Wayne Curry, 52, of Mt. Zion Logging thrives on challenge. He has to, in order to continue logging in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, where rough terrain, abandoned mine shafts and long skids are the norm. Curry has been logging this area all of his life, as did his father and grandfather before him. His grandfather logged with horses, but Curry prefers Cats—Caterpillars, that is.

It was at the 1999 Atlanta Expo that Deck Trevitt, two-time Georgia Logger of the Year, began to seriously consider converting to a cut-to-length (CTL) harvesting system. Along with other attendees, he kicked tires and studied specs on a variety of machines displayed on the show. But it was a Ponsse HS16 harvester and S16 forwarder that wound up just four months later on the job site of Quality Forest Products, Inc. (QFP), based here.

Larry Gaudet, 40, owner of Larry Gaudet Timber & Logging, had lived the life of a gatewood logger for nearly 15 years. While it’s true that such a logger can scratch for loads at alternate mills, it’s also true that there’s a lot of scratching to be done. A true contract relationship creates some stability.

The business world today is in the midst of a dramatic revolution that is redefining many traditional roles, including that of equipment distribution. It’s not enough just to sell equipment, according to Victor Weston, Georgia Region Manager for Industrial Tractor Co., Inc., which deals in Deere machinery.

I remember when I was a small boy how the thought of Bigfoot (also known as Yeti or Sasquatch) used to scare me to death. Yet, even with a recurring bedtime fear of Bigfoot smashing its massive arms through the windowpane to snatch my brother and me right out of our Star Wars bedding sets, I couldn’t seem to get enough information about the infamous creature.

“I’ll always be honest with you. I won’t pretend that nobody’s going broke. I simply believe I should look for hope instead of despair. In my dad’s words, I’ll ‘always speak the truth. But don’t always speak.’”—Bob Currie, Texas Logging Council Coordinator, in response to criticism that Texas Logger (TLC’s membership publication) only covers contractors who are “making it.”

Nearly 300 people watched as Dave Romani, Colorado Logger of the Year, pulled the cord to fire up his Husqvarna 372XP chain saw. It was no ordinary day for this veteran logger of 29 years. He was invited by the U.S. Forest Service to conduct the felling of the Millennium Holiday Tree 2000, a 75-year-old, 65 ft. Colorado blue spruce.

A helicopter drip-torch burning operation was set up in a wide turnout of a main logging road in the inland West. The operation included a fuel truck, a batch truck and the supporting ground crew. The weather was clear with good visibility. The incident occurred at mid-day on the first day at this landing. Traffic was expected to pass by the operation.