Lumberjack Competition is new addition to this year’s Grange Fair

This year’s Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair will have something new for the area — and for fairgoers young and old — with the Lumberjack Competition on Aug. 26. The event, held at the basketball court, is sponsored by A.M. Logging in Spring Mills.

LaTrisha Hough works at Penn State as an administrative support assistant for the department of entomology and works with the Pennsylvania Professional Lumberjack Organization. She had seen the Lumberjack Competition on TV and thought it would be something to try and start at the fair. She talked with a group at the State Fair Convention in January, however, they were from a different state.

“So, I asked if this was something that maybe I could try at the fair if I found the sponsor for it, and I was given the OK,” she said. “I contacted the Pennsylvania Professional Lumberjack Organization and they felt that it would be something they could offer. I thought this would be a neat event and something different that maybe not a lot of people have seen before.”

The Pennsylvania Professional Lumberjack Organization goes to seven other fairs and various events on the East Coast and has had much success with the Lumberjack Competition.

“They have said that at some fairs, most people are waiting before they even arrive and don’t leave until the event is over,” Hough said. “This is a big attraction and it is very much enjoyed. Participants range in age from college to 60s.”

The following Lumberjack competitions will be held at the fair: underhand cut men’s and women’s, standing block men’s and women’s, singlebuck men’s and women’s, axe throw, stock saw and hot saw.

The underhand cut requires the competitor to swing an ax fractions of an inch from their feet.

“It is taken straight from the old-time, real logging woods,” Hough said. “The underhand chop mimics how early lumberjacks would cut fallen logs to length in the woods and is usually the first chopping discipline a competitor learns. A metal cradle holds the log horizontally with one end of the log securely dogged into the cradle, and the other end is free and will fall away when severed by the ax.”

The standing block chop preparation starts before the contest begins as competitors are randomly assigned a 12-inch diameter white pine chopping log. The log is secured vertically in a stand that functions as a bit of a lumberjack light socket. A flat tray supports the weight of the log about two feet in the air while four “dogs,” or spikes, are driven into the block to hold it securely.

“Choppers then draw out their desired chopping scarf marking first a slightly lower front face before marking the back of the block,” Hough said. “The chopper stands firmly on the chopping stage and swings at the chopping block, like a golfer would approach the tee.”

Hough said the “hot saw” contest is the loudest and least predictable.

“The hot saw event throws away predictability and smooth operation, replacing it with fire-breathing, chain-throwing sawdust everywhere,” she said.

Then there’s the “stock saw,” where competitors make two cuts in a 16-inch piece of lathe-turned-white pine as fast as possible using a powerful chainsaw that has been tuned, sharpened and prepared, Hough said.

Although it may look easy, the stock saw is more than just going fast. It is also one of the six disciplines on the series where times cluster very close (sometimes first through fifth are separated by less than a second).

“So, what does it take to cut two complete discs from a 16-inch piece of white pine that has been tuned to run exactly as fast as the saw it is racing against?” Hough said. “The short answer is a lot.”

For the ax throw, you simply throw an ax at a piece of wood with a bull’s eye on it and try and put the ax in the center.

“We will be having a gentleman participating that is currently on Team Stihl,” Hough said. “He goes all over the United States, and this past spring he went to Australia for a competition.”

Hough said they are looking to have around 40 people participate for the events, with four from outside Pennsylvania already signed up. She is also hoping to see a good crowd for the Lumberjack Competition, so they can arrange it again for next year’s fair.

“I think this will be something interesting and enjoyable for everyone to see,” she said. “I think once people hear the chainsaws start up that we may get more people to come see what is happening, since that is something you really don’t hear on the fairgrounds.”

This story was originally published August 14, 2017 at 8:48 AM with the headline "Lumberjack Competition is new addition to this year’s Grange Fair."