A reminder of the past

[Timberhauler]

All the talk about Macs and Homelites on here,some of you might like this.The first logger I ever worked for was my neighbor when I was twelve.He had a small outfit and worked by himself until he drafted me.He was a WWII vet,and a very interesting fella.He usually had a different story about either the war or the depression every time I saw him.He was a tough old leatherneck,but I had seen him nearly break into tears telling some stories of some very hard times,and man he could almost put you into the story and make you see it all happening.He wasn't that hard to work for,I just did what I was told and he always seemed pleased with me,though he would let you know in a heartbeat when you screwed up.He paid me $25 bucks a day at first and our days were every saturday,and whenever I was out of school from sun up to sun down.I would meet him at his house every morning and they would have breakfast ready which looked like an all you can eat buffet.It usually consisted of the same thing.Scrambled eggs with cheese and onions,fresh ground homemade sausage,made from scratch pancakes and biscuits.We would eat,then head out.This was during his last years in the business,and I was the only helper he had besides his equipment...He started me out using a Homelite super XL,he had two or three of these and several Super Mac 250's as well,but I couldn't handle those yet.All I can recall was the way those things sounded and the smell of the pre-mix and the fresh cut wood.I helped him every saturday and every summer until I was 16,and then I was using the big Macs.Stihl and Husky were hitting the market hard at the time,but he refused to have one.He called them "Jap" saws.The old man never missed a lick,and was one of the best fallers I still have ever seen.I learned more about this trade and more about life than I ever would have from him.He retired after the summer I turned 16,and I went to work for the outfit I mentioned in Randy's "Whimpersnapper" Thread.He died when I was 18,and I felt like I had lost my father as me and mine have never got along.I often wonder if I can be as good of an influence to my son as he was to me.I also think of him every Saturday when I head out to burn down my wood piles.And I also wonder if he's somewhere among me thinking I betrayed him because I went to using the "Jap" saws he despised so much.I'm not sure where I'd be or what I'd be doing had I not had him in my life for those few short years.

 

[Timberhauler]

I also need to mention that the super XL I ran was a great saw,but it was cold natured and took no less than fifty pulls to start it...Summer or winter.When I used the 250's they would crank fairly quick,but if you tried to give it any throttle,it would die.You had to put it down and walk away from it and let it warm up,then you had to sneak up on it and gently give it gas until it cleared out.If you didn't sneak up on it it would see you coming and cut off,then you would have to start all over again...But this was before he put new carbs on all of em'...I wish I could have gotten one of each of those saws from him...I moved from running those to the 041's I ran with the other outfit I went to work for.They were much lighter,but didn't sound nearly as awesome,nor would they torque quite like the super mac.

 

[XJWoody]

Sounds like a cool dude. Good story!

Sounds a lot like my dad... he was a US paratrooper in WW2 and Korea, and didn't have much good to say about foreign equipment, foreign people, or foreign travel. When he DID say anything good about anything non-US, it was believable.

FWIW we did have three new Subaru's a 71, a 73, and an 81 (LOL Damn Japs! All good cars though.) Dad called them the :censored: Hippie Cars.

 

[Dok]

Thanks for sharing, Timberhauler. That was a good read.
Brad

 

[Urbicide]

Great post. I felt like I was there too.

 

[Timberhauler]

I could go on for days about this guy.He was interesting to say the least and never short on words.We would work from sun up to sun down,and he would rarely stop for lunch,every now and then he'd pull out a can of sardines and a pack of crackers..I guess that's still why I am that way today,I rarely ever stop for lunch myself,but usually my guys will run off and eat..He also considered it no task at all to climb half way up one of those big oaks with an old telephone pole climbing belt and a peice of rope to wrap around and hook himself to the tree....Super 250 in hand...and knock the top out of that sucker.I watched him do this all day long once,so these trees would fall without hitting some other trees that were not to get damaged.He was definately one of a kind.He also kept his money in his hip pocket,at the end of every day,he'd pull out this huge fold of 100 dollar bills,and give me my share....He agreed to pay me 25 bucks a day,but sometimes he'd throw in an extra five or a ten...Every now and then he'd give me 40.

 

[Tzed250]

Foundations

It is people like that that form the real building blocks of life. The "salt of the earth" as my dad would have called them. If you honor him, he is with you every day...

 

[ford832]

Great post Timberhauler.Reminds me of my grandfather.

