Let me first say that this project wouldn’t of happened without the support and hard work of my wife and daughter. They really picked up the slack, did many tasks that are normally my responsibility, and were very understanding of the long process.
This began as a bad event having a 5.5ft diameter tree at the base land on our house so I decided to revive the old family tools, talk to my wife’s Uncle Charlie about a bandsaw, and get out OJ Cullom’s old sign to make a place to process the logs.
I knew we would have a lot of extra logs that were too good for firewood after the logging company’s hot shot fellers left. A lot of these were danger trees had laminated root rot, so processing and moving them all nearly 800 feet was challenging.
Here is my great grandfathers machine shop in Kelso. Later they opened up a lumber mill in Vader, Wa. which burned to the ground in the 1950s. The red and yellow sign I believe was from that mill or was not installed at the time. I will scan and upload some of the original paperwork when I have a chance.
I love your website, photos and story. I found your name on the WSU Extension list. I am a homeowner in rural Thurston County with an old, large ( ~ 4 ft diameter) maple tree that must come out. It appears to have spalt and/or figured potential. Sounds like you have plenty of such wood, so I wondered if you know anyone else who might be interested in this tree for woodworking? I love this tree, am sad to lose it, and would like for its wood to beautify home(s) rather than end up as chips or firewood. It has decades of experience as a home already to thousands of birds, squirrels and other critters. Thanks so much for any advice.