Table of Contents

September 2009 Classifieds

Download the Southern Loggin' Times September 2009 IronWorks classifieds here!

Our best leisure reading from our not-so-sharp minds.

This one is for all of us who are seniors, for all of you who know seniors and for all of you who will be seniors:

“Where is my Sunday paper?” demanded the irate customer calling the newspaper office, wanting to know why her Sunday edition had not yet arrived.

Downsized, But Efficient

Seeing red flags early in the current recession, Conecuh Timber Inc. (CTI) owner Terry Chapman started adjusting to the new reality nearly two years ago. That was also about the time he attended a biomass conference in South Carolina and decided it was time to diversify his logging operations. Thus, Chapman was among several loggers in his area who converted some production capacity from roundwood to chips.

The wood dealer also started downsizing, dropping back from six company crews and 10 logging contractors to three company jobs and eight contract crews. That pre-emptive move has helped CTI weather the loss of key markets this summer as several southwest Alabama sawmills and one major newsprint mill either shut down or cut back operations.

Lasting Power by May Donnell

Fifth generation logger Jarrod Stuart attributes his family’s long-standing success in the Mississippi woods to God’s blessings. Clearly, they’re working.

The recession hasn’t adversely affected the bottom line at Stuart Logging yet and, according to 27-year-old Jarrod, it isn’t likely to do so. By all accounts, the company is having a good year. “We haven’t missed a day since this whole thing started,” he says.

Nameless Texas Towns

As at Manning, Keltys, and many other sawmill towns, the company doctor had his clinic in a small room adjacent to the drugstore. Companies paid for this medical care with compulsory deductions from their employees’ pay—usually $1 a month for unmarried men and $1.50 for married men. The company doctor went on Wiergate house calls during the morning, then retired to his office to see walk-in patients and to handle the mill accidents of the day. People from outside the community often came to see the doctor during the day at times when he had no company patients. After the workday and on weekends, company doctors traveled into the countryside to make house calls and extra income.

Sometimes these visits were adequately compensated and sometimes they were not. Druggist Earl Hines observed Dr. McAlister leave at first light and spend all one cold, dreary Christmas day delivering a baby at a remote farmhouse. The doctor returned at dusk carrying the only things the man had with whi

Working Smarter by David Abbott

When Southern Loggin’ Times arrived to visit Meacham Logging on a hot August day, by unexpected coincidence an SFI inspector was also on site. It was a surprise visit; Meacham hadn’t known he was coming until that morning. The inspector was actually checking out the operations of Culp Lumber of New London. Meacham is one of Culp’s suppliers, and was selected as an example of the company’s procurement practices, to ensure the mill was in full SFI compliance.

Culp couldn’t have picked a better representative. The Meachams simply believe in taking the time to do things well. Citing one creek crossing as “excellent, picture perfect,” Culp plant manager David Richbourg exclaimed, “We couldn’t have paid for better.”

Current Industry News

Members of the Independent Logging Contractors of Alabama (ILCA) gathered for the organization’s quarterly meeting July 28 in Prattville, Ala. Major topics included logging machinery component theft, proposed legislation regarding pay settlement statements and potential biomass opportunities through a new federally funded program.

Craig Hill, Law Enforcement Chief of the Alabama Forestry Commission, informed loggers of ongoing logging equipment parts theft in Wilcox, Jefferson, Tuscaloosa and Clinton counties and appealed to the group to share any information that could lead to arrests. “These people are moving about in certain counties and seem to be selective in what they take, as if they’re fulfilling orders,” Hill said. “They’re not after entire machines but take tires and wheels and hydraulic pumps. They use on-site machines to help them take this stuff off. And they usually do it less than a month after a logger has moved onto a new site.”

Processor Head by Brent Fisher

While processing and harvesting heads can chew through some of the toughest wood and deal with all types of weather, regular daily maintenance is still required to maximize uptime and keep your operation running without a hitch.

Many loggers find that spending as little as half an hour each day on basic maintenance saves time in the long run by preventing more costly repairs.

Industrial Developments

U.S. Metal Works Inc.’s new powered truck tarping system reduces exposure to incidents and claims due to driver falls and accidents as a result of hand tarping loads. The new system of tarping allows a single user to tarp a load and never leave the ground. This system is a proven design of heavy-duty construction with oversized motors and drives requiring very low maintenance. The system lifts and spreads up to 60' of tarp in one operation. Because of the simplicity of design and operation, minimal training is required to operate the system.

The basic system consists of the bridge and drive rails. In many cases it can be installed in an existing building. Additional options include a support frame that could be erected in a building or stand-alone. A complete package comes with bridge, rails, support frame, corrugated sheet metal roof and siding. The system is often placed near an exiting truck traffic lane. It is operated with a pendent control but is also available with a w

Kinship In Tragedy by Jennifer McCary

Children, it seems, come into this world with a natural “bent” that is manifest in the way they play, the way they think and even the way they work. My son Nathan was a seeker. He had a natural curiosity and love for the world around him. He spent many hours exploring nature and looking for treasures. He brought home turtles, toads and especially lizards. The latter he would somehow get to clamp down on his ear lobe so that they dangled there like a pirate’s earring.

He was also a collector and a builder. He had a coin collection, bottle collection and a hodgepodge of springs, sprockets, screws, bolts, etc. that were the makings of some invention or handiwork he planned to build. It didn’t get built though because a freak accident that shouldn’t have happened took my only son home to Heaven at the age of 11 years, four months and three days. My world was forever altered.