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Vol. 47, No. 11
(Founded in 1972—Our 554th Consecutive Issue)
F E AT U R E S
November 2018 A Hatton-Brown Publication
Phone: 334-834-1170 Fax: 334-834-4525
www.southernloggintimes.com
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Gary Easterling Multifaceted Operation Shines
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Reaching Out Gary Brett, Rodney Schwab
Co-Publisher Co-Publisher Chief Operating Officer Executive Editor Editor-in-Chief Western Editor Managing Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor Art Director Ad Production Coordinator Circulation Director Marketing/Media
David H. Ramsey David (DK) Knight Dianne C. Sullivan David (DK) Knight Rich Donnell Dan Shell David Abbott Jessica Johnson Jay Donnell Cindy Segrest Patti Campbell Rhonda Thomas Jordan Anderson
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
out front:
Midwest USA, Eastern Canada John Simmons Tel: 905-666-0258 • Fax: 905-666-0778 32 Foster Cres. Whitby, Ontario, Canada L1R 1W1 E-mail: jsimmons@idirect.com
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Historical Series Sumter Lumber Co.
Southern Stumpin’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Hard work has paid off for Alabama’s Johnny McDonald. The former truck driver started logging in ’92 with a Industry News Roundup . . . . . . . . . 41 chain saw and ambition; today he runs a 12-man job and harvests 1,000-acre ForesTree Equipment Trader . . . . . 47 tracts. Story begins on Page 8. (Jay Donnell photo) Coming Events/Ad Index . . . . . . . . . 54
Western Canada, Western USA Tim Shaddick Tel: 604-910-1826 • Fax: 604-264-1367 4056 West 10th Ave. Vancouver, BC V6L 1Z1 E-mail: tootall1@shaw.ca Kevin Cook Tel: 604-619-1777 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 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
Bridget DeVane
Tel: 1-800-669-5613 • Tel 334-699-7837 Email: bdevane7@hotmail.com
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 ® 2018. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Ala. and at additional mailing offices. Printed In USA.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Southern Loggin’ Times, P.O. Box 2419, Montgomery, AL 36102-2419 Member Verified Audit Circulation
Other Hatton-Brown publications: ★ Timber Processing ★ Timber Harvesting ★ Panel World ★ Power Equipment Trade ★ Wood Bioenergy
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SOUTHERN STUMPIN’ By David Abbott • Managing Editor • Ph. 334-834-1170 • Fax: 334-834-4525 • E-mail: david@hattonbrown.com
Undriven ’ve written a lot in the last year, for this magazine as well as for companion periodical Timber Harvesting, about the perils of log trucking. I wrote about it again a few months ago in an article that appeared only in the show program for the Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show held in Starkville, Miss. in September. Since I put a fair amount of time and effort into that piece, it seemed a shame to leave it only available to attendees of that show. After all, I’d feel plain wrong about depriving you, esteemed reader, of your opportunity to have your life enriched by this pristine piece of prose. I’d never do that you. So, below is a drastically truncated version of the much longer article that ran in the Mid-South program a few months ago.
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It’s become almost a cliché in the last year or so: log trucking is in big trouble. From costly insurance to tighter regulations to a scarcity of qualified and reliable (or insurable) drivers, trucking woes continue to bedevil logging business owners nationwide. “I don’t know anybody who has enough drivers,” says Mississippi Loggers Assn. President Ken Martin. “They either can’t pass a drug test, or they’re too sorry to work, and young people don’t have enough experience.” Likewise, Brian Smith of Brookhaven finds not so much a lack of drivers as a lack of drivers willing to do the work he needs done in a day. He’s grateful to have many good drivers, but there just aren’t enough of them available. “About half of the drivers out there just aren’t cut out for it,” he laments. Studies support what these loggers have observed. According to a July 9 article in Woodworking Network (woodworkingnetwork.com), the shortage of truck drivers—not just in the logging business but across all industries nationwide—may soon reach “crisis levels.” Likewise, a May 21 article by Heather Long in The Washington Post also uses the word “crisis,” declaring in its headline, “The U.S. doesn’t have enough truckers, and it’s starting to cause prices of about everything to rise.” John Deere was among the companies identified in the article that had announced price increases due to higher freight costs. Driven in part by low unemployment and a lack of interest among young people, the labor shortage in the transportation sector is extraordinary and unprecedented. Both the articles cited earlier point to a 2017 industry issues report from the American Transportation Research Institute in which “driver shortage topped the list of critical issues facing the industry for the first time since 2006.” According to the report, the U.S. had 51,000 fewer drivers than it needed in 2017, a steep jump from the 36,000 driver shortfall the year before. If trends continue, the report indicates the shortage could 6
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on the way…maybe. Two years ago Uber more than triple in the next eight years. announced a successful test delivery of 2,000 cases “There is a shortage of drivers in general, and of beer over 120 miles in Colorado via a self-drimore so for the ones who specialize in logging,” ving freight truck. As well, Google’s self-driving says Kim Wall of Wall Timber, based in Osyka. car project, now called Waymo and owned by a “Who can pay the insurance? And even if you company called Alphabet, recently launched a pilot could, you can’t get them to approve the driver.” Recently, insurance forced her to let go of a driv- program to test (partially) self-driving trucks delivering freight in Atlanta. er with more than 20 years’ experience after a Harder still it is to imagine autonomous trucks minor accident. “What sense does it make?” she successfully navigating the difficult off-road terasks. “I can’t replace him with anybody as good rain often encountered on logging jobs. Even so, as he was.” this summer Swedish company Einride unveiled Insurance rates may be part of the problem, but a prototype for its T-Log, a driverless electric for a lot of other reasons as well, the bottom line, truck—it doesn’t even have a cab—designed Smith and others think, is that logging companies just can’t afford to pay drivers enough to compete with other industries. Thus, many of the more reliable drivers move on. As it is in many respects distinct from other types of trucking, hauling in the forest products industry presents its own challenges and opportunities. Lumber markets are, for the most part, currently robust as the overall economy continues to grow, meaning demand for drivers is high, very high. But the supply of drivers lags behind. As such, mills from Canada to Arkansas report that products remain Elnride’s T-Log—a self-driving log truck? unshipped due to a lack of available drivers. Large specifically for hauling logs out of the woods. trucking companies are doing what they can to Capable of hauling 16 tons and going 120 miles attract new drivers…higher pay, shorter time on a 16KwH battery, the T-Log can be controlled away from home, among other benefits. But as a by a remote operator. Einride expects it to be in rule, logging companies don’t have the financial use on public roads by 2020. resources to offer similar incentives. Some observers actually think this is one reason Logger Tim Mahan of Golden, Miss. enjoys why fewer young people are willing to take truck low driver turnover, and it’s easy to see why. Mahan, a former truck driver himself, is adamant driving jobs, even in areas where the pay is very good: fear the career will be obsolete soon. There that drivers be treated with the same respect as are about 2.5 million truck driving jobs in the U.S., woods employees receive. He pays well and and some studies have indicated that, once all the offers bonuses, including a bonus for staying bugs are worked out, the advent of self-driving within the speed limit (his trucks are all govtrucks could cut that number down by as high as erned at 68 MPH). His men drive late-model 70% in the next 12 years, according to a July 12 trucks, which he keeps in top shape. In fact, he article on theverge.com by Andrew Hawkins. emphasizes maintenance on trucks more than on woods equipment, citing the higher likelihood of injury or death from a truck accident. Against The Wall
No Driver, No Problem?? It may be tough to envision now, but the time may be coming when it won’t matter if there are enough good drivers or not. Driverless trucks are
Perhaps the most frustrated are those individuals who do everything they’re supposed to do and still find little or no reward for their efforts. Case in point: Bob and Kim Wall, the dynamic husband/wife duo behind Wall Timber in ➤ 40
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Still Building n Johnny McDonald looks to keep growing his business in Alabama.
By Jay Donnell RANGE, Ala. hen Johnny McDonald was driving a log truck back in the ’80s it’s H hard to imagine that he ever envisioned he would one day own and operate a big time logging company in Alabama. But while he may not have known how it would come together, McDonald had ambition. While he drove his own truck for many years, he saw others he knew start to build their own logging businesses and McDonald started leaning that way
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himself. In 1992, he turned that goal into a reality and started cutting trees with a chain saw. McDonald had just three employees at the time as well as a Clark skidder and an old loader. His operation was producing three loads a day, but he knew that wouldn’t last for long. McDonald realized if he was going to be successful he would have to start trading up equipment and do it fast, and overcome many obstacles. “When you’re a new company nobody really wants to do business with you and it’s always hard to find help,” McDonald recalls. Over the next two years the Ala-
bama native was able to upgrade to some newer equipment and really start developing a reputation in the yellowhammer state. Over the next 15 years McDonald kept building and by the mid 2000s he was running two crews. When the recession hit in 2008 he had to downsize as many logging companies did, but he was still able to maintain a viable operation. Today, McDonald Timber Co. LLC runs one large crew, which often separates into two crews whenever it’s necessary on a particular tract. Johnny, 57, has 12 employees and operates eight trucks. Trucking is a point of pride
McDonald runs mostly Tigercat machines, purchased from Tidewater in Evergreen.
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with McDonald and it shows. All of his trucks are over a decade old, but they look brand new as drivers are instructed to keep them as clean as a whistle and in top condition.
Operations McDonald Timber Co. (MTC) had just started work on a 1,000acre tract on somewhat hilly terrain in Wilcox County when Southern Loggin’ Times visited the operation. It was last cut about 30 years ago. The timber was mostly pine, 90% of it replanted, and what McDonald couldn’t cut would be chipped up behind him. This was an unusually large tract for MTC (“We were lucky to get it,” McDonald says), but they have worked on tracts of all sizes including some as small as 40 acres. They plan to work on this tract until the end of November or beginning of December before more rain comes in. The area has seen a ton of rainfall over the past year, which has slowed down production a little. The company can cover a lot of ground in a small amount of time. McDonald reports that they can cut a 40-acre tract in about four days, and in early October they were in a first thinning on 80 acres and cut it in four days. Some of their main markets include Georgia-Pacific at
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Claiborne, Swift Lumber Co. in Atmore and Harrigan Lumber Co. in Monroeville. The business can produce more than 100 loads per week when conditions are ideal. While this tract was somewhat rolling (“It can turn slick in a heartbeat,” McDonald says), MTC is accustomed to working on flatter terrain in the counties of Butler, Crenshaw, Baldwin, Escambia and Conecuh. MTC cuts for Webb-Taylor Timber Co. of Evergreen and McDonald deals with Mike Webb and Will Daniels on a regular basis. “They’re young and aggressive,” McDonald says. “I’ve been with them for six or seven years now and they keep me in good timber. They really hustle. I don’t really have time to buy my own timber.” When closing out a tract McDonald makes sure to do all the BMP work necessary. When he’s getting ready to finish up someone from Webb-Taylor will come out and look over it to make sure everything is good to go. McDonald generally builds the roads himself with a Cat dozer when it’s necessary, but often they’re already in place. Still, McDonald likes to improve the roads and build them extra wide so that trucks don’t get scratched up and mirrors don’t get broken. McDonald attributes much of his company’s success to his hardworking and dedicated crew. All crew members are paid by the load so there’s a big incentive to work hard every single day. “I’ve paid by the day, but if you pay by production you know they’re going to work hard,” McDonald says. Employees generally arrive on site at 5 a.m. on most days and leave at 5 p.m. They’re granted time off for all major holidays and McDonald offers health insurance
The crew handles tracts ranging from 40 acres to 1,000.
