Musings Chainsaws
~ by Mark Blackwell
Some old wise man once said,“ A friend in need is a friend indeed.” I think that means, if you are in need and someone is willing to help you out, then you have a friend in deed. Here in Brown County I say,“ A friend who will lend you his chainsaw is a rare and beautiful thing!” And if the rest of you don’ t say that, well, you ought to.
When I was living in the backwoods of our fair county, I, like most of my forest dwelling friends, would not dare to venture out without a trusty chainsaw in the pickup. And those of the belt-and-suspenders persuasion would also carry a two-gallon can of gasoline, a quart of bar oil, an extra chain, a spark plug and a bow saw, just in case.
Now some of you non-forest dwellers maybe scratchin’ your heads, wonderin’ about carryin’ a mess of hardware like that. Well, let me tell you( because I’ m gonna do it anyways), not having a reliable saw could mean the difference between enjoying a hot
supper in a warm cabin versus a long walk home in cold rain or snow. All it takes is one downed tree.
Way back in the last century, before cell phones, my wife and I built a cozy little cabin up on a ridge, pretty far back in the woods. It was right at two miles from the main road, down a narrow two-rack that wasn’ t used much because it ended just a quarter mile beyond our place. We only had one neighbor, and he lived a little farther back in the woods. It was a place of sylvan beauty and quiet solitude.
I believe it was the first winter we lived out there, that a good sized snow storm blew in while I was at work. I was working evenings in Bloomington back then and wouldn’ t get home’ til ten or eleven o’ clock depending on the season and road conditions. Bear in mind that the road from Bloomington was
34 Our Brown County • July / August 2025