Logging As an Aesthetic Moment in Clearwater County, Idaho
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INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced frommicrofilm the master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough,margins, substandard and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI University Microfilms international A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North) Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Order Number 9126887 Work as art: Logging as an aesthetic moment in Clearwater County, Idaho James-Duguid, Charlene Anne, Ph.D. The American University, 1991 Copyright ©1991 by James-Duguid, Charlene Anne. All rights reserved. UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd Ann Aibor, MI 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. WORK AS ART; LOGGING AS AN AESTHETIC MOMENT IN CLEARWATER COUNTY, IDAHO by Charlene James-Duguid submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of The American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology Chair: ^nAoM Dean of /the College USf /W Date f / 1991 The American University Washington, D.C. 20016 7if<? THE AMÊEICM UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © COPYRIGHT by CHARLENE JAMES-DUGUID 1991 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. WORK AS ART: LOGGING AS AN AESTHETIC MOMENT IN CLEARWATER COUNTY, IDAHO BY Charlene James-Duguid ABSTRACT The emphases of this dissertation are: an experimental writing technique to produce an ethnography of Orofino, Idaho, and an analysis of the region's major industry, logging, as a source for understanding the aesthetics of work. The genre is based on vignettes derived from interviews. Many are introduced with bridges that position the writer in the scene. They provide the reader with a picture of the writer's role in ethnography. Authorship is shared by the community members and the writer. Using a "slice of life," approach means that Orofinoans and the public can read the ethnography as if it were a literary piece. It provides Orofino with a voice as it creates a work with broad popular interest. As the study unfolds, it gives details of the lives of old-time loggers and contemporary logging contractors. It sets the stage for examining whether loggers apply an aesthetic to their work, both in their daily life in the IX Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. woods and in festival performances. A definition of aesthetics, applied to those who look at their physical labor as art, is developed at the conclusion of this dissertation. Ill Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people helped me write this dissertation with their love, caring, and kindness. Even before I knew Orofino existed, members of my family: my grandmother, Frances Piontkowski, father, Sylvester James, and uncle, Frank Malecki taught me the value of work. During the thirteen years that I've looked at Orofino, others played a major part in this work. Myron A. Loewinger was the first to accompany me to Idaho to see the festival. Michael Kenny listened for hours as I tried to convince him that description was enough, that it spoke for itself, and that analysis could take a different form. Ingrid Ponozzo, a guiding force in Orofino Celebrations Incorporated and a loving human being, shines through the story of Lumberjack Days. At the office, university, and home, others created the atmosphere for this book. My professors and student colleagues at The American University listened patiently, watching hours of slides of the festival. Then they switched gears with me when "work as art" emerged as the central theme of this dissertation. Among them I will always be grateful for the assistance of: Dr. Brett iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Williams, Dr. Geoffrey Burkhardt, Dr. Lazio Kurti, Dr. Wilton Dillon, Elizabeth Moore, Lynn Madden, and Eugenie Latchis-Silverthorne. At the Smithsonian Institution, members of my office staff not only gave me a wonderful send-off when I went quaking into the field, but carried the burden of management while I labored with draft after draft. To Nicole Arena, Felicia Duncan, Barbara Jackson, Ann Kirking Post, Maureen O'Connell, Betsy Sinnott Pash, and Stephanie Smith, my thanks. Felix Lowe, Daniel Goodwin, and Herman Viola listened patiently to my ideas. Others who always lent a sympathetic ear were; Patricia Burke, Alicia Gonzalez, Richard Kurin, Adrienne Kaeppler, Ivan Karp, Marc Pachter, and Sylvia Williams. Charles Millard, Director of the Ackland Museum, helped me to establish a realistic and logging-centered definition of aesthetics by saying to me, "Don't give it labels; show how these people look at their world." Never more than a phone call away, my mother, Dorothy James, listened when the words gushed out or when they hit some psychological brick wall. And home, home is my husband, James O. Duguid. He speaks so often in actions. By building a beautiful desk and bookshelves, he created the ambiance for writing. Then, when words finally began to flow, he listened Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. intently, judging whether the nuances of my poetry, and the vocabulary of anthropology, were in actuality, grounded in good, solid reality. To him and to the idea that family can mean a unit as small and simple as two people sharing their life, do I dedicate this dissertation. To the people of Orofino, I send my deepest appreciation but more than a dedication, I acknowledge that they, more than I, are the authors of this volume. Many appear as cameos and are acknowledged by name in this volume. They should receive full credit from the reader. Others were of constant support during my visits and made fieldwork easier; though unnamed, I send my appreciation to them. And to Jim Cochran, my thanks for his strong injunction, "Don't write anything boring; it's not true of this town." He was so right, for, as I learned from the people of Orofino, theirs is a very human story. VI Reproduced with permission ot the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .......... 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi Chapter I. INTRODUCTION 1 The Limner 1 Ethnographic Realism ................. 4 Form and Content..................... 16 Method in Research and Writing . 20 Logging, Work, and Art .............. 24 The Evaluation ....................... 29 II. LIFE ON AN INCLINE: THE LOGGER'S WORLD . 32 III. BEST LITTLE TOWN BY A DAM SITE ........ 57 Entering the Field: My Calendar . 57 Hometown: A Blue Chip Stock ........ 59 Talk and Reciprocity ................. 65 Social Life on Parade .............. 73 The Farmers. What About the Farmers . 92 Educating Orofino's Youth .......... 99 Men of Honor ......................... 111 Not Afraid of the Devil Himself . 123 V l l Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Chapter Page IV. THE WOMEN'S TALES ........................... 129 Breakfast With the L a d i e s ............... 134 Ingrid's Death ........................... 137 The Aura of Femininity................... 141 Elbow, Elbow, Wrist, Wrist .............. 145 The Power of Volunteers ............ 150 A Piece of C a k e ......................... 152 The Enablers............................. 157 The C a n v a s ............................... 165 V. LIFE IN LOGGING: THE E L D E R S ................ 176 Remembering Headquarters ................. 178 The Wednesday Luncheon Group ............ 183 Canada Joe, and How He Was a Real Artist . 192 Joe Richardson........................... 200 Franklin Randol ......................... 205 The Man With a Shed Full of Stuff .... 212 The Porters ............................