not what I want to do,” he remembers realizing. “I know what I want to do and I don’t need a college education to do it.” Scholars might analyze the meaning of “Know thyself,” the ancient Greek maxim inscribed at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, or Shakespeare’s line from Hamlet, “to thine own self be true.” Gene didn’t need an English lit or philosophy class to understand the underlying truth and apply it to his life. “When you know, you know,” he says. “Why waste your time on anything else?” April predicts the next generation of Givens kids will be the same way. “They already know it’s in their hearts.”

Equipment

Over the years the Givens men have used a variety of brands, and continue to demo many so they

Crew, Left to right: Isel Perez, Gene Givens, Gregory Givens, Dayton Johnson

Truck drivers, from left: Larry Smith, Freddy Howard, Selina Leaks, Quasen Pigg

Gregory’s family, from left: Cecily and Gregory with their kids Blakely, Capp, Grant and Katie Rae

The Givens family, left to right, front: Jeannie, Gene, Katie Rae, Winston, Grant; and in back: Quasen, April, Minnie and Gregory

know what they want when the time comes to buy. Gene ran John Deere skidders for a long time; he still has one 12-year-old model with 17,000 hours. “Those are good machines,” he nods.

These days they stack with a 2019 Barko 295 loader and merchandize with a 2013 Prentice 2384B with CTR delimber and CSI slasher. Felling duties fall to a 2018 John Deere 843L while a 2020 Tigercat 630E skids. In reserve are a spare ’11 Deere 748H and ’11 Deere 700J dozer. Dealers are Stribling Equipment in Camden for John Deere; Don’s Diesel in Sheridan for Prentice; Crouse Truck Parts, also in Sheridan, for Barko; and MidSouth Forestry in Cado Valley for Tigercat.

“We try to do all the maintenance we can do by ourselves,” Gene says. They change oil every 250 hours and grease once a week with Red Mystik brand grease and Citgo oil products, supplied from Hendry Oil Co., Arkadelphia. Diesel and DEF they buy in bulk from Sewell Oil Co. in El Dorado, with capacity to store red fuel in a 7,000-gallon tank and highway in an 8,000-gallon.

They run four Mack trucks, including a red 2019 that is Gregory’s. The truck and its trailer, bought in 2018, were his first purchase of his own. His brother-inlaw, April’s husband Quasen Pigg, is the driver. They also keep two spares, ’11 and ’13 Peterbilts. Dealers are Tucker’s Truck, Inc., in El Dorado and Peterbilt of Little Rock. Viking trailers come from Lonestar Truck Group in Tex - arkana, and Pitts from Crouse Truck Parts in Sheridan. They also have a Magnolia lowboy from Lucedale, Miss.

April and Quasen’s son Winston, 4, enthusiastically insists that when he grows up, he’s going to drive a Peterbilt, a blue one, and definitely

The Prentice delimbs and Barko loads trucks.

Gregory bought his first truck two years ago.

NOT a Mack. “He is determined,” his mom says. She often takes him to the refueling depot so he can go truck watching and signal his arm down for the drivers to honk at him.

Trucks get serviced every 20,000 miles and checked out thoroughly every other Saturday at the company shop by Gene and Jeannie’s house. Drivers walk through a pretrip inspection every morning. “Most DOT officers are not out to get you,” Gene believes. “They can tell when you’re trying and when you’re not trying. We try to keep them clean and know that they’re safe, so we don’t have many problems there.”

Gene Givens Logging runs Vulcan scales, another Crouse Truck Parts purchase. “They have paid for themselves because you can be so consistent,” Gregory notes. McClain Welding Shop in Fordyce handles all welding repairs. Chapel Creek, a Crouse subsidiary owned by Buddy Crouse, supplies mats for bridges. JMR Tire Service in Fordyce and Bounds Tire Services in Camden repair log truck flats. A-1 Tire in Pine Bluff takes care of equipment tires. The Givens run a mix of Firestone and Primex forestry tires. Log truck tires come from Southern Tire Mart in Hope and Wingfoot Commercial Tire in Pine Bluff.

