Edney family: A lineage of logging

Rarely these days do you see a family where generation after generation has worked in the same vocation. Most of the "baby boom" generation left their families seeking their fortunes in some other form. In recent history, many of these young people have wanted to "escape" the rural life of small towns such as Tryon to live in large urban areas. One family in Tryon has rejected the lure of the "outside" world and has continued a family business that has spanned at least three generations.

The Edney family in Pacolet Valley has owned and operated a logging business near Tryon for over fifty-one years. James Marvel Edney started harvesting timber in 1955 with his four sons, Carl, Carrol (a.k.a. Boonie), Douglas, and James. Mr. Edney started his business with three horses and one mule. Much of the Edney's early harvesting came from the mountains above the twin bridges on land owned by the late Lloyd Panther. With no modern machinery, it was a slow and tedious process dragging the heavy logs down the mountain.

In 1957, James Edney built a sawmill in Pacolet Valley on highway 176 near the family home. To my knowledge, the large rock building still stands on the same site today.
The family also replaced the horses and mule with a Fergueson tractor; however, they still had to load the heavy timber by hand.

It was a backbreaking job that would challenge the strongest of men. One son, Carl, left the business, but James and the other three sons continued on cutting timber in all parts of Polk, Henderson, and Rutherford Counties.

The first break in the family lineage came in August, 1986 when James Marvel Edney, the logging matriarch, passed on. His three sons, Boonie, Douglas, and James have continued to cut timber until this day, going on fifty-one years. Douglas, the spokesperson for the family relates that his brothers and he have encountered many yellow jacket nests and their share of rattlesnakes while working in the forest.
Reflecting upon the logging business, Douglas states that trees are in his family's blood. In fact, he has thirty-two flavors of firewood in his home.

Unfortunately, this generation of Edney loggers may be the last. Douglas, Boonie, and James each have one son. The three sons have other plans for the future at the present time. Thus, down the road the Edney Logging Company may be sold. However, the family's logging legacy will live on forever as a part of Polk County history.

Footnotes: Douglas Edney was a classmate of mine for twelve years and a good friend as well. On the outside, he is tough and brawny fitting the stereotype of a logger. However, on the inside he is soft-spoken and one of the nicest people you will ever meet.

I received a wonderful e-mail from the daughter of Johnny B. McDowell (see column entitled, "Johnny B.: Good Man"). She read the article to her father who recollected the events mentioned in the column. She said he was quite moved by the article. Emails like that make the writing worthwhile. s.hefner@comcast.net