What in the world is a TIE HACK? Do you know?

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DuBois, Wyoming

Wyoming Tie and Timber Company's railroad tie-cutting operation in the Shoshone National Forest near Dubois profoundly affected the economy of the Upper Wind River Valley for nearly 40 years and there is much evidence of it's existence here today.

Between 1904 and 1946, Scandinavian loggers known as tie hacks produced over 10 million hand-hewn ties that were floated 100 miles down the Wind River to Riverton, Wyoming in massive weeks- long drives. A wooden flume constructed to carry the ties from the mountains to the river was considered a marvel of engineering at the time, and large sections of the flume are still visable today. It took days to properly cut, skin, and square up logs at a certain length to be used as railroad ties on the nation's railroads. Most of that happened here, in the mountains surrounding Dubois.

The Scandinavian tie hacks also brought their culture and traditions to the tiny community growing up along the Wind River. Dubois' annual spring Swedish Smorgasbord is a legacy of the tie hacks. The exploits of the hard-working tie hacks when they came into Dubois also became local legends. The hacks worked all winter in deep snow and bitter cold, and they played as hard as they worked when they came into town. The river tie drives ended in 1946 as the importance of railroads waned. Ties were trucked down the mountains to Riverton for a few more years, but a colorful era had come to an end.

In downtown Dubois, there is a wonderful museum dedicated to this area of Wyoming and it is very educational.

The Indians of this area were called "Sheep-eaters" just as the Indians from Idaho were called "Salmon- Eaters". If a Sheep-eater went to Idaho, then he became a Salmon-eater. Colorado Indians were called Bullalo-eaters for their diet was mostly Buffalo.

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Photos

The Wooden Flume
The hand made wooden flume , once filled with water, would carry the ties down from the mountain and dump them into the river below. They floated downstream to Riverton, Wyoming where they were dispersed throughout the country to different railroads.

Winters were so rough for the tie hackers
The tie hackers made wooden skis as well as snowshoes. The snowshoes were wet wood molded and tied together with barbed wire. Then across the shoe area, they stretched barbed wire and tied leather to it to be able to attach their shoes . Pretty ingenius ! Their skis were solid wood made from the sides of the logs that the ties were cut from and they were 8 or 9 ft. long. They wasted nothing.

The Wooden Skis
See the crossed skis above the doorway. They are 8 or 9 feet long !

The Ole School house
This schoolhouse was constructed in the early 1900's. There were usually not more than 3 or 4 children per grade and the entire class was taught english, spanish, music,geometry,math and a couple of other subjects. High schools in smaller towns only went to the 10th grade. Children wishing to complete high school after grade 10 had to travel 80 miles to Riverton to school. Usually, they would travel down on Sunday afternoon spend the school week with friends or family, then return home on Friday afternoon. Can you imagine winters with the ground covered in snow having to ride a wagon to Riverton to go to school? The sign on the window says "School starts in September" The room was heated by an old pot bellied stove.

Notice the old desks
Are you old enough to remember desks like these with the inkwells in the upper right hand corner ? This was a very small classroom to accommodate 8th, 9th and 10th graders, usually 3 or 4 of each grade.

The Blackboards
The blackboards were black back then and not green. A modern day blackboard was added to the schoolroom because black ones are no longer made.

The old gas station
These gas pumps were very different then. They were gravity fed. Gas would fill up into the glass ball and numbers were on the side so that you could tell how many gallons you had pumped. Then you took the hose and put it into your vehicle and it would gravity feed into your gas tank.

Bill is pumping gas.
By pulling this handle, the glass bowl at the top of the pump would fill with gas. There are numbers marked on the side of the bowl so that you can see how many gallons you are pumping. Then you would put the nozzle into your gas tank and the gas would gravity feed into your tank. At least you knew then you were really getting the correct number of gallons.

Life was not easy for the Women either!
Although there was not much, the women enjoyed being as feminine as possible.

The Kitchen
The old Coal and wood stove. Supplies were very scarce.

The Ice Box
Here is the ice box used in kitchens in those days. The ladies would break ice up on the river and carry it in buckets in the winter to be stored in the Ice Box for keeping things cold.

Laundry Day
The picture after this one will show the list of laundry chores. Notice the single stand wringer and the two separate tubs for the clothing. These washing ways were still being used up until the 1950's in many parts of the country.

The laundry instructions
Perfect Laundry Instructions. My favorite part - heating the iron on the stove...........and it made the bottom of the iron so dirty! So it was heat the iron, clean off the bottom of the iron, iron two swipes, and do it over and over again. It took all day to iron clothes!

The Meat House
The Meat House was made of logs, with a large tree trunk in the center cut into a table like object. It was completely screened to keep out animals , bugs and flies. Meat was hung in here to age, it was not refrigerated. Outside in the winter months the temperature was rarely above freezing. In the spring, they would cut the meat as it thawed and keep it in the "ice box".

fThe Outhouse
Now this was a very fancy outhouse, made of hand hewn logs, with a door that closed and fancy seats on the inside. No Sears Catalog though. No corn cobs either !

Part of Downtown Dubois
Downtown Dubois, population nearly 900, remains a real cowboy town with all the buildings resembling the old west. Many log buildings dot the landscape on Main Street. If you come here, dine at the Cowboy Cafe. Good food, fresh home baked pies every day, and very reasonable prices!

The Jackalopes
And now, here is Bill's favorite ! The Jackalopes - half jackrabbit and half antelope ! Believe it or not - there is a jackalope museum here in Dubois! What will they think of next?