Tract south of the Eagle Farm: Dad had to first blaze a haul road down the valley to U.S. Route 60. As usual he hired James Kessler for the job. This was a saw log only operation.
Brother Bill and I used our favorite 2 man crosscut to fell treed and cut the saw logs. When not busy with farm work. The only incident of significance was losing one of our felling wedges. It took multiple trips to the area before we finally found the wedge. Lesson learned; leave all tools in a plainly visible spot.
Tract West of the Boley Farm: This tract required an agreement with the Boley farm owners to authorize three skid trails across their farm owners to authorize three skid trails across their slope property to our farm. This would result in down slope skidding for most of the logging area. The three proposed skid trails all met at the same fence opening to our farm. Dad successfully negotiated an agreement.
We then had to cross Glade Creek about 40 feet from the fence opening. Dad decided the best option was to build a small bridge over the creek. He found three straight support poles to span the creek once these were in place we cut perfectly straight yellow poplar poled with a end diameter about six inches and ten feet long. And placed tightly side by side perpendicular to the support poles. Dirt was placed on the bridge where the logs would be dragged and where the horses would walk.
After crossing the bridge there was a slight upslope of less than 200 feet to the skidway. The skidway was built just below the road through our farm used by residents in the headwaters of Glade Creek. All was ready for skidding logs and coal mine prop poles.
Our horses, Prince and Bell, were used on this job. I was the teamster that first day. When we arrived at the new bridge Prince would not go to a step further, Dad was there and calmly got in front of the horses. He held onto Prince’s bridle and led the horses across the new bridge.
When we returned with a log, the process was repeated. Dad was there to lead and encourage the horses. After three trips Prince crossed the bridge without Dads encouragement.
Later we encountered another minor problem when skidding a large yellow poplar veneer log. The steeper upslope near the road was too much for the team. We had to use a block and cable system. The block was chained at ground level to a deeply imbedded fence post at the edge of the road. One end of the 100 foot cable was attached to the grab of the log. The other end of the cable was attached to the horses. The horses easily pulled the log upslope to the fence post.
The cable was unhooked and the log was skidded at nearly level ground to the skidway. A few other logs were sufficiently large to require cabbing that final slope to reach the skidway. The cable was was placed on the wheel in the block and the end attached to the grab on the log. The other end of the cable was attached to the horses. The horses easily pulled the log upslope to the fence post.
The cable was unhooked and the log was skidded on nearly level ground to the skidway. A few other logs were sufficiently large to require cabbing that final stope to reach the skidway.
When this track was finished two truckloads of veneer logs had been hauled to Kenova. All other saw logs were sold to local sawmills the poled skidded to the Landing were cut and sold to area coal mines for mine props.
Tract south of the Floyd Hicks Farm: This tract was located adjacent to the tract south of the Eagle Farm; only saw logs were harvested on this area. The logs were hauled North through our farm to lookout and then to market. We also harvested a few acres of land owned by John Eddy that adjoined the Nuttall property. Those logs were hauled to Mr. Eddy’s sawmill.
I would walk two miles to Mr. Eddy’s home along us route 60. I would wait at the yard gate as I did not trust his dog. I entered the yard after the dog was calmed and delivered dads note. Mr. Eddy would write a check place it in an envelope and I would return to the farm. I made this journey a few times and Mr. Eddy was always a very kind and caring individual he never let us down.
Logging the Lou Puckett Tract: Railroad crossties – Dad logged the upper ridge area for railroad crossties in the early 1940’s. I remember watching him and do it manually hewing oak and hickory crossties with axes. This is one job I never attempted. My only involvement on this operation was walking to the site with lunch on a few occasions.
Logging coal mine props – In the mid 1950’s once more Dad was logging on the Lou Puckett tract. This time we were cutting poles for coal mine props. The poles were normally ten inches ores at stump height. Dads crew felled the poles felled were yellow poplar skidded with a single horse. It was a long skid trail across the Campbell timber area to Eric Mc Callister’s farm house.
Eric had rigged a deck with a motor powered saw and winch. The poles were pulled across the deck and quickly cut to length. This process was much more efficient than cutting to length. This process was much more efficient than cutting to length with a two man cross out saw.
Eric was a very talented man. He had a stiff leg but was still very agile. He worked for Dad as a timber cutter on several jobs in the area. He was an expert at sharpening crosscut saws. He kept our crosscut saws in “tip- top” condition for cutting saw logs mine props and firewood.
He encouraged me to learn the art of sharpening and caring for crosscut saws. I watched him at work many times but that chore did not appeal to me at that time. We lived about a mile from his house. I made many trips packing a crosscut saw for sharpening. Eric was retired and usually sharpened the saw immediately so I wouldn’t have to make another trip for the saw later.
One day while skidding mine prop poles our horse Prince slipped on a steep slope and lost his footing, He fen and slid downslope with his front legs and rear legs on opposite sides of a small chestnut oak tree. Prince struggled and tried hard but could not get back on his feet. I hurried down to get Dad who was felling more poles with his axe for mine props.
