They Sawed Up a Storm

Hot off the presses, They Sawed Up a Storm captures a fascinating moment in New Hampshire history that will engage anyone with an interest in meteorology and weather disasters, the New Hampshire's forest and its industries, or the dramatic shift in gender roles that took place during World War II.

The author, UNH Cooperative Extension's Forest Industry Specialist Sarah Smith, describes her book this way:

"They Sawed Up a Storm is about an extraordinary group of women who operated a sawmill during World War II at Turkey Pond in Concord. The sawmill, one of two on the pond, was built to saw up what remained of logs still floating in the water from the 1938 hurricane.

"The book begins with the hurricane and its path of destruction from Long Island to northern New England. As a result, The Northeast Timber Salvage Administration (a federal, Roosevelt-Era program) was established to recover the felled timber.

"Four years later, when the U.S. had entered WWII, the salvage program was still operating and struggled to find laborers. In 1942, copying other wartime industries that recruited women, the U.S. Forest Service built a sawmill and hired women to run it. The October 26, 1942, Concord Daily Monitor headline read, Women-Operated Sawmill, First Of Kind in Country, Will Start Work Soon At Turkey Pond. Interviews, family stories, and historic photographs bring the women of Turkey Pond to life."

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UNH Cooperative Extension Welcomes Brendan Prusik and Russell Norton New forester for Coos, new agricultural educator for Carroll Welcome to Brendan Prusik, the new forest resources educator in Coos County. Brendan hails from Colebrook and has more than 20 years of experience in the forestry world. He received an associate degree in forest technology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Wanakena, N.Y., followed by a bachelor of science degree in forest biology and resource management from SUNY in Syracuse. Brendan worked as a senior forester with Champion International in northern N.H. for many years. He also brings experience as a public-sector forester for the USDA Forest Service/State of New York, as a branch manager for a forestry consulting firm in Pennsylvania, and as the product-development director for a commercial wood-flooring business in New York. Brendan and his family moved to Columbia in 1986. Since then, both he and his wife Monica have enjoyed successful careers in forest resources throughout Coos County and beyond. He has also been involved as a teacher and advocate for youth at risk in Coos County. Brendan is available to answer your forestry questions at his office in Lancaster. Contact him at 788-4961 or brendan.prusik@unh.edu. And to Russell Norton, the new agricultural resources educator in Carroll County. Russ has been interested in agriculture from an early age, when he tended to his own gardens and spent time at his cousin's farm in Massachusetts. He received an associate degree in fruit and vegetable production from the Stockbridge School of Agriculture. Russ then continued on to receive a bachelor of science degree in plant and soil sciences, with a minor in plant pathology from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. His current work toward a master of science degree in plant biology at UNH is focused on innovative techniques for reducing apple scab, an important disease of apples. Russ has worked as a research greenhouse technician at UNH's Macfarlane Greenhouse Facility since 2005. Before that he worked as a farmer on a diverse farm and worked many years in the landscaping industry on Cape Cod. He currently lives on a small farm in Barrington with his wife, Jessica. Russ will be available at the Conway office starting January 10.