Historic Hood River
Stump Pulling
7-6-2017
Notes
I zoomed in so you could make out a little of this horse-powered stump puller. We saw these same guys in this image, as well as this one. One of the images dates this to 1916.
The History Museum of Hood River County
Bringing the Rich History of Hood River County to Life
Charlott
Most certainly wasn’t easy to make an orchard was it.
I know my Dad would dig around them and then pack dynamite down under, putting a long fuse on, light it and race off. That stump would blow apart and the dirt would just fly. That way he had a one man operation, though yes there was risk within it….
L.E.
Looks like Oak tree stumps? I have no idea what their root system is like.
Right now I am mowing in hay fields that my grandfather removed fir tree stumps from, with the same method as Charlott describes. I have heard stories of how he would work a shift at the Camas Paper Mill and then at night go out into the field with a lantern and hand dig the stump and large roots clear of rocks and dirt before he blew them.
Buzz
The first stump I shot was about 8 ft. across. I had hired out as a powder monkey for Hopkes Logging on Tillamook Head where they were building logging roads. I had never messed with powder before, but my dad explained the basics to me the night before I went to work. I blowed that stump clear across the canyon and left a hole about 10 ft. deep and 20 ft. across. Old man Hopkes was about a quarter mile away. When he saw I was still alive he chewed on me for about 15 minutes. He knew I had already received my draft notice from the Hood River draft board to go in the Army and wanted work so I could pay off a little loan that I had used to finish college. After chewing on me he gave me a few pointers on how much powder to use. Those old timers were tough and sometimes ornery, but not all bad. His heirs are still logging around Tillamook.
Dale Nicol
You can see one of these horse drawn stump pullers outside of WAAAM’s main entry…on the west side.
However, if you go inside the Museum, there is a plethora of neat things to see!
L.E.
The gentleman in front is wearing an eye patch. Old Herman Kuhnhausen, from our community, wore an eye patch. He lost his eye while blowing stumps.