When I got out of school I worked for a few years in TN. Company I was with transfered me around a bunch. Camden, Hungington, Paris, Jackson, Martin, and lots of jumpin around back and forth amongst other little towns. When I used to drive by Bolivar going to Jackson there was a sawmill that always had boards stood up drying, like standing up against each side of a clothsline. I believe this was cyprus. Big long rows. I've often wondered why they did this, or dried lumber this way.
That was just the way it was done in many small mills in the 1800's and early 1900's Some still dry wood that way.
It's a fact that air reaches each board better and also one can look at each board without unstacking a big stack of wood. What I learned was that the drying yard in those mills had board tenders who's job it was to continually turn those boards over. They would start on one side of the yard and turn till they reached the other side and then start over again. they did this as well as stack new boards or unstack racks for sale. Nobody ever talks about the labor intensiveness of drying like that. :)
I just figgered that they was draining the water out the ends ::) ::) ::) :D :D :D :D :D :D
I dont know what it is, but we always have some odds and ends of lumber standing on end at the mill, and it seems to dry fast and straight.
When I was a kid, all the farms had fence posts, stacked like a Tepee frame. Must have had a good reason. I can picture 7 different stacks in my feeble mind ;D :D
I do believe I was told by someone at the time that they turned the boards everyday to help prevent warping. Thanks for the responses, I wonder how this method would compare to stacking and stickering in air drying, time wise, and quality wise.
Thought I should add, it seems that the boards were stood up edgeways instead of leaning flat
ckate You almost a local you go throu Dukedom or Latham?
J_T I lived in Martin for over a year. After that I got transfered to Camden where I also lived for a year. After that I spent a year in Jackson, Tn. I was an assistant Mgr for Fred's, and at that time most of the smaller towns didn't have asst. mg rs because of the size of the store. So, anytime a mgr was sick, off for vacation, or other I'd usually get sent there to run the store. I'd usually get a call after dinner, could be at any time, and tell me where I'd need to be and for how long and to head out now to get the safe combination and store keys. I was expected to keep a suitcase packed at all times. I once spent two months in Fulton Ky, when they went in there and fired the mgr. and all the employees. Jumping around like that I didn't get to meet many people to socialize with, so after work rather than go back to a motel and be bored I'd just drive around, mostly without a plan or a map. What I really enjoyed, and still do, was winding my way around back roads until I got lost and then driving my way out. Beautiful country! I lived in TN for 3 and a half years before I got completely sick of all that jumping around and come back home. Guess what I'm trying to say, there ain't many towns up in that part of TN I haven't drove through at one time or another.
I always held a grudge against Fred's, for conning me into going into their management training program instead of going to college. I held that grudge for a long time.
Side note, when I first moved to TN in 1976 I had an 1966 Chev. Impala. One weekend I came back to MS and traded for a 1975 Ford Elite (terrible car). Anyway I took it back to TN and got a tag, and as all cars had to have inspection stickers in Mississippi I stopped at a garage in Tennessee and asked to have my car inspected. I didn't know that you only needed Inspection Stickers in large City's like Memphis and well, lets just say those old guys at that garage had a LOT of fun with ME!
Wasn't the kind of fun those guys had with that feller in Deliverance was it CK?
Not quite, but I drove away from there feeling really dumb!!!!! I learned though, took me a while, but I learned!:) :) :) :)
Yep I barley rember the deal at fulton .I worked at City Tire Co.Small world 8)