Article by Gary Parks, Museum Director
I had the great pleasure of being invited to do a crosscut saw demonstration by Steve Confair at the Elk Creek Escape in Hillsgrove, Sullivan County, as part of the ‘finale’ of the Grinduro Bicycle Tour. Hundreds of bicycle enthusiasts from all over the country attended to enjoy the natural beauty of the Loyalsock State Forest.
In the brief time I was there, I met an engineer from Manhattan, two sisters from Ohio, the owners of the Knob Hill Inn, and John from Wyalusing, who brought Abby, his beagle & Jack Russell mix. It was a gorgeous day for the rally and while there, I witnessed a bald eagle soaring over the landscape as well as a fox crossing my path. As well, I met the lovely ladies who staff The Mercantile, a grocery store/restaurant and entertainment center in Hillsgrove.
I was asked to begin the sawing of a log and volunteers (Steve and Mark) would draw people in to try their skill at sawing with a crosscut saw. And they did—I started the sawing by myself at 4:00pm and there was a steady flow of would-be sawyers (I offered them the healthy salary of $2.00 per week) including Fletcher who was only five or so, husbands and wives, bicyclists in every color of spandex, and a team of three young ladies who came back seven or eight times to continue sawing. They were determined to make the final cut and retrieve the ‘slab’ as a souvenir. With three minutes to spare (5:57), they did the final cut.