Loggers, tree fellers and lumberjacks compete in the Trinity Timbersports Logging Show, including seeing who can scale a 60-foot pole the fastest.
In Pictures: Trinity County Fair
In one of California's smallest counties, Hayfork hosts a small-town fair that celebrates the logging and forestry heritage of the Shasta-Trinity National Foresttext and photos by Preston Merchant
Hayfork (Trinity County) — When Shawn Patton, 59, came to the Trinity County Fair as a kid, he saw teams of logging crews – hundreds of men – crowding the beer stands and chainsaw competitions. “They lined up at the game where you swing the hammer and try to ring the bell,” he recalls.
Lumberjacks, loggers, tree fellers, sawyers, foresters and mill workers played games of strength that appealed to hardworking, hard driving young men, in from the forests for a night on the town. They ate and drank and danced and drank some more. The timber company owners made sure their crews had extra dollars in their pockets. It would only be a few hours before all that money went back to the community.
“The fair has always been really important to Hayfork,” says Patton, a logging company owner whose family settled in the area in the late 1800s. “It’s something this town, this little community really counts on.”
Today the timber companies are a small but visible presence at the fair. The fair hosts the Trinity Timbersports Logging Show, which features chainsaw competitions, axe throwing, pole climbing and other events for the men and women who work in the industry. Timber companies also support the livestock auction for the 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) clubs whose members exhibit at the fair and bring their prized animals to market. “The logging companies pay top dollar,” says Patton.
Sharing land with two national forests, Trinity County’s population is around 16,000. Hayfork has about 2,300 residents. While the county fair is a small event in a small town, it’s well loved and appreciated by those who have been coming to it for years. And it’s not all chainsaws and flying sawdust. The fair also brings the food, music, games and family entertainment that people expect, even without a traditional midway of carnival rides and a Ferris wheel.
“We need to keep small town fairs going,” says Mary Rubio, who lives in Hayfork and has been coming to the fair since she was a child. Her son Jack, 9, is a member of the Hayfork Valley 4-H club and won three prizes for his goats. Through the livestock exhibitions and auctions, the fair provides learning opportunities for responsibility, personal growth, and building community as kids raise animals and present them in competition. “His showing and doing so well with his animals top it all,” she says.
