Emerging from the barn next to a massive blue log-skidder, George Hawley grins beneath his cap as he surveys several enormous slices of timber that litter the nearby field.
The 75-year-old Hawley is undaunted by the difficulty of his work, given a passion he describes as “a fire in the belly.”
“How do I explain where my heart is?” he later asked.
Hawley said he got involved in the lumber trade “almost by accident” when a logger caught sight of him cutting some fence posts and asked if he would fall some timber for him.
More than 55 years later, George considers himself an advocate “for Kansas logs and Kansas lumber,” exhibiting a unique enthusiasm for native trees and any products crafted from them.
He owns and operates Hawley Lumber & Sawmill Company south of LaHarpe, located on a farm that’s been passed down from generation to generation since the mid 1800s.
Hawley’s operation used to be much larger, involving multiple employees. Today he prefers to work alone, enjoying the focus and concentration found in solitude.
Though this means he sells less lumber, he wouldn’t trade it for anything.
INSIDE Hawley’s barns, the rich smell of freshly cut wood fills the air as layers of recently stacked lumber stretch toward the ceiling.
From this outpost, Hawley has shipped the Kansas lumber he’s gathered and prepared to locations across the country, including Colorado, Wyoming, Texas and Alaska, as well as to local woodworkers such as Humboldt master craftsman, Pat Haire.
Hawley said the most beautifully crafted piece he’d ever seen was a baby carriage in Le Roy, largely made of sapwood.
Given the splendor of such locally sourced products, Hawley is often surprised at how many local woodworking operations order lumber from outside the state, and encourages them to instead shop local.
Though using native lumber often takes extra work, he admits, requiring cutting, drying, planing, straightening, sanding and other additional steps.
Hawley is also frustrated by how much wood is wasted when land is cleared for new construction. Rather than sell or give the wood away, it is burned.
Hawley has been told it’s easier to burn or dispose of excess timber because people get into disagreements about who should get any items a city or county might give away.
