USA - The Wood-Mizer Way 99 Spring/Summer 2017 | Page 13

“ Being able to work directly with my kids and see them as decision-makers at a young age has been tremendous. ” —J.T. Wilcox J.T. began his new career with the purchase of a Wood-Mizer LT15 sawmill. “We do quite a bit of building on the farm,” said J.T. “The use of lumber from our own trees provides a considerable amount of added value to the logs we harvest.” J.T. generally harvests and mills douglas fir, maple, and cedar from the farm that is only cut if the tree is unhealthy. Today, J.T. is a self- described employee of his daughter Katie, an undergraduate at Whitworth University who has developed a substantial business working with her dad milling lumber and slabs to create beautifully finished furniture. “The first mill was very useful, supplying dimensional lumber to be used on farm projects for when we remodel chicken houses, converting them into cage-free houses,” said Katie. “My dad bought the first sawmill when I was a freshman at Whitworth. I would come home to visit and he would want me to help him saw. It was not love at first sight.” All that changed when Katie discovered woodworking. Seeing potential for the mill to play a bigger part in their goals for the farm’s timber resource, J.T. purchased a Wood- Mizer LT35 sawmill with hydraulic log handling. The upgrade not only allowed for more efficient lumber production, it allowed for the ability to efficiently handle bigger logs for slab production. Katie and J.T. began to grow their new business, Hart's Lake Pioneer Lumber Company, focusing on building slab furniture including tables, benches, conference tables and other products. “We want to stick with using timber from the farm because that’s our niche – local timber from a farm that has been in my family for over 100 years and is widely known around the Pacific Northwest,” shared Katie. “We have a planned forest rotation and when we are logging, we divert a few loads that fit our sawing needs to our log yard,” explained J.T. “Salvage of wind-blown and di seased trees are also a factor. We actually like the logs that have been on the ground for a year or two because the onset of decay gives the wood more character.” because the people who live around us value the type of product we are making,” said Katie. “A local, father- daughter business, with unique, handmade products is something people want to support.” When asked how J.T. enjoys running a furniture business, he answers with a laugh, “I’m not running it. I’m working for Katie. After a lifetime of being in charge, working for my daughter is one of the best things I do.” As a small rural business using nothing but a portable sawmill, forklift, small tractor, sanders, and a planer, Hart's Lake Pioneer Lumber has a smaller budget than Wilcox Farms so they market primarily through Facebook and word-of- mouth. “So far this has been effective – I think woodmizer.com 13