Now we're talken!!! A local enterprise instead of greedy private equity and personal interests.
Those In the know start the ball...I mean logs rollen ! The smell of sustainable success is the fragrance of a sustainable future. GN On Sat, Nov 8, 2025, 4:42 PM Sara Mattes <[email protected]> wrote: > More on locally milled wood-the Donaldsons milled wood and that wood was > used to line the Donaldson Room in Town Offices. > When the building was renovated a number of years ago, salvaging that wood > was imperative and reuse in the new meeting room was also essential. > Our history is all around us…literally. > We are part of it. > If we salvage parts that might be deemed beyond use-downed trees, for one- > we are creating something historic for future generations. > These create the stories that enrich our lives and those that allow us. > Regardless of how long you have lived here, you are part of our history. > You are making it every day. > > > On Nov 8, 2025, at 11:14 AM, cmontie montie.net <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > At a recent Lincoln Historical Society event at Flint Farm, there were a > couple really interesting talks about the history of this family farm and > its buildings. With operations reaching back to the 1600’s, it’s > remarkable to consider its history! To live in Lincoln and not get > familiar with its history is really only to half-live here in a way—as I’m > beginning to learn myself, by dipping into its past. > > > > I don’t remember the precise details from one of the Flint Farm talks, > but I recall mention of a wood mill on the property at one time—and as the > chestnut blight ravaged nearby forests in the early 1900’s, this mill > salvaged the wood from the dying trees, before nothing was left. It was a > resourceful response to a tragedy—to at least preserve this prized wood by > milling it for furniture, cabinetry, etc… > > > > As I walk through the woods near my home, I regularly encounter American > Chestnut Trees that sprout from old roots, only to wither—and while it > saddens me to see them struggle, I continue to hold out hope for advances > in science that may someday help them return to their former glory. > Thoreau’s descriptions of “boundless chestnut woods” in Concord and > Lincoln—trees growing over 100 feet tall and producing prodigious amounts > of nuts—is mind blowing to imagine. How heartbreaking and scary it must > have been to see these majestic giants succumb to disease. And: how good > that the Flints and other locals salvaged what they could from the disaster > by milling the wood—right here in Lincoln—into something more lasting. > > > > > >> Message: 36 > >> Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2025 18:23:05 -0500 > >> From: Sara Mattes <[email protected]> > >> To: Virginia Goodwin <[email protected]> > >> Cc: Sara Mattes <[email protected]>, Nick Gardner <[email protected]>, > >> Lincoln Talk <[email protected]>, Margaret Flint > >> <[email protected]> > >> Subject: Re: [LincolnTalk] Could this be a future for the fallen trees > >> of Lincoln? > >> Message-ID: <[email protected]> > >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > >> > >> The limber mill at Red Rail was a beloved Lincoln institution. > >> It was a small, locally owned and operated business. > >> > >> Much downed wood was put to good use, through the work of that mill. > >> That wood lived to see another use?great recycling. > >> > >> My tree will live on and give further service for generations to come, > thanks to the mill at Red Rail. > >> > >> > >> > >>> On Nov 7, 2025, at 8:40?AM, Virginia Goodwin < > [email protected]> wrote: > >>> Also, lumber milling is heavy industry, and it?s filthy, and it smells > to high heaven. Where in the greater Boston area would anyone want that? > The land is too valuable for residential properties to clear a whole swath > for the lumber mill and its odor. Although for those interested in bringing > down property values, it would be extremely effective? > >>>> On Fri, Nov 7, 2025 at 8:36?AM Nick Gardner <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > >>>> Not sure I'd say reference, but like most industry, wood processing > has gotten more consolidated over time, moving to larger, more automated > facilities. There aren't enough high quality trees chopped down in the area > to justify a larger sawmill. > >>>> -Nick > >>>>> On Fri, Nov 7, 2025 at 8:19?AM Donald seckler via Lincoln < > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > >>>>> Is there a reference explaining the disappearance of local sawmills? > It?s such a shame to see trees tossed into a wood chipper for want of a > nearby facility. > >>>>> Thanks. > >>>>> Don Seckler > >>>>> Sent via cell > >>>>>>> On Nov 7, 2025, at 8:05?AM, Greta Eckhardt via Lincoln < > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > >>>>>> ? > >>>>>> Wonderful idea, Margaret! How can we make this happen? > >>>>>> Greta Eckhardt > >>>>>> From: Lincoln <[email protected] <mailto: > [email protected]>> On Behalf Of Margaret Flint > >>>>>> Sent: Friday, November 7, 2025 7:37 AM > >>>>>> To: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > >>>>>> Subject: [LincolnTalk] Could this be a future for the fallen trees > of Lincoln? > >>>>>> UPDATES > >>>>>> CAMPUS & BUILDINGS > >>>>>> NATURE / NATURAL RESOURCES > >>>>>> Coach Barn Stories: From Trees to Tables > >>>>>> <https://shelburnefarms.org/about/staff-and-board/holly-brough> > >>>>>> Posted by Holly Brough < > https://shelburnefarms.org/about/staff-and-board/holly-brough> > >>>>>> Director of Communications > >>>>>> November 6, 2025 > >>>>>> All of the tables in the new Coach Barn are made from wood > harvested at Shelburne Farms. Most of that wood is poplar. John Monks of > Vermont Tree Goods <https://treegoods.com/>, the man behind the tables, > explains why that?s the case, and what it means. Note: The interview has > been edited for length and clarity. > >>>>>> How did you become involved in making the tables for the Coach Barn? > >>>>>> Back in 2018, I learned that Shelburne Farms was taking down big > trees along Poplar Drive < > https://shelburnefarms.org/about/news-and-stories/farewell-poplar-drive> > because they were starting to die, and were a hazard. But the Farm couldn?t > find anybody to mill them, so they were going to be left to rot in the > woods. I called and met with Marshall Webb to look at the trees. ?We could > mill them,? I said. In his mind and in my mind, to cut them and let them > rot was wrong. > >>>>>> There were about 20 massive trees. We trucked them over to my shop, > and slowly milled them into big slabs with natural edges. We air-dried the > slabs for a couple of years, then kiln-dried them, then stacked and stored > them. > >>>>>> John Monks of Vermont Tree Goods among stacked slabs of Shelburne > Farms poplar in his workshop, and standing next to a commemorative slab > installed in the Coach Barn. > >>>>>> Marshall had commissioned a few Farm tables before he passed, but > after a few years, we started wondering, ?What are we going to do with all > this?? Then early in 2025, Shelburne Farms said, ?We have this project at > the Coach Barn, and we need lots of tables.? I said, ?Okay, we've got lots > of your wood!? > >>>>>> This summer we brought the wood slabs to Vermont Farm Table < > https://www.vermontfarmtable.com/> in Bristol, and as a production shop, > they built and assembled all the tables. > >>>>>> How were you able to mill such big trees? > >>>>>> I had built this huge sawmill that's effectively a huge electric > chainsaw. It's very unconventional. Most commercial sawmills don't want > trees over about 24 inches in diameter, and a lot of these poplars were > four feet or more wide?way beyond what any local commercial sawmills can > handle. > >>>>>> The poplar table in the Meeting Room of the Coach Barn. > >>>>>> How did you get involved in milling such big trees? > >>>>>> I was a house builder for many years, and started making some > furniture for family and friends. But in 2010 we had a fire and lost all > our belongings. (It was horrible, but thankfully nobody got hurt.) I set > out to replace some of the furniture that I had built, and I wanted to make > a large live-edge dining table. I couldn't really find the wood that I > wanted, so I went to a couple of tree service companies and asked them what > they did with the big trees they cut. One guy took me behind their shop and > pointed at this huge pile of big logs and said, ?We'll just burn it all > this winter to make it go away.? Right then I knew what my mission was, > because, to me, wasting all that wood was so wrong. That day really was > sort of a life changing moment for me. > >>>>>> Several coffee tables soon after their arrival at the Coach Barn. > The round ones are made of poplar. The tables with the dramatic notched > edges are made of horse chestnut trees also harvested at Shelburne Farms. > >>>>>> Why was using the wood from Poplar Drive important to you? > >>>>>> Well, for a number of reasons. One is environmental. Wood is > approximately 50% carbon by weight, and a lot of people don't realize that > if you let a tree rot, over 90% of its carbon will become carbon dioxide. > There's this misconception that all the carbon just gets reabsorbed into > the dirt and that's not the case. I have no idea what all those trees > weighed--many, many tons?but they represented many, many tons of carbon > dioxide. > >>>>>> The other main reason for me is aesthetics. Even though cottonwood > is not considered high value in the lumber world, it's