Biography

I grew up on a hop ranch in eastern Washington and always wanted to work for myself. After two years in college at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, I migrated to Southeast Alaska and became a handtroller, fishing a small wooden boat for salmon for a number of years. When the urge to settle down (and dry out) hit me, I sold my boat and purchased a Mobile Dimension mill, a nifty little portable sawmill which was gaining a reputation around the Northwest.

In Yakima, my dad helped me build a trailer, I located some beautiful black walnut logs, and set out on my new career. Before long, I found myself missing the camaraderie of the fishing fleet and the tall timber, and moved my operation to Washington's Olympic Peninsula near Port Townsend, Washington, where I specialized in red cedar. I met my wife and started a family.

In 1988 we were ready for a change. We relocated to coastal Oregon, where myrtle wood, yellow cedar, and Port Orford cedar were the preferred woods for small mills. In handling the Port Orford cedar, which was full of defect, I learned milling techniques which have served me well ever since.

Oregon isn't an easy place to settle in the country, and my wife and I are confirmed country folk. We were a bit frustrated with the realities of life in Oregon when we were offered an opportunity to house-sit a place on the Big Island of Hawaii. Call it a mid-life crisis, but we jumped at the chance and spent the next thirteen years in "Paradise". I was quite surprised to find immediate work sawmilling in Hawaii, and was astounded by the logs at the deck. The remaining koa trees mostly grow in a pasture-like setting, with numerous large twisting limbs. There is nothing straight about these koa logs. Logging of koa has been restricted to dead and down wood for the past decade, so logs often had a substantial amount of serious defect, but cutting out the good wood was worth the effort. Koa is a beautiful wood, and when it contains figure it can be one of the most lively and beautiful of woods with substantial variation in color and figure pattern: I was hooked.

When the internet suddenly appeared in the mid 1990s I began fiddling with the technology. Then I began direct marketing wood while still operating my sawmill when I got the chance. As time went on I found other beautiful, less known woods on the island to market, and discovered niche markets that worked well for my products. I'm happy when I utilize all of the wood with minimum waste, and give my customers the unprecedented opportunity to purchase premium wood directly from the sawyer.

The Big Island is paradise for many, but somehow I never stopped missing the Northwest. I'm happy to say my wife was willing, and in January of 2005 we were able to relocate to north central Oregon after investing heavily in the finest inventory money would buy. I'm enjoying my first spring in fourteen years, and looking forward to fly fishing for trout and steelhead when I get the chance. Life is sweet!