Back row, from left: Ryan Moore, Eddie McDonald, Jason Booker; front row, from left: Junior Merritt, Josh Brown, Justin Merritt
SLT SNAPSHOT McDonald Timber Company Range, Ala. Email: jmcdonald61@yahoo.com
McDonald takes great pride in his fleet of eight Peterbilt trucks.
Founded: 1992 Owner: Johnny McDonald No. Crews: 1 Employees: 12 Equipment: 1 feller-buncher, 2 skidders, 2 loaders, 1 dozer, 8 trucks Production: 100 loads per week Average Haul Distance: 60 miles Tidbit: McDonald makes sure each one of his trucks gets washed every single week. Southern Loggin’ Times
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Johnny McDonald (middle) has a great relationship with Tidewater’s Tommy Kirby (left) and Jonathan Booth (right).
through Blue Cross/Blue Shield. He also offers life insurance. Safety is important to everyone at MTC and the crew members often talk about the importance of safety each week. The company recently changed its insurance to Triangle Insurance through insurance agency Hawkins and Rawlinson, which is based in Auburn and specializes in insurance for loggers. “They do a great job of finding competitive rates to keep my insurance down,” McDonald says. “A local logger went to work for them and they contacted us so we got to talking about insurance rates. They treat me well.”
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Iron Lineup MTC runs all Tigercat equipment purchased from Tidewater Equipment in Evergreen. Tigercat machines include a 2015 620E skidder, 2016 620E skidder, 2014 234 loader, 2016 234B loader and a 2017 724G feller-buncher. McDonald has a long-standing relationship with Tidewater. “I’ve been working with them for close to 20 years and their equipment just seems to last longer than some of the other brands,” he says. “They have some really good equipment.” McDonald prefers to run Primex
From left, truck drivers David Dawson, Josh Brown and Rodney Bryen
tires and recently changed to Primex Xtremes on his cutter. The cutter runs on 43s. “It gives so much stability. We can thin with it,” McDonald says. The newer skidder runs with 35.5s. Ryan Moore, Eddie McDonald and Junior Merritt drive skidders, Jason Booker and Justin Merritt operates loaders, and Paul Phelps operates the new feller-buncher. McDonald doesn’t always hire employees who have experience with operating logging equipment. He’s not afforded that luxury. Often, he’s had to hire greenhorns and train them from the ground up.
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Machines are greased twice a week and oil is changed every 300 hours. Most of McDonald’s equipment is still under warranty so if a machine breaks down someone from Tidewater will be out there to fix it. McDonald maintains a shop in Range. MTC owns eight Peterbilt trucks (all in the 2003-2006 year range) with six usually in operation and each truck is equipped with a Cat engine. McDonald prefers the Cat Single Turbo engine. Each truck pulls a Magnolia trailer. “Peterbilt is just a good, solid truck and it’s a little lighter than some of the trucks out
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there,” McDonald explains. “We have a great relationship with Fitzgerald Peterbilt in Montgomery.” McDonald purchases his trailers direct from Magnolia Trailers. One of McDonald’s trucks has a million miles on it and is still pulling wood. He’s looking at upgrading, but says unless you buy a (Peterbilt) Glider you can’t get a Cat engine. Drivers are paid by the load and they have to get drug tested before they can go to work for MTC, and while they are employed they can be randomly tested. Drivers usually have
to have three years of experience before McDonald can consider hiring them. MTC’s drivers are David Dawson, Josh Brown, Rodney Bryen, Jamie Dean and Patrick Marion. They keep their trucks in mint condition by greasing them every week and washing them every week. McDonald keeps a pressure washer and everything they need to keep the trucks washed. “I’m kind of hard on my drivers, but you can look at my trucks,” he says. “If they don’t wash them they don’t stay here long.”
McDonald orders a Vulcan OnBoard scale each time he buys a new trailer. He decided to go with scales about eight years ago. “It keeps you from under loading them more than anything,” McDonald says. “It helps our drivers be consistent with weight so when we leave the woods we know what we’ve got.” DOT in the area is usually pretty strict according to McDonald. Their biggest gripe with log trucks is mud on the roads. McDonald uses a tractor with a blade on it and a pressure washer to clean the roadways. He
also puts down rocks on the log roads if it gets to be too nasty. MTC experienced a trucking accident recently, but they were not at fault. A vehicle pulled out in front of one of MTC’s trucks and totaled it. This was the only accident the company has experienced in some time. “I see truck insurance and trucking in general as a problem looking ahead,” McDonald says. “There are a lot of younger drivers that aren’t all that experienced.”
Wood Industry While McDonald doesn’t run equipment every single day like he used to, he still fills in on the loader and drives a truck when he needs to, not to mention that he is the one usually building or shaping the roads with a dozer. He believes that things are looking good for the industry as a whole as the demand for wood continues to increase. Things are certainly looking up in MTC’s general area. He notes that Rex Lumber is expected to begin buying wood in 2019 for its new sawmill in Troy, and another mill may come into the Thomasville area. “There’s a high demand for wood right now and obviously a high demand for lumber,” McDonald says. McDonald is thinking about expanding his operation if the demand continues to climb. He hopes to make another equipment purchase or two within the next year in order to keep production as high as possible. He’s looking at purchasing a new Tigercat loader and a new skidder if everything continues to go well for his business. While McDonald remains optimistic about the future he knows there’s always uncertainty in the logging industry. He hasn’t forgotten when MTC took a serious hit during the recession. And even in good times, the challenges persist. “I definitely worry about the labor force,” McDonald says. “It’s hard to find people that want to work like they used to and if it’s somebody you don’t know you really have to watch them.” McDonald is happily married. His wife, Carol, does payroll and generally keeps everything in order, as she has for many years. After starting out from scratch with a chain saw in 1992, McDonald’s hard work has certainly paid off as he continues to build on his successful business. The future is never certain in logging, but right now things are looking up for McDonald Timber Co. and the past year has been one of his best. But in good times or bad, McDonald has the right attitude: “I just SLT love it. I guess I’m crazy.”
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Up And Down n Gary Easterling has found a niche with landscape mulching in northwest Arkansas.
Easterling says the mulch business has really turned into something, especially with the tremendous growth in his area.
By David Abbott HUNTSVILLE, Ark. H n the 42 years since its founding, Easterling Wood Products, Inc. has seen the ups and downs of the industry, having been both much larger and smaller at different times than its current size. Today, you aren’t apt to hear too much complaining from owner Gary Easterling, 71. “It’s a rat race in the timber
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business, but right now things are pretty good and prices are healthy,” he reports. Though his roots in the northwest Arkansas woods go back quite a ways, Easterling is a first generation logger. His dad had a propane and appliance business in town. “There wasn’t enough excitement in that for me,” Easterling says. “The timber business excited me.” His road to the woods led him first through the academic world. For two years he studied business at Harding Uni-
versity, a private liberal arts college in Searcy, later transferring for another two years at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, not far from his home town in Huntsville. While he was in college, he supported himself by making wooden stock racks for livestock trailers. It was a part-time enterprise that eventually led him to his lifelong vocation. “Stock racks, that’s a lost cause,” he muses. “At that time it was big. Everything you saw coming down
The veteran logger sells his mulch both to local landscapers and natural gas drilling operations.
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the road had a stock rack on it, because that is the way they hauled their cattle. In this area here of course we are big in cattle; everybody in Madison County has some cows. That’s the way I got into the timber business, though.” To make the racks, he would buy a few good trees and hire a logger to cut them down and saw them up into 2x2s to form the uprights. Soon enough he left college and started his own logging crew, at first with horses and mules. Later, he had one of the first skidders (International) and knuckleboom loaders (Lucky) operating in Madison County, he recalls. “That was quite a change,” he points out. “Some of the loggers around here, when they finally bought some skidders, they still took their horses and mules to the woods because they didn’t think a skidder could keep up,” he laughs. “After about two or three months of that, they figured out that if you got somebody on the skidder who really could drive, then they could leave the mules at home, but they didn’t trust the skidders at all at first.” When he started logging, Easterling was about a semester shy of the credits needed to complete his formal degree. He intended at the time to go back and finish one day, but then things got busy and after a
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Grinder crew, from left: Louis Fuentes, Bill Todd, Jamey Joyner
while it didn’t really matter anymore. Even so, he acquired the education, the knowledge he needed from his four years of business management studies, with or without the paper to show it. He believes that education has been helpful to him throughout his career, both in managing money and in managing people. “I think the business education helped tremendously, and some of the other courses I took helped out too.” After a few years he got a piece of equipment that really set him apart from the pack. He went out to the West Coast and bought a cable yarder, which proved useful in the steep hardwood hills of northwest Arkansas. It was also instrumental in contributing to the growth of Easterling Wood Products when Hurricane Hugo hit South Carolina. After the storm, he went there to help with cleanup and salvage efforts. “We were the 89th crew in the national forests in South Carolina,” he recollects. “I got on because of that yarder. They had everything from tractors and horses to skidders, dozers and helicopter crews. Mine was one of two or three yarders they had, and they were just trying to get everything they could out. With all 89 crews combined, we were putting out 1,000 loads a day. We were there for eight months and
Woods crew: Joe Swafford, Gary Easterling
At the mill: Stacy Easterling, Gary Easterling
SLT SNAPSHOT
Mulchin’
Easterling Wood Products Huntsville, Ark. Email: ewp4@madisoncounty.net Founded: 1976 Owner: Gary Easterling No. Crews: 2 (1 harvesting and 1 grinder crew) Employees: 10 Equipment: 4 knuckleboom loaders, 5 rubber tire loaders, 3 skidders, 5 trucks, grinder Production: 2 loads/day (logging); 6-10 loads/day (grinding, varies by location) Average Haul Distance: 40 miles Tidbit: Easterling’s son, Stacy, who might have been close to a career as a pro baseball pitcher before a college injury struck him out, also owns a sawmill. after all that exodus of timber, they didn’t even get half of it out.” For his time in South Carolina, Easterling made some good money that he reinvested into the business to buy some brand new pieces of John Deere equipment, including a skidder and a track cutter. That, he says, is when his business really took off. In his heyday, he had five crews in the woods and a sawmill. Then came the recession; when the
haven’t seen it stay steady very long in my 40-something years at it. But it has been a good ride.”
