Caroline Cornish, reporter from WCSH Channel 6, drenched from head to toe, stood in the middle of the woods interviewing Tom. Her cameraman Charlie was equally as wet. Getting there wasn't easy, but getting out was a whole different story.

Channel 6 called, and based on my last post, they wanted to cover the story about the rising cost of fuel, the impact it's having on the forest products industry, and the first meeting of the Coalition To Lower Fuel Prices. Since Tom is the President of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine, they wanted to capture his views to add to their story.

When we arrived on the job, it was cloudy and damp, but the rain was holding out. So Caroline, Charlie, Tom and I headed into the woods to film the interview using the harvester as a backdrop.

It was fun, talking about logging, jumping off the trail as the skidder pulled hitches by us in it's own lumbering way. As we got closer to the whirring sound of the feller buncher, the skies started to open up. When I say "open up" I mean, "Open up WIDE".

I left my raincoat in the truck, don't know why....maybe because it was on the warmer side, but things cooled off fast. My shirt was drenched, my hair was dripping, and my jeans were clinging to my legs and caked with mud. The only part of my body that was warm and dry were my feet thanks to my RedWing Logger's Boots, unlike Caroline's black leather reporter shoes, which were collecting moisture and mud all along the way.

As we worked our way back to the landing, the danger of Caroline falling increased. I latched onto her hand so that we could both benefit from my boots.
The was an air of adventure and spirit from our new Channel 6 friends that made me think of reporters around the world. This is their job, and they love it. They have a passion for bringing the world into your living room, and like loggers they can't always get the perfect weather.

Zach came by in his skidder and rescued the camera and Caroline. So not only did she experience the elements that loggers face in the woods, but she got to ride in a skidder!

I was moved by her determination to experience the whole shoot even though she was so clearly stricken by the elements. I have never thought about what it takes to be a great reporter, but I am sure that it's that determination Caroline exhibited that would place her in that category.

We finished the story with a few shots of the crew on the landing and then it was time to bid our soggy friends goodbye.

So far the weather has been kind to us this year, but now we are being attacked by rising fuel prices!

Think of how much fuel we use on a regular basis. We run two skidders, two cranes, four tractor trailers, one service truck, one harvester and one chipper on diesel. Oh, and don’t forget one excavator and one bulldozer. I am not even going to add in all the regular gas that it takes to fuel all our company vehicles. Diesel is the lifeblood of the Forest Products industry and some of our comrades are dying a slow death. Most contracts in our industry do not have fuel adjustment procedures. We are working on some jobs where the contracts were signed a good six months to a year ago.

Some loggers are being forced to shut down, and others are bowing out gracefully. Once again we are put in yet another desperate situation.

There is a Grass Roots effort to draw attention to our situation before we are forced into a more drastic situation, where the flow of wood could come to a screeching halt!

One of our fellow Master Logger’s has sent out an appeal to all the concerned people of Maine asking them to please call some of our political leaders in an effort to capture their attention. He feels we should jump into action before it’s too late. The following is a list of numbers so that we may join the cause.

Governor Baldacci: 287-3531
Senator Susan Collins: 224-2523
Senator Olympia Snowe: 224-5344
Representative Mike Michaud: 225-6306

There has also been some talk of rallies around the state to draw attention to this desperate situation. If anyone knows of the locations of these rallies, please post them here so the word will get out.

Some of the mills are starting to help. Thanks to those who have recognized we are all in this together!

There are many tales of the legendary Paul Bunyan, born in Bangor, Maine, but none more famous or meaningful as the tale of The Golden Log.

Back in the day when winters were long, there was one particular Maine winter where a nor’easter barreled into Maine dropping foot after foot of snow across the Pine Tree State. The snow was so deep that it covered the tops of the tallest pines. The snow brought the logging industry in Maine to a halt. Logging camps were shut down; skid trails disappeared because the state was covered in a blanket of white. Not a logger from Kittery to Fort Kent could pull wood.

Fighting the elements was nothing new to the logger, they had seen their share of struggles, but this took the cake. Loggers' wives were wailing and carrying on so loud that their cries were heard by the great Paul Bunyan way up in the North Woods. Now Paul had been busy bending over, blowing away the snow from around the trees, and tending to business as usual. A logger of his great stature wasn’t affected by the elements. He alone was providing the saw logs to all the mills in the state.

Now the women folk’s cries started to tug at Paul Bunyan’s heart, which incidentally was the size of Mount Katahdin. Paul could have monopolized the industry, but his comrades were suffering and everyone knows that good loggers look out for one another. So he plucked the tallest pine in the stand he was working on, ran it through his teeth (his way of de-limbing), and headed towards the coast.

When he reached the rocky coast, he stood atop Mount Cadillac, leaned down into the harbor, gently plucked the few ships anchored there and set them on dry land. With the mighty limbless pine he began to stir the ocean waters. As he stirred, the waters created hurricane strength winds that were so powerful that they blew that white blanket of snow off all the forests in the entire state of Maine. The wind blew the snow so far that it landed out in the Midwest bringing joy to the farmers there that were struggling in the middle of a great drought.

Paul Bunyan’s fellow loggers rejoiced! Their wives quit their wailing, their men could return to the woods, to solid frozen ground and the industry began humming like a well oiled chainsaw.

That spring the loggers wanted to do something for Paul to show their appreciation. They came together and decided that the only thing that they had in their lives of any value was wood. They found a beautiful birch log and cut it down to the perfect size. The women and children gathered up all the goldenrod that they could find in the fields, and delivered it to the town blacksmith. He filled a cauldron with the goldenrod, started a large fire, and stirred until the goldenrod melted to a shiny liquid. The loggers presented the perfect birch log to the blacksmith who dipped it into the molten goldenrod. Out came a log of golden luster that sparkled in the sun. They presented the Golden Log to Paul Bunyan as a symbol of their appreciation for his undying devotion to the team. The team of loggers filled the state with cheers for their mighty friend, Paul Bunyan the greatest logger, who single handedly saved the industry of logging that winter.

In his acceptance speech Paul Bunyan reminded his fellow loggers “All for one and one for all! We’re a team in the woods, and we are a team in the world of logging!”

Picture this: It’s a really cold old fashioned Maine winter’s evening. You remember, the kind where you can see the smoke rising from your lips. The kind where you used to wear long underwear all day, and a warm fire was a necessity after twelve hours of hard work getting the wood out. This particular winter evening you are taking your sweetheart by the hand and running into the Bangor Auditorium to see such headliners as Aerosmith, Rascal Flatts, The Marshall Tucker Band, ZZ Topp and Neil Young.