Had the opportunity to tour the Gorman Brothers Mill in West Kelowna, they were very gracious and gave us a tour and guide. In a past life I was employed in the production side of the forest industry but it has been many years since I have been inside a saw mill. I ended my career in the industry as a certified Benchman which was related too set up and maintenance of all things that cut or should be sharp.

What first struck me as I entered the filing room was the smell. It catapulted me into the past and all sorts of memories flooded my mind. Most were fond recollections and I was very excited to be there. I remembered the first morning I walked into a sawmill that I was "loaned out to" another sawmill required temporary replacement and I was volunteered as they say. I was young and very nervous and relatively new to the trade, the door I chose to use that morning happened to be right at the head rig. For those of you who do not know what a head rig is and I didn't at that time either, it has a band saw like the picture above 12 inches wide and 37 feet long! And when the carriage goes by with a 5 foot wide log the entire mill and I'm sure the earth roars, rumbles and shakes. The sawdust and noise nearly caused me to turn and run, I thought what have I done!

I got over it and turned my temp position eventually into a full time job, another story. We were at the mill to take pictures but I had a tough time focusing on the photographic opportunities. Instead I chatted with the men and yes women, which were very rare when I plied the trade. The technological changes and the minimal number of people that are required to run the mill was impressive.

Sawmills are very gritty, rough and raw places with lots of photo ops. I did capture a few shots and I chose to explore the graphic geometric spaces when I wasn"t daydreaming of the past. Sorry for the trip down memory lane this post never started out that way, it just bubble up from the past. I think I should change the post title.