bottom fell out of the hardwood market in 2008, Easterling had an auction and sold off most of his logging equipment and everything at the sawmill but the land and the dry kilns. In the decade since, he’s kept the downsized business going with a couple of crews, recently buying a few more new Deere pieces. “It’s up and down in the timber business,” he notes. “It’ll always either be going up or going down; I
Among the diversified operations under Easterling Wood Products these days is a mulching crew. “With the mulch business in this area, the problem is getting the material,” the logger relates. “We don’t have any big mills, so the only way to get it is to make it yourself. Of course this mainly comes out of treetops or slabs. When you buy and grind slabs, you have a lot of money tied up in it, and there is hardly any money to be made in the mulch business to begin with. So the main place we get it is by grinding treetops, and that fits in with our logging operation.” This three-man job, which centers around a Rotochopper B66 grinder fed by a Deere 335 loader, follows after Easterling’s logging crew and other area loggers, grinding tops and other residuals. Easterling also has a yard in the town of Rogers (which was the location of the first Wal-Mart store, now headquartered in neighboring Bentonville). Easterling stores his grindings there, an inventory that is supplemented by material brought into the yard, mostly from commer-
Easterling says the tract he and Swafford worked this summer featured some of the best timber he ever bought.
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cial trimming companies. The vast majority, nearly all, of the mulch will be colored and sold for landscaping locally. The Kenworth trucks dedicated to this crew can haul six or more loads a day, depending on distance, from the woods to Easterling’s plant in Rogers. There is another market for mulch, too: Easterling sells it to natural gas drilling companies to be used for LCM (loss circulation material). “Whenever you drill a well, especially natural gas, you
pump drilling fluid down in it and it comes back up to the top, and makes a complete circle,” Easterling explains. “Whenever they go down in a rock formation and hit a gap, they have to stop that up. If they hit a void, they take some of that LCM, mix it with their drilling fluid to more or less make a paste, and pump that in there to pack that hole.” Easterling got into this market about 10 years ago, when fuel hit $4 a gallon. “I have a good connection with a firm out of Oklahoma City. It’s a good deal that goes
hand in hand with what I have.” Expounding on the slim margins in mulch, Easterling adds, “If you haul this stuff very far then you have defeated your purpose, because you’re getting too expensive. You need to be within 15 miles of your source or all your money gets tied up in transportation. So you can’t afford to haul it very far.” Tight margins require close supervision, he notes. “You have to really watch what you’re doing to come out with a profit.” With that in mind, he points to
Rotochopper’s slogan: “Perfect in one pass.” Getting it right the first time, Easterling believes, is also critical to success. “A lot of people will grind it then come back and grind it again. Well, every time you grind it, you have expense in it.” The Easterling crew grinds to 1.5 in. diameter from up to a 36 in. diameter at the infeed. With the grinder, loader and truck, he figures he has about $1 million invested in this crew. “This mulch business has turned into something,” Easterling states. “Most people have no idea how big it is, especially in our area here, because our growth in northwest Arkansas has just gone wild.” In fact, the region in which he lives and works is said to be one of the fastest growing metro areas in the whole U.S.
Loggin’ The remaining logging crew these days is a two-man job: Easterling and one employee, Joe Swafford. “It’s been just the two of us out here for quite some time,” Easterling says, noting that Swafford has been with him for nearly 30 years. Swafford handles the cutting and skidding, while Easterling loads and hauls. Soon, he says, he plans to hire a third man to handle the skidding while Swafford continues to fell with a Husqvarna chain saw, following all safety standards. Bumper To Bumper (Huntsville Auto Supply) in Huntsville is Easterling's Husqvarna supplier. He is insured through American Interstate Insurance Co. The crew runs 2012 model John Deere 648H skidder and 437E loader, Deere 850 dozer and a Kenworth T800 truck pulling homemade pup trailers. Though he’s bought much of his iron inventory at Tri-State Auction and Realty, the newer machines came from Deere dealer Stribling Equipment in Springdale. Easterling buys his own timber, achieving an overall 50/50 split between private and public land. To say the beautifully scenic tract he was working when SLT visited in August was hilly would be a massive understatement. “This is the steepest ground I’ve ever worked,” he says. “I have no idea what the grade is. We could almost use a yarder here, if I still had one.” He spent much of the late summer working on a skid road that goes straight down into a hollow. “You can’t imagine how steep it is,” Easterling says. Swafford had to carefully back the skidder down into the hollow and winch logs up with the cable. The effort, though, was worth it. “This is 160 acres of some of the best timber I ever bought,” ➤ 38 16
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Men Of Honor n Faith, Marines and missions top the list for M.A. Rigoni’s Rodney Schwab and Gary Brett. By Jordan Anderson PERRY, Fla. H f you’ve been involved in the Southern logging and timber industry for any length of time, and if you’ve been an avid reader of Southern Loggin’ Times at any point over the past 20 or so years, you’ve probably heard of M.A. Rigoni, Inc., the highly successful and well respected logging enterprise based in Perry, Fla. If you’re familiar with M.A. Rigoni, you’ll also most likely recognize the names Rodney Schwab, 70, and Gary Brett, 63, the owners of the company for the past 23 years. These men seem to have a reputation that precedes them, both in the business world and in their lives away from the woods. The company got its start in 1960; Schwab and Brett went to work for the company’s founder, M.A. (Matt) Rigoni, in the ’70s, and ’80s, respectively. In 1988, before undergoing a major surgery, Rigoni came to know salvation through Jesus Christ thanks to Schwab and Brett sharing the Gospel with him. Eight years later, on January 12, 1995, Rigoni sold his company to Schwab and Brett. The very next day, almost 24 hours exactly after the paperwork was signed, Rigoni died. Rigoni’s family and the two men to whom he had entrusted his company knew that his eternity was secured. What sets Schwab and Brett apart is their dedication to their faith and their determination to let their Christian beliefs and values dictate how they run their business and live their lives. The decision to make M.A. Rigoni a faith-based company was an easy one, according to the men. In fact, for some time now the company has tithed 10% of its profits to local ministries, international mission work and community outreach. “Over the years of being in this business, the turning point was when we took Judeo-Christian principles and applied them to everything we do,” Schwab asserts.
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Wounded Warriors For going on a decade now, Schwab and Brett have been involved with the Combat Marine 20
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Gary Brett, left, and Rodney Schwab, right, put their faith first in everything they do, including running M.A. Rigoni for the past 23 years.
Outdoors organization (which has no affiliation with the Wounded Warrior Project). It all began with a timber deal in Nicaragua in 2010. Illinois multi-millionaire businessman James Ritchie contacted M.A. Rigoni, which had come highly recommended to him, to discuss a possible timber venture on the Caribbean coast in Nicaragua. Schwab agreed to travel to Nicaragua with Ritchie and mentioned that he enjoyed cooking M.A. Rigoni would like to recognize and thank the following supporters of their work with the Combat Marine Outdoors program: Gainesville Regional Utilities Genesis Timber Ware Oil Co. Ryan’s Everything Automotive Stoutamire-Pavlik & Associates Rosselle Consulting Tidewater Equipment Co. Chet & Winnie Dalgewicz Mike Branch Boland Logging Henry Browning Glenda Hamby Ruth Harvey Dan Simmons Mike Hunter
during a conversation in an airport. This comment prompted Ritchie to tell Schwab all about his involvement with Combat Marine Outdoors, hosting wounded warriors at his Colorado ranch spanning several thousand acres, taking them on elk hunts and providing lodging and meals. When Ritchie asked Schwab to come cook for a group of Marines, Schwab jumped at the opportunity. After spending a week with those Marines, he was hooked and wanted to get even more involved. Fast forward several years and, feeling “led by the Holy Spirit” as they will tell you, Schwab and Brett contacted Combat Marine Outdoors to find out how M.A. Rigoni could put together something of their own. They were put in touch with Gunnery Sergeant Ken (Q) Urquhart, who is stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, NC. He helps facilitate the Combat Marine Outdoors program on the East Coast. After months of preparation, planning and prayer, the first group of eight Marines and their children, and one who actually brought his father, a Vietnam veteran, traveled to Perry in May 2016. Upon their arrival in Florida, the response from the Perry community was overwhelming.
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People greeted the wounded warriors and their children at the airport, proudly waiving American flags. The local sheriffs and fire departments provided an escort from the Taylor County line to the hotel where they were staying, and even more people lined the streets with American flags. There was a sizeable a crowd waiting for them at the hotel when they arrived, all cheering with flags in hand. The Marines and their children spent a week hunting hogs, fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, shooting skeet and taking several local forest industry related tours. In 2017 the second event was even bigger, in terms of the Marines and their children who participated, in community support and in M.A. Rigoni’s investment. The week in 2016 totaled about $24,000, much of it raised by forest industry related businesses in the region; in 2017 that number increased to around $28,000. Also in 2017, there were so many people and local businesses that wanted to be sponsors that some had to be turned away. At the end of the week, it’s their tradition to host a big closing dinner and invite all the sponsors and their families. The 2016 closing dinner fed 88 people; in 2017 there were over 200 in atten-
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Marines and their children hosted through the Combat Marine Outdoors organization enjoy a week of outdoor adventures in Perry and the surrounding area.
dance. In January of 2017, Schwab and Brett set up the M.A. Rigoni Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that accepts donations and funds the program. An individual or a business can even donate “the cost of a warrior,” totaling around $3,000, to cover the flight and hotel expenses for a Marine and their child for the week. Schwab and Brett both believe that working with these wounded warriors is an important ministry in itself, one with a lasting impact. “The hardest thing for these guys to do when they get home and get out of the hospital is to reconnect with their families,” Schwab says, adding that there are two types of wounded warriors: the physically wounded and the mentally scarred. Chad Schwab, 47, Rodney’s older son who also works for M.A. Rigoni, comments, “These Marines are getting to spend an entire week with their kids, seven days, 24 hours a day. That’s something that they’ve never been able to do before and it creates a bond between these men and their children that otherwise would never happen.” Brett adds, “I’ve been studying the Bible and teaching on the kingdom of God for years now, and working with these wounded warriors is the best kingdom thing I’ve ever been a part of.” The men have plans to make this annual event even bigger and better, as time, money and resources allow. As an alternative to hosting the Marines and their children, Schwab and Brett would love to have the
men and their wives come down to Florida. Their next event is scheduled for March 3-10, 2019, and plans are already coming together. For the first time, they may be hosting two Marines who are paraplegics next year and will have several local nurses, including Chad’s wife Dana, who also plays a big role in organizing their program, volunteer to work with those men. “We’re investing in these men and their families knowing that they can’t ever repay us, and it’s the best ministry I’ve ever done. God has given us the ability and the favor to do this,” Schwab says with a proud smile. Visit combatmarineoutdoors.org for more information on the Combat Marine Outdoors organization.
