Tom Tidwell Appointed New Chief of U.S. Forest Service

The news is not too surprising, but the timing is—and a bit fortuitous for us.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on June 17 that U.S. Forest Service chief Gail Kimbell has been replaced by Tom Tidwell.  It’s not unusual for a new presidential administration to select someone they believe will carry out their vision [...]

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Birling Down White Water

Prior to the expansion of railroads and later use of trucks, the logging industry relied on river currents to move large amounts of cut timber to sawmills. In October, we highlighted six photo galleries related to various aspects of river log drives. Since this posting, searches for “log drives,” “log drivers,” “moving logs [...]

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Paul Bunyan Defeats Depression?

The William Laughead Papers, introduced in a previous post, continue to delight.  Among the Bunyan-related materials, we found an advertising booklet heralding “Paul Bunyan’s Prosperity Special.”
This pamphlet documents the Red River Lumber Company’s strategy to capitalize on the excitement surrounding the completion of the Western Pacific and Great Northern rail connection. On November 10, 1931, [...]

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