Manassas, VA
New Year’s Day we decided to saw a 4-foot diameter log about
8 feet long. I trimmed 4 inches of bad wood all around the log so
the saw would go through, but it was still too large. We used a
chain saw and axe to split the slab after the saw went through.
William Clem did the sawing; Gilbert Roy helped him. The tree
had been dead for 5 years. Standing it measured 5 feet at the
stump. We used the rest of the tree for wood.
Clem sawed the boards 2 inches thick to be used for table tops.
He said it was the biggest and heaviest log he ever handled. We had
plenty of help from my brother and son and his wife also Sam
Osbourn and his two friends.
Clem’s big Case steamer sat idle in its she dits boiler dry
and firebox cold while the 4 cylinder power unit struggled and
strained. This tree was said to be 100 years old.
The Clems live at Wellington and the old RR station on the
Southern Branch Line near Manassas, Virginia.