Mission Work As if their work with wounded warriors through the Combat
Marine Outdoors organization isn’t impressive enough, both Schwab and Brett have also been active in international missions since the ’80s. That started when the men connected with Thad Hardin from Salem Baptist Church, which is in nearby Salem, about 20 miles southeast of Perry. Hardin has been leading mission trips to South and Central America since the ’70s, taking groups to countries like Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua. Most notably, Hardin has led mission teams, many of which both Schwab and Brett have been a part of, to the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua to do work for and minister to the Miskito people, an indigenous ethnic group in Central America. While on their mission trips in Nicaragua, Schwab and Brett stay at a compound owned and operated by the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board (IMB) with groups of 15 to 20. The men
One of M.A. Rigoni’s four chipping crews working on a 40-acre tract in Gainesville.
help organize and oversee the transportation of equipment, including trucks, farm tractors and a motor grader, to the Nicaraguan coast where they cut pine timber and use Wood-Mizer portable sawmills to saw lumber for building homes, churches and bridges. Some of the equipment they use is even donated by dealerships in the region, like John Deere dealer Everglades Equipment Group in Okeechobee. In order to get the heavy equipment and other supplies from Florida to Nicaragua, everything is loaded into containers and put on a cargo ship in Miami. The ship then travels to and is unloaded in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. One of the most important aspects of their mission work in Nicaragua is using a Caterpillar motor grader to repair roads, according to Schwab. He says that something as simple as having decent roads for transportation in the communities where they work helps the local economy and is a tremendous blessing for the Miskito people. Both Schwab and Brett are also involved in other local ministries and community outreach projects in Perry and Taylor County. Between their work with wounded warriors and their involvement with international and local missions, the leaders of M.A. Rigoni hope that, as a byproduct, their efforts give the logging industry a more positive image. “Whether it’s supporting these Marines and their
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Mission trips to Nicaragua include cutting timber, milling boards and building structures and bridges for local indigenous peoples.
families or doing mission work in Nicaragua, we just want to be obedient to what God tells us to do. The Holy Spirit moves and we follow,” Schwab says.
per week. Three to five contract crews average around 100 loads per week. About five years ago when the Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) biomass facility, formerly the Gainesville Renewable Energy Center, opened, operations shifted to focus more on chipping. Today, about 80% of the company’s market is in chipping with the remaining 20% still in roundwood. Both men say that all of their markets today are stable. The business currently employs 44, including woods crews, truck drivers, five full-time mechanics, two timber buyers and administra-
M.A. Rigoni Today M.A. Rigoni was named the 2015 Florida Outstanding Logger of the Year by the Southeastern Wood Producers Assn. and the 2016 National Outstanding Logger by the Forest Resources Assn. The company currently fields four of its own crews, each one running a whole tree chipper and averaging around 70 loads
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tive staff. The company runs 18 trucks total, 15 of their own and three contract trucks. There are dash cameras in five of their company trucks and all are outfitted with GPS systems. “Trucking is a nightmare. That’s the kindest word I have for it,” Brett says with a shake of the head. Brett attended the first few TEAM Safe Trucking meetings and has since passed that responsibility to Richard Schwab, 46, Chad’s younger brother who also works for the company and currently sits on the board.
Chad Schwab, Rodney’s oldest son, will assume ownership of the company along with his dad and his brother Richard when Brett retires at the end of this year.
Crews typically work within a 120-mile radius of Perry and are currently cutting on several privately owned tracts surrounding Gainesville. Aside from the GRU facility in Gainesville, other markets in Florida include Georgia-Pacific in Perry and Palatka, West Fraser in Perry and Lake Butler, Klausner Lumber One in Live Oak, and WestRock in Jacksonville. Some hardwood goes to companies in Newberry and Lake City to be cut for firewood. Rigoni also hauls to Langboard OSB in Quitman, Ga.
and Packaging Corp. of America in Valdosta, Ga. Logging equipment is mostly Tigercat and comes from Tidewater Equipment Co. branches in Perry and Thomasville, Ga. Chippers are Morbark, also from Tidewater, with one Bandit from Quality Equipment & Parts in Lake City, Fla. There is a single Cat tracked loader in their lineup and they use Cat engines in all of their chippers, supplied by Ring Power Cat in Perry. Trucks come from Rush Truck Center, a Peterbilt dealer, in Lake City and from Truckworx Kenworth in Jacksonville and Dothan, Ala. Pinnacle Trailer Sales out of the Carolinas supplies chip vans and trailers.
Lasting Legacy On December 31 of this year, Brett will be trading in his work truck for a fishing boat when he retires. Schwab, on the other hand, says his favorite hobby is work and has no plans to hang up his boots just yet. When Brett retires, Schwab’s sons Chad and Richard will partner with their dad to assume ownership of M.A. Rigoni. Chad currently sits on the board of the Florida Forestry Assn. and Richard is a former president and current board member of both the Southeastern Wood Producers Assn. and the American Loggers Council and advocates for the Forest Resources Assn. on trips to Washington, D.C. Eventually, once Schwab decides to give up his “hobby,” Chad and Richard will take over the company. When asked what the future looks like under his and his brother’s leadership, Chad says that they’d be open to opportunities to diversify the business. Both Chad and Richard share the strong Christian values of their father and Brett. “We’re not perfect men and we don’t get it right every time, but we strive to get it right and honor God in everything we do,” Chad says. Their wounded warrior program and their mission work is just the exclamation mark on long, successful and God-honoring careers for both Schwab and Brett. The men have not only made their mark on the logging industry, but also in their communities, in their families and in eternity. Schwab and Brett both find it difficult to sum up the work that God has done. After a long glance at each other, Schwab says, “God has opened doors that we never thought would be opened.” Brett SLT nods in agreement. Rodney Schwab and Gary Brett can be contacted at gary@marigoniinc.com.
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Impressive Vocabulary An engineer called a Georgia Tech classmate of his and asked what he was doing. He replied that he was working on “aqua-thermal treatment of ceramics, aluminum and steel under a constrained environment.” Upon further questioning, the caller learned that his pal was washing dishes, with hot water, under his wife’s supervision.
Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier
Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for duty. In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching Washington, the Senate and House took two days off. On the ABC evening news it was reported that because of the dangers from the hurricane, military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They respectfully declined the offer. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.
Think About This I have been sick and needed a doctor. I have encountered trouble and needed a police officer. I have lived through times of war, when our nation needed our military. I have needed farmers every day. I have even needed an auto mechanic, a plumber, a house painter and a lot of other everyday people. But I have never, not even once, needed a pro athlete, a media personality or Hollywood entertainer for anything! —Author unknown
Great Lesson On Stress
1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk and why? Answer: 21 steps, alluding to the 21-gun salute, the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary. 2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk and why? Answer: 21 seconds, and for the same reason as above. 3. Why are his gloves wet? Answer: His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle. 4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time and, if not, why not? Answer: He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After his march across the path, he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder. 5. How often are the guards changed? Answer: Every 30 minutes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 6. What are the required physical traits of the guards? Answer: They must be between 5' 10" and 6' 2" tall and have a waist size not exceeding 30 in. They must commit to two years of tomb duty, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for the rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform or the tomb in any way. 7. What other stipulations are there? Answer: After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin, worn on his lapel, that signifies his tomb service. There are only 400 presently being worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin. Guard shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep out heat and cold. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe to make the loud click as they come to a halt. There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror. The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone or watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. A guard must memorize who they were and where they are interred. Among the notables are former Presidents Kennedy and Taft, Joe Louis (the boxer) and Medal of Honor winner Audie L. Murphy, one of the most decorated soldier of WWII and of Hollywood fame. 26
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A young woman confidently walked around the room with a raised glass of water while leading a seminar and explaining stress management to her audience. Everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, “Half empty or half full?” She fooled them all. “How heavy is this glass of water?” she inquired with a smile. Answers called out ranged from 8 to 20 ounces. She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” She continued, “That’s the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on. “As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden, holding stress longer and better each time practiced. “So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night. Pick them up again tomorrow if you must.” She also offered some related advice: 1. Accept the fact that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue! 2. Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them. 3. Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. 4. Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker. 5. If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague. 6. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it. 7. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others. 8. Never buy a car you can’t push. 9. Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on. 10. Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. 11. Since it’s the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late. 12. The second mouse gets the cheese. 13. When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane. 14. Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once. 17. We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box. 18. A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
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Historical Series…
Recalling SLC, EM n Sumter Lumber Co.’s Mississippi operations and its companion town were set apart. By DK Knight ELECTRIC MILLS, Miss. hese days only a few landmarks distinguish the sleepy hamlet of H Electric Mills in east-central Mississippi’s Kemper County. They include a utility pole peeling/treating/storage yard, a cell phone tower, a water tank (for the nearby community of Porterville), the Norfolk Southern Railway, and U.S. highway 45, which links the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Superior, a distance of 1,297 miles. But a century or so ago, Electric Mills, located about 35 miles slightly northeast of Meridian, was a thriving sawmill town that at its peak was said to have sustained and sheltered some 2,500 residents— about 2,450 more than dwell there now. Originally known as Bodga Station, the community’s transformation began in 1911 with the arrival of Sumter Lumber Co. (SLC), the owners of which bought an existing local mill owned by Cochran & Harrington Lumber Co. and proceeded to erect a new, larger facility that it activated in 1912. For several years, Sumter Lumber Co. reportedly had operated other sawmills in the South, including a steam-powered pine mill in Sumter County, Ala., some 30 miles southeast of here, before losing it to fire in late 1910. Rather than rebuild there, its investors opted to relocate to Bodga Station. One primary draw was a railroad. Another reason was that the community was more central to SLC’s extensive timberland holdings in the area. According to a news item that appeared in the April 29, 1911 issue of Southern Lumberman, SLC’s absentee owners intended to rename Bodga Station Sumter, but this never materialized. Instead, they influenced authorities to rename Bodga Station Electric Mills, the unusual name hinging on the fact that the new sawmill and planer mill were powered by electricity, a novelty at the time. Mill byproducts fueled boilers to produce steam, which in turn generated electricity that powered the
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Above, this is how Sumter Lumber Co.’s mill complex appeared in the 1920s. Below, satellite image of same site shows the present-day pole operation, which covers part of the space once taken up by SLC’s extensive air-drying lumber yard. (Photo credit: black/white, Kemper County Museum; satellite, Google Earth Pro)
plant and heated dry kilns. SLC eventually provided electricity at no charge to town residents, all of whom were connected with the company. Incorporated in 1913, Electric Mills had street lights that were never turned off, according to historical lore, leading to claims that it was “the brightest town south of St. Louis.” According to published documents and oral history, SLC employed more than 500 at the mill, town, and logging and railroad operations. Little evidence of the oncebustling town remains. Only one original house still stands, several narrow roads intersect a few blocks,
and sections of some concrete sidewalks are intact. The mill was located adjacent to and west of the railroad and what would become U.S. highway 45. All that remains of the mill are some overgrown concrete columns and the log pond. The current pole operation is partially situated on property where acres of lumber were stored.
