Wood Corral

Is there ever a man who deep down inside does not want to be known as a “hard workin’ guy?” And what is it that seems so honest about calloused hands, worn leather boots, and threadbare jeans?
We’re talking today about the importance of the wood corral and the place it has in our camp. You can be sure, it is a very central place in the development of character – and muscles.

There are several tools that gain much use in the wood corral. Draw knives are used to peel bark from tent poles and make shavings for fire starting. Chisels cut notches clean and square for joining tent poles. Bow saws will make short work of smaller firewood logs. The two tools, which take the bulk of our work and stand as symbols of forestry are surely the crosscut saw and the splitting axe.

Perhaps there ought to be a sign above every wood corral entrance that reads “Wood Corral – Where the Proverbs Are Lived Out.” There is something about working with firewood that instills in a man his role as a provider. In reference to Solomon’s words, wisdom combined with diligence.

“People love chopping wood. In this activity one sees immediate results.”

Attributed to Albert Einstein

Of the many exciting and adventurous things boys get to do at camp, few of them are as favored a standby as cutting and splitting firewood. There is a depth to this work that is hard to describe. Lars Mytting in his book Norwegian Wood handles the subject with quite a reverence, “Chopping firewood with an axe is one of the most primitive jobs left for man to do… This is a chance to wield a heavy handheld tool with all the strength you possess. For a few blessed hours the simple, but concentrated business of striking steady rhythmic blows with a lump of forged steel banishes all the burdens of modern life… Chopping wood is an opportunity use power – brute power if you will to triumph over something… Months later, with a nod mingling self-satisfaction and admiration for the logs resistance, you savor with particular pleasure the warmth that very same log dispenses as it slowly turns to ash in your fire. Yes, it is an effort – but wasn’t it always thus that sweetness comes after difficulties… Physical work creates a kind of spiritual peace.”

There is certainly a satisfaction in cutting and burning firewood – a living close to the earth itself. And on hard work… It was just stated at our lunch table today that “breaking a sweat has a way of cleansing your mind.”

Follow me down the trail now to visit a group of boys. We arrive on a scene bustling with activity. Fresh wood chips fall in lines beneath the steady stroke of bucksaws. This rhythm of the saws is interrupted by determined, smashing blows from splitting axes and the chatter of the workers. A single yellow leaf floats silently down from above. First turning, then shifting, it settles to the ground near the middle of the scene. Unnoticed, it is a lone messenger to be followed by many more, proclaiming the necessity of this work, the coming of frost, and the white of winter. On the far side a pair of boys carefully lays another wood stack straight and square with the previous stacks. They set each piece with deliberation – with pride. We’re in the wood corral where boys become men.

Albert Stoltzfus
Program Director