We rushed back to the scene. Dad evaluated the situation and told me to go to Prince’s head and try to keep him calm. He then proceeded to cut the six to seven inch tree close to ground level with his axe. Prince’s belly was partially wrapped around the tree. Dad’s skills with an axe were almost unbelievable. He chopped the tree almost totally through until it fell downslope, with no damage to Princes belly. Prince then slid over the stump and bottom of the fallen tree. We helped him scramble to his feet. This was an amazing event to my young eyes.
Later that year ole Prince got very sick on the farm. Dad had our neighbor, Floyd Hicks, drive to get a veterinarian. We did not have a car or telephone at that time.
The veterinarian came to check things out. Prince was lying against a board fence near the barn and dad hardly moved for nearly two hours. After a brief evaluation of the situation the vet took a syringe out of his black bag and gave Prince an injection of something. Almost immediately the horse scrambled to his feet and trotted away, this proved to be the end of Princes tenure on the Grafton Farm. A few weeks later dad sold him. Us boy shed no tears in fact we were elated we no longer had to deal with that lazy horse.
Logging in Green brier County – Logging on Tom’s Creek: Around 1950 Dad bought a large timber tract near Toms Creek along Meadow River in Greenbrier County. The plan was to build a long 50 ft. ramp level with the top of shallow railroad cars beside a railroad siding leased to Meadow River Lumber Company. After a few weeks the ramp was built allowing the horses to skid logs directly onto the ramp. The logs could be rolled with peeves into the rail cars.
All that was ready to precede until Howard Gray the General Manager of Meadow River Lumber Company learned that were not destined for his sawmill in Rainelle. Dad negotiated a better price for the logs with mower Lumber Company in Naveen. Howard Gray controlled the siding lease at the ramp and prohibited its use unless the logs were sold to Meadow River Lumber.
All the work in building the ramp was for naught. Needless to say Dad was irate. He Vowed meadow River Lumber would not get any of the logs.
The next railroad siding was about two miles down the track Dad leased the siding from the railroad. The logs would have to be trucked about three miles to the siding. All the logs would be shipped to Mover Lumber. Dad, true to his word, made sure Meadow River did not get a single log off this high quality timber tract.
The job lasted nearly two years. Dad built and lived in a “shanty” and established a logging camp for his workers. It was here I spent a wonderful week one summer. I learned that Dad could cook! I had never experienced that before.
His uninsulated shanty was about eight feet wide and fourteen feet long. It had two cots, a small table, food storage area, a heating stove. No electricity therefore no refrigerator. I really enjoyed the week. But I am sure the winters were not to comfortable. The daily work schedule was hard work and the meals menus were nothing like Mothers.
This was the first logging job with the new horses, Dan and Andy; they were marooned at the home farm doe to a historic deep snow, form in 1950. Now was the time for them to show their logging skills with the Grafton’s. They passed all challenges.
The new horses were stabled at my Uncle Willard Neel and aunt peaches wilderness home about two miles from the job site. They were the closest place with a barn to stable our horses, a must for horse logging operations. My cousins fed and watered the horses on weekend. Uncle Will worked and retired from the railroad. My cousins really lived a hard life.
Brother James worked on the job before being drafted into the U.S. Army; the Korean War was active from basic training he was selected for officer training. He achieved the rank of second Lieutenant. He was shipped to Korea but the war was essentially over when he arrived there. That was a blessing, I remember Dad telling of his similar experience in WW1. He served with the U.S Army cavalry and was enroute to France on a ship when WW1 ended. I had little involvement with this logging operation. At home we had the horses, Prince and Bell for our farm chores.
Bingham Road Area: With the Toms Creek job complete Dad moved to a couple of small tracts along the Bingham Road enroot to WV Route 20 near chromo. I never worked and regarding saw lugs, however we had an opportunity to earn some cash cutting a load of coal mine props.
One Saturday we arrived there about day break, it was a productive day as the small trees were mostly basswood and yellow poplar. Both of them species were easy to saw with or cross cut and split in multiple props on larger diameter p sections.
That evening we loaded the mine props on the truck. The truck bed had a stack about four feet high. It was dark and three of us were riding on the stacked mine props. We hardly got underway when the brakes failed and we coasted to a stop. Dad checked the brakes and declared them un repairable with his tools.
Dad finally decided he could drive us home using the emergency brake and running the truck in its lowest gear going down gradient. We made it to Chamoe and US 60. There we could maintain a more reasonable speed up gradient or level to Rainelle. And onward to the crest of Sewell Mountain.
From the top of Sewell Mountain there were many down gradients. On all down gradients Dad ran the truck in low gear, low range. It was slow traveling. Some of the steeper down gradients still required use of the emergency brake. Even loaded we seemed to run faster up gradient than down gradient. A trip that would normally take 30 to 40 minutes took nearly three hours. We boys didn’t really comprehend the extreme danger as none of us drove vehicles at that time. I am sure our caring dad was “biting bullets.”