Dutch Elm and Chainsaws

When the Dutch elm disease arrived at our farm, we spent many days felling, cutting and splitting wood right out our back door. My mom shed many tears over the loss of those trees. They were big, beautiful and provided shade to our house almost all hours of the day. Air conditioning was not an option at that time.

Dutch elm disease was first report in the US around 1928. It has been reported that veneer used in the Ohio furniture industry first introduced the beetles to the US. Quarantine held the cases to within 150 miles of New York City but in 1949, due to war demands, the disease began to spread south and westward across the United States. By 1950 it had reached the Detroit area and by 1960 it had reached the Chicago area. By 1989 it is estimated that over 75% of the Dutch elm had been lost. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_elm_disease

Along with the loss of the elm trees around the house, the 40 acres of woods also supplied us with plenty of wood cutting weekends. We had a chainsaw and a buzz saw that fit on the old Ford tractor

stihl chainsaw

My dad, of course, ran the stihl chainsaw, first cutting the tree down and then cutting off the smaller branches that my siblings and I, as junior members of the wood cutting crew, cut the smaller pieces with the buzz saw.

9 N Golden Jubilee

We cut and loaded many a wagon in the fall, to have an adequate supply for the winter. We filled the back basement and the back of the machine shed, stacking the extra on the patio just outside the basement door. Of course the more we could stuff into the basement and outside on the patio, the less hauling and moving we had to do in the cold of winter! Keeping the wood dry and covered helped to heat the house faster.