In 77, some time after the auction, I went to work for Ben Thomas running a 30-B out of Woodland. I hated to leave Filla but had two young kids, was racing motocross on weekends and needed to keep working so we moved to woodland. Lots of memories there but after three years I got into a partnership with Lon Allen and started D&L logging Inc. I bought an old Manitowoc shovel for $10,000 and used to load 25 to 30 loads a day at times while we were logging for Burlington Northern South of Swift reservoir on Lewis river. We had three yarders at one time, a 208 Washington, a 158 Washington and an old D9 triple drum yarder. Loved those Washington yarders but the timber was getting smaller and they were built for power and big wood, best downhill logging machines ever in my opinion with the regenerative system. In 86 I bought a 30-B on a 50 ton Pierce carrier, got out of D& L and eventually got into cable thinning for Weyerhaeuser after converting that 30-B into a yarder, picking up a low hour 2400 LinkBelt loader and a new Timbco hot saw for bunching the corridors. We rigged supports and tail trees and right away had to add a processor. We did real well thinning, enough to send my wife through college and law school and believe it or not I took that office job working in her office for about six years. Long about 2013 I got the bug to get back in a Buncher and bunched for Don Fudge Cutting for a year, Hadaller Logging for a couple more and later started working for C&C logging in Kelso running Buncher, then processor for a couple of years and am currently running a 3740 LinkBelt loading logs again. I will turn 70 in September and still love the work and the memories I have been left with.