Gene has worked with FBT Bank & Mortgage in Fordyce since he started logging; he deals with bank President Jim Hulse, Lance Nutt and David Sisson there. Equipment insurance is with EPG Insurance Co. in Memphis. Truck insurance is Campbell & Co. in Camden; Suzanne Horn is the agent, HARCO National is the underwriter.

Manpower

Before last year, the Givens fielded two crews, but downsized in spring 2019, Gregory says due to markets but mainly because it was too hard to find enough quality help for both, so they folded it all into one.

“We have a really good crew,” Gene says now. Most everyone out here has been fitted with playful nicknames. “Bossman” Gene runs the skidder, while “Puppy Dog”

Despite quotas, rain and oversupply, the Givens count themselves blessed.

Gregory mans the cutter. Former employee Dayton “Nobody” Johnson, Sr., had to retire with a bad shoulder, but his son, Little Dayton “Somebody” Johnson, Jr., operates the delimbing loader. Truck drivers are Freddie “Frog” Howard, Quasen “Trouble” Pigg, Selina “Blue Eyes” Leaks, and Larry “Hobo” Smith. Deckhand Isael Perez limbs and tops anything too big for the delimber.

April was a nurse but joined the family business to keep the books when Jeannie retired from that role in 2016. Accountant Ronnie Phillips in Fordyce has handled payroll since Gene has been in business.

The crew holds safety meetings at the tailgate when they move onto a new tract, or once a month, whichever is sooner. “New employees receive a safety packet to go over what we do and don’t allow, what is expected and required,” April says. “If you’re on the payroll, you sign it, and we keep it on file.” Rules include no texting while driving. Workers’ comp is through Amerisafe in DeRidder, La.

The whole family attends New Hope Baptist Church in Sparkman. In the spring they were doing Facebook virtual services due to coronavirus, and a few times they had services in cars in the church parking lot: “If you wanted to say amen, you’d honk the horn,” Gregory laughs. But since July they have gone back to doing regular in-person meetings, with masks and distance of a pew or two between families.

The church has a Fall Festival fundraiser the first weekend of October every year. It raises $18- 22 thousand. All proceeds go back into the community, to help needy families—such as if a house burns down—or into a holiday cheer fund to help parents struggling to give their kids a Christmas. “We like to support that,” Gregory says.

They’re also involved in Log-aLoad for Kids fundraisers through the Sheridan chapter, and locally they donate to Sparkman schools, buying yearbook ads and sponsoring events like the annual “Field Day” for students. Also, Gregory’s wife Cecily is in charge of the Sparkman Christmas parade, which always features Givens log trucks.

Along with April and Gregory, Gene and Jeannie have their older daughter Gena Rae and six grandkids: Blakely, Capp, Grant, Katie Rae, Winston and Minnie. Gregory and Cecily were just married October 19, 2019, right behind their house.

If logging and all those grandkids don’t keep him busy enough, Gene doesn’t have to worry about getting bored. He also has a 365- acre cattle farm with about 100 head. They roll approximately 300 rolls of hay each summer. And there’s that 5,000 acres of timberland the family owns. He says, “We enjoy getting out and looking at the timber, and deer and turkey hunting. It’s good to just enjoy these wonderful creations God has richly blessed us with.” SLT

Island Time

■ Illinois logger Steven Hunter works the Mississippi on the Missouri-Kentucky line.

By Patrick Dunning

MAKANDA, Ill.

Just across a levee where the Mississippi River used to flow and the Number Three ★ Chute tributary now serves as the Missouri-Kentucky border, Steven Hunter, 43, is revisiting a 3,600-acre island tract in southwest Kentucky. Dubbed Island Number Three, the place is steeped in history and, for Hunter, personal memories. He’s worked here before, when he was just 19, alongside his father, John Hunter, another lifelong logger in southern Illinois.

The island-harvesting Hunters are no strangers to Hatton-Brown publications. When Steven and his sister Christina were still working for their dad, the family trio was the focus of a feature article in the March/April 2013 issue of Timber Harvesting, a sister periodical to

Hunter prefers Bear Paw chains on his skidders for additional grip in tight spots.