 

[dustytools]

It is people like that that form the real building blocks of life. The "salt of the earth" as my dad would have called them. If you honor him, he is with you every day...

Ill second that. The skills and values that you got from him are worth far more than the 25 bucks. Thanks for sharing Timber.

 

[computeruser]

I often wonder if I can be as good of an influence to my son as he was to me.I also think of him every Saturday when I head out to burn down my wood piles.And I also wonder if he's somewhere among me thinking I betrayed him because I went to using the "Jap" saws he despised so much.I'm not sure where I'd be or what I'd be doing had I not had him in my life for those few short years.

Keep the stories alive and keep living by the good examples that you've picked up along the way. Your son, and indeed all your kids, will learn what needs to be learned that way.

Good story, by the way. Thank you for sharing that with us.

 

[keith c raymond]

That stuff is priceless today and pretty much nonexistant.It is lore ,tales,and stories of the past work ethics and practices of our forefathers that have shaped some of the hard working adults of today.However in my opinion,this is sorely lacking in todays youth and I feel that will be a bad thing for our future generations to come .Thanks for sharing and reminding me of my Father.

 

[RiverRat2]

Man Ill Second that CR

That stuff is priceless today and pretty much nonexistant.It is lore ,tales,and stories of the past work ethics and practices of our forefathers that have shaped some of the hard working adults of today.However in my opinion,this is sorely lacking in todays youth and I feel that will be a bad thing for our future generations to come .Thanks for sharing and reminding me of my Father.

I always have busted my hump and have tried to instill that in my kids it is worth all the effort,,, and you want to think you did a good job and I know most parents do the same,,, But There are some kids that we have hired for summer help on just cleaning up, raking the small sticks and limbs that the Grapple truck cant get & more than 50% of them usually dont last too long when th going gets tuff,,,,,,,,,,,,,, They would rather be playin a video game

 

[Mold Mechanic]

great post!

That's a great story, I've always appreciated working with and hanging out with older people as well, they've been there and done that, and usually won't B.S. you when they are talking. Dad used to have a Super XL, which I always liked to run...until it broke a piston.

 

[Timberhauler]

I wish I had some sort of physical reminder of the old man.His stories will live forever in my mind,as will all of the memories of working with him.Again,he was an interesting fella...He hated fords,chevy's and dodge's,yet he owned all three..He hated homelites and macs...Though he refused to run anything else...I once saw him get pissed at one of his saws and take the guide bar and chain off of it.Then he cranked the thing up,duct taped the throttle wide open and left it in the woods that evening as we were leaving...We came back the next morning,I fully expected the piston to have shot through the top of the cylinder....But it was just out of gas.I put some gas in it,and it fired right back up...He said "that saw is such a peice of crap it won't even blow itself up'....I asked him if I could have it...no dice.We'd go to the sawmill,and no matter how much he got for his load,it was never right,we'd always have to go back and have it out with the guy who ran the place..These days they would just tell you to not come back,but I think the owner of the sawmill enjoyed exchanging words with the old man...and every now and then,he'd get a little extra money.We'd go to the saw shop to get pre-mix and bar oil....It was always too much,again,I think ole' Dennis,the guy who owned the shop,enjoyed exchanging words with him as well...If he could haggle a dollar or two off of the asking price,then he was pleased with himself,and Dennis usually either would throw in a few files,or give him a little break.There was a little diner that we stopped at occasionally to eat lunch,this was rare,as we never slowed down for lunch..But they would bring him his tea in a pitcher,and that's what he drank it from.They knew better than to try and give him one of those "Damn little cups".That place was the one place he never complained about.The hours were long,and the work was hard,but he seemed to always make the day go by fast,even though he was a grouchy old fella,my dad said that he had earned the right to be.There will definately never be another like him.

 

[keith c raymond]

If you remember him as you work,take the good times and keep them in your mind,you cant honor him a whole lot better than that.They are called the ''Greatest Generation''for a reason.They were almost always brought up less than financially well off,lived an adolesent life n the dust bowl,Great Depression and a Real World War. They only knew real work,values ,and came from families that had to stick together to make it.That meant living in close quarters,eating together,and working for the collective good despite not always wanting to.They had stories all too similar,but it was the stories that I remember having the greatest effect on me as a young boy ,and it helps me today in many ways.Mostly to whine less,and work a little harder,and realize there is always a way to get it done,cause if they could do it with what they had ,I can too.

