Cutting Down the Schoolmarm

Working in wood requires that someone works in the woods. Whenever a woodworking project gets under way, it has been preceded by someone getting the material that is to be used from a tree in the forest to a piece that is dry enough and of an appropriate size. I am the third generation doing such stuff on the property my grandfather bought nearly a hundred years ago. His was the last generation to essentially live off the land. He was able to make some money by cutting ties and props for the coal mines in the Scranton area. His tools were axes and crosscut saws. By the time my father began working in these woods, the coal mines were no longer in need of timbers and the tools had become faster and mechanized. The chainsaw revolutionized the business of getting trees cut and local sawmills turned the logs into boards that eventually found their way into buildings and furniture. From my teenage years on, working in the woods was something enjoyable and although I've never made my living from it, there is some satisfaction in knowing that, had I chosen to do so I could have.

One of the things I learned along the way was some terminology particular to logging. If a limb broke off and stayed hung up in another tree as one was being felled, that limb was referred to as a widow maker. The possibility of that limb falling as the wind loosened it up gave rise to the rather appropriate name. Another term that I learned doesn't have so obvious an explanation. A tree with a double trunk is called a schoolmarm. The best explanation for that name that I have is that such a tree is likely to out smart you when you try to fell it. Recently my son and a couple friends agreed to assist me in the task of taking down such a tree near our church. There was much nervousness on the part of our pastor in that there were a few directions in which, if that tree chose to fall that way, the results would have been less than optimal. The tree came down just about exactly where we planned and the parts of it that were sound enough are now reduced to 2 by 8's that will eventually find their way into some useful product of the workshop. For this time we outsmarted the schoolmarm. But make no mistake. Just as each of us is designed a bit differently so are each of God's creations. The next schoolmarm may go her own way. If we are wise, we respect the individuality of people and trees and not fool ourselves about how much control we have on either.