The 52nd annual Deming Logging Show was held on June 13th and 14th. Local loggers competed in 28 different events while onlookers enjoyed barbecue from the bandstands.
Highlights of the Deming Logging Show include:
Pole Falling—competitors race to fell an alder pole in such a way that it strikes a target on the way down.
Speed Climbing—race to the top of a 90 ft. stake tree.
Logger’s Relay—teams of 5 race to accomplish everything from chopping, sawing, bucking, choking, and swimming.
In addition to the competitive events, the Logging Show includes several non-competitive exhibitions like hotsaw in which teams of two operate the chain-saw equivalent of a dragster.
The show has a rich history. In 1962 when a logger was seriously injured working in Whatcom County, Finley Hays, a leader in the logging community, organized a showcase of the wild things loggers do every day that would help pay for the man’s medical expenses. The event was a huge success: 800 people bought one of the $1 tickets. More than 50 years later, that event—The Deming Logging Show—still benefits injured workers.
