Ever wonder if you could hack it as a logger?
Tune in to "Ax Men," a 13-part History Channel series that follows four Northwest Oregon logging crews through a season on the job. The series makes its debut at 10 p.m. March 9.
Last August, dozens of local loggers showed up for a casting call at the Lone Fir Bar & Grill in Castle Rock, hoping to catch the eye of producers from Thom Beers' Original Productions of Burbank, Calif. Many of the loggers said they were fans of the shows "Deadliest Catch" on the Discovery Channel and "Ice Road Truckers" on The History Channel, both of which were created by Original Productions.
Ultimately, though, "Ax Men" producers decided to use Pihl Logging Company of Vernonia, J.M. Browning and Gustafson Logging, both of Astoria, and Stump Branch Logging of Buxton. But that's not because producers didn't like the pickings at the Lone Fir.
Monday, Eric Krume, owner of Krume Logging in Castle Rock, said producers had wanted to cast him for the show, but plans went awry at the last minute.
A camera crew from California showed up Sept. 20 to shoot preliminary footage of him tower logging in Morton, Krume said. Producers wanted to start Krume's story with him moving equipment to his next job site, which was in Cowlitz County.
That's when Krume, 40, got a phone call from the timberland's new owners saying they didn't want cameras on the property, he said. He'd gotten prior clearance for the film crews, but then the land changed hands.
According to Krume, "Ax Men" producers even visited the new company's headquarters to convince officials to allow them to film, but they didn't succeed. As a result, Original Productions editor Mark Marriott had to revise his vision for the series, which had involved contrasting the loggers of Oregon and Washington and perhaps setting up competitions, Krume said.
"When I couldn't do it, I think they just stuck everything in Oregon," Krume said.
"Ax Men" camera crews filmed in Northwest Oregon throughout the brutal storms and flooding of late 2007, said Krume, who remained in touch with Marriott to clarify information about the logging industry.
"They filmed every inch of the disasters around here," Krume said. "(Marriott) called me and said, 'How do you survive the winters down here?' "
To learn more about "Ax Men," visit The History Channel's Web site at www.history.comThe Daily News Online
