Photos and story by Persis Granger

Six years ago, when Gary Martin was let go from his job, he felt as though he’d been kicked in the gut. After having worked well into his fifties with years of favorable performance reviews, this man found himself suddenly unemployed, with no likely prospects at hand.
What was at hand was his recently purchased portable band saw mill. That, and a dream. He and his wife, Wini, had often talked about turning this part-time hobby/business at their Thurman home into a fulltime venture when he retired. The pink slip forced them to ask a question: Could they fast-forward to their “someday” dream and begin immediately to sustain themselves with what they could produce from their mill? It was now or never, and they dug into the project with fervor.
There was no time to lick the wounds caused by the loss of his job. There were so many things to learn—not only about sawing, but about forestry, business management and marketing, as well. They found workshops and seminars to help them acquire the skills they needed, and discovered all around them people who enthusiastically shared ideas to help them succeed. Family solidarity was the lifeblood of the effort.
Although Gary had worked with wood all his life, sawing boards is a specialized skill that requires training. Over the years he had sawed with Stuart Baker, a long-time sawyer in Thurman, learning the fine points of getting the most usable board feet out of each log. Part of Stuart’s mentoring eventually involved stepping back to allow Gary to solo at the job. Gary credits Stuart with helping him to gain the skill and confidence he enjoys today.
The Martins enjoy having visitors stop by their mill at 280 Valley Road, Thurman. If you have time, Gary won’t hesitate to shut down his saw and talk history (his fourth great grandfather, Caleb Reynolds, is said to have owned Thurman’s first sawmill, just a mile or so up the road), silviculture, milling or personal philosophy. With Gary, it’s all related. He touts the advantages of his band saw mill. “When lumber is cut using this saw, the kerf (the bite the saw takes when it slices through a log) is only one-eighth of an inch, compared to a half  inch or more taken by a circular blade. A savings of more board feet and less sawdust might not sound like much, but when you’re talking about cutting a thousand board feet of lumber, that amounts to a substantial amount of wood.”
Saving wood on the mill has financial implications, of course, but at Martin’s Lumber, which they operate with Wini’s brother Bill Good, economy is part of a much larger picture. The Martins are dedicated to sustainable forestry, managing their tree farm, not only so they will be able to continue harvesting timber for the slabs, signs, siding and dimensional lumber they sell, but also so future generations will be able to enjoy, use and pass on thriving woodlands.
Gary and Wini established a Certified Tree Farm, which entailed enlisting the help of foresters in locating the boundaries, identifying the “inventory,” establishing their priorities, building roads that follow contours of the land and disturb the soil just once, and creating a map of it all. They selectively cut, thinning out diseased or injured trees to release growing room around healthy specimens. Gary speaks of the particularly interesting character of the grains he finds in these trees, and some oddities that speak of days gone by, like the marks left in a maple by taps hammered into the tree decades ago. He says that each time he loads a new log on the mill it is like Christmas. “You never know what you’ll find. We feel privileged to discover the beauty each new log holds. Crotch wood and knurly pieces, especially, have grain and color unique to each sawn board, just waiting to be turned into one-of-a kind pieces.”
Waste is a dirty word at Martin’s Lumber. Everything that can be used is used. Sawdust (except from toxic butternuts or black walnuts) is given away for livestock bedding or mulch. Odds and ends of small pieces are sawed into “stickers,” the strips that allow air to circulate through a lumber pile. Edgewood trimmed off logs before boards are sawn is used for camp wood or fuel for the outdoor furnace that heats the house and domestic hot water.
Safety is the byword. The mill area is continually raked free of small scraps and knots to prevent dangerous falls. Gary, Wini and Bill check each other frequently to prevent accidents, and they never walk on logs, which can roll treacherously. Even the log headers and trails are kept free of slash.
You don’t need to ask the Martins if their bold experiment is working for them. Their enthusiasm continually bubbles to the surface as they discuss their products and their philosophy. Gary points to a stack of milled lumber. “I think people need wood around them in their living space. You need more than metal and plastic.”
They’ve hardly had time to look back at what might have been. “In the end, things work out for the best. Here we are over five years later, having the best time working together, building our business, meeting new people, learning new skills.”
Gary has always been fascinated by the artistry of black smithing and recently took a workshop from an experienced smith. He has acquired an old anvil and was given a powered bellows from a neighbor. He’s made some fireplace tools and can’t wait to create his next piece. Wini, too, is passionately creative. Besides designing a hillside rock garden and raised vegetable beds, when she has time off from the mill, she crafts stained glass stepping stones and garden benches from concrete. She also has mastered a technique for making feather-light paper beads that look like porcelain, used for earrings. She calls it “recycling at its best.”
Although the Martins are more than willing to give impromptu demonstrations of the mill and crafts when visitors stop by, or even take them on a woods walk to explain the concept of sustainable forestry, they shine during open houses scheduled during Thurman’s March Maple Days and the Columbus Day weekend Fall Farm Tour. Both adults and kids are encouraged to participate in these activities. The Martins feel we need to invest time in teaching children about the self-renewal of forests and steps we can take to ensure that trees always will grow there. Their own sons, James and Caleb, grew up with those messages. Caleb, in particular, seems interested in carrying on the milling operation. “If he does, he’ll do it his own way, put his own spin on it, just as we have done,” Gary says. “That’s to be expected. And who knows?” He picks up his grandson, Miles. “Maybe someday this little guy will want to do it, too.”

Learn more about Martin’s Lumber and Lucyann’s stained glass stepping stones and paper bead earrings at www.PersisGranger.com/Adk_Martins.htm.

About the author: Persis (“Perky”) Granger is a thirty-three year resident of Thurman. Author two historical novels and a nonfiction work about Alzheimer’s, she presents programs for adults and kids. She also hosts the Adirondack Mountain Writers’ Retreat, August 20-23, 2009. Learn more: www.PersisGranger.com.