Set Apart Then Among mill towns, Southern or otherwise, the place evidently had a lot going for it. In fact, it was often described as the “nicest sawmill
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town in the South.” Consider this paragraph extracted from a 10-page article that appeared in the June 14, 1924 issue of The American Lumberman: “The town is beautifully laid out, the principal buildings being grouped around a central park, and the streets lined with fine shade trees, both pine and hardwood. The homes are well built, sanitary, attractive, and conveniently arranged. An abundant supply of pure water for all purposes is supplied from an artesian well.” Electric Mills was self-contained in that it ultimately featured a commissary, two hotels, two schools (eight grades); barber shop, shoe shop, two churches, community house, men’s club, pharmacy, 35-bed hospital, ice plant, meat market, soda fountain, 500-seat theater, dairy, library, playground, baseball field, two baseball teams (Electric Mills Scrappers and Mill City Jitterbugs), Masonic Lodge, railroad depot, fivecompany fire department, auto garage and gasoline station. Opened in 1923, the George C. Hixon Memorial Hospital was said to have been “one of the finest in the state” and attracted patients from near and far. Three doctors who served there early-on were E.L. Gilbert, J.B. Mooney and J.B. Davis. In the beginning, SLC
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The ‘Doo-ga-loo’
Shade trees, screened porches and concrete sidewalks added to the comfort of the town’s residential dwellings. ‘Doog’ coins could be exchanged for silver. (Photo credit: Richard Barge)
This house, the last of the original SLM dwellings and now abandoned, is the last one still standing.
employees paid a mere $4.50 a month for complete medical and surgical care.
Set Apart Today Electric Mills—locals referred to it as EM in its heyday—may be the only former sawmill town in North America that has a documentary and web site (electricmills.org) devoted to it, thanks to Lee H. Thompson, Jr., whose maternal grandparents, E.A. and Pauline Temple, were pillars in the community. E.A. Temple worked for Cochran & Harrington Lumber Co., keeping the books and running the store and post office. When SLC bought that company’s mill and town site and built the new mill, Temple served SLC in the same capacity and later became its accountant and auditor. Thompson, who lives in Mooresville, Miss., has special memories of EM, as a kid having killed his first deer and turkey there and fished in the log pond. In producing the two-hour documentary, titled Electric Mills, MS— Memories of a Lumber Town, Thompson drew on his background and experience as a wedding/event videographer. He gleaned informa-
A walkaround porch helped set apart the SLC office.
tion from numerous articles, letters and books, not to mention interviews with several people who had ties with the company or town, or whose relatives were so connected. Based on that information, life in the town apparently was quite good, all things considered. Some memories noted or mentioned in his work: —25 lb. bags of rice and flour; —concrete sidewalks that lined streets and led to the front doors of houses; —boardwalks that led to outdoor toilets; —street lights; —doors that were never locked; —the annual Independence Day barbecue celebration capped by an afternoon baseball game; —the annual “Eight o’ May” Emancipation Day celebration that also included mounds of delicious barbecue; —the unhurried pace; —an acute sense of family; —summer revival meetings; —a near classless social order; —the mill whistle; —the pronounced spirit of employee loyalty to the company; —the company’s pronounced concern for its employees;
Railroads were crucial to SLC operations. (Photo credit: Kemper Museum)
—cooking schools; —teachers who paddled students for not passing tests; —four passenger trains a day; —following the ice wagon to catch ice shavings made when the delivery man sawed ice blocks; —the pleasant aromas of the butcher shop; —a company doctor who on one occasion helped deliver triplets named after the Old Testament characters of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Much of the information included in the documentary came from a short history of the town compiled and published in 1970 by Eva May. That history was punctuated with additional information gleaned from numerous interviews. The sense of community and level of employee contentment that prevailed were so strong that an Electric Mills annual reunion was held for decades after the mill closed. On one occasion people came from 12 states and one foreign country, according to the May history. Charles Fitts, Jr., whose father worked in lumber sales, remembered moving to EM in 1932 for a five-year stay, during which he landed ➤ 33
SLC had its own way of keeping up with earned wages, charging employee purchases at the company store, making change, and paying its workers. Foremen kept a time book and turned it in to the office daily and the paymaster posted the amount each worker earned on a 3x4 in. card. Employees could buy whatever they wanted or needed at the company store with these cards. Any change due employees in transactions was in the form of brass money, known as ‘doo-ga-loo.’ At the end of any two-week pay period, employees would redeem their time cards and any ‘doog’ change they held for authentic U.S. silver coins. The brass money was also used at another mill that SLC owners operated at Elrod, Ala. Company auditor E.A. Temple did not like to handle paper money, safety precautions being among the reasons, and instead opted for silver, which arrived under guard via train. Over time, the brass tokens, and silver, particularly dollars, became an identifying symbol for EM residents. Reportedly, any merchant within 75 miles of the town happily accepted the ‘doo-ga-loo,’ knowing SLC was good for it. When the company announced it was closing the mill, those who held the tokens brought them to the company office and redeemed them for cash—silver of course. “It was almost like a run on the bank,” one area resident was quoted as saying.
Built in 1923, the George Hixon Memorial Hospital featured 35 beds.
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The Sumter Lumber/Barge Connection What happened to the 165,000 cutover acres owned by SLC? According to David Barge, principal in a Barge family timber and lumber business based in Macon, Miss., the Kemper County holdings and possibly those in Sumter County, Ala., were acquired by The Flintkote Co. Other blocks were perhaps acquired by other publicly traded corporations. Thomas Clark wrote in his book titled The Greening of the South that Weyerhaeuser first began buying timberland in Mississippi and Alabama in 1954 and a year later acquired 45,000 acres in Mississippi from the Murphy Corp. In the mid-’60s Weyerhaeuser purchased 100,000 acres in Kemper County from Flintkote, about the same time it purchased the holdings of Deweese Lumber Co. in Philadelphia, Miss. Barge reports that his grandfather, the Lake Forest logging camp as it appeared in the 1920s/1930s. late Charlie Barge, a Texan who joined SLC as a secretary/stenographer and eventually became its assistant sales manager, ended up with just under 50,000 SLC acres. He paid $3.25 per acre, 25 cents less than the asking price. “Since my grandfather had worked in management for Sumter and had the sawmill operation in Ethel, they offered him the Noxubee and Winston County lands,” he reports. “In January 1942 he signed a contract to purchase, but reconsidered after the local general store owner called him ‘the biggest fool to come to this part of the country.’ But he decided to complete the purchase in August 1942.” In the 1920s Charlie Barge left SLC for Texas and operated a small mill there until it was destroyed by fire. He returned to Mississippi, working in lumber sales for lumber concerns E.L. Bruce and D.L. Fair before buying substantial acreage and an existing pine sawmill at Ethel, Miss., doing business as Ethel Lumber Co. Interestingly, his sales brochure mimicked SLC’s claims. He promoted his product as” Elco Quality” and “Old Growth Extra Quality,” maintaining it came from “Original Growth, Dense, Shortleaf Pine.” Later, he changed the company’s name to C.A. Barge Lumber Co., and even later established a small mill in Macon to cut the low-grade hardwood that had taken over the former SLC lands. In 1952 he sold the mill to his manager, who renamed it Attala Lumber Co., and became a fulltime tree farmer. Today, Charlie Barge’s descendants, one of which is his son, Richard, own 51,000 meticulously managed acres and operate a pine sawmill through six ownership entities. One of them owns and operates Lake Forest Ranch, Inc. a Christian youth camp founded by Charlie Barge. The facility is located on the former site of Lake Forest Camp, one of the logging camps SLC operated in Noxubee County.
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31 ➤ his first job cleaning up the Union Church building, ringing the bell, and building a fire in the lone pot-bellied stove during cold weather. His pay: $2 per month. He recalled fond memories of his time there, writing this in the May history: “My years in EM were very short when compared to the time of the other residents. As I look back on those years, and I often do, I wish there could have been many more.” In the documentary, Fitts brought up the April 5, 1936 tornado that devastated a big part of Tupelo, Miss., killing 216 and injuring scores of others. He recalled how many of the injured were put on trains in Tupelo for transport to a hospital in Meridian. Some trains stopped in Electric Mills to transfer the injured the local Hixon hospital. Another person interviewed was John Briggs, Jr., who reported that both his grandfathers, paternal John (Jiggs) Briggs, Sr., and maternal G.R. Edwards, worked for Sumter Lumber Co. The paternal grandfather worked in the logging camps and his material grandfather worked in the planer mill as a lumber grader. Of Edwards, Briggs said: “He told me he walked four miles oneway to work at the sawmill in its early years. He went to work at the
Portable logging camp housing was comfortable, neatly arranged.
mill when it opened and worked there until it closed.”
