A complete tour of the Hull Oaks Lumber Company in Monroe, Oregon, one of the last steam operated sawmills in the country. This mill was built in 1938 and is still in operation. (Video is 15 minutes long.)
Father-in-law drove a logging truck in western Washington. He had to live in a logging camp weeks at a time. Their house was in Enumclaw which at that time was in the exurbs of Sea-Tac with a backyard view of Mt. Rainier. One day in June we crossed the mountains to visit wife's sister's ranch in Almira. Pictures of me in the mountains throwing snowballs! In June! People skiing, in June! Must say that your country really impressed this guy from a big east coast city. Whole different world out there. Really gave me an education about diversity in the US.
My great-grandfather and his brother were timber-cruisers in the late 1800's. They went out into the wilds and found tracts of forest suitable for cutting and then got a commission from the railroads for finding them and starting the negotiations between the owners and the railroad. They had to find trees that would match the needs of the railroad, whether for ties or long timber for trestles.