The Tree Man: Real-Life Lumberjacks Here in Central

We Have Real-Life Lumberjacks Right Here in Central

by Woody Jenkins, Editor

CENTRAL — On any given day, high above Central, a group of dare devil men are hard at work.

They are lumberjacks who take on some of the largest trees and most difficult challenges of nature.

But unlike the lumberjacks of the Great Northwest, our soldiers of the forest take down the largest trees South Louisiana has to offer in tiny backyards where houses, roofs, and fences are often a few feet… or a few inches away.

They must do their work with the precision of a surgeon — all while strapped to a power saw and suspended in the sky where every kind of mishap can cause death or serious injury.

I caught up with Todd Netherland and his crew from The Tree Men Wednesday morning on Castle Hill Avenue just off Greenwell Springs Road.  Todd was at the top of what was left of a giant pine tree.  It was still about 50 feet tall and was at least 12 feet in diameter at the base.

Todd had cut off the branches and was systematically cutting off the trunk in six foot sections, or blocks, from the top down.  As he cut a 1,000 pound block, his men on the ground used a winch to pull it over.  It flew straight down, slamming into the ground with a great thud.

Each block was carefully lifted by the track loader, or skid steer, and carried to a truck.  Contractors like The Tree Men are required to haul off and dispose of the debris.

Amazingly, all of this was going on right next to a house and a fence.  Yet, neither the house nor the fence was harmed in the slightest.  Someone had to be thinking, “Why did I let that tree grow up right next to my house?”

The Tree Men, who included Todd, Chris Parker, and Donny Penny, took a break to talk to me about their work. A key member of the crew, Mike Rafferty, wasn’t on this particular job.  For Todd, who grew up on Hooper Road at Shoo Creek, it started when he was 14.  Since 2000, Todd has had his own tree service, The Tree Men LLC, and is a licensed arborist.

Todd stripped off his T-shirt, which was coated with sweat and saw dust, slipped on another shirt, and tried to make himself presentable.

He and his wife Tuesday live in the Pride area and both work in the business.  They have seven children and send them all to Central Private.

I asked Todd if he had any funny stories about climbing trees.  He and the men laughed and began to tell some tales.  I couldn’t help but notice Donny Penny’s muscles.  He had the greatest arm muscles I have ever seen.

I’ve been around a lot of weight-lifters and “bowed up” athletes over the years, but their muscles look different.  Suddenly, I realized “These muscles on Donny are the real thing.  That’s what you look like when you’re a real-life lumberjack and spend every day cutting down trees!”

Todd said, “Most of the funny things that I remember happened when I was young and they almost always involved possums, raccoons, or bees, especially bees.”

He roared a great laugh, his white teeth gleaming through his long beard, which must get some double takes when he goes to Wal-Mart. Todd could easily be mistaken for a Mountain Man from Montana or West Virginia.

Todd remembered when he was 14 one of his family rescued a litter of raccoons whose mother had died.

“Can you tame them?” I asked.  He said, “You can but you’d wished you hadn’t.”  Donny Penny volunteered, “They’ll tear up everything in your house and mess everywhere.” “And that’s what happened,” Todd said.  “I went over to the house and there were raccoons all over the place.  They’re shy, and so they ran for cover, hiding under the sofa or a chair.  I sat down and started talking.  I was only 14, and lots of my family were there.  I was a smoker but they didn’t know it