Produced by Maine Public Broadcasting Network (MPBN), Joan Young sets the stage for the last log drive down the Kennebec River in Maine. Scott Paper Company’s 1976 drive from Moosehead Lake to their Winslow mill is featured and represents the final drive in the United States. This video addresses the impact the termination of the log drives will have on the region. Concern for jobs, the environment, the tourist industry and highway safety are discussed. Interviews with mill officials, woods workers, river drivers and politicians, among others, give voice to these important issues of the time.
BONUS!
Added to this original 30 minute program is a more recent update done by Maine PBS with interviews with some of the former river drivers as well as a short promotional piece representing the thousands of feet of film that exists in Northeast Historic Film’s Nuna Cass Collection that captured this drive in its entirety.