JACKMAN — Lumbering and the logging industry have been a vital part of Moose River Valley since the opening of the Kellogg Lumber Company in 1906 at Long Pond.

On Aug. 30, Scouts in Jackman Troop 497 learned about the proud heritage of the community and what it took for their ancestors who felled the trees and ran the mills, according to a news release from Chuck Mahaleris, district chairman for the Kennebec Valley District of Scouting.

According to Karla Talpey, Scoutmaster of Troop 497, “You cannot be a boy from the Western Maine Mountains and have parents who are all involved in woodwork and jobs involving all the various equipment, without completing the badges that teach you sustainability and living and working in the “Maine woods.”

The Scouts spent a day in the woods seeing all of the equipment and getting a bird’s eye view of what is done by foresters to preserve the Maine woods for future generations. The Scouts were then given a complete tour of Pleasant River Lumber (formerly Moose River Lumber) operation in Jackman, learning how sections of trees become lumber.

Talpey said the day’s activities helped the Scouts earn some requirements for three merit badges: Sustainability, Forestry, and Pulp and Paper Making.

Jeff Desjardins, who worked for many years as the general manager for Moose River Lumber, serves as the instructor for all three badges for Troop 497 Scouts.

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