Loggers Show & Shake Rat Olympics

July 2nd
Location: Sea Breeze stadium
Time: 4:30

For more information contact:
Darrell Pickett: dpickett@quinault.org  or dtpick@seanet.com
Phone: 360-276-8211 ext: 488
Bubby Pickett:

A Quinault logger’s Story
As remembered by another logger

In the middle forties and through the fifties the Jackson brother Jug & Cub had a logging outfit that logged for Polson brothers then later for Rayonier after the Polson brothers sold all their holdings to Rayonier. Anyway, Jackson bothers had two good hooktenders Archie and Levi Slade working for them at that time Polson sold out. Levi was the more out going at and a great tree topper and rigger. All though not a very big man, Levi was noted for his booming voice, strength, and liberal use of profanity. He would stand on top of a tree he just topped some 180 to 210 feet high scream and yell to let everybody know he was ready rig up. You have to remember in those days there were no self-propelled tracked mounted or rubber mounted steel spar trees for the loggers to use in the woods. If they were off the main rail line, they picked out the tallest and strongest tree where they were logging cut the limbs and the top off and use it for bringing in the downed timber to be loaded out and sent to the mills for processing.

Well it happens that Jackson brothers were getting ready to log what is now the Lake Quinault High School which is at the west end of Lake Quinault and the old school was at the east end of the lake. Now Levi had just finished topping the tree they were going to use to yard the logs in to be loaded on log trucks and shipped to the mills. Story has it that Levi was really feeling his oats that day and let fly with a little extra colorful vocabulary in letting everybody on the ground know he was ready to begin rigging the spar tree.

Well they were not very far into the job when the principal of the school shows and announces, in a very agitated tone he would like to speak to the man in charge. Now you have to remember the old Lake Quinault School was at the east end of the lake maybe two miles or more away. Well now Jug walks up and asks the principle what he wants and the principle asks Jug if he could please ask his hooktender to please lower his voice and please watch his language. The young people in his charge at the school were having a difficult time hearing him and his teachers in their classrooms; Levi was very disruptive and would appreciate his cooperation in this matter.