Each year for several years now, Tim and I have had a friendly competition to raise funds for our favorite charity. The Sierra-Cascade Environmental and Resource Fund is the educational charity of the Sierra-Cascade Logging Conference.

Tim and I each paint an original watercolor. We have them professionally framed. Tim donated “Log Dump,” and I donated “Catskinner” to the Sierra-Cascade Environmental and Resource Fund auction.

This year, the Sierra Cascade Logging Conference celebrated 75 years. Tim and I chose subjects that hearken back to the organization’s origins.

Harold Crane of Crane Mills was the first president of the conference. We gained access to the Crane family archives. Back in the day, logs were directly dumped into the sawmill pond. Several viewers made note…you can feel the splash of water. “Log Dump” was inspired by Crane Mills.

At the time of SCLC’s inception, Bill Dennison was a mere teenager. In those early days, his first job in the woods was operating an old D8 Caterpillar tractor with a logging arch. Bill was what is known as a “Catskinner” for a few years before going to college. Bill Dennison has done a great deal in his professional life to benefit forestry education. He is the inspiration for my “Catskinner” entry, which honors how youngsters get their start. Young greenhorns are often trained on old equipment. Several viewers at the conference shared their stories of their first woods jobs operating a Cat to skid logs.

Tim and I like to provide each piece’s history and ensure the bidders know the rules before bidding goes live.

• The high bidder gets to choose his/her favorite painting.
• The high bidder may also buy the second piece at the same high bid.
• If the second piece isn’t taken, it is offered to the runner-up if they meet the high bid price.
• If it is still not taken, it goes back out, and bidding begins again.

Each scenario has played out over the years.

As we started up the stairs to the stage, Ted James, SCLC Past President, darted past us to the podium to present the Roy Derek Berridge Award mid-way through the night’s activities.

It was a little hard to hear while we waited in the wings for our turn. But it soon became clear that we, Tim and Mary Livingston, were being honored with this award. Well, they sure kept that under wraps!

The Annual Roy Derek Berridge Memorial Award was established in 2001 to be presented to an individual or business that is not directly involved in the annual conference. It is based on a) Display of outstanding performance or assistance to the SCLC, b) Providing extraordinary support or enhancement towards our youths’ education about the forest products industry, or c) Demonstrated efforts toward positive changes in the forest management of our federal and/or private lands.

We didn’t see that coming and are both honored and humbled at the recognition. The natural resource industry is near and dear to our hearts. After a few choked-up words of thanks, we presented our pieces, and the bidding began.

The gavel dropped SOLD, and John Wheeler Logging was the high bidder. Johnny Miller announced that they were buying each auction item at a high bid price. Effectively, they cut out the competition.

Then, without skipping a beat, one of the paintings was donated back out, and the bidders were off competing again for the painting.

This time, Crane Mills was successful in taking home “Log Dump” which was inspired by photos from their family archives.

In total, the paintings raised $18,200 to benefit forestry education. Tim is this year’s winner with “Log Dump,” raising a total of $11,200. My entry, “Catskinner,” raised $7,000.

Congratulations to Tim! I’m his biggest fan!

I’ll return next year, hoping for a little redemption in the 2025 Livingston Art Challenge.

At the Red Tail Publishing Booth where our natural resource books and nature art are featured