Southern Loggin’ Times. They were working on an island then, too: Burnham Island.

That was just about a year before the elder Mr. Hunter lost his battle with lung cancer in 2014. “When he got lung cancer, I came and worked with him because he was sick,” Steven says. John had smoked an average of five-to-six packs of Pall Malls a day and never blamed anyone, accepting his diagnosis with humility.

Steven recalls that his father’s unrelenting demeanor, through ➤ 20

A pair of Hydro-Ax cutters help harvest a large cottonwood population.

Steven Hunter Logging averages 64 loads weekly.

Historic Ground

Island Number Three is one of six total islands owned by investment group Island Number Three LLC, totaling 10,000 acres of timberland spread out along the Mississippi Valley area. Other islands include Burham, Angelo, Wolf, Number Six and Number Ten.

In the tight radius surrounding Island Number Three, a couple of remarkable incidents have unfolded.

More than two centuries ago, unusual seismic activity began in December, 1811, when a strong tremor shook the New Madrid region, located near the Mississippi River in present-day New Madrid, Mo. Averaging between 7-8 magnitude on the Richter scale, aftershocks from this event are said to have rung church bells in Boston over a thousand miles away. The Mississippi River’s water turned brown; whirlpools developed from depressions created in riverbeds; and the river flowed backwards for several hours after a thrust fault created a sudden dam several feet high near the bottom of the river loop near New Madrid.

“That culvert you drove over to get onto Island Number Three used to be where the Mississippi ran before the earthquakes raised the ground and pushed it backwards for several hours,” Hunter says. “It changed the route of the river, but the Mississippi still surrounds the island entirely.”

Fast forward a half century. During the Civil War in 1862, the Battle of Island Ten took place about 50 miles down the Mississippi River. It proved to be one of the war’s most inaccessible battlefields. Upstream from New Madrid within the sideways S-bend where the river snakes through the junction of Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri, there are two 180-degree bends in the river. Island Number Ten is recognized as the 10th island south of the juncture of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and located at the base of the first turn going south, at the time dominating the river and any vessels attempting to pass.

Union and Confederate forces engaged in a month-long stalemate that resulted in the first of three important Union victories to maintain possession of the vital waterway from Confederate control. Confederate batteries led by Brig. Gen. John P. McCown positioned along the shoreline of the island to deter Union naval forces and successfully kept them from opening the river bend.

Throughout March, Union Brig. Gen. John Pope assigned engineers to clear a bypass canal across the neck of the first bend to avoid Confederate defenses. The canal was 50 ft. wide and 12 miles long with six miles cut through heavy timber where every tree had to be sawed off 4 ½ ft. under water.

During a thunderstorm on the night of April 4, the Ironclad Carondelet successfully snuck past Island Number Ten and anchored in New Madrid at dawn. The Ironclad Pittsburg followed two nights later and helped overthrow Confederate batteries and guns, enabling Pope’s men to cross the river and block Confederate escape routes.

The first load of the day goes to industry friend Chris Farrell in Cairo, I ll., who manufactures furniture material.

Steven Hunter, founded the company in 2007 .

18 ➤ several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, spoke volumes about John’s perseverance. That strength of character in the face of grave illness impressed Steven even more. “He died on a Monday and was working in the woods the Saturday before that,” the son says. “He never stopped working.”

Steven describes John as a good ole’ boy. “I talked to him every day. He was my best friend.”

Operations

Hunter is currently engaged in battles of his own; a fight to be half the man his dad was, as he sees it, as well as to infiltrate new markets and find a happy medium with respective departments of transportation. Thankfully the region’s light-colored cottonwood soil expedites harvest cycles in Hunter’s favor.

When Southern Loggin’ Times visited Steven Hunter Logging in August, he was clear-cutting 3,600 acres of majority cottonwood on Island Number Three in Carlisle County, Ky. Other species harvested include willow, hackberry, hickory, poplar, white and red oak.

