The crowd erupts as the call is made: Five on blue! The call signifies a bull's eye for the participant on the blue target in the ax throw, one of the many events at the Paul Bunyan Show.
This weekend 60, 000 to 70,000 people invaded the Hocking College campus for 47th Paul Bunyan Show, the largest forestry exhibition show in the east.
Everything on the grounds has to relate to the (forestry) industry. If it's not related to wood or wood products
it's not here Hocking College spokeswoman Judy Sinnot said.
Events of the competition included chain and stock saw cutting, as well as truck rodeo and horse log skidding, a timed event that uses horses to pull logs to certain points.
The show includes much more than timber sports competitions. Vendors come from all over the country to sell everything from wood chippers to beef jerky to handmade apple cider. Between 145 and 150 exhibitors were at the show this year, Sinnot said. Among the exhibitions were carving clinics and chain saw and skills demonstrations for tree care.
Ted Scherer of Galloway, Ohio, makes wood carvings with a chain saw and has brought his pieces to the show for five years.
I'm just here to have fun Scherer said as he was taking a break from carving Brutus the Buckeye. He has been making wood carvings for about 30 years, and has made chain saw carvings for 10.
Scherer said it takes him anywhere from one hour to carve a mushroom to 100 hours for a cowboy. Spending so much time on each piece, Scherer said he sometimes gets attached to them.
Once you put so much time into it
you get used to having them around
Scherer said. I had the seven dwarfs for a few years and I grew attached to them.
Mark Havel of Willamina, Ore., has been coming to the show for three years. He is the president of Future Forestry Products Inc., which develops different inventions for the forestry industry.
Havel was at the show to display his latest invention, the Ascender, which is a pedal-powered pruning machine. His company has a full line of products for the small forest land owner, he said.
He enjoys coming to the show because of the atmosphere and hospitality.
(The Paul Bunyan Show) is a great place to be
Havel said.
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