Working in the Woods: A History of Logging on the West Coast

From bulls to balloons, from horses to helicopters, Working in the Woods chronicles the myriad changes which have swept through west coast logging since Captain Vancouver came ashore to cut spars in the eighteenth century. By far the most authoritative book ever written on the history of British Columbia’s logging industry, Working in the Woods combines meticulous research and colourful oral accounts with a breathtaking array of rarely seen historical photographs.

Author Ken Drushka, one of Canada’s foremost writers on forest industry matters, has left no stone unturned in solving such mysteries as what happened to the swashbuckling boss-logger Jesse James (he choked to death on a beef steak) or what became of the once-dominant IEL Chainsaw company (it was sold to the Electrolux vacuum cleaner corporation). In addition he documents such major events as the disappearance of railroad logging and the emergence of the large corporations, and offers some well-turned opinions on what the industry must do to adjust to changing times.

Working in the Woods brings history to life with tales from the men who felled mammoth trees with primitive hand tools, then hauled them out through the wet, muddy conditions of the coast by horse team, steam train, and truck. Drushka travelled the coast and islands looking for these old-timers, taping their stories and borrowing their never-before-seen photos. The resulting book is both a definitive history, and an evocative human account of the early days of logging.