Who knew 53 years ago that a few loggers could attract the attention of international media, crowds all over the planet and worldwide superstars just by doing their jobs?
That's precisely what happened when in 1957 Squamish decided to organize a festival celebrating its heritage.
The initial idea behind Squamish Days Loggers Sports was to bring the work going on under the forest canopy out into the open for folks to see. Chopping, choking, climbing, sawing - these were all very familiar practices for the mostly local competitors, and even for their kin, during the first event 53 years ago.
But it was a whole different story for out-of-towners.
"We've heard people say 'I never dreamt they could cut down a tree that quickly!' and 'So that's what choking a tree means,'" said longtime resident, journalist and Loggers Sports Committee member Rose Tatlow in a 1997 interview.
"To us and to the men who out on the show, it's just a part of their life, but to those who have no knowledge of the woods or logging, it's an exciting glimpse into something new."
And it wasn't long before others came to leverage that excitement.
Well before reality TV shows dominated the airwaves, television was, for the most part, reserved for above average spectacles - Squamish Days Loggers Sports obviously fit the bill.
The event attracted the likes of Johnny Cash, who, in 1991, performed at the 5,000-seat Loggers Sports grounds during his Roadshow tour, and stuck around to take in events and accept a chainsaw carving of his initials.
In 1996, Michael Palin showed up with his TV series Full Circle, where the former Monty Python troupe member performed the infamous tune "I'm a Lumberjack (and I'm OK)."
Also in 1996, the competition was featured in a TV series on UK's Channel Four, which was re-broadcast all over Europe and the U.S.
In 1999, TSN covered the competition with its fast-paced, breathless style typical to sports announcers. And the Outdoor Life Network series Lumberjacks featured the event in 2000.
Lumberjacks host, Bill Deba, who also had decades of experience in loggers sports competition and entertainment, said Squamish Days event made the cut because "it's one of the biggest competitions in Canada and features some of the best world class competitors."
And in 2001, the Royal Canadian Mint even got into the act when it immortalized the Squamish Days Loggers Sports event with a 50-cent piece they dubbed "Honouring the Kings of the Forest."
Mind you, the fame didn't happen overnight - and it didn't happen accidentally either.
One man in particular - the first MC - noticed the awe of the crowd, and had the idea of playing up the excitement.
"Al Hendrickson was really instrumental in getting us to make it more of a show rather than a competition," said Thor Halvorson, a competitor from the 1960s, in a 2000 interview. "The competition was still there, and you wanted to win. But the roar of the crowd was what a lot of guys were after."
It was clearly what the people wanted, said Hendrickson in a 1992 interview.
"People did not bother with who was winning. To hell with the contestants, it's got to be like a three-ring circus," he said.
It was also Hendrickson's idea to pit competitors against each other, not merely as a lone competitor against the clock like other loggers sports events in the U.S. and Canada had been doing until then.
"That's not putting on a show," said Hendrickson in a 1992 interview. "You need action."
The roar of the crowd kept increasing and paying off for the organizers, and it didn't take long for one mane on the inside to figure out a way to leverage the excitement.
Bryan Couture has been toppling timber and lopping off tree limbs since he could swing an axe.
The 62-year-old started out plying his craft in the lush tree-lined mountains of the Northwest. Little did he know where his skills and his penchant for entertaining folks would take him.
Couture was a perfect fit for Loggers Sports, and in 1974, his foreman spotted his potential.
"He talked me into doing a competition one weekend and rest is history," said Couture.
And what a history it is.
By the early 1980s, Couture came to feel Loggers Sports could become purely a source of entertainment for those who had never seen the like, and it could be brought on the road. So in 1982, the West Coast Lumberjack Show was born.
"I started out logging, and then eventually I got in to the competitive side of it, and finally I ended up in the entertainment end of things, and the shows have really taken off."
Couture has taken his act, the West Coast Lumberjack Show all over the planet, performing for audiences and dignitaries in places like Germany, Indonesia, Japan and in communities all across North America.
The team of performers scale massive heights in an instant, send titanic trees toppling in mere seconds, and wield saws and axes with such precision, it's like watching Picasso paint a picture. And, Couture says, it's an experience the whole family can enjoy.
"The kids really eat it up, we want everybody to come and have a good time," Couture said.
His act is one part crowd-pleasing lumberjack showcase and the other part an educational look at a craft that has been integral to the growth of our nation and the province of British Columbia in particular.
Couture still stays close to his roots serving as president of the Squamish Days Loggers Sports Association, and it's a wonder he still finds time in his hectic schedule to help plan and organize the Squamish Days Logger Sports Festival - he says they've done more than 10,000 shows since they began in 1982. But he merely considers himself lucky to have gone from the rain-soaked forests to the spotlight.
"I'm out there doing something I love doing, and to be able to go and show it off around the world, I feel very fortunate."
The competition also propelled some loggers into previously unfathomable lifestyles touring the world on the loggers sports circuit collecting prize money and accolades.
"It started out just like a rodeo circuit," said longtime resident Owen Carney in 2000. "You had to make sure that you made enough at all the events to make sure you had enough to make it to the next event."
Carney made enough to travel to Norway, Finland and Scotland, and compete from May to September for 18 years.
And Loggers Sports didn't just influence locals. It set New Zealander Ron Hartill's life on a whole new path with a television and endorsement career. Hartill is best known in the loggers sports field as the world championship all-round winner for seven consecutive years and a Guinness World Book of Records winner for his efforts in springboard chop, one-man bucking and cross-cut sawing.
"I came to Canada on a look around holiday [in 1968], went to Squamish Days and competed for the first time," said Hartill in 2000. "I liked it so much I moved to Canada in 1969 and competed in Squamish every year until I semi-retired in the 1980s.
"Wherever I go I'm asked where I started. I say 'In Squamish in 1968.'"
