Old skill comes back to life

Bronc Johnson, left, of Lost River and Allen Esqueda of Chiloquin cut through a log Sunday during the double-buck saw competition at the State FFA Convention in La Grande. Looking on are judges David Neese, left, and Will Coltrin. Neese is the advisor for the Chiloquin FFA chapter and Coltrin advises the Creswell FFA chapter. The Observer/DICK MASON

It is the art of two-person (double buck) cross-cut sawing.

While many FFA students were taking part in public speaking and job interview exams Sunday, several dozen tested their team sawing skills, some for the first time.

Knowing how to use two-person cross-cut saws is still a valued skill today, said David Neese, the adviser for Chiloquin High School’s FFA chapter, which helped run Sunday’s competition.

Wilderness areas are a major reason people who know how to use two-person cross-cut saws are still needed. Chain saws are not allowed in wilderness areas because of their gasoline engines, thus double-buck cross-cut saws often must be used by crews creating and maintaining trails.

Neese said someone with double-buck cross-cut skills has a better chance of being hired to work on state and federal trail crews in wilderness areas.

Two-person cross-cuts also remain viable because people who are environmentally conscious like to use them because they require no oil or gas and are quiet.

The use of two-person teams to saw through logs is an artful process because doing so quickly requires more than brute force.

“Technique is more important by far than strength,’’ Neese said.

But don’t sell strength short.

“Once you have your technique down strength will help a lot,’’ the Chiloquin FFA adviser said.

FFA members attending the state convention in La Grande flex their muscles Sunday while under the spell of hypnotist Alvin Snyder. Snyder, who is from Wisconsin and is also a veterinarian, hypnotized audience members who had volunteered to participate in his show. Snyder then asked the youths to do various things including displaying their strength. Observer photos/DICK MASON

Double-buck teams operating properly draw much of their strength not from the their upper bodies but their legs.

“The arms guide and the legs provide the power,’’ Neese said.

Sunday’s sawing competition was directed by Neese and Will Coltrin, adviser for Creswell High School’s FFA chapter. Neese and Coltrin provided great amounts of encouragement and advice to youths. Tiring teams were sometimes told, as they passed the mid-point of a log, that their toughest work was behind them. This is because a log’s diameter is greatest at its mid-point. Anyone sawing past this point has less wood to cut.

Sunday’s competition was put on by Creswell’s FFA chapter. The chapter has conducted the contest for many years at the State FFA Convention. The chapter brings logs for the competition each year.

The State FFA Convention, which opened Friday, continued this morning with “breakout sessions’’ at EOU. Students will be introduced to everything from studio photography, to wildlife migration patters, poetry, special effects makeup and South African music. The sessions are being taught by EOU professors. FFA members have about 50 sessions to choose from.

Tours of the EOU campus will be conducted this afternoon. The convention concludes tonight with closing ceremonies that start at 7 in the La Grande High School gym. About 2,200 people are expected.