Episode 65: Modern Day Lumbering 1919-Present

Episode 65: Modern Day Lumbering 1919-Present

For those of us who have been long-time summer residents of Algonquin Park, the issue of logging in the park has been a difficult one. Difficult because, though most people don’t realize it, logging has always been an integral part of the Algonquin Park governing mandate. Though known today as a recreational paradise and wildlife refuge, those of us who have lived in and around the park are very much aware that allowing logging was one of the key compromises that was needed in order for the Park’s creation in 1893. Though hard for us to visualize today, the idea of setting aside such a large expanse of land, so close to the industrial heartland of Ontario was truly a game-changing event, with many conflicting voices. Another parallel objective has always been economic support for the local communities of Eastern Ontario.

In this episode, my goal is to focus narrowly on what has changed since the days of John Egan and J. R. Booth’s logging efforts in the Park. I am going to try to look at the topic from four perspectives, namely: the cutting of the trees; the process of getting them to the sawmills; the actual sawing of the wood into lumber; and its marketing; and to the degree possible how this has all impacted the surrounding people and communities in general and the Whitney area in specific. Part 1 focuses on the 20th C, up until 1974, when the Algonquin Park Master Plan was issued.

Key References:

Donald Lloyd’s Algonquin Harvest: The History of the McRae Lumber Company 2006

Roderick MacKay’s Algonquin Park: A Place Like No Other 2018

George Warecki’s Douglas Pimlott and the Preservationists in Algonquin Park 1958-1974  2021

Bob Lyons Whitney: Island in the Shield 1986

Algonquin Park Forest Authority’s Annual Reports (2021-22 and 2022-23)

Algonquin Park Forest Authority Website (www.algonquinforestry.on.ca)

Maintaining the Balance in Algonquin Park: Algonquin Forest Authority and the Use of Portable Bridges – Forestry Success Stories 2015

The musical interlude for this episode is called Hardwood Haven and comes from Dan Gibson’s Solitudes Breaking Through the Mist CD. It has been brought to your attention with the approval of Digital Funding LLC. Solitudes music can be found wherever you get your music streaming.