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Topic Summary

Posted by: Doobie
« on: March 27, 2024, 12:02:48 am »

  Such were our lives back in the day in Northern Ohio. I too lived about a mile from school and the buses did not run to houses that close. On harsh wintery snowy windy days we would pull our coat hoods up over our head and walk backwards to school against the wind to keep our face from freezing.

Like Pete And You Cowface I remember Back When I Started School, I Was In The First Grade Misses Hale Was My Teacher, While Living With My Grandmother, Not Only did we walk to school, we didn't Running Water and us boys would take turns, two at a time drawing water from the well, and carrying it into the room and all of us shared one dipper when drinking water...We had to walk to school at mid day walk home for lunch, and return walking to school in the afternoon.  Those were the days they tell me, but not so sure,,,,,,,,,lol
Posted by: cowface
« on: March 26, 2024, 10:01:30 am »

Story time.  I grew up on 80 acres in an area called "Big Trees," the last house on the Mount Si road, North Bend, Washington. Needless to say, logging country.
Thanks to a kid named "Poncho," I began washing log trucks for his father’s logging company, Trail Timber. At 16, I quit school and asked Poncho’s dad for a job. He looked at me, cigar dangling from his mouth, and asked, "What size shoes you wear?"  I said, “13." He went to the back of the shop and returned with a pair of size 13 cork boots (a tall, laced boot with spiked soles). The next morning (5 am?), I was off to the Seattle Watershed.
On day one, I met Harold Hern. The Boss. Strong, smart, a little loud, and very impressionable. Tim Kennedy and Leonard Eadus (?) were my…teachers: a baptism of fire. The next outfit was  Bill Breymeyer Logging where I met Bill McCracken. I really liked that guy. He watched a four foot diameter tree roll over the top of me. Survived. At 17, I found myself on the Olympic Peninsula logging for Earnie Nielsen. Whew. I believe we got 38 off highway loads in one day. Big. Wood. At 18, I flew in the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines 737 from Seattle to Ketchikan. Thank you, Captain Duane Tibbles.  A Grumman Goose ( amphib)  took me to Prince of Wales island, the mecca for logging. That plane later crashed, killing some of my crew. At 19, I was working for John Schnabel in Haines, Alaska (logging/sawmill). I remember the day he gave me a 10 cent an hour raise. It felt good. I’ll never forget that. In Haines, I met a unique man, a hard man, named Ted Smith. Old school for sure. A logger.
Schnabel sent a plane load of guys to the sawmill in Wrangell, for recon, but it crashed. Rip Ken Risher. In Sitka, i met Arthur Mannix, who talked about moving to Talkeetna , because it was close to Denali, and he wanted to climb it. Later on , he moved there and climbed it multiple times. I think once with his wife. And. So did i. With my wife , and all four kids, over the years. Many expeditions as a mountain guide. Coach Jim North saw it coming. He never called me by my name. He referred to me as "mountain boy."
This picture brings me back to the beginning. A few core people who hired me, taught me, and were good to me. Yet, not one of them ever knew the impression they made on me. They were all  characters. I suppose  the person I am today is largely due to Poncho Forrister and his father, Sam Forrister, who obviously hired me knowing I was only age 16 doing the world’s most dangerous job, or at least one of them. Harold, Tim, Bill, Duane, John, Ted, and others. Is Peanut still alive?? Most of these men are gone, and I too, nearly got killed a million times. Close. Calls. I fell out of a 50 foot tail tree. Tim blew seven whistles for a dead guy. But I woke up and worked the rest of the day with a broken leg and a broken back. I went back to Alaska, cut the cast off, and went back to work. Sam and Harold would have been proud.

