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"There was a fascination to it:
flies and blackflies and mosquitos. And green tar and lard
smooshed on your face. You never shaved and never washed. Why,
it was a hell of a place, but nevertheless, you couldn't help
but like it."
Frank
Dowling, age 100 |
This is the story of a vanished American industry - a tale of
woodsmen and river drivers active before 1930 - in the Machias
River Valley of down east Maine. The survivors of a world of
almost inconceivable danger and discomfort share their lives,
and their story unfolds with exceptional 1930s footage from the
Machias Lumber Company. Woodsmen and River Drivers carries us
back to winter life in rough-hewn lumber camps, a spring of
raging waters, frozen boots, and life-threatening log jams.
We hear of drivers drowning in
an icy flood. We witness summer in the deafening mills as bare
hands hold wood to unguarded saw blades. Finally, we accompany
the lumber to port for loading aboard the last of the Machias
schooners. You will long remember the pride of people whose
everyday work took ingenuity, raw muscle and skill.
Winner of the New England
Historical Association Media Award, and a Gold Medal Winner at
the International Film and Television Festival, New York.
30 minutes |
