1950's BLAIR BROTHERS LOGGING AND MILL OPERATIONS POLLOCK PINES CALIFORNIA

[@Dave_9547]

This film brings back great memories of growing up in a small sawmill town in NW Oregon. The mill was the major employer and both of my grandfathers worked there at one time. My dad was a logger in Oregon and then in N. California. I was lucky to have worked in the woods for four summers, 59 to 62 and have great memories of the sounds of machinery and the smell of dirt, diesel and fresh cut wood.

[@gregmacklin9758]

, some outstanding footage. My Father was a summertime wrangler for his Grandfather J.D (JACK ) Granlees. He had the Granlees Ranch at Fashoda Silver Creek, befor Union Valley Reservoir was developed. In the 40s they would drive those cattle from Sloughouse (Rancho Murrieta) to Fresh Pond and then truck them up to the Cleveland Carral, and then they drove the cattle on up Ice House Hill where they were pinned and separated.

[@otiselevator7738]

Great camera work. I grew up higher up on Highway 50; ‘born 1947. I remember the mill.

[@dalethorp3687]

Thank you for posting the video. My grandparents had a house on the Pony Express trail. I remember the mill.

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

You’re very welcome Dale I love posting this material because it finds folks just like you. Thank you for watching.

[@bobbydotson3926]

You tell the story great and you remember it all. I've been in the woods most of my life and have stories to tell but they don't have a leg to stand on compared to yours. Thank you for the story.

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

He did this in one take. I loved working with him.

[@hillbilly4christ638]

I have a lot of respect for these men. Generations of today would not be caught anywhere near this kind of work.

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

If this were 1946 and we were depending on the current generation to fight in WWII we would be speaking German right now. America is lost.

[@goldstaroutfitters2475]

Very few really have an appreciation of the raw labor of our forebearers...as a Maine boy, I cut spruce and hayed all summer on the farm, but it was nothing compared to the work of these men. Great walk through the heritage that build this nation. God bless them all.

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

Gold Star Outfitters It is really nice when folks take The time to make comments as nice as yours. Thank you so very much.

[@randlerichardson5826]

2,340 board feet in one log wow 😳 I’d loved to seen this in person thank you again for sharing this great video GOD BLESS

[@horsehide3039]

So dang interesting. Thanks

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

You are welcome, thank you for watching.

[@morgansword]

Well narrated. I grew up in the Skagit valley and logging wasn't the only business but the biggest and I first worked in the blacksmith shop repairing or sharpening tools and we welded some stuff in the forge with the aid of a anvil. Shaping irons made the difference of good or bad repairs. All your work gear would stand on its own till washed. I fell into the repair end of things and that taught me the fundamentals of mechanicing. Carried me through till I was too crippled to do that kind of work anymore. Strong as a ox but same in smarts to as I never made school Wasn't enough kids when I started out and I refused when opportunity came for me. I worked every facet of logging including being a donkey puncher, Whistle punk, Chasser and loader + 2 loader, shovel operator, etc. I even took the lowly job of driving truck which was one of the most dangerous jobs out there as I learned. So many types of trucks and then we called them trains whe we had the loaded logging truck pulling another loaded trailer set up of long logs behind all that and that was on vacuum brakes... not much when you consider the weight we pulled was equivalent of the trucks worth now. I gained a lot of respect in the woods but breaking my back in my thirties wasn't one of the smart moves of mine. I'm 72 now but the last years got easier as cars and pickups came in and then and all was good till the electronics which I was able to figure out most of. I did learn reading and writing at forty seven years of age and few didn't know about me not reading. A boy of mine came sick with cancer so I had to learn and it wasn't hard with the motivation. Well my story isn't yours so I enjoyed

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

Thank you Sir for you story, I do so appreciate you. You and I have similar genes. If you need to learn it, you do. I quit high school in my senior year. Since then I’ve learned how to build computers video editing and things to mundane to describe. Stories like yours breathe life into these films. You’re right it was an excellent job narrating by the owner of the film but your story adds a little more color to it. Thank you for taking the time and thank you for watching.

[@arnomrnym6329]

Good that there are such contemporary witnesses, so we don't forget.

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

That is the object of this channel. “So we don’t forget” thank you for watching.

[@olivei2484]

Nice video. I liked the commentary. There was a really heavy snow year in Sierras in 1952-53. Thanks for posting.

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

olive W you are very welcome thank you for commenting.

