A nearly life-sized wooden figure of a man holding a long-handled, hooked logging tool and standing next to a wooden figure of a seated dog. — <i>Photo by Zvonimir Bebek, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives</i>

Pierre the Old-Time Woodsman

Using a chainsaw and file, Rodney Richard Sr. carved a nearly life-size French-Canadian woodsman named Pierre on the National Mall in 1983. Twenty years later, he came back and carved a dog to keep the woodsman company. Together they greet visitors to the front lobby of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

When life and work combine and carry on

“Mr. Richard’s traditional wood carving grew seamlessly out of his life’s experiences.”

—Peggy Yocom, folklorist and curator

Rodney Richard Sr. (1929-2015) represented the logging heritage of western Maine at three different Folklife Festivals. His father William and son Rodney “Butch” joined him at different times, highlighting the multigenerational skills of the Richard family—born in the woods and carried on in public view.

For Richard, his talent with a whittling knife began as a “little shaver” when he learned to carve from his father. In time, he began using his chainsaw to create larger figures. He was fond of saying, “The chainsaw is just like a jack knife, only a really powerful one!” He eventually became a well-known carver and is part of the legacy of “logger art” that developed around the North American forest industry.

Video

Rodney Richard Sr. talks about learning carving in an interview recorded during the 2005 Forest Service program.

In addition to carving bears and other animals, Richard took care to depict the occupational skills that were so important to the world of work he knew, in part because he saw the old-time knowledge slipping away as new machines and methods replaced the old. Pierre, for instance, rests against a peavey hook, a hand tool used to maneuver felled trees. His sleeves are rolled up, ready to execute his next move. In 2005, Richard returned to the Festival to participate in the Forest Service program, where he carved a small dog to keep Pierre company.

Gallery

Richard uses his chain saw to carve the dog that later joined “Pierre the Old-Time Woodsman” in the Center’s lobby.
Photo by Joe Furgal, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
The completed sculpture.
Photo by Zvonimir Bebek, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archive

Fondly known as the “Mad Whittler” in Rangeley, Maine, Richard co-founded the Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum (now the Maine Forestry Museum) in 1979. In 1981, the museum hosted its first Logging Festival, an event that has been going strong ever since. Among the skills the museum highlights are chainsaw carving and whittling.

—Erin Younger, exhibition curator