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Frank Orcutt
Frank Orcutt started working in the woods with his father, Francis Orcutt, in New Vineyard, ME at 11 years old. He started out piling four-foot wood and eventually progressed to sawing in the yard. Frank’s brother also worked with their dad, driving the skidder. Frank eventually moved up to chopping trees and working all aspects of logging. After graduating from Mt. Blue High School in 1976, Frank went into the woods full-time with his father. They worked together for the next eleven years. In 1987, Frank decided to venture out on his own to work in the woods by himself.
Frank cut on woodlots belonging to Walter Gooley and later Bob Leso for years at a time. Both Gooley and Leso were former Maine state foresters and had a particularly discriminating eye for good logging practices. Frank’s work habits, responsible logging practices and honesty enabled him to work for these men and on their lands for a good long time!
Frank has been a long supporter of responsible logging practices in Maine. Teaching forestry and wood harvesting at Norther Oxford Vocational School in Rumford, ME, and being on the board of directors of the Certified Logging Professional program for approximately twenty years allowed Frank to share his experience and knowledge of the woods.
Frank shared his attitude about working in the woods. He always loved the work. “You have to love it to stay with it for an entire career”! Frank hopes the pride he takes in practicing good forestry and logging shows in the result – a healthy forest left behind.
Another part of Frank Orcutt’s legacy, aside from his careful work in the woods, is his work with the youth in his community as a baseball coach and substitute teacher. Frank has coached all levels from local little league to high school varsity baseball at Mt. Abram High School. He is presently semi-retired from logging and spends more time as a regular substitute teacher at Mt. Abram. He says he has taught in every classroom except for the band.
Reflecting on his career of working in the woods, coaching and teaching, Frank said “Everyone you meet knows something you do not know and can be a valuable resource.”
Frank lives in Salem with his partner of 14 years, Beth Hooke, who he credits for supporting his endeavors to the level of success that he enjoys.
In closing, we share a quote from another state forester who worked with Frank, the current Director of the Maine Forest Service and 2021 Maine Forestry Museum Hall of Fame inductee, Patty Cormier:
“We don’t want to live without the wood products we use daily. Products that start their journey due to the work of a logger. We expect the best from our loggers, and we should if we really care about the environment. Frank has always represented thoughtful and practiced logging and has always been part of the answer to maintaining a renewable resource for years and years to come. When you bump into Frank, thank him for his work in the woods over many years, and for the wood we need for the items we use daily, and for doing so in a way that where he worked was better off with him having been there.”
Garold “Casper” Williams Haines
Garold “Casper” Haines started working with his father, Basil Haines, at the young age of 8 years old with a 1946 Ole Ford Ferguson Tractor. Growing up, Casper did it all, running the tractor, using chainsaws, and piling lumber. Casper reflected “Back in the day, never heard of a chain break on a saw.” When asked, how many years had he been in the woods? Casper responded, “Too many to remember”!
Casper recalls while in school, he worked nights, weekends and school vacations.
On weekends in the winter, Casper worked for Fosters Mill in King & Bartlett with an old D6 Bulldozer to keep the roads open, so wood could get trucked back to the mill in Strong, ME. Additionally, he worked the backside of Sugarloaf with the Searles Boys. Casper remembers Ralph Sr. scaling out a spruce tree, and in that one tree, there were 1000 board feet! Ralph commented, “You will probably never see this again”!
At only 16 years old, Casper worked in Spring Lake, ME for Chouinard Logging out of New Portland, ME. Driving a B61 Mack and staying at a logging camp where you were “treated like a king”.
Casper noted in his early days as a logger, he worked with more Canadian loggers than American loggers. “The Canadiens were all around good people and sure could cut wood”!
He worked for Gary Dunphy of “Woodpecker Logging.” Casper stated Gary was one of the best people for which to work. He also worked for Boise Cascade and Kennebeck Pulp & Paper.
Some of Casper’s favorite hobbies are hunting and fishing. Back in his prime, Casper always had his 4 beagles Spark, Burt, Bandit, and Katie nearby by his side for rabbit hunting. The excitement in Casper’s eyes revealed that hunting with his dogs was undoubtedly a favorite pastime!
Casper resides in Salem Maine, with his significant other Tanya Winter. Casper has two children, Garold of Avon, and Amanda, who resides in Kansas.
Casper commented, “People who are self-employed have to be self-motivated to get up and go to work. You can’t take a day off, just because everyone thinks you can. I am always “Happy in the Woods. There is no better place to be”! Photo to right is David Kidd