[@nickedwards7992]

My Grandmother when she was a little Girl her Dad was a Logger. Now it wasn't no operation like this, this is in the Blue Ridge Mtns in Western North Carolina, US. It was all by Axe,1 and 2 Man Saws, Teams of Oxen, I belive was early 1940's. They lived in the hollow up by the Logging operation, the CC Camp was down by the way where the Men stayed. My Grandma would help with the Oxen at the end of the day, she only went to school to the 4th grade...what a life it was back then, if you went from 2020 straight back to 1940 it would be a eye opening expierience. Love the vid!! And your right, the smell of the woods is amazing.

[@codagent]

Thank you so much for sharing this history, it's really amazing how quickly times have changed.

[@lawrencetruitt2700]

Great film if you've worked in the woods one thing you remember is hearty smell of it all.

[@raypitts4880]

at 19 that is a chain saw we had a 7 foot cut chain saw in 45 here in the uk. happy days.

[@JS-oy6nn]

What an incredible video, really enjoyed it thank you.!!!

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

Thank you on behalf of the Blair brothers family that filmed us in the 1950s. Thank you for watching.

[@randlerichardson5826]

Great video GOD BLESS

[@lornahardin4563]

Extremely fascinating to see the process. Thank you for a great video.

[@randlerichardson5826]

I like these movies of all the old logging ways

[@thetomasloretta]

Wonderful! Thank you for sharing. So living in this area we see empty logging trucks constantly going up Hwy 50 and returning down 50 fully loaded. I have no idea where they’re going to or coming from, but your video puts this all in perspective.

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

Thank you, this is one of my favorite video projects. I may revisited this to produce a high def version. Thank you for watching.

[@stevenbreon7480]

Love the old footage iM a fourth generation timberfaller in oregon logging is hard work I love it.im 55yr old.

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

I am glad to share this with folks that lived it. Thank you for watching

[@stevenbreon7480]

@@OfficeofImageArchaeology love watching old footage of logging I've got many books I've aquirred over the years .

[@DanHovarter]

Thank you for sharing!

[@smerrill9426]

Back when CALIFORNIA WAS BEAUTIFUL !!!!

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

It is still beautiful, it is however no longer a beautiful place to live.

[@randlerichardson5826]

Sure is some massive trees thank you for sharing this video. I was a logger for the better part of 30 years. I’m disabled now but not from logging it was other stuff. I done the tree cutting best job I ever had. I miss cutting timber. I still cut a tree from time to time for somebody but LORD knows I’d be in a big boundary of timber somewhere if I was able Amen 🙏

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

I’m so very glad that you enjoyed the film. There are not a lot of true loggers around anymore and particularly those that know the operation from your standpoint. Sounds like your life was touched by several different aspects from the industry. When you finally make that long journey to heaven you’re going to find a huge forest that needs to be logged and when I go to heaven will be piles and piles of 16mm film for me to digitize.🤣🤣😂🙏🏻🙏🏻🇺🇸

[@cletrac12c72]

That dozer with the blade on is Cat 3T series D7 tractor. Really neat film! Thanks!

[@peterworland7089]

cletrac12c I learnt to operate on one of them, pulling scrub, with my uncle and granddad

[@peterworland7089]

cletrac12c granddad also had be and Dr cletrac dozers

[@waynes.2983]

Great footage & great narration.

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

Thank you so very much for watching.

[@waynes.2983]

@@OfficeofImageArchaeology I'll probably watch this several times.

[@avalon1rae]

Thank you

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

Very welcome

[@Jakesnyderinthedirtyfivethirty]

I lived in a house across the ridge from the mill I belive off forebay rd a couple years back and that area still holds the biggest timber I have seen in most of El Dorado County there was a few sugar pines that were in my backyard that I couldn't reach across as a 6'3" man 😳looked like mighty redwoods!! I could only imagine watching one fall

[@UVJ_Scott]

Grew up in California in the 50s, used to fish Silver Creek

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

Be glad you’re not in California these days. Thank you for watching

[@randlerichardson5826]

Wow 😳 those are some massive pines now there ain’t no more of them around today

[@mrmom852]

I was Born and Raised Here .... our last 2 Cabins were Behind the Truck Shop ... and During the Big Storm, my Father Parked our Car Under the Lube Shop Roof... A Big Tree Came Down and Crushed the lube Shop and our Car... Our Car... is Still Buried and Sticking out from the Fill of the Log Deck, as of 2013 ....

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

Thank you very much for sharing this with us. It is stories like yours that help bring these videos to life. If you would like to share anything else it would be really great. Having stories from two different sources, yours and Bill Blair's would be exceptional.

[@meaganodell4479]

My Grandmother and Great Uncle and their parents worked up there. Haha, that's cool. That's fun to say about your car.

[@paulgriffiths8359]

Thank you for sharing even though Im from the other side of the world I find this very interesting

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

Thank you I am really happy folks from everywhere get to enjoy these films. I used to collect this stuff and it said on my shelves I could never really share it with anyone and tell KZbin now the world gets to see it, cool.