WOW! What can I say to this life story. I love it and it's quite an impressive life! Tell us more, Thanks!
Posted by: cowface
« on: March 26, 2024, 09:56:07 am »

Still drawing a blank. I'd rather hear another story from you and Pete. I like them. Thanks
Back in the old days we would be at school when a fast snow storm would hit. We lived a mile from
school up a holler and the bus couldn't make it so we were sent walking home. We would be frozen
by the time we got home and my mom would put us all in bed with hot water bottles till we warmed up.
Such were our lives back in the day in Northern Ohio. I too lived about a mile from school and the buses did not run to houses that close. On harsh wintery snowy windy days we would pull our coat hoods up over our head and walk backwards to school against the wind to keep our face from freezing.
Posted by: Marty
« on: March 25, 2024, 09:24:00 am »

Story time.  I grew up on 80 acres in an area called "Big Trees," the last house on the Mount Si road, North Bend, Washington. Needless to say, logging country.
Thanks to a kid named "Poncho," I began washing log trucks for his father’s logging company, Trail Timber. At 16, I quit school and asked Poncho’s dad for a job. He looked at me, cigar dangling from his mouth, and asked, "What size shoes you wear?"  I said, “13." He went to the back of the shop and returned with a pair of size 13 cork boots (a tall, laced boot with spiked soles). The next morning (5 am?), I was off to the Seattle Watershed.
On day one, I met Harold Hern. The Boss. Strong, smart, a little loud, and very impressionable. Tim Kennedy and Leonard Eadus (?) were my…teachers: a baptism of fire. The next outfit was  Bill Breymeyer Logging where I met Bill McCracken. I really liked that guy. He watched a four foot diameter tree roll over the top of me. Survived. At 17, I found myself on the Olympic Peninsula logging for Earnie Nielsen. Whew. I believe we got 38 off highway loads in one day. Big. Wood. At 18, I flew in the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines 737 from Seattle to Ketchikan. Thank you, Captain Duane Tibbles.  A Grumman Goose ( amphib)  took me to Prince of Wales island, the mecca for logging. That plane later crashed, killing some of my crew. At 19, I was working for John Schnabel in Haines, Alaska (logging/sawmill). I remember the day he gave me a 10 cent an hour raise. It felt good. I’ll never forget that. In Haines, I met a unique man, a hard man, named Ted Smith. Old school for sure. A logger.
Schnabel sent a plane load of guys to the sawmill in Wrangell, for recon, but it crashed. Rip Ken Risher. In Sitka, i met Arthur Mannix, who talked about moving to Talkeetna , because it was close to Denali, and he wanted to climb it. Later on , he moved there and climbed it multiple times. I think once with his wife. And. So did i. With my wife , and all four kids, over the years. Many expeditions as a mountain guide. Coach Jim North saw it coming. He never called me by my name. He referred to me as "mountain boy."
This picture brings me back to the beginning. A few core people who hired me, taught me, and were good to me. Yet, not one of them ever knew the impression they made on me. They were all  characters. I suppose  the person I am today is largely due to Poncho Forrister and his father, Sam Forrister, who obviously hired me knowing I was only age 16 doing the world’s most dangerous job, or at least one of them. Harold, Tim, Bill, Duane, John, Ted, and others. Is Peanut still alive?? Most of these men are gone, and I too, nearly got killed a million times. Close. Calls. I fell out of a 50 foot tail tree. Tim blew seven whistles for a dead guy. But I woke up and worked the rest of the day with a broken leg and a broken back. I went back to Alaska, cut the cast off, and went back to work. Sam and Harold would have been proud.
Posted by: Texas Pete
« on: March 25, 2024, 08:38:37 am »

Back in the old days we would be at school when a fast snow storm would hit. We lived a mile from
school up a holler and the bus couldn't make it so we were sent walking home. We would be frozen
by the time we got home and my mom would put us all in bed with hot water bottles till we warmed up.
Posted by: cowface
« on: March 25, 2024, 07:57:48 am »

Awaiting To Here Cowface
Still drawing a blank. I'd rather hear another story from you and Pete. I like them. Thanks
Posted by: Doobie
« on: March 25, 2024, 06:36:44 am »

Awaiting To Here Cowface
Posted by: Texas Pete
« on: March 23, 2024, 10:17:31 pm »

Well, this is embarrassing... My mind went totally blank. Story coming when I can remember aagaaini'


Sounds good cowface!
Posted by: cowface
« on: March 23, 2024, 10:16:39 pm »

Well, this is embarrassing... My mind went totally blank. Story coming when I can remember aagaaini'