Plantation cottonwood is harvested as early as eight years after planting. “After you harvest the first time you can come back eight years later because the trees have been genetically designed in their root systems to shoot back up,” Hunter says. “It’ll be about 14-16 in. on the stump.”

Hunter has a cavalry of woods equipment with a few additions to compensate for marshy tract conditions. His lineup includes five skidders: a pair of Prentice 490s, 2004 and 2005 models, ’07 Prentice 2432, ’15 Tigercat 610E and ’17 John Deere 848L; two loaders: ’05 Tigercat 240B with CTR delimber and ’07 John

Deere 437C with CSI delimber; two ’05 Hydro-Ax cutters, 570 and 670 models; and a John Deere 550G dozer.

All skidders are equipped with Bear Paw chains for extra grip in tight spots. “There’s about 2-3 in. of slime out here because of about 12 ft. of water over this whole island,” Hunter explains. “When it rains it gets real slick out here. You’ll just sit there and spin so the chains give you a little bit more bite.”

Rollison Equipment in Bardwell, Ky. is Hunter’s Tigercat dealer. Erb Equipment in Cape Girardeau, Mo. supplies his John Deere equipment.

Hunter believes he can fix almost anything out of his F-350 service truck. “I can rebuild motors, fix hoses, whatever needs to be done,” he says. “I specialize in hydraulic systems so I can keep my gauges and work on any kind of hydraulics.” A handful of Stihl 661 model chain saws are mounted in the bed of the truck as well.

His fleet of trucks include a ’93 Peterbilt, and ’95 and ’02 Macks, pulling nine Magnolia trailers and one homemade holding trailer ranging years ’98-’21.

Oil is changed in woods equipment every two to three weeks or 60-100 hours using Rotella 15-40. Truck oil is changed every 10,000 miles using Rotella 15-40; and Hunter greases his equipment regularly. “Every time I fuel a piece of equipment we grease it,” he says. “When we all get together at the end of a shift we’ll grease the equipment again.” All maintaince on equipment is serviced at his shop in Makanda, or directly on the job site.

Travel Limitations

Living in Illinois and hauling wood through several states on a regular basis can create problems with altered weight requirements and separate departments of transportation from one state to the next.

Hunter says Kentucky allows 88,000 lbs. if not hauling on a federal highway. In Missouri, 80,000 lbs. is the maximum weight allowed but a $75 permit allows haulers to go up to 120,000 lbs. if not on U.S. highways. Illinois’ DOT sets their weight limit at 80,000 lbs. regardless of using state or federal highways.

“Trucking is the biggest thing; nobody wants to run trucks through Illinois to get to Wickliffe or any of the mills in Kentucky because of the DOT,”

Hunter says.

Steven Hunter Logging hauls pulpwood to Phoenix Paper Co. in Wickliffe, Ky. Bigger saw logs go to industry friend Chris

Farrell’s operation in Cairo, Ill.

Farrell saws high-grade wood to manufacture casket and furniture material. The second load of the day goes to Hickory

Hills Woodworks in Raleigh,

Ill. where pallet stocks are assembled. Remaining production goes to the two sawmills

Hunter owns and operates, a way he diversifies in an everchanging market.

Under the Steven Hunter

Sawmill name, both sawmills cut pallet stocks, ties and 20 in. crane mats using Wood-Mizer processing equipment. Located in Makanda and in Ullin, Ill., the mills’ markets are wide-open aside from a slowdown in lowgrade, Hunter says. “The pandemic hasn’t really affected us,” he says. “Ties are selling well; low-grade sales are down but I don’t know if the coronavirus is behind that. There really aren’t any quotas right now.” Hunter notes that poplar, hickory, white oak and walnut are currently in demand while red oak remains down. A total of about 64 loads are hauled weekly.

Steven Hunter Logging’s solo crew includes Michael Lesley, cutter operator; Christina Hunter, skidder operator (and Hunter’s sister); Marvin Harris and Mike

Miles, truck drivers. They’re insured through Acord. Hunter and his wife Amy have two daughters. SLT