On Saturday, the 24th Annual Saginaw Day Logging Show took place in the field next to the Brooklyn Tavern, in the charming woods near Cosmopolis and Brooklyn, where it has taken place since the beginning.

Admission was free, though donations were accepted, alongside Saginaw T-shirts, to fund next year’s show. The center was packed with people from surrounding areas, and the event included family-friendly activities, vendors, and of course, the logging show.

There were a variety of active logger sport events, and these included double bucking, single bucking, ma and pa bucking, axe throwing, choker setting, chainsaw bucking, tree topping, pole falling, obstacle choker setting, and log rolling, more accurately known as burling. Saginaw Day Logging Show is known now for booking only true loggers locally and from surrounding areas. Men and women who commit their lives to logging daily choose to participate because of the talent they have gained from being a part of the logging industry.

Family-friendly activities were presented as a fun and exciting option for children to join in and be a part of the event, such as a tug-of-war over a pond and a treasure hunt where they dug for treasure in a hay scramble.

This was an interactive event, where those in the community could come out and support local loggers and vendors. Many families were sitting in chairs they brought, eating good food, having refreshments, and chatting as competitions ensued. Many were cheering the loggers on and viewing the setting, and the peaceful woods added a unique form of comfort. It felt like a cozy get-together, where attendees could have a blast and relax, however they pleased.

Tara Lee Bridges has been a volunteer for the Saginaw Day Logging Show for many years and is now an organizer for the event with her fiancé, Tony Blakely.

“They want the local loggers to come out and have a fun day. It’s a hard industry, and so it’s just always been something that they’ve done to get everybody together, and as the show has gone on, we’ve had a few of the ones that do the competitions, at all the other log shows, that’s not what this show’s about. This show is family-friendly. In the last five years, since I’ve been involved and taken it over, we’ve added kids’ events,“ Bridges said. “Seeing the community and everybody show up on that day, North River’s kind of a quiet little place, and then you put on this show and you’ve got 200 people there, it’s something that doesn’t happen.”

Much work is put into these events, and making sure they can continue each year.

“Planning starts in March, I send out local letters to businesses, requesting donations from them to keep the show going, getting the T-shirts ordered, all the paperwork for the registration and insurance, and getting all that lined up for the show. It starts snowballing from there,” Bridges said. “My fiance takes care of the grounds, making sure that the steam donkey has all its cables, the rigging that they need set up, and ready to go. And then he sets up all the logs and a snow crane. We usually have one big work day, where a snow crane comes out and they donate the time and the operator. We use a crane to set up, like our big poles that they climbed on, and the falling poles that the buckers were cutting down.“

Logger sports have a history of their own and gained traction in North America around 1920, with a long logging heritage that celebrates the skills and endurance required of a lumberjack as an occupation.

There is something special about these events taking place on the Harbor — once known as the logging capital of the world.

The steam donkey presentation was also a highlight. The Parson family has been attending and providing a steam donkey for many years. Their steam donkey is a steam-powered winch mounted on a mobile platform, or “donkey sled.” The first steam donkeys were invented in 1881.

“Rain or shine, we’ve been out here. It’s been 90 degrees, it’s been pouring rain, and everybody is still having fun,” said a member of the Parson family. “Ray, one of the original owners of the tavern, started all this. He was just a great guy to deal with. He wanted us to showcase what logging was back in the day, to have all locals, no professionals, no nothing. Just those guys that actually work out in the woods come out here and have a good time.”