As late as 1947, loggers had basically all the comforts of modern life: they lived in modern homes with their families, commuted to work in reliable cars, lunched on bologna sandwiches wrapped in cellphane, and enjoyed hot coffee out of Thermos bottles. But they were still cutting timber the way their grandfathers had been back in the late 1800s: with huge crosscut “misery whips,” their giant cutting teeth lovingly filed to razor points, standing on springboards stuck into holes chopped in ten-foot-thick tree trunks.

Three years later, that would no longer be the case, and for good or bad, working in the woods would never be the same.... (This story is Part 1 in a 2-part series. Part 2 will be posted tomorrow morning.) (Portland, Multnomah County; 1920) (For text and pictures, see http://www.offbeatoregon.com/1809a.wolf-electric-chainsaw-511.html)