really quite > beautiful stuff, as you can see by the tables. To throw out such beauty is > like throwing out masterpieces. > >>>>>> And then there?s a spiritual side to it all. I read somewhere that > we share half our DNA with trees. So in a way, we're related to them. We're > descended from whoever they are descended from. We're all Earthlings. > >>>>>> One of the round-top tables in the West Hall, all made of Shelburne > Farms poplar by Vermont Farm Table. "Some of these tables look like Jupiter > to me," chuckles John, referring to the dark whorls and character marks in > the wood. > >>>>>> How does this project fit into your overall approach to harvesting > trees? > >>>>>> The traditional forestry model is based on what they call a tree?s > ?financial maturity?: once a tree is big enough to make a profit on it, you > go in the woods and cut it. But I strongly believe that phrase should be > replaced with ?carbon maturity.? > >>>>>> Most trees die slowly. They may still be alive, but they're clearly > at that end point. We've all seen it?like a big old maple tree in your yard > losing one limb and then another. I call that point their peak carbon > maturity. To me, if you're going to harvest a tree, that's the time to do > it. > >>>>>> It turns out that many trees in our communities, whether they?re > along a roadside or in people?s yards, are peak carbon trees. And if you > look at their board footage, I believe that it's greater than the amount of > wood we're taking out of the forests. We're basically wasting the vast > majority of these ?carbon mature? trees, and at the same time, cutting down > relatively young trees in the forest. > >>>>>> I see us as finding homes for unwanted trees. The more homes we > find, the more trees we get to recycle. It's really a very simple concept. > That?s the motivation for me. > >>>>>> How do you hope people will experience or respond to these tables? > >>>>>> I don't think there's any one message. Hopefully, people will > think, ?Wow, these are beautiful. And isn't it wonderful that when those > trees had to come down they were preserved, and we can continue to see > their beauty, especially their interior beauty.? > >>>>>> When I started this business, I just wanted to make beautiful > tables. As time has gone on, my motivation has shifted. Now it's much more > about the environment and what we do with trees, especially trees coming > out of our communities. I'm hoping very much that the carbon impact of > recycling these trees is stressed. We shouldn't be viewing them as just > part of the waste stream. > >>>>>> John Monks beside one of the round poplar tables in the West Hall. > >>>>>> How does it feel to have these tables here as part of the Coach > Barn? > >>>>>> For the wood to return to the Farm and be here for generations to > come is the best possible scenario. I'm honored that I played a role in it. > >>>>>> But in many ways, I see this really as Marshall's gift. When there > weren?t the resources to get the trees milled, he made it happen. We were > kindred spirits when it came to the trees. For me more than anything, it's > about Marshall. > >>>>>> Marshall Webb in 2018, counting the age rings of one of the > recently cut poplars. > >>>>>> Tags > >>>>>> Updates <https://shelburnefarms.org/taxonomy/term/41> > >>>>>> Campus & Buildings <https://shelburnefarms.org/taxonomy/term/6> > >>>>>> Nature / Natural Resources < > https://shelburnefarms.org/taxonomy/term/8> > >>>>>> Comments > >>>>>> Submitted by Ken and Susie Mandelbaum on Thu , 11/6/2025 - 07:33 PM > >>>>>> A beautiful way to honor Marshall. We miss him. > >>>>>> Reply < > https://shelburnefarms.org/comment/reply/node/4120/field_comments/15754> > >>>>>> Submitted by Sue Louchheim on Thu , 11/6/2025 - 07:40 PM > >>>>>> AWESOME!! THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS BEAUTIFUL STORY!!! > >>>>>> Reply < > https://shelburnefarms.org/comment/reply/node/4120/field_comments/15755> > >>>>>> Submitted by Jacques-Paul Marton on Thu , 11/6/2025 - 07:47 PM > >>>>>> This is a beautiful and brilliant story. Expressed with Nature's > eloquence. So much of Marshall's spirit is embedded in the tables. Those > statuesque Poplars that once served as one Nature's ambassadors to the Farm > Barn have returned. > >>>>>> Thank you, Mr. Monks. Your knowledge, skill, and passion for your > craft is very > >>>>>> -- > >>>>>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. > >>>>>> To post, send mail to [email protected] <mailto: > [email protected]>. > >>>>>> Browse the archives at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. > >>>>>> Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >>>>> -- > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >
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