Taumarunui engineer, Ron Cooke, accepted an invitation by Gough Gough & Hamer in 1972 to accompany one of their servicemen, Jeff Haskell, to Horokino for “a day in the sun” at the bush workings of Valley Logging Co. The 33-year-old fitter and turner was an enthusiastic hobby photographer who enjoyed recording events on film but was not experienced enough in those early years to put pen to paper to describe his observations and name those involved, but Ron has regardless put together some memories of a bygone era . . .  

In this photo, to get the log to the bush skids required three men: the tractor driver, the crosscutter who felled the tree then removed the limbs and head while his “breaker-out” prepared the leading end by sniping and cutting a “D” groove to connect with the tractor. This log had already been sniped, that is, had the sharp edge bevelled off so that it doesn’t dig into the dirt like a bulldozer or get snagged up with other obstructions.

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