Though care is taken in choosing the logs for
uniformity, not all logs are alike and some will
be more work, John Sutton pointed out. Just in
the past week he split about 130 rails to be used
for decorative fencing.
To help level the playing field, the logs are all
numbered and positioned on the field. Then
competitors go to the field and draw numbers
from a hat. Bob Presswood, a timer, judge and
recorder, held the hat this year, while announcer
Heidi Mueller recorded the results of the lottery.
The competition is kept friendly, and most of the
same competitors come back year and again.
During the championship round, Sutton kept
a running commentary as he simply enjoyed
watching each man work. With an experienced
eye, he would comment on the finer nuances
with the understanding that comes from lots
of experience, such as if there is a knot in the
wood, if a trunk twists, if there are a few con-
necting fibers between rails to whack loose,
where to start a wedge -- not at the end, as the
log will split on its own if you start farther up,
then you will need fewer strokes ...
Sutton genuinely appreciated and admired that
the youngest and least experienced splitters
stuck with it long after the others were finished
and had worked harder because of their inexpe-
rience.
But, you could also see that each log splitter was
learning on this day. They changed what they
did as the competition progressed. “Ah, there
he goes. See, he figured that out,” Sutton com-
mented one time. It was especially clear that the
younger fellas will be much better at it the next
time out.
Eight competitors entered the championship
contest on Sunday afternoon in an effort to
claim one of five places.
This year’s first place winner was Chris Friedle-
in. It was his 12th win. He took the top spot in
1983, ‘88, ‘94, ‘95, 2000, ‘03, ‘04, ‘05, ‘07, ‘10
and 2012.
Results of the championship round are in order
of five top places, with the time, competitor and
the award sponsor:
1. 16:19.21, Chris Friedlein, Gibson City --
Graue Chevrolet
2. 18:35.34, Roy Usery, Des Arc, Mo. --
Xamis Ford
3. 19:05, Tyler Pritchard, Bloomington --
Town and Country Bank
4. 27:28, Cody Friedlein; Shirley -- Rohlfs
Implement
5. 29:10, Jonathon Norin; Arrowsmith
Also participating were Scott Friedlein, Tolono;
Kyle Friedlein, LeRoy; and Evan Coombs,
Bloomington.
2013 LOGAN COUNTY FAIR. A special editon of LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com July 30, 2013 page 377
