This Montana “Timber Town” is a Family Treat

Western Montana's logging tradition is still going strong, and for more than a hundred years, the forestry students at the University of Montana have celebrated everything logging related with The Forester's Ball.

This is the 107th year of the Ball, which is held on Friday and Saturday nights in the Schreiber Gym, harkening back to the days when timber was king in Western Montana, and UM was the place to learn about it.

The weekend now includes a Community Forestry Day, added as a more family-friendly event a few years ago. UM's Sam Scott is a great way to explain the history and the changes of the timber industry, all centered around the "logging camp", erected each year in the Schreiber Gym.

"There's the old school logging camp and how we used to do things versus how we do things now," explained Scott when he stopped by our studios. "The field has changed tremendously over the past  150 years in Western Montana. But it's certainly an important part of our community still. It just looks a little different, and we love talking about it."

An amazing transformation

The setting for the weekend events is historic in its own right, as the Schreiber Gym was one of the original buildings on campus. And the amount of activity it takes to convert the space into a "logging camp" is remarkable and renewable.

"So the flooring we use year after year, it's actually the original flooring that came out of this gym when they remodeled it, so flooring is easily over 100 years old," says "Chief Push"  Alden Whitney. "And I believe we've been using it for at least the last 40 to 50 years.If not longer than that."

     The false fronts, bar pieces, and signs are also recycled.

"I've had people in the '70s that were using those same pieces that we were using today."

The forestry students also spend time at the Lubrecht Experimental Forest, starting last fall, collecting fresh poles and other new material.

Lots to see

Community Forestry Day is free, with displays and activities sponsored by Montana FWP and DNRC, Montana Forest Consultants, Project Learning Tree, Cabela’s, UM Forestry Departments, WeyCo, and many more. Additional participants include the Montana Loggers Association (simulator and equipment), individual loggers, and organizations such as the Montana Tree Farm System, Blackfoot Challenge, TNC, Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation, CSKT, FVCC, and the Montana State Library.

     All the fun starts at 10 am on Saturday.