Early Logging Practices

Given the day, the turnout was good – B. Sherriff

Bert told a terrific tale of tall trees – B. Sherriff

Early lumberjacks must have needed strong hands! – B. Sherriff

wow – B. Sherriff

What a collection! – B. Sherriff

Some of the gang – B. Sherriff

Early Logging Practices
by Barbara Sherriff, 23 January 2015.

Bert Finnegan of the Powell River Hisorical Museum and Archives gave us a slide show of magnificent photographs and explanations of early logging operations in and around Powell River.

He began by putting things in context, that is by stressing with the fact that the First Nation Sliammon people had been using local trees to build houses, canoes, household goods, masks and clothing from local trees for thousands of years.  The present era of logging only began in the late 1800s with men, balanced on spring boards notched into old growth trees, cutting trees over 10 feet in diameter.

Bert described how the logging industry had evolved from hand saws and oxen trains to move logs, to steam engines, trains and finally trucks.  In the logging museum, we saw a selection of the tools utilized in this process including an amazing collection of chain saws.