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![]() Brush Cutting with Beth and Jeff Published on 1/1/2007 When we approached Beth at the Bonifas Arts Center in Escanaba, we didn't have anything special planned. We knew her and her husband, Jeff, were an interesting couple and we could find something interesting to talk about for the site. We met with them at the Art Center to talk about their interests and activities. While talking to them, they mentioned that they were going out brush cutting that afternoon. Every year before the holiday season there is a high demand for evergreen boughs from tree farms and other businesses that sell holiday and winter decorations locally and to bigger markets in Wisconsin, Illinois and lower Michigan. We told them that would be a great example of what we want to showcase in this section. So, we asked if we could go with them and they said they would be happy to have us come along. We left Escanaba around 9:00. It had snowed the night before, but already it was starting to melt by the time we started filming. We only traveled about 30 minutes from Escanaba out to an old camp road. Jeff unloaded his 6 wheeler and they got to work. We were surprised to see how fast they cut enough brush to make an 80 pound bundle. They have to be selective to be sure not to damage the trees. Jeff has been cutting brush since he was a kid and has sometimes cut boughs from the same tree throughout the years. To reach more uncut boughs, Jeff demonstrated his tree-climbing skills. Going up the tree was more graceful than coming down, but he walked it off. It was interesting to learn how some people earn extra holiday spending money. A couple full days of hard work will buy some nice presents...interest free. |
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