British Columbia Forest Products Ltd.

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Pat Mac (Bob MacMillen) BCFP Timber Cruising in San Juan Valley . When I first started working at BCFP Renfrew Div. the logging roads had been built into most of the main valley's , as the setting's were logged off in most of the valley's a cabin built by Timber Cruisers appeared along the Creek's edge . Pictures 3 & 4 show the Granite Creek Cabin being built .

 

[Sidney43]

Thanks again for these old pictures. A "Timber Cruiser", words I have not heard for a long time. A very valuable person who walked the hillsides and estimated the yield, defect and everything else about the sale, or owned timber lands. My dad used to do his own "cruising" when looking at a sale and figuring out a bid for the mill owner as an independent logger, also called a "gyppo" in the fifties. How many trees, how to log it, where would the landings be, how much road to build, how much adverse and on and on. Of course the mill owners had already cruised it, but they were on opposite sides of the logging contract.

 

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Pat Mac (Bob MacMillen) BCFP San Juan Valley 1st picture Bob MacMillen on right . 2nd - 4th pictures crossing the San Juan River .

 

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Pat Mac (Bob MacMillen) BCFP San Juan Valley . 1st picture Timber Cruisers Camp on Lens Cr. 2nd picture is the Logging Truck to Rail Car Lens Creek Reload just East of Lower Harris Cr. Bridge ( this is the only picture I have ever seen of it ) Bob MacMillen on right .

 

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Pat Mac (Bob MacMillen) BCFP Renfrew Div. Timber Cruising Lens Cr. , Granite Cr. & Hemmingsen Cr in the San Juan Valley .

 

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Pat Mac (Bob MacMillen) BCFP Renfrew Div. Timber Cruising in San Juan Valley , these pictures are taken in Hemmingsen Creek area .

 

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Pat Mac (Bob MacMillen) BCFP Bear Creek Camp 1951 . This picture is of the Timber Cruising Crew's together at Bear Creek Camp Bob MacMillen is 2nd in on right side front row , I think Eric Saari is on right side back row . I don't know most of these fellows to see them . But I'm sure I would recognize their names in later years as many of these men were well educated and would pay their due's for their first few years in the Woods living and working under primitive conditions , those that stuck it out would in later years rise up through the ranks and hold top positions in Camp Management , some were to rise to Corporate levels at British Columbia Forest Products Co. Ltd.

 

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Pat Mac (Bob MacMillen) BCFP We've seen Bob MacMillen as a Timber Cruiser , this picture is of Bob in Dec. 1969 as a Division Forester .

 

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Pat Mac (Bob MacMillen) Sometime around 2006 Pat and I were hauling logs from a Logging Side off the Red Creek M/L , one day Pat brought his Father Bob out for a ride . Between loads Pat and Bob had a chance to hike into an old Timber Cruiser's Cabin in the Red Creek area that Bob had helped build . Unfortunately a tree had fallen on it , these are the remains of that Cabin .

 

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Pat MacMillen BCFP 1st - 3rd pictures remains of Red Creek Timber Cruisers Cabin . 4th & 5th pictures Pat standing in front of large Cedar Tree near Red Cr. Timber Cruisers Cabin .

 

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Pat MacMillen These pictures of the Vernon Creek Trestle were taken after BCFP was erased from the Earth , but the Vernon Creek Trestle is a Monument to the men who built and used it . So I'm posting it on this Thread to Honor those men .

 

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Pat MacMillen As a youngster as a part of daily life I traveled over Trestles on the Logging Railroads and could see Trestles on the distant hillside's . I've always admired the Trestle's and had admiration for the men who built them . While hauling logs in the Nitinat Valley I often passed the remains of the Vernon Creek Trestle , a poem started running through my head .

The Vernon Creek Trestle by camptramp

The Trestle , once stood
Straight , solid and proud
The Bridge Crew
Did their job well

When Steam was King
And Railroad Logging was in style
Stands of Majestic Firs
Stood mile , after endless mile

On ribbons of steel
She carried train loads of logs
From the Nitinat Valley
Up an East bound grade
To Lake Cowichan's shore

Silently she witnessed
Bush Ape's toil
In their campaign
To conquer the Jungles
Reaping a harvest
From a Virgin Forest

Now a forlorn tribute
Of a bygone era
After Seven Decades
She struggles to survive
The forces of Nature
And ravages of time

Moss covered
Cross Ties and Braces
Are rotting away
Missing Bents and Braces
Victims Of Vernon Creek
Swollen with Rain

As she slowly succumbs
To the elements
With the passing of time
She'll soon Falter and Perish
Soon to be forgotten
In but a Moment of Time

With no one to remember
No one to Mourn
Of the Time
When Steam was King
And Hi Ball Railroad Loggers
Arose to the Challenge
To made Her pay

 

[dirty4fun]

Very nice poem, enjoy seeing the old trestle pictures, that have been shared. Hard to believe all the work that went into building a a trestle, in some tough conditions. It is tough to understand how they built it, and for such a small amount of money. Just looked like it would have to cost a lot more, even back then. Thanks!

 

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Pat MacMillen BCFP Renfrew Div. Pat has loaned us his fathers Albums to share . Now I'm starting into his own Pictures that he has taken since starting on the Forestry Crew in 1978 . Pat moved to the Dryland Sort crew where he spent time on Dozer Boats on the Booming Grounds then ran Log Stackers and Sorting Shovels on DLS's until the DLS's were phased out , at that time he took on driving Logging Trucks . The first pictures are of the Forestry Crew Crummy and Forestry Crew .

 

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Pat Mac BCFP Renfrew Div. 1st picture Looking from Bunk Houses down drive way to Logging Truck passing on Harris Creek M/L heading to DLS . 2nd picture is looking up drive way at Bunk Houses .(those Bunk Houses were part of the Construction Camp for workers while Crofton Pulp Mill was being built) 3rd picture is looking from Bunk Houses over top of Cook House at DLS in back ground .

 

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Pat Mac BCFP Renfrew Div. 1st & 2nd pictures is of Deering's Bridge , which crosses North Arm of San Juan River to hook up Harris Cr. M/L to road to townsite of Port Renfrew . 3rd picture is a view of logging truck pulling up M/L on to Stoney Cr. Bridge from a pickup or crummy .

 

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Pat Mac BCFP Renfrew Div. Dryland Sort 5th pictures shows empty Log Bundler's on waters edge . They were rather unique , they were Counter Weighted to hold them down on shore side empty . They had Hydraulic rams under outside water's side , sitting empty oil from a reservoir tank gravity fed down into cylinders valves were closed when oil filled cylinders . Bundler's were filled with Logs and Bundling Straps secured around Bundle , then valves holding oil in cylinder's were opened allowing oil to flow back to reservoir tank . Weight of Logs dumped Bundler and logs slide down skid logs into water .

 

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Pat Mac BCFP Renfrew Div. DLS 1st & 2nd pictures show Stacker filling Bundler with logs and logs sliding down skid logs into water .

 

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Pat Mac BCFP Renfrew Div. Pictures of Dryland Sort late 1970's - early 1980's

 

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Pat Mac BCFP Renfrew Div. These pictures were put together for a scan of Dryland Sort , I had to divide them in to three frames .