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Dave James - Logging, Local History
Dave James, a newspaperman who worked for the Shelton
Independent, The Tacoma News Tribune, Seattle Times,and The
Associated Press, grew up within sight of the Mason County Logging
Company donkey engines that worked in the Black Hills near his home. In 1947
James became
Simpson Timber Company's public-relations director, rising to vice president.
He retired in 1975. Colleagues regarded James as one of the state's best
writers and raconteurs. Time magazine wrote that his "sly
exaggerations, as American as roasting ears, would have tickled Artemus Ward,
Mark Twain or Will Rogers." Besides researching two books on the James
family's Oregon Trail roots, James wrote two books on forest history and edited
several books on forestry for Northwest authors. His book Grisdale: Last of
the Logging Camps (1986) chronicles the story of Simpson Timber's main
logging camp in the South Olympic mountains. The book features a large number
of historic photographs and is available through the Bainbridge Public Library
local author's collection.
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