Operations SLC’s owners were John Alexander, Thomas Brittingham, Joseph Hixon, and George Hixon, all of whom became experienced lumbermen in northern and western states before investing in Southern operations. SLC had accumulated 165,000 acres of virgin pine, much of it shortleaf, in Kemper, Noxubee and Winston counties in Mississippi and Sumter County, Ala. This volume
was seen as enough to carry the mill for a projected 25 years, according to published documents. Elevated on reinforced concrete columns and built of steel, the mill featured two Allis-Chalmers 8 ft. bandmills and a 57 in. Wickes gang saw. In the mid 1920s it was turning out about 300MBF per day (two shifts), and focused on cutting for quality over quantity. It specialized in boards, shiplap, flooring, ceiling, siding, casing, base and molding, mostly in clear 16 ft. lengths. Relatively soft, easily worked, and light in both weight and color, the lumber to a certain extent resembled white
pine, and was effectively marketed under the trade name ‘Nearwhite.’ After going through one green grading, lumber was dried via a battery of eight double track dry kilns, then went through the planer mill and was meticulously graded again, assuring customers of grade uniformity and quality. The sheds for kiln dried stock held 4MMBF; the storage yard 20MMBF. The loading dock could handle 30 rail cars at a time. The writer of The American Lumberman article noted the “wonderful spirit of loyalty” and high morale evident among employees, from laborers to supervisors. Once an employee got on the payroll, he tended to stay, so there was limited labor turnover. The article also noted the respect and esteem employees and their families held for D.H. Foresman, who assumed the general manager’s position in 1921. Residents credited Foresman for having sidewalks installed, improving roads, and installing electrical wiring and lights in dwellings. Portable housing for logging camp workers evidently was a cut above what many other lumber companies of the period provided. The housing was moved as needed via railroad, which was also central to getting logs from stump to mill. Logging methods
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were typical of the day: horses and mules, go-devil carts, purpose-built wagons, steam powered skidders and loaders, and later, possibly crawler tractors. A well-equipped machine shop and skilled craftsmen kept it all in running order. Many sawmills were wiped out in the Great Recession, but SLC soldiered on throughout the challenging period. In historical documents, there is no record of even a temporary shut down during this time. Still, one tragedy did occur: the hospital was destroyed by fire and was not rebuilt.
until September 1941.
Epilogue
The Winddown But a new decade ushered in dark days. With its timber supply all but exhausted, rumors of the mill’s impending closing began circulating in 1940, and it appeared it would close by year-end. However, officials found enough sizable regrowth timber on company land a few miles south of the mill to keep it going for three more months. E.A. Temple’s colleague, Hardy Myers, began arranging for the closing in March, 1941. Approached by Myers, a nearby landowner agreed to sell a large pine tree growing in his
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SLC’s quality lumber originated with quality logs. (Photo credit: Kemper Museum)
pasture to SLC. The price was $50. Myers had the tree cut into two enormous logs and delivered by truck to the mill, and each log was conveyed to a respective carriage. A small crowd of employees and residents watched sadly as sawyers Guy Cammack and Gavin Davis did their thing. Ironically, the mill that had relied exclusively on feedstock from SLC’s extensive holdings completed
its run on purchased logs. The closing put some 75 men out of work immediately, but the company gave each terminated employee a bonus of three weeks’ pay. It was a generous act unparalleled by few, if any, sawmill companies of the day. With some 20MMBF of lumber on hand to be planed and sold, the operation did not officially close
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Within months most former employees and residents had moved away, many to shipbuilding jobs on the Gulf Coast. After EM’s population dwindled to less than 100 in early 1942, Gov. Paul Johnson abolished its incorporation status. Not long thereafter, former SLC officials E.A. Temple and Fred Hughes purchased the town and all related buildings, a small lake and some surrounding woods, the total coming to 880 acres. The purchase price was not disclosed. Most of the houses and buildings were sold and dismantled, the lumber transported elsewhere for various purposes. Some houses were rented but gradually deteriorated and were eventually abandoned. SLC sold the mill/railroad equipment and dismantled all the buildings. According to Lee Thompson, E.A. Temple died in 1958, but his grandmother, Pauline Temple, continued in a support role, “serving as mayor, marshal, doctor, judge, advisor and whatever else was needed until her death in 1985,” the same year the EM SLT post office was closed.
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16 ➤ Easterling says happily. “It’s got diameter and length, and there’s a lot of walnut in it.” Easterling sends his white oak to American Stave Co. in Lebanon, Mo., while saw logs go to Boston Mountain Dry Kiln in Huntsville, a mill owned by his son, Stacy.
Millin’ A few years after Easterling auctioned off his sawmill machinery, his son Stacy bought some new equipment and started his own operation on the old site, calling it Boston Mountain Dry Kiln (named for the Boston Mountains in the area, part of the Ozark range). The mill saws large diameter logs for 4/4 and 5/4 lumber, notch stringers and ties. Stacy, 49, says the Meadows circle saw operation can run ties or cants off the headrig or feed a resaw on a Brewco B-1600 grade runaround system. Hyster forklifts and John Deere wheel loaders, two of each, dominate the yard. “Lumber is good right now,” Stacy says. “It is always a struggle in this part of the country to keep logs; that’s the biggest issue. We could cut quite a bit more if we had logs all the time. There’s just not
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The summer tract was also one of the steepest he'd ever worked, Easterling says.
enough timber in this part of the state, and not that many loggers, and too many mills.” Log loads come in from Easterling’s crew and other local loggers, and Stacy buys lumber green from other mills to dry in his kilns. Boston Mountain ships its products to both domestic and export markets. Mill trucks haul
export containers to rail yards in either Memphis, Kansas City or Dallas, depending on current freight rates; from there a train will deliver to ports on the west coast to be loaded on ships bound for China. Stacy has been around logging and sawmilling all his life, but he originally had a much different career in
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mind. He had a full scholarship for playing baseball and could very well have gone pro; he pitched in the 90MPH range. Unfortunately, he injured his arm in a state championship game. “The next morning after that game, he said he couldn’t lift his arm,” Easterling recalls. “We had a connection with the Red Sox,
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so we went up there and saw their doctor. A surgeon from the Red Sox operated, but it never did turn out.” On the same property but set up behind Stacy’s Boston Mountain Dry Kiln operation, the elder Easterling also has another branch of Easterling Wood Products: his own mini-mill for making notch stringers and pallet material. “I’m not using it right now, even though stringers are at an alltime high price,” he says, lamenting that right now he just doesn’t have anyone to run it. “We will probably run it before long, when the mulch
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business tapers off in December and January. All we are doing here now is building inventory.” Here, Easterling employs a 160 Barko loader mounted on an International truck, and brings in loads of treelength logs. A circle saw cuts them to 51 in. pieces that proceed to a Morgan two-saw scragg mill. “As it is it will saw a load every other day, but it needs to saw a load every day. If I was going to run it full time I need to add an automatic feed on the scragg.” He built the mini-mill when he
was working a large government tract, when he ended up with more material than he could sell. “I had about 250 loads of mini logs; some places call it pulpwood, but it is a high grade of pulp, so up in this area we call it mini logs. I couldn’t sell the mini logs and so I built this just to saw them up.” Along with all the wood products businesses under their two companies, Easterling and Stacy are also in the cattle business together. They raise about 150 head of beef SLT cattle.
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SOUTHERN STUMPIN’ 6 ➤ Osyka. The Walls have developed a very professional trucking program. They have GPS, dash cams and govern the trucks to 65 MPH. They have a formal safety training program and only hire experienced drivers. They have a 70+ page employee training manual/handbook. They keep meticulous records of repairs and maintenance. They do it all by the book, but some days they might wonder why they bother. Over the 30+years they’ve been in business, the Walls say this is the worst they’ve seen it for trucking. It’s gotten so bad, in fact, that the large company—it fields nine crews in Mississippi and Louisiana and employs around 70, and it was running 36 trucks—has now cut its fleet down to just nine. “And if I could sell them, I would,” says Kim, who oversees the trucking side. Contract haulers make up the difference. Kim’s major complaint is with insurance. “Your scores can be decent but it doesn’t matter,” she continues. “The insurance companies don’t want to fight, they want to settle. They have too much to lose.” She relates an example: a driver in a car sideswiped one of Wall Timber’s lowboys, then left the scene of the accident. It was all recorded on a dash cam, and there were two drivers in the truck and two witnesses, all confirming that the driver was at fault. None of that mattered. “She committed a crime, there was a warrant for her arrest, but she can still sue me,” Kim says. “We have dash cam footage proving it, and the insurance won’t stand behind us. They say it will cost $30,000 to fight, so let’s just settle for $20,000. But that still comes out of my loss runs, and it’s not my fault.” Despite the lack of benefit on the insurance front, she still believes GPS and dash cams were worthwhile investments. “It makes us a safer company, so I’m glad we have them. But it costs $1,200 a month to have GPS in all the trucks, and I have $600 cameras in every vehicle, and that is just dead expense. You can do everything right but the premiums per unit are no better.” Mahan agrees with Wall. “Eventually, we have to have some help from somewhere. If enough of us are taking the precautions, if we are doing all we can, then it is time for (insurance carriers) to step up and stand behind us. It’s only right, if we are stepping up above and beyond, doing more than we are required, then it is time for (them) to SLT start standing behind us.”
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INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP
As We See It: How Loggers Win In The Policy Arena By Nick Smith The American Loggers Council is “loggers working for loggers.” That’s more than just a motto to promote our organization as the national voice for professional Smith timber harvesters. It’s a mission statement and a guiding principle, expressing our belief that if loggers don’t get involved to protect our industry, nobody else will. And when loggers are working to help fellow loggers, we see real results in the policy arena. An excellent example is the recent effort in New Hampshire to override a governor’s veto in order to protect biomass facilities in the Granite State. Loggers understand biomass facilities provide a key market for lowgrade wood products. They are an important part of our industry’s infrastructure that allows us to compete in a global economy. Biomass is good for rural economies and provides a
renewable alternative to fossil fuels, but some don’t understand the benefits, especially in light of slumping prices for other forms of energy. NH Republican Gov. Chris Sununu raised alarms when he vetoed legislation to require utilities to purchase a portion of their electricity from the state’s wood-burning power plants. Sununu blocked the bill under the guise of protecting electricity ratepayers. It’s no coincidence his position was fully supported by antilogging special interests in Concord. There were serious consequences to Sununu’s veto. Without a stable biomass sector, many forestry and logging businesses were preparing to close their businesses and lay off workers. Many in New Hampshire found this potential outcome unacceptable, so they rallied to form a campaign to convince the state legislature to override the veto. In addition to personally lobbying their legislators, loggers attended town halls and organized rallies outside the state capitol. Many sent letters to editors of their hometown
newspapers. The New Hampshire forest industry and forest landowners orchestrated a Biomass Override Petition drive that was very effective, got citizens involved and impressed the legislators. These efforts paid off to protect the state’s logging industry. The House rallied just enough votes to meet the two-thirds threshold needed to override the veto on a 226-113 vote. The override easily passed the Senate 21-3. Organizers of this effort deserve applause from loggers across America. It should inspire us all to get involved and see what we can do to protect our industry in our communities, states and nation. Our industry is under constant threat from anti-logging politicians and their special interest supporters. We can’t afford to sit on the sidelines as bad policies threaten our businesses. ALC recognizes that many loggers are too busy working in the woods, meeting payrolls and raising families to engage in public policy debates. That’s why we constantly strive to make it easier for
loggers to get engaged and make their voices heard. It’s why the ALC organizes the annual spring Fly-In to make it easier to visit the nation’s capital, and why it has retained Steve Southerland to represent us when the organization is not in Washington. It’s why ALC partners with the Federal Forest Resource Coalition and works with Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities to alert you to developments in federal forest management. ALC understands that time is one of your most important resources. It only asks that you invest some of your time, even if it’s very little, to get informed and engaged in the policy issues that affect you. When “loggers are working for loggers,” everyone wins. Smith is Communications Specialist for the American Loggers Council and founder of Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that advocates for active forest management on federal forest lands. The American Loggers Council is a 501 (c)(6) not for profit trade association representing professional timber harvesters and log truckers in 32 states. Visit amloggers.com or phone 409-625-0206.
