last log drive on the kennebec

[mitchmaine]

We went out to a talk last night by a man who was on the last log drive on the kennebec. Don’t know what I was expecting. He was younger than I am? Stands to reason if I did the math. He knew his stuff and was entertaining, and I learned stuff I never knew. He did it, for the last eight years of the drive. Started at 16.
The state of maine authorized all log drive operations on the big rivers. Starting in 1830’s to keep all the loggers from killing each other and stealing wood, and so on.
Long wood was king, but the pulp industry took over a hundred years ago or so, and started dumping pulp in the streams as well as the logs, so the drivers had to sort logs and pulp to all their owners at the sluice gates into various booms and pens and it was quite a job. The log companies started using the roads in the 40’s and 50’s and were out of the rivers by 1960. so when this man got his job it was only pulp from then on. It was a summer long job, going up the rivers in april and setting up the booms, then letting the wood go, and sweeping it up in august and September, the making the last sweep and cabling off the booms for the winter and done by thanksgiving.
We were always told that stopping the drives was an environmental issue, but he and his co-workers always said it was the pulp companies lobbying for access to more green wood. First they tried getting loggers to dump green pulp into the rivers during the summer, but the wood sunk and couldn’t be boomed. Then they lobbyed to shut down the drive, so all wood was hauled over the roads, so they had accesss to green wood all year round.
Logging became a year round job, skidders came in, the river drive went out, all within the same time frame. Mid-60’s and the last drive was 1974.
The end wasn’t as romantic as the old drives. Nobody walked on pulpwood. Boats all had motors. Still one helluva way to make a living. Hard as it was, you could see they all missed it.
Then I got to thinking, this is no different than what Monsanto or any other big corporation is up to. Working the government to create some board or panel to hide behind, meanwhile telling you how your going to live. The big pulp companies, Brown, I.P., Great Northern, are all gone and there paper lands are in hands of holding companies cutting the wood, developing the shoreland and trying to make as much money as they can before they sell to another. It’s always in change, but always being exploited by someone. It’s been going on since they invented money and isn’t likely to stop too soon.
That man sure loved his days on that river. That was for sure.

mitch

[Rick Alger]

Hey, Mitch,

The last drive here on the Androscoggin was about 1964. One of the reasons I heard that Brown Co stopped the drive was that they were using more hardwood. It didn’t float well. There was also talk about the other reasons you covered.

I worked a bit driving a dump truck on the new system of truck roads Brown Co. built in the late 60’s. Some of the guys driving truck were former river drivers. I was lucky to eat a quick lunch with a few of them. One of them said the worst thing about driving the river was working in wet boots from dawn to dark, but he also said driving the river was way better than driving a truck.

Some of these guys drank all day while driving their trucks ( nothing illegal about it on company land if the road boss didn’t catch you ) But it was also obvious they were bored to death because something important had gone out of their lives.

[mitchmaine]

hi rick, yes, this man, too, got a job in the new scott mill in hinckley making better money, but it was obvious that the satisfaction (worth the money) came from the “real job”.
hard to wrap a word or phrase around it, and i can’t seem to, but i think you know what i mean.

[near horse]

Here in “my” section of Idaho, running logs on the river (N. fork of the Clearwater) ended about the same time – 1970’s, but also coincided with the dammimg of the river. I think there is a video of the “last log drive” on the North Fork. Probably is for the Kennebec and Androscoggin too.

Just recently, Potlatch decided to sell all of its pulp mills and now are a “land management” agency charging access fees to use their property. That doesn’t sit well with most folks here since many timber companies (like Weyerhauser etc) were spinoffs from the railroads who were “given” alternating sections of land by the US government in exchange for building the RR.

[Jay]

I came by this song from Gordon Bok who learned it from the fellow who wrote it and was on the last drives. I under stand it was in 1976. Jay

I’d like to tell you the story boys, about takin’ down the drive.
Our forman’s name was Buster and he also does reside,
On the banks of this river, in Skowhegan Maine
But when the rear gets in this year, we’ll never drive again.

Oh, this mighty Kennebeck, she’s something to be seen.
From her head waters up at Moosehead down to Merrymeeting and the sea
With islands, back channels, white water and dead,
With Great Eddys and great remedies for a river driver’s head.

There’s Buster and Jerry Bigelow, them Sanapass boys and me,
George Water’s and my father rave about days that used to be.
The Messer Boys are hung over, they’re prayin’ for a head wind
So we can hitch her up at noon time, an they can start right in again.

We hang the booms in the springtime, we sluce in the summer time
They’re rafting wood across the lake 5000 cord to a time.
When the fall is coming on, it’s time to take the rear
Better get up to that cut off, get old McLaughin’s butt in gear.

From Indian Pond down to the forks, it’s white water most of the way,
Ridin’ them leaky batteaus I don’t think it’s worth the pay.
From the forks down to Caratunk and we’re over the Wyman dam
By the first week of September and we’re headed for the Solon dam.

From Solon down thruogh Libby country and we’re on into North Anson
Those ox bows they don’t slow us up and we’re down into Skowhegan
Send Dennis up to the Greenfront and head for Shawnut shoals,
By then it is November, goddamn it’s getting cold

We’ve been driving this old river boys for two centuries and a half
Just to get the wood down to the mills but now it would make you laugh.
Some educated fool from god knows where desided it’s should end.
So that outfit down to Augusta says we’ll never drive again.

Finally we do get her in and we’re all feelin good
Have us a little gatherin’ and forget the goddamn wood.
Some smokin’ and some drinkin’ and some bullshittin’ all around.
But everyone of us knows we’ll never drive again.

[Mark Cowdrey]

Well, this may be marginal but Jay’s song put me in mind of “Breakfast in Hell” by Slaid Cleaves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slqVU5tfr_c&feature=related

[near horse]

I was looking for a video clip of the last log drive here in ID and saw that Maine Public Radio has a video “Last Log Drive Down the Kennebec”. Don’t know anything more about it.

All you Northeasters check out the website for some films showing some history from your area.

http://oldfilm.org/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=16&products_id=51&zenid=uhq6r8n458ag6t14pvnn4aakf5

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