 

[Timberhauler]

Ill second that. The skills and values that you got from him are worth far more than the 25 bucks. Thanks for sharing Timber.

I would have almost worked all day just for that breakfast every morning...It didn't get better than that.....I'd wrap two or three of those biscuits up in a paper towel every morning and put them on the dash of the truck...and by 11 or 12,they were still warm and soft from the sun...I hope my wife don't read this,as she is an excellent cook,and it's a wonder I don't weigh 300 pounds...But she has never put out anything like this old man's wife did...Good stuff

 

[stonykill]

I always have busted my hump and have tried to instill that in my kids it is worth all the effort,,,

I can tell from the way you tell the story, that your kids are going to get it. I have also always busted my hump, my daughter saw this her whole time growing up. She was a typical kid, lazy etc......but when I mentioned I needed help with wood, she was there. Then she turned 16, and OMG, the work ethic on this girl. Worked her butt off at crappy jobs, and complained about all the lazy girls that worked with her. Its a great thing to see, your child become the adult that you worked so hard to get them to be. Your kids will appreciate the hard work, I'm sure of it.

 

[Timberhauler]

Good post Stony...I have a 12 year old daughter.I've just now started letting her go with me on Saturdays and such when it's usually just me working...And she will bust her rear end all day long,never complaining,never whinning...And never expecting anything in return...I just hope she stays that way.The last time she helped me,it was for about ten hours straight.I had no idea it was going to take that long.I gave her 50 dollars for helping me,and she just looked at me kind of dumbfounded and said"what's this for?"

 

[stonykill]

Your doing a great job with your kids if your daughter didn't expect to get paid. She will from now on though!

Your post reminds me of my grandfather and my step dad. My "father" was a drunk and not much of a dad, didn't see him much and didn't see him at all for 10 years until I buried him. I was raised by my mom, grandfather and later my step dad. All have always worked hard. My mom worked 2 jobs as I was growing up, my step dad 2 and side jobs every weekend, which I always helped and got some money in return. My grandfather worked until just before he died. He was dieing of cancer, he knew it, and never told anyone, just kept working. He made sure things were right for my grandmother and didn't want to worry her. My step dad is now 65, outlived father and several siblings, all who died at 61 or earlier. He works for me now several days a week woodworking, or sometimes running an alaskan mill with me. He gets a real charge out of hearing my old macs run. Reminds him of his old saws he lost in a fire 20 years ago.

There are still kids of this generation with a work ethic, they just need to be brought up right, and have good role models. Sounds like you have both covered.

 

[Timberhauler]

I guess even back then,most kids my age would have worked for the old man for about two hours,then hit the road..Quick fast and in a hurry..It was a step forward for me though.My dad was and still is a landscapper.He doesn't do much of the work anymore,he just subs out,but he still does alot of designing and drawing....He was mentally and sometimes physically abusive as I grew up,No matter what I did,or what choice I made it was wrong and I was stupid for thinking that way,and to this day he is still the same way...When I first went to work for the old man,even though the work was ten times harder,he didn't ride my ass all the time and tell me either I was being stupid or didn't have any common sense.Nor did I ever have to worry about him throwing anything at me.He was the first person in my life to show me how to be my own man,and to go after what I wanted.He would tell me nearly every day that I could do anything I wanted because I sure worked hard enough to do anything...He was the first person to really offer me any kind of words of encouragement....When I started my own business,my father told me I was making the dumbest move of my life...He used tree servives alot of the time for clearing small lots and pruning trees,but as I was struggling to start making this little side business at the time profitable,I watched the same summer as he gave several thousand dollars worth of business to another tree outfit....It's all another long story,but that has been 12 years ago,I started this business to try and make ends meet when my daughter was born.....These days,me and my little four man crew and now my wife is helping two or three days out of the week now that she is on leave,we are turning a little over a half million dollars a year...And my father still thinks I need to give up this business and find a good job...The bottom line is he never wanted me to outdo him and be succesfull at anything,and now he's jealous because my wife and I are getting along well,and we are making it with a little bit to spare.He and my mom never got along mainly because just like me,she could never do anything right either...As long as I can have the opposite impact on my kids that he had on me,I'll be at peace with that.And I think it's working because my daughter begs me to take her to work with me,and as long as I can remember,I would had rather been doing anything other than helping my dad.