Last week’s cold spell burned off just in time for the “Grandaddy of All Logging Shows” to heat up in Morton for the 80th year in a row.
After lawnmower races on Friday and a Saturday morning parade, competitors from across the region came to sweat it out in feats of wood chopping, climbing, log rolling, tree-topping and much more at the Morton Loggers Jubilee through Sunday evening.
Brian Bartow, 44, has competed in Morton’s logging show since 1998. He currently holds the event’s 80-foot pole speed-climbing record of under 20 seconds.
“It’s good to be back,” Bartow said. “Morton’s nice, it doesn’t ever really seem to change a whole lot, it’s just kind of familiar.”
Originally from Grants Pass, Oregon, Bartow’s record in Morton, he said, is in his least favorite event.
“Spring-board is my favorite event, and climbing, I actually enjoy the least, especially as I get older,” said Bartow.
Brianna Kvinge, 20, of Missoula, Montana, this weekend was in the second year of her career in logging sports. Kvinge competes in a number of events including vertical chop, under-hand chop, jill and jill saw, and jack and jill saw.
“It takes a lot of power and a lot of strength,” Kvinge said while catching her breath from the single-buck saw competition. “It looks easy but there’s a lot of form and articulated movement behind it so you don’t hang on the wood. It definitely makes you breathe.”
Grays Harbor College forestry Professor Pat Mahoney was getting into the action for the eighth time. Competing in logging sports is how the 31-year-old spends his free time during summer vacation.
“The best thing about being a teacher is I get summer break and I get to be a professional lumberjack and live my fantasy for four months a year,” Mahoney said.
Despite the small size of Grays Harbor College, Mahoney said, its forestry program has a high success rate. Forest resource management is one of the community college’s few bachelor’s degree programs.
“Every single one of my students is employed. Aberdeen is a town with a lot of logging history, used to be one of the biggest export yards on the West Coast,” said Mahoney. “The original Weyerhaeuser Tree Farm is basically adjacent to the school, so we’ve got a lot of industry support. A lot of support from the DNR, the state, the forest service. So we’re small, but we’re all about quality.”
The Morton Loggers Jubilee will return for its 81st edition next year, and organizers announced they are already looking for volunteers.
For more information or to apply to be a volunteer, email loggersjubilee@gmail.com or call 360-523-4049.
Visit https://loggersjubilee.com/ for more information.