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Morbark Hosts 12th Demo Days
Morbark introduced 23X Chiparvestor.
Morbark’s Demo Days event always brings a great deal of excitement to the area and its guests, and this year was no exception. From September 26-28, Morbark welcomed more than 250 guests within the forestry, biomass, recycling, sawmill and tree care industries from 14 countries for its 12th Demo Days event in Winn, Mich. Morbark has a world-class dealer network, and the company’s Demo Days give their customers, as well as the other attendees, the opportunity to not only watch the equipment in action, but also meet the people who build and support the equipment as they see firsthand the manufacturing processes utilized. Events included factory tours, net-
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working opportunities, vendor booths, and a chance to see the equipment up close. But perhaps the most exciting aspect of this year’s event was the introduction of the new 23X Chiparvestor. “In designing the 23X Chiparvestor whole tree disc chipper, Morbark followed the same thought process and ideals as we did in creating the other Xseries of next-generation Morbark equipment,” says Michael Stanton, Morbark Director of Industrial Sales. “We took our previous proven design technology and focused on minimizing downtime, increasing production and making improvements that will help contribute to customer success.” Morbark has been producing mobile whole tree disc chippers since the 1970s, and like the previous Model 23 Chiparvestors, the 23X uses a 75 in. (190.5 cm) diameter x 5 in. (12.7 cm) thick chipper disc to chip large volumes of wood, while the built-in dirt separator with deflector keeps the end product clean. Key improvements of the 23X over the previous models include: increased ground clearance with four super single flotation tires for mobilization on uneven logging jobs; simplified feed system that includes a two-wheel hydraulic feed system; independent disc drive tensioning system for ease of adjustment;
improved chipper hood design that allows for better access to the disc. Demo Days events kicked off with a welcome reception at Maple Creek Golf Course. Thursday focused on education, with a panel discussion about growing your business, featuring Jerry Sapp of Sapp’s Land and Excavating, and Bill Gaston of Wood Resource Recovery. Attendees then had the opportunity to learn about Tier 4 Final Engines, Financing and Extended Service Contracts and Warranties, as well as take a tour through the Morbark factory and see firsthand the cutting-edge technologies, materials and processes used to manufacture the company’s industrial and tree care equipment lines. Since this was the first Morbark Demo Days after the company acquired Rayco in November 2017, participants were able to see a demonstration of Rayco forestry mulchers and aerial trimmer, and try their hand at using the equipment. The event culminated with demonstrations of equipment for the forestry, biomass, recycling and tree care markets, including Morbark’s range of whole tree chippers, horizontal and tub grinders, brush chippers, mulchers and other machinery.
CBI Revs Up 12 Machines At Demo Industry professionals from around the world gathered in Newton, NH on the week of October 1 for the 2018 CBI and Ecotec Factory Forum. CBI’s expanded on-site demo arena included live demos of 12 machines from the CBI and Ecotec product lines, including the new 6800CT horizontal grinder and Phoenix 1600
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CBI showcased its products.
Several received Golden Grizzly Awards.
trommel screen. Ahead of the October 3rd Demo Day, service teams throughout North America were invited to the facility for hands-on technical workshops led by the team members at the factory who design and service the equipment. The three-day event was headlined by a pair of CBI 6800CT horizontal grinders, which have been engineered to improve on the 6800BT’s revolutionary design. A 15% larger screening area wraps more than 190° around the rotor on the 6800CT, allowing production rates to surge beyond 200 tons an hour. Supported by a larger shaft and bearings and an optional 1200 HP CAT C32, the engine powers the forged drum rotor through the toughest materials. Built to process land clearing debris, pallets, clean
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industrial waste, stumps, logs, mulch, bark, shingles, and whole trees as fast as it can be loaded, the 6800CTs devoured entire trees and stacked the desired end-products in front of the crowd. A pair of 5800BT horizontal grinders processed high-volumes of material and demonstrated their powerful and portable designs. The newly available TSC 80T Stacking Conveyor was lined up in front of a 5800BT to show how end-users can optimize their current operations. Entire trees were loaded into the 7544 Flail & Disc Chipper combo, and guests watched as the machine perfectly debarked logs and blasted out a pile of premium quality chips. CBI also showcased the 6400 horizontal grinder’s ability to process railroad ties contaminated with metal. Terex Ecotec’s TDS 820 Slow Speed Shredder also processed railroad ties and pallets. Terex Ecotec’s product lineup featured the TRS 550 Recycling Screen, the TTS 620T Trommel Screen, and the all-new Phoenix 1600 Trommel Screen. The Phoenix 1600 has been designed to provide excellent fuel efficiency and low operating costs. CBI’s 30th Anniversary Dinner was kicked off in style with the first-ever “Golden Grizzly Awards” recognizing excellence in the industry. Guests enjoyed a New England clam-bake style dinner during the award ceremony. Jasen Stock of the New Hampshire Timberland Owners Assn. was awarded the 2018 Community Impact Award for his work on reversing a biomass bill veto. Paul Campbell of Powerscreen of California and Hawaii was presented with the North American Ecotec Dealer of the Year
Award. The team at Powerscreen of Florida accepted CBI’s 2018 Dealer of the Year Award. Guests were then treated to live music and an after-party in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. On the final day of the event, customers and service techs attended performance optimization courses to improve their understanding of the latest equipment upgrades.
Michael Damages SE Timberlands Hurricane Michael made landfall October 10 near Mexico Beach, Fla., then moved on across parts of Alabama and into Georgia, the Caroli-
nas and southeastern Virginia. Packing 155 MPH sustained winds, Michael came in just a mile per hour short of achieving category 5 status, making it the strongest hurricane to hit Florida in 50 years and the third strongest hurricane to make landfall in recorded U.S. history. Within the week, forestry officials and landowners in affected states started assessing the damage and it appears to be significant. In Florida, initial reports by Florida Division of Forestry officials estimate that more than 2.8 million acres of forestland sustained damage. Of that, nearly 347,000 acres showed catastrophic timber damage (defined as 95% of the timber damaged), according to estimates as of
October 19 by the Florida Forest Service; roughly a million acres was categorized as having experienced severe timber damage (75%), and about 1.5 million acres had moderate damage (15%). As for the total estimated value of the damaged timber, Florida Forest Service’s initial reports placed that at about $1.3 billion. That number does not take into account several potential indirect costs, such as debris removal where timber cannot be salvaged; reforestation, which could be as high as $240 million on pine stands alone; additional timber lost to pine beetle outbreaks (foresters advise landowners to keep an eye out for signs of potential pine bark beetle infestations in coming
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months); reduced value of remaining timber; increased threat and cost to suppress wildfires in areas that have upwards to 100 tons per acre of forest fuels on the ground; and the
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potential lost forest industry jobs for an estimated 15 to 20 years into the future. Indeed, there have already been reports that some Florida loggers plan to sell their businesses in
the wake of the devastation. Michael weakened as it moved over land from Florida. Severe damage was found in southwest Georgia and a progressive weaken-
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ing was seen as hurricane force winds diminished to tropical storm categories, resulting in more moderate damage. A Timber Damage Assessment survey in Georgia indicated that Michael impacted about 2.4 million acres of forestland in that state. That includes roughly 10.6 million tons of pine and 7.6 million tons of hardwood damaged, at an estimated value just over $374 million. Within that, the survey documented catastrophic damage to about 79 thousand acres of forestland from south of Albany to Lake Seminole. “The most severe damage was documented in the southwest counties where the storm entered Georgia,” according to Georgia Forestry Commission Director Chuck Williams. These areas were completely devastated and the majority of this timber could be considered a complete loss, according to the GFC. Most Alabama landowners came through the storm relatively unscathed, with the big exception of those in the extreme southeast corner of the state, which bore the brunt of Michael’s fury here. According to early reports, the most significant damage here occurred in eastern Houston County, where the Alabama Forestry Commission estimates timber losses at nearly $20 million. Geneva and Dale Counties also reported some damage. Aerial surveys conducted by AFC indicated storm damage to approximately 42 thousand forested acres (13 thousand acres of pine, almost 3,000 of hardwood and 26 thousand acres of pine/hardwood mix). Unfortunately, all three states report that much of the damage is in trees broken off at 10-20 ft. up, not pushed over at the roots. Experience from past hurricanes has shown that recovery in stands with broken off trees is considerably more difficult. On the positive side, temperatures will be falling so there should be a longer window for recovery. Most mills in the affected areas apparently are or soon will be operating, as soon as power is turned back on and employees can return to work. A notable exception is the WestRock mill in Panama City, which sustained significant structural damage. The mill likely will be completely shut down for at least a month, and perhaps not back to full capacity for several months. Reportedly, WestRock anticipates that its linerboard line here will be at full production within 30 days, but that the pulp side won’t resume production until late November, and even then will be at only 50% for about six months. With pulp mar-
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kets in the region already oversupplied, this could drive prices down even further. The Appalachian Society of American Foresters (APSAF) has expanded a Foresters’ Hurricane Relief Fund to include individuals affected by Hurricane Michael. Originally established to provide financial support for foresters impacted by Hurricane Florence, APSAF set up a GoFundMe page that can be used to provide support for members of the Southeastern Society of American Foresters. Visit goo.gl/QHTua7 for the GoFundMe page and goo.gl/
o1ipUd for relief applications and instructions.
Biewer Will Expand Mississippi Sawmill Biewer Sawmill – Newton, LLC is already announcing an expansion to its greenfield southern pine sawmill in Biewer, Miss. that started up in December 2016. A $40 million investment will increase
sawmill production by more than 100MMBF per year, possibly pushing annual production to more than 300MMBF. “In order to be competitive, you have to keep up with technology and demand. There is no better place than Newton, MS to make this investment,” Tim Biewer, President & CEO of Biewer Lumber, says. “We are proud to be part of this great community.” The new capital expenditure
includes an expanded wood yard, a third continuous kiln, a stacker and a third strapper, all designed to support the addition of a second primary saw line. To accommodate the additional production capabilities, Biewer will add more than 30 fulltime jobs. BID Group, which was the turnkey supplier of the greenfield sawmills, will do this work as well. The expansion is expected to be completed by the fall of 2019.
