Downed trees become windfall
for Christian camp

By JEFF MULLINS
   KLIPSAN BEACH, Wash. — Steve Holmes, director of The Dunes Bible Camp on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula, has a new take on the old saying, “When God gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
   Holmes’ “lemons” were about 60 trees of various species and sizes, downed by a windstorm at The Dunes’ Loomis Lake site last winter. In the past, the laborious task of cleaning up the trees scattered over 20 acres would have only generated a mountain of firewood, a commodity for which there is minimal need at the camp. The lemonade maker is a Wood-Mizer portable thin kerf sawmill recently acquired by the camp and utilized to process the trees into lumber that can be used to construct and improve camp structures.
  “The saw enables us to be good stewards of the natural resource, and this saves the camp a bundle of money,” Holmes said. “Now storm-downed trees become usable materials that enhance ministry through facility improvements.”
   The Dunes was founded in 1957 to share the gospel of Christ in a fun and rustic setting conducive to physical, mental and spiritual growth. The original camp site near the ocean has year-round accommodations for up to 400 campers. The 20-acre forested Loomis Lake site, acquired in 1960, once offered little more than a safe swimming area for campers but now provides “fair weather” accommodations including tent sites, RV hookups, restrooms and a general purpose building with cooking facilities.
   Holmes says lumber produced from downed spruce, pine and hemlock trees will be used to make improvements needed to accommodate as many as 100 campers year round. In addition to sheathing the existing general purpose building, lumber will be used for new construction, including eight cabins and a dining hall.
   Holmes is one of four men who are operating the mill at the Loomis Lake site.
   Portable mills like The Dunes’ Wood-Mizer LT40 are easily pulled behind a pickup and set up on location within minutes. The mill, powered by a 34-horsepower Caterpillar diesel engine, utilizes an ultra-thin band that produces smooth and consistent lumber from logs as large as 3 feet in diameter and more than 20 feet long. A carbide tip debarker blade removes dirt, rocks and other embedded debris from the log in front of the blade to prolong blade life.
   Jess Wooliscroft, caretaker at the Loomis Lake site, brings more than 25 years of timber industry experience to The Dunes’ new sawmilling venture. He points out that the blade the mill uses removes only about one-eighth of an inch to three-eighths of an inch. This results in more lumber being produced from each log they mill.
   Holmes said that in addition to the satisfaction gained from saving money for the camp and producing lumber from trees, he values the positive environmental contribution the mill is making. “We are,” he pointed out, “taking trees that would otherwise be wasted and making them into durable wood products. This means that the need for lumber is being met without additional commercial harvests.”
   Although The Dunes has just begun using the mill and has so far only utilized the wood produced to complete wainscoting on its multipurpose building, Holmes anticipates the savings realized by the camp will be great. He offers an example: “Recently I bought a pre-hung door and needed lumber for trim. At the lumber yard I paid over $100 for a few boards to complete the project. Now we can produce our own lumber from our own logs at a fraction of the cost.” The thin bands The Dunes’ mill uses cost less than $20 and can be re-sharpened numerous times at less than half the initial cost of the blade.
   The portable sawmill is also opening other potential opportunities for the campground. Some people have already inquired about donating logs to be converted to lumber for the camp’s projects or to be sold to generate revenue for the camp operations.
   From humble beginnings in 1957, the Dunes Bible Camp has grown to host more than 25,000 campers annually. By improving facilities at the Loomis Lake site, more of the campground will be usable by more campers more of the year. “God has given us trees and we are making campground improvements with the lumber out of them with the goal of helping more people learn about Him,” Holmes said.
 

  Writer Jeff Mullins is pastor of Canaan Community Church near Deer Island, in Columbia County.