On Saturday, Martin and I went to the Boonsville Woodsmen Show in Boonsville, NY. It was so much fun! We only watched the parade and the lumberjill show on Saturday, but there is a ton of stuff there. Including, but not limited to A 10K, a beards contest, greased pole, judging of log trucks, canoe/kayak race, Northeast junior lumberjack competition, world's lumberjill competition, chainsaw carving contest, and men's lumberjack competition. There is seriously a lot of stuff packed into this weekend.
I absolutely loved watching the lumberjill show. Apparently, the show in Boonville is considered the premier show for women in the lumberjill industry. Hayward, IL or something like that is considered the premier show for men, but it is Boonville for the women. Therefore, it is an invitation only event and it really is the best of the best. The first competition was the log roll. Contrary to what I thought, the log roll does not involve standing on a log in water and rolling it, but instead is a timed competition where two partners literally roll a log back and forth between two points and have to ensure it stays centered. Martin's mom and her partner, Andrea, are really a great team in all events they do together and they took third place in this event. They really make it look easy! (even if they were the only two Grandma's competing against mostly women in their 20s.)
Next were three cross-cut competitions. First was the single cross cut. In this, the competitor uses a huge saw and has to cut through a piece of wood as quickly as possible. Next was the jack and jill competition where the competitor has to saw through two seperate pieces of wood with a lumberjack partner. And then, is the jill and jill competition. This is basically like it sounds and here Mary was back with her original partner, Andrea. Most of the competitors make it look so easy, but you can tell that it is really very difficult.
Next was the bow-saw cut. This consisted of two cuts through the wood, this time on the shorter side of the wood piece. Mary did really went at this event also and took third place here too. This is also a good place to mention that I was really into the show and I kept making Martin move so we could get in a better position to see mom and since he was incessently complaining about his butt hurting on the wooden bleachers, he continually wanted to get up and walk around. But I was so worried we would miss the show so I kept herding him back. Our conversations went something like this,
Martin: My ass is killing me. Let's walk around the tents and look at cheap tools.
Me: But we're going to miss the showwwww
Martin: Well, my mom is always in the later heats and they have to set up anyway.
Me: But they really keep it moving fast. The heats don't last long and you walk slow.
Martin: Man, you are really persistant.
Next, was the chainsaw competition. This is the only competition that uses a chainsaw. They are all "stock" chainsaws, meaning they all came straight from the factory and each person is using the exact same chainsaw. Therefore, powerwise, everyone was on the same level. In the competition you have to make three cuts. One down, one up and then one down again. You have six inches in which to make these cuts and the saw takes out about 1/2 an inch - so you have about 4 and a half inches to make these three cuts. Its a contest to determine the skill with the equipment, and also speed of handling it for the contestant.
The axe throw wasn't exactly next but it was just interspersed throughout the competition. Whenever the competitors had a free moment they went over there to compete. If you can't tell, the axe is quivering right in front of the bullseye, about to hit.
About this time, Martin and I went for a walk to console Martin's butt, and we decided to switch sides because the view was better. Well I could see every contestant at once, but the fence was sort of annoying, expecially for pictures. The picture above is of the vertical chop. Here the competitor has to cut out and off the top of the log. This competition made me look tired just watching.
And then finally, the horizontal chop. This competition, the ninth event that took place in just 3 and a half hours was the last competition for points. This competition is much like the vertical chop, just the log is horizontal and you stand on it to chop it. Apparently one year, Mary cut off 3/4s of her big toe during this event. But in the spirit of competition, finished the event, won first place and then hobbled to the ambulance to get her toe sewn back on at the hospital.
The last event is my favorite, but this post is getting to be rather lengthy - so I'll include it another day.
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