Posted by: cowface
« on: March 23, 2024, 10:13:53 pm »

Ever drunk post? ...I had a story trying to remember
DAng... I am drawing a blank... and I had such a great story too!
Posted by: cowface
« on: March 23, 2024, 10:12:01 pm »

I am very grateful to my Topix friends here. Thanks for the memories and stories. I guess I will share one old memory... if I can remember. Mind is going blank.
Ever drunk post? ...I had a story trying to remember
Posted by: cowface
« on: March 23, 2024, 10:11:13 pm »

I am very grateful to my Topix friends here. Thanks for the memories and stories. I guess I will share one old memory... if I can remember. Mind is going blank.
Posted by: Doobie
« on: March 21, 2024, 04:54:49 pm »

That Sounds Like A Real Winner Talking Cowface
Posted by: cowface
« on: March 21, 2024, 03:23:54 pm »

Too Funny Pete................So True I Remember Those Days leaving With Grandma, and then my parents and those wives tales and cure-alls...lol

Here One I Don't think I Shared...Back Many Years Ago I supposedly had a heart attack and had to have open heart surgery...I had six by-passes and at that time i had only heard of a quadruple (4)...Anyway after the surgery and ICU was over and they put me in my room, my wife was staying in my room with me overnight the first night back in a room...I had to wait for her to fall asleep and decided to go take a smoke..so out the room i went pushing my I.V. Stand with me, the nurse saw me and ask what do you think you are doing, and i said taking a walk...and i walked around the corner, saw the elevator and entered for a ride down to the first floor, departing the elevator I walked to the entrance/exit door and walked out for a smoke, and as soon as i heard the door lock shut I knew i was locked out of the hospital and had to find the emergency entrance, so around the hospital i went, and when i saw it i entered and as quick as i could was looking for elevator and/or stairs, and behold right in front of me was the stairs, so grabbed my IV stand, and up three flights of stairs i went, and reaching the 3rd floor I saw cigarette butts all over the floor where other smokers had just came down to the stairwell to smoke (Stupid Me), lit up my cigarette and had a few puffs and off to the room i went and saw the nurse and she asked what on earth have you been doing...to my room got back in bed and thought is it worth all that for a cigarette, Yes Until seven years later when i had another open heart and decided to quit then...
Doobie, I absolutely love your story, and what a story it is!!! That is amazing. Shocking that you were able to do all that after newly recuperating that kind of surgery. I always say that when I turn 80 yr old I am going to start back smoking camel filterless cigarettes and dipping Skoal. I figure if it takes 30 years to die of the bad habits then I shall live to be 110 yeaahh!
Posted by: Doobie
« on: March 21, 2024, 11:48:03 am »

Too Funny Pete................So True I Remember Those Days leaving With Grandma, and then my parents and those wives tales and cure-alls...lol

Here One I Don't think I Shared...Back Many Years Ago I supposedly had a heart attack and had to have open heart surgery...I had six by-passes and at that time i had only heard of a quadruple (4)...Anyway after the surgery and ICU was over and they put me in my room, my wife was staying in my room with me overnight the first night back in a room...I had to wait for her to fall asleep and decided to go take a smoke..so out the room i went pushing my I.V. Stand with me, the nurse saw me and ask what do you think you are doing, and i said taking a walk...and i walked around the corner, saw the elevator and entered for a ride down to the first floor, departing the elevator I walked to the entrance/exit door and walked out for a smoke, and as soon as i heard the door lock shut I knew i was locked out of the hospital and had to find the emergency entrance, so around the hospital i went, and when i saw it i entered and as quick as i could was looking for elevator and/or stairs, and behold right in front of me was the stairs, so grabbed my IV stand, and up three flights of stairs i went, and reaching the 3rd floor I saw cigarette butts all over the floor where other smokers had just came down to the stairwell to smoke (Stupid Me), lit up my cigarette and had a few puffs and off to the room i went and saw the nurse and she asked what on earth have you been doing...to my room got back in bed and thought is it worth all that for a cigarette, Yes Until seven years later when i had another open heart and decided to quit then...