Tag Archives: logging

Loggers Jamboree Folk Tradition

Nationality: American
Primary language: English
Age: 58
Occupation: Insurance salesman
Residence: Mercer Island, WA

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As a kid, MD’s grandpa took him to the Loggers’ Jamboree every year. His grandpa had been a logger for a long time, and this was a yearly tradition where local loggers got together to celebrate. There were tons of competitions, all of which MD’s grandpa participated in and usually won at. They had competitions where two men would get on a log with spiked shoes and they tried to roll each other off into the water. MD’s grandpa couldn’t swim, so it was kind of scary for MD to watch. There were also competitions where teams of two men competed to see who could chop down trees the fastest. They had old fashioned saws that had a handle for each man. They also had arm wrestling.

Context

MD’s grandpa took him to the Loggers’ Jamboree every year from when he was 4 to when he was 8. These memories bring him a lot of joy. It made him feel like his grandpa was like Superman because he always won. MD didn’t have much to say on the meaning of the tradition besides that it was a way for loggers to connect.

Analysis

Logging is both a niche profession and one that is traditionally associated with masculinity. As such, the Loggers’ Jamboree is a perfect way for this folk group to get together and share what they have in common. These competitions showcase that loggers value strength, persistence, and strategy, which are traits often tied to manhood. To be strong is often to be masculine, especially in folk groups full of traditionally masculine men. Whoever is strongest is the winner, further showcasing the importance of strength and persistence in the logging career. The tree-cutting competition seems to value cooperation and teamwork. After all, a long saw cannot be used by a single man–there must be two. Whichever team cuts the tree fastest is the winner, showcasing that speed and cooperation are equally important in logging. This seems to represent a value of brotherhood amongst loggers–they must be strong together. Since logging is a niche tradition, I would argue that the Loggers’ Jamboree is also a way to celebrate rare skills shared amongst a small folk group. Not everyone understand what it is to be a logger or the skills necessary to do the job, so celebrations of this field help reinforce the job’s value within the folk group. This is similar to the firefighters in Chapter 4 of Folk Groups and Folklore Genres: An Introduction (Oring, McCarl). This event wasn’t just closed to loggers, though–MD was invited, too. It seems that this logging celebration also celebrates the loved ones of loggers, inviting them to share in a niche culture and enjoy its games without its struggles.

The Hodag

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Nationality: American
Age: 80
Occupation: Retired, Former Museum Curator
Residence: Kelseyville, California
Performance Date: May 1, 2021
Primary Language: English

Background:

This story came from lumberjack camps In Northern Wisconsin. The Hodag was first reported in the late 1800s, and since has become a figure representative of the region surrounding its supposed place of origin. During my informant’s youth, the town just north of him, Rhinelander, used the Hodag as its symbol, also acting as the high school mascot there. They even have a huge country music festival called the Hodag.

Context:

The informant, my grandfather, says that the Hodag is an important piece of lore to everyone in North Wisconsin. So much so, that my grandparents had their first kiss at the Hodag music festival, and my grandpa’s band played there. Early accounts of the Hodag were even published in the local newspapers, so it’s an important and ever-present aspect of the culture there.

Main Piece:

“So the Hodag is this weird creature that has like a frog kind of head, a fat, squat lizards body, with bulldog-like legs, with big horns protruding out of its head and down its back, and a big horn at the end of its tail, so it was a weird-looking thing. So there were–it was supposed to roam the north woods of Wisconsin, and probably where the story came from was in the lumberjack camps in Northern Wisconsin. Um, one guy–I don’t know his name–it’s said that he actually caught a hodag and burned it. And they published a picture with ashes and a pile of horns. Some people believed that, but to make it really convincing they actually made a taxidermy one and toured it as a sideshow with the circus. When the Smithsonian sent someone to verify it, the guy who created it admitted it was false. Later I was doing some research as the director of Marathon County Historical Museum and reading through some old papers from the 1890s, and there were a couple articles I found really interesting. One claimed that “all kinds of mischief” was going on in the lumberjack camps in Northern Wisconsin, North of Rhinelander. I don’t remember much detail, but there was a bunch of chaos in the camps and the lumberjacks thought there was Hodag in the woods near them. And the other instance, there was a lumberjack that disappeared in the woods and it was blamed on the hodag–they said it ate him.”

Analysis:

Following some more digging, I was able to find out that the Hodag is believed to have come about as a response to the abusive treatment of animals, especially oxen, in lumber camps (Kearney). This seems reasonable because it was not the only terrifying beast to have originated from such camps. As a giant lumberjack, early Paul Bunyan stories also often featured the Hodag. What I find particularly interesting, however, is how this manifestation of abuse and cruelty made its way into the hearts and minds of so many locals in the area. Although it may have sprung from cruelty, the fact that the Hodag once made it into state and even national news headlines completely transformed it. When it had been seen by the nation, outsiders began to think of Rhinelander as the home of the Hodag, thereby associating the two. Because the legend of the creature had been scaled up, it grew from its original representation of cruelty to become a symbol of pride for the locals of the area.

For More on the Hodag and Other North American Beasts:

Kearney, Luke Sylvester (1928). The Hodag and Other Tales of the Logging Camps. Madison, WI. pp. 9–17.