This path was created by Alex Merrill.
Bibliography
This source shows two log trucks in the woods in 1927. This is important because this is about as early as they were used and it is clear how much more efficient they are than using a steam donkey or horses to move one log at a time. It is also important to see that the loggers are still wearing the same clothes that they were wearing 30 years ago. There is also seemingly no change to safety in this aspect of logging.
Mallery, Timothy J. The Jam above the Bridge at Grand Rapids. n.d. Photograph
Primary source of a log jam at grand rapids. This is an important picture because it shows how dangerous log jams were and potentially devastating they could be to everything downstream when the log jam was broken. Log jams are also indicative of the level of safety and how companies thought of their workers since their workers died rather often when it came to log jams.
Stihl, Andreas. Tree felling machine. 1929. Photograph
Great picture of the original tree felling machine 1.0. Useful in showing how different it is to a crosscut saw.
Skidding logs with steam jammer. 1910. Photograph
Excellent photograph that clearly shows men working and what their jobs might have been. You can clearly see how the steam donkey pulled in the log and then the log was cut into timber of certain lengths. There is even a horse in the picture that it ready to haul the wood out of there.
Prouty, Andrew Mason. More Deadly than War: Pacific Coast Logging, 1827-1981. New York: Garland, 1988.
Safety and workers rights in general gained much during the gilded age, although they are also arguably the worst at the start of the gilded age as well. This monograph will help to tie in how deadly and dangerous this work truly was, and really put into perspective how far logging has come over the years. It also mentions many of the machines in use during the time, such as the steam donkey.
Holbrook, Stewart H. Yankee Loggers: a Recollection of Woodsmen, Cooks, and River Drivers. New York: International Paper Co., 1961.
This source will be a good reference to how someone who grew up around logging and was all he knew saw how it changed over the years. This is a great primary source that allows one to look directly into the lives of the working class during the time and the generation before.
“UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.” Safety and Health Topics | Logging | Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Accessed December 1, 2019. https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/logging/.
This website has interesting facts about modern day logging and workers rights. Is very useful in seeing just how far workers rights and safety regulations have come, and also how some things have not changed at all.