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LOGGING LIFE AT HOME Dirty Clothing, Clues, And Tips By Deborah Smith When my husband walks through the back door, I can tell if it was a hard day just by looking at his clothes. If red dirt is smeared down the back of his shirt, something obviously broke and had to be fixed from underneath. If a pants leg is soaked with hydraulic fluid, a hose broke. If there is grease or oil on the front of his shirt, he was leaning over a machine or component. When he has diesel on his clothes, or soaked into his boots, I have learned that likely
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something frustrating happened, but probably the equipment is OK. Oh, and then there’s his cap. When it is covered in oil, hydraulic fluid, or dirt, it’s just been a messy, hard day. There is a tall, sturdy basket in our room for his work clothes. And we have learned, the hard way, to not even try to wash something soaked in diesel fuel. The smell gets in the washer and then you run about a dozen cycles with no clothes in the machine, and use bleach or vinegar, or both, and the machine still smells like diesel. It’s hard to do it, but I just
put those diesel-soaked clothes in the trash when Travis isn’t looking. Travis enjoys wearing button up shirts with a pocket. The best place to get these shirts is our local Goodwill. I buy about 10 shirts for the price of two new ones. I think this is where a lot of Christmas and birthday presents end up. I purchase nice, name brand shirts for a song, and some of them are brand new. When a shirt has served us well or has gotten really stained from a repair mishap, I toss it. I know that loggers can’t stay perfectly clean, but I want mine to look respectable and handsome, and he does. We have learned to buy jeans
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that are thick and durable. Travis likes to buy them in the winter when breaking them in isn’t so hot, and then when summer rolls around, and temperatures soar, the broke-in jeans are softer and more comfortable. Winter is coming, and with that change in the weather will come more laundry because there will necessarily be more layers, but not as many layers as there used to be. These modern machines are a far cry from the ones Travis and Keith started with over three decades ago. I don’t think Smith Brothers has fired up the smudge pot in quite a while. Those enclosed cabs are nice. This next tip is very useful if your family has a sock problem like we did. My sweet dog Charlie likes to hide the men's dirty socks. Sometimes, claiming socks can be every man for himself. However, our youngest daughter JubiLee came up with a plan for her daddy’s sock problem. She bought him a dozen of his favorite white socks, and then tie dyed them. His socks are clearly identifiable, no matter where Charlie puts them. Is it crazy to admit, but I love the scent of hydraulic oil that lingers in Travis’ chair, even when he is not there. It’s comforting. When we were first married, Travis would not want to give me a hug when he first came home because he said he was too dirty. I told him that it was clean dirt, working man dirt, and that was fine. It honestly took him a while to believe me. I noticed the other day that now he doesn’t hesitate or say anything about being dirty. I get a hug when he walks in the back door.
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PRINT CLASSIFIED AD RATES: Print advertising rates are $50 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.
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CONTACT: Call Bridget DeVane at 334-699-7837, 800-669-5613, email bdevane7@hotmail.com or visit www.southernloggintimes.com
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IF YOU NEED
To buy or sell forestry, construction, utility or truck equipment, or if you just need an appraisal, contact me, Johnny Pynes with JM Wood Auction. Over 25 years experience. 770
Day 334-312-4136 Night 334-271-1475 or Email: johnwpynes@knology.net
FOR SALE
Call or Text Zane 334-518-9937
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3939
2015 John Deere 843K, FD55 saw, only 2850 hrs., VERY NICE.............$125,000
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2016 Deere 803M Feller Buncher STK# LT291767; 3394 hrs $289,000
2016 Deere 843L Feller Buncher STK# LT676363; 3986 hrs $165,000
2013 Deere 643K Feller Buncher STK# LT654068; 8608 hrs $58,000
2014 Deere 437D Knuckleboom Loader STK# LT264350; 8605 hrs $95,000
2014 Deere 437D Knuckleboom Loader STK# LT258241; 9424 hrs $95,000
2014 Deere 648H Skidder STK# LT659780; 8950 hrs $88,000
2015 Deere 648L Skidder STK# LT668593; 4603 hrs $185,000
2015 Deere 748L Skidder STK# LT670249; 5293 hrs $145,000
2013 Deere 648H Skidder STK# LU652654; 8031 hrs $155,000
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FOR SALE
Call: Ted Smith
5840 Hwy 36, Russellville, AL Home: 256-766-8179 • Office: 256-766-6491 Fax: 256-766-6962 • Cell: 256-810-3190
FOR SALE
RECONDITIONED DELIMBINATORS!! 2004 Tigercat 640C Clambunk. 8200 actual hours, 30.5 front with 24.5 duals, 28Lx26 on rear including duals, bogies in excellent condition, runs great, just don’t need anymore ................................................$140,000 obo 2016 Caterpillar HF201B sawhead. Full rotation wrist. Approx. 400 hours. Like new .........$60,000 obo
2017 724G Tigercat cutter, 1478 hrs, duals on Parting out: front, mint Tigercat 720B condition w/5400 head, inside and out 240B, 635 and 845B. Deere 437D, 648G, $205,000 obo 748G, and 843. Prentice 310E, Cat 522B, 13560
Timberking 360, and Timberjack 735.
WE ALSO BUY USED DELIMBINATORS Call: 662-285-2777 day, 662-285-6832 eves Email: info@chambersdelimbinator.com 1123
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Hose, Fittings & Crimpers
Want 0 Downtime? Repair Your Own Lines In The Woods! Start-up Kit Less than $5,000! Contact: Chris Alligood 1-252-531-8812 email: chrisa.cavalierhose@gmail.com
EUREKA! EUREKA! EUREKA! OWNERS HAVE OVER 30 YEARS COMBINED EXPERIENCE!
South AL 251-513-7001
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601-818-4140
In addition to new machines, CHAMBERS DELIMBINATOR, INC. now has factory reconditioned DeLimbinators. These units have been inspected, repaired, and updated as needed. Call us and we will help you select a DeLimbinator for your need.
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LIQUIDATING INVENTORY
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APPROACHING RETIREMENT
WANTED TO BUY
Cat 518 & Cat 518C skidders in TX, LA area Call Kent 936-699-4700 r_kentjones@yahoo.com
Visit us online: southernloggintimes.com
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We can save you money on Saw Teeth. Hundreds of satisfied ACC OW EP customers. Rebuilt Exchange or New. We specialize in rebuild- CRE TING DIT ing Koehring 2000, Hurricana, Hydro Ax split teeth and all CARDS other brands. Call Jimmy or Niel Mitchell. Quantity Discounts!
EUREKA SAW TOOTH CO., INC.
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4275 Moores Ferry Rd. • Skippers, Virginia 23879 PH./FAX (day) 1-434-634-9836 or Night/Weekends • 1-434-634-9185
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A D L I N K ●
ADVERTISER American Logger’s Council American Truck Parts Around The World Salvage Bandit Industries BITCO Insurance Caterpillar Dealer Promotion Chambers Delimbinator John Deere Forestry Doggett Machinery Service Eastern Surplus Employer’s Underwriters Equipment Linc Flint Equipment FMI Trailers Forest Chain Forestry First Forestry Mutual Insurance G & W Equipment Hawkins & Rawlinson Industrial Cleaning Equipment Interstate Tire Service Ironmart Kaufman Trailers Mike Ledkins Insurance Agency LMI-Tennessee Louisiana Machinery Magnolia Trailers Maxi-Load Scale Systems Moore Logging Supply Morbark Nutt Auction Olofsfors Peterson Pacific Phloem Pitts Trailers Puckett Machinery Quadco Quality Equipment & Parts River Ridge Equipment S E C O Parts & Equipment SFS Southern Loggers Cooperative Stribling Equipment Team Safe Trucking Tidewater Equipment Tigercat Industries Timberblade Timberland TraxPlus Trelan Manufacturing Tri-State Auction & Realty W & W Truck & Tractor Wallingford’s Waratah Forestry Attachments J M Wood Auction
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409.625.0206 888.383.8884 936.634.7210 800.952.0178 800.475.4477 919.550.1201 800.533.2385 800.503.3373 225.368.2224 855.332.0500 256.341.0600 334.366.4661 404.859.5790 601.947.8088 800.288.0887 803.708.0624 800.849.7788 800.284.9032 888.822.1173 910.231.4043 864.947.9208 888.561.1115 866.497.7803 800.766.8349 800.467.0944 866.843.7440 800.738.2123 877.265.1486 888.754.5613 800.831.0042 903.824.0581 519.754.2190 800.269.6520 912.925.5007 800.321.8073 601.969.6000 800.668.3340 386.754.6186 855.325.6465 800.733.7326 251.578.4840 318.445.0750 855.781.9408 910.733.3300 912.638.7726 519.753.2000 519.532.3283 912.283.1060 601.635.5543 877.487.3526 800.334.4395 800.845.6648 800.323.3708 770.692.0380 334.264.3265
COMING EVENTS November
April 2019
7-9—Forestry Assn. of South Carolina annual meeting, The Westin, Hilton Head Island, SC. Call 803798-4170; visit scforestry.org.
2-4—Kentucky Forest Industries Assn. annual meeting, Embassy Suites, Lexington, Ky. Call 502695-3979; visit kfia.org.
January 2019
30-May 3—Virginia Forestry Assn. Summit, Sheraton Norfolk Waterside, Norfolk. Call 804-2788733; visit vaforestry.org.
8-9—Missouri Forest Products Assn. winter meeting, Capitol Plaza, Jefferson City, Mo. Call 573634-3252; visit moforest.org.
February 2019 20-24—Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers annual meeting, W Hotel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Call 336885-8315; visit appalachianwood.org.
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26-28—Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Expo, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 504-443-4464; visit sfpaexpo.com.
August 2019
22-24—Carolina Loggers Assn. annual meeting, Hotel Ballast, Wilmington, NC. Call 828-4218444; visit ncloggers.com.
23-24—Southwest Forest Products Expo (SWFP) 2019, Hot Springs, Ark. Call 501-224-2232; visit arkloggers.com.
March 2019
September 2019
7-9—Southeastern Wood Producers Assn. annual meeting, Okefenokee Fairgrounds and Exchange Club, Waycross, Ga. Call 904-845-7133; visit swpa.ag.
20-21—Kentucky Wood Expo, Masterson Station Park, Lexington, Ky. Call 502-695-3979; visit kfia.org.
20-22—Hardwood Manufacturers Assn. National Conference & Expo, Hyatt Regency Savannah, Savannah, Ga. Call 412-244-0440; visit hmamembers.org.
southernloggintimes.com
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