The Vanishing Forest - 1956
In the spring, Dad took the truck and tractor to the tree farm for long seasons of logging and Christmas trees.
Norman took the train to Kalispell that summer to “help” and visit.
The tractor and the 16’ logs had made the operation very productive (and dusty.)
Dad was running out of trees. He considered buying or leasing more acres, or cutting on ‘stumpage.’
He talked of contracting a water well drilling crew (deeper, no cave-in),
and stringing an electric power line in from the road ($700).
He was planning to make it a semi-permanent home.
In its second season the failed well project served as an effective ‘refrigerator,’
with cream, eggs, and butter lowered in a pail down to where the water should’ve been.
With a temperature in the 50’s, it wasn’t exactly an ‘ice box’ but it was much cooler than anything in the cabin ‘kitchen.’
Cat Tracks in the Dust
Dad gave the Caterpillar an engine overhaul, parked in the ‘garage,’ with 4 large pistons laying on the work table.
His 1920 Diploma from Bartlett's Wichita Automotive & Tractor School was well deserved.
He put it all back together and it pushed logs and skidded trees better than ever, and just as loud.
With the tractor dragging trees along many trails, the tree farm got plowed into strips of ‘brown talcum powder’ fine dust.
Trying to cross one of those dusty trails was similar to crossing a water stream in the forest: look for the narrowest part,
find a ‘high-center’ rock, then run and jump.
Stepping into it got a boot-load of dust.
As the tractor crawled through its own dust trails, the track bearings became dry and dusty, and very ‘squealy’ loud.
A grease gun was standard equipment in the tractor’s tool box. Several times a day, the tracks got greased.
The track’s squeal, plus the engine noise, put the tractor in second place for Most Annoying Noise.
The chainsaw was unchallenged for first place.
The truck, when in compound low gear, and in differential low range, was a distant third.
Norman took the train to Kalispell that summer to “help” and visit.
The tractor and the 16’ logs had made the operation very productive (and dusty.)
Dad was running out of trees. He considered buying or leasing more acres, or cutting on ‘stumpage.’
He talked of contracting a water well drilling crew (deeper, no cave-in),
and stringing an electric power line in from the road ($700).
He was planning to make it a semi-permanent home.
In its second season the failed well project served as an effective ‘refrigerator,’
with cream, eggs, and butter lowered in a pail down to where the water should’ve been.
With a temperature in the 50’s, it wasn’t exactly an ‘ice box’ but it was much cooler than anything in the cabin ‘kitchen.’
Cat Tracks in the Dust
Dad gave the Caterpillar an engine overhaul, parked in the ‘garage,’ with 4 large pistons laying on the work table.
His 1920 Diploma from Bartlett's Wichita Automotive & Tractor School was well deserved.
He put it all back together and it pushed logs and skidded trees better than ever, and just as loud.
With the tractor dragging trees along many trails, the tree farm got plowed into strips of ‘brown talcum powder’ fine dust.
Trying to cross one of those dusty trails was similar to crossing a water stream in the forest: look for the narrowest part,
find a ‘high-center’ rock, then run and jump.
Stepping into it got a boot-load of dust.
As the tractor crawled through its own dust trails, the track bearings became dry and dusty, and very ‘squealy’ loud.
A grease gun was standard equipment in the tractor’s tool box. Several times a day, the tracks got greased.
The track’s squeal, plus the engine noise, put the tractor in second place for Most Annoying Noise.
The chainsaw was unchallenged for first place.
The truck, when in compound low gear, and in differential low range, was a distant third.
(No pictures are available from the 1956 tree farm season)