The Lumberjack will be King and many northern Idaho residents will be celebrating the history and heritage of loggers and the timber industry during Orofino Lumberjack Days and the Clearwater County Fair this weekend.

Since 1947, 65 years now, Orofino Lumberjack Days and the Clearwater County Fair have showcased agriculture and logging, both with long traditions in the county. Lumberjack Days began as a cooperative effort of local churches and organizations to form Orofino Celebrations, Inc. (OCI). Among the first officers were President J.B."Buzz" Oud, Vice President Mel Snook, Treasurer Vernon Butler and Secretary Wayne Shriver. Clearwater County Fair had been operating for several years prior. The intent of OCI, according to founders was to bring more attendance to the fair and highlight the logging industry. Local businesses, firms and loggers donated money for the first logging show.

Snook said there were about 25 people at the first meetings of OCI. With his experience as owner of a logging business, he engineered the logging show by setting up contests for chopping, bucking and using the peavey, axe and of course muscle. These contests showed the art and skill of the logger, especially those skills that were dying out due to mechanization. Most of the early contestants were local people who had experience and expertise in the timber industry.

Though sometimes it rains, it was a hot day in September for the first Lumberjack show. Featured events were in chopping, bucking, two-man sawing and a team-pulling contest. The organizers were not very experienced with crowds and the people just kept getting closer and closer to the contestants. Snook said by the time they had the last sawing contest the crowd was just thick around the contestants. About 4,000 people attended and it was deemed a huge success. The next year, organizers had better crowd control.

One of the funny stories from the early days is about a man who participated in a contest called "tail down". (In this contest, two poles were set on an incline and the contestant had to roll three logs down the poles using a cant hook and keep them between two pegs with only a three-inch allowance on each side. The logs were 16 feet 4 inches long, Snook said.) The man was an expert logger, but had been drinking alcohol at a local bar. Someone went to get him for the contest and though he was inebriated, he won the contest. This contest was later discontinued due to the danger involved.

Shriver said concession booths have been a big part of Lumberjack Days since the beginning. He remembers the women from the Grange being especially successful selling their pies at one of the booths. They wound up one of the richest granges in the state, he said. Other organizations have also had success in these ventures.

Harriet (Walrath) Reece served as a princess during the first Lumberjack Days. She said they did not have a contest, fancy gowns or crowns as OCI Royalty does today. They wore jeans and logger shirts. Each had been nominated by an organization in the county. During their ball in August that year, a hat was passed around and the queen was the girl that pulled out the paper that said queen. That year it was Carolyn (Tull) Cuddy. The rest of the girls were princesses. Before the event, they traveled in a caravan through other towns in the region to advertise Lumberjack Days and sell raffle tickets. During the fair there was a helicopter in the park taking people for rides. She said the royalty "twisted" Buzz Oud's arm to buy them tickets for a ride.

Flooding that wiped out the fair buildings and pavilion in May 1948 presented some serious challenges to the group. However, with the usual local ingenuity and some help from national flood relief to get war surplus quonset huts, the fair and Lumberjack Days went forward under the cry of "Bigger and Better in '48".

Gerri (Roby) Lemmon remembers an early competition when her father Clarence Roby participated. She said he was a police officer at the time. He came to the arena, took off his hat and gun and cross cut sawed with his brother Ralph Roby. They won first place. She and other members of her family also competed for several years. One year, she and her double cousin, Dorothy Roby, won first place in the 15-17 year-old category for cross cut sawing. She said it always made her heart pound to be out in front of the crowd and it was great to win. When they were 14-15 years old their fathers had wanted to see what they could do and turned them loose sawing. She said at first that there were a lot of "Roby expletives", but then the fathers started laughing and they knew that they had, "pleased those big lumberjack daddies" of theirs. Her uncle Delbert Roby was All Around Jack for several years, she added.

Roby's relatives, Altmillers have also competed in various events over the years. Jake Altmiller has become an icon at the shows. He started competing in 1949 and has "never counted" the number of competitions he has won but feels that it has been his share, he said in an interview before his death. In his latter, years he has just competed in the stock saw event. Contestants provide their own chains to go on the stock saw. He said it takes about a week or better to get the chain filed to just the right shape for speed. Even the adjustment when putting it on the saw is critical.

Jim Bessent announced the log show for a number of years. One of his favorite parts of the day was the high pole act of Danny Sailor. High in the air, Sailor entertained the crowd with his antics such as doing knee bends and the bicycle. His signature ending was to throw the pointed hat he wore and see if he could beat it to the ground in a "free fall". Of course he wore the needed safety equipment. After Bessent retired from announcing the show, Ted Peterson took over the responsibility and he will be filling that roll again this year.

One year, after teasing the contestants as Bessent often did, they dared him to climb the pole. He put on the gear and had climbed about 1/3 of the way up the 100 feet when he found he could not come down with the spikes in the boots. He decided to try a free fall like the entertainer. While he did make it to the bottom, there were thousands of slivers to take out of his belly, he said. Another year his teasing got him a ride in his chair, cigar and all, to be thrown in the birling pond.

Lumberjack Days and the Clearwater County Fair, with all those who now participate and the international recognition, is still an event of local personalities and local participation. Some have become nearly icons like Jake and Jim. Others like Monk Montgomery who has timed events since the beginning, Ingrid Ponozzo who was the secretary/manager of OCI for 20 years, and Dave Pollock who always quietly helped out in the 4-H livestock barns have been a big part .of the event's success. And no one can forget the lumber jacks and jills like the Smolinkis, Millers and Bosworths who have competed over the years. While some of the people have passed into history, others go forward to celebrate the history and the heritage.

Come join the celebration this year as skilled lumber jacks and jills from across the globe and the nation, both professional and amateur, gather in Orofino September 14-16 to renew friendships, compete in various events and promote the rich logging tradition that is so much a part of the region. Alongside enjoy the atmosphere of a local county fair with 4-H displays, a style revue, open class entries and livestock judging and auction and of course the North Star Amusement Carnival.

Photos: Top--Albert Lougee competes in an early logging show. Middle--A clown does his pole act. Bottom--Before his death, Jake Altmiller was an icon at the show. Here is cross cut sawing. (Photos courtesy Orofino Celebrations, Inc. archives)

Join Orofino Fire Department for their annual Lumberjack Days Breakfast   Saturday, Sept. 15, 6-9 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, 7-10 a.m. Community Center (Downstairs from Pizza Factory) $8 All You Can Eat!! Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Pancakes Help the fire fighters raise funds for safety equipment Don Gardner, John Cook and Steve Laws get pancakes ready to serve during the Orofino Fire Department Breakfast.