I'm a Lumberjack and I'm Okay

Historically, Canada was a nation of hewers of wood and drawers of water. In the early days of Confederation, lumberjacks were a dime a dozen. Every forest was jam-packed full of them. But today, due to mechanization of the lumber industry, lumberjacks are a pretty rare commodity indeed.

There are other threats to their existence too. If you are lucky enough to spot a real lumberjack, he'll be skittish and will disappear immediately, leaving only a powerful whiff of woodsmoke and stale sweat. Men wearing the big plaid shirts of the forest are an endangered species and they know it.

Some brave Canadian men and women are trying to revive our proud lumberjack tradition by going to special forestry camps on the weekends. At such camps, these Lumberjack Re-enactors wear loud plaid shirts, don specially knitted "beard balaclavas" and saw logs by hand, all while glowering in a manly way and not using deodorant.

Won't you help them in their cause? For only $50 a month, you too can sponsor a Lumberjack Re-enactor! In return for your ongoing sponsorship, you will receive a photo of your personal lumberjack and periodic letters from him/her written on birchbark. All cheques, money orders and bank drafts can be sent care of this blog and will be used for the sole purpose of keeping Our Canadian History Strong and Free. I promise.