A woodsman wearing spiked shoes opens up an empty boom at the upper end of Mooselookmeguntic Lake so it can be filled with more logs from the Kennebago River.
Image: Library of Congress
In May 1943, Office of War Information photographer John Collier traveled to the timber holdings of the Brown Company in western Maine near the New Hampshire border.
There, he camped out with woodsmen who were tasked with guiding thousands of heavy, slippery logs on the spring pulpwood drive down the Kennebago River and Mooselookmeguntic Lake toward distant pulp and paper mills.
In addition to making portraits of the workers at rest, he captured the men in action as they deftly used pikes to maneuver the pulpwood, even riding the logs themselves to usher them through treacherous waters toward their destination.
Image: Library of Congress
80-year-old "Old George" Hill, who drives the camp's horse and wagon.
Image: Library of Congress
Woodsmen return to work after a lunch break.
Image: Library of Congress
Woodsmen use pikes to keep logs moving smoothly toward the sluiceway.
Image: Library of Congress
Woodsmen winching up the boom on Long Pond which guides the flow of logs downstream.
Image: Library of Congress
Woodsmen in a "bateau" open up an empty boom.
Image: Library of Congress
Woodsmen line up for one of their four meals a day.
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
A bulldozer clears a log jam in Dennison Bog Creek.
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Pulpwood accumulated in the Kennebago River waiting to be sluiced through the power dam.
Image: Library of Congress
Woodsmen use pikes to guide the logs.
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Woodsmen relax outside the bunkhouse.
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
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