[@donnebes9421]

Cool video, hard workers!

[@rockcrawlerfin]

that was my grandpa Tom on that d8

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

Jason I am sorry I missed your post 3 years ago. Can you tell us more about you grandpa Tom. I know a lot of folks would like to hear it.

[@randlerichardson5826]

That one log on the truck at 23:40 is huge

[@N8-T]

Looked up the pacific house on Google earth, street view image, its still there, looks a bit run down. But really cool to get an idea where this all was.

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

That’s cool, I do a lot of that when I do these old films. Sometimes I get lucky and find an identified location, then I generally get my wife all exited because an old building has survived the ages, I started doing this stuff 20 years ago and I still get as exited as ever. Thank you for watching.

[@alangoede2073]

Back when men were men and this country just did it and did it well.

[@randlerichardson5826]

Yep when I was not logging I worked at a big sawmill

[@kellykonoske91]

I miss the old wig wam burners of my youth. Glowing red, burning mill slash. Todd the retired trucker.

[@waynes.2983]

Back when you could run a Caterpillar right in the stream. Those days are long gone.

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

Are used to gold mine years ago at a place called Indian Creek near Iowa Hill California. It was a pretty big company. I can’t even imagine doing today the things we used to do to a mountain stream with Caterpillar tractor in the canyon.

[@waynes.2983]

@@OfficeofImageArchaeology nobody really knew how much damage was really being done to the ecosystems. Still, the gold rush probably was worse.

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

@@waynes.2983 I know what we did and as I said you could not get away with any of it today. We would re-route the creek bed from its original course and then dig down to bedrock where the original creekbed lay and form a pond that we would dredge. That was in the late 1970s.

[@firefly1tube]

Sure enjoy the video and commentary. I own a similar sawmill built in 1947. It closed in 1973 and is now under extensive restoration. Can I use this video to demonstrate how it was back then? Although mine is a bandmill with a pond, many of the processes are similar. Equally hard work. It is a wonder my mill survived intact after closing, but all the equipment is still there. If you are ever in S. Oregon I could take you on a trip down memory lane.

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

I don’t mind if you use the video I would only ask that you give me proper credit and tell everybody you can think of about my KZbin channel. I spend so much time trying to post as much material as possible I don’t get a chance to promote my own channel. So as a favor I ask people like you to do it for me. Please ask folks to subscribe and watch if you think about it. Have a great night and thank you for watching.

[@randlerichardson5826]

I’ve pulled my time on the green chain

[@jimhammond2396]

Blair bros. That was a crotch line loading system. BU 85 skajit hoist with Ford engine for power. A. D9 2u pulling arch

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

Jim. Smith Hàmmond Thank you sir, contrary to popular believes photograph does not represent the entire story. It is so nice to have comments from folks in the know.

[@jimhammond2396]

That was a DIFFERENT cat a D8. 2u not a. D9

[@waynes.2983]

We have sugar pines like those but we will never cut them.

[@moreawakenow6940]

Great vid. Thanks! Damn shame USFS destroyed OUR forests.

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

Thank you very much for watching. We are really lucky to have had Mr. Blair to narrate his film for us.

[@phyllistims7430]

I am pretty sure this was Jan 12th 1952

[@mrmom852]

I have a public Facebook Page called Blair's Saw Mill. .. for people that lived and grew up there. ..

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

+mrmom852 I will take a look sometime today, thanks

[@meaganodell4479]

Thank you my Great Grandparents worked and lived up there. Thank you so much for sharing. Will check it out.

[@scottfoster2487]

You been back to this area ?

[@pumpupthevolume4775]

Guess what? There are no more logs like that anymore coming to mills. That was a one time event.

[@duckshaker]

Too bad that annoying text is plastered across the bottom of the screen. And @58 seconds the word "raised" should be "razed" which means torn down.

[@randlerichardson5826]

Nowadays around here if it comes a dusting of snow they close the schools down

[@raypitts4880]

or more than 2 inches of snow and cant open the doors to the snow plow.

[@jimhammond2396]

A D8 not aD9 pulling arch

[@RIPPERTON]

Did you ever see any BigFoot ?

[@lewiemcneely9143]

Bigfoot would run from those guys. Talk about being in SHAPE!

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

Lmao

[@kellykonoske91]

Cheese blocks on the trucks then. No bunks yet. Todd the retired trucker.

[@OfficeofImageArchaeology]

I assume you hauled logs, I never did that. I did haul propane into Mexico for awhile though. If you ask me they’re both equally dangerous. Thank you for watching.

[@terrytyrrell9375]

Had to stop watching because the sound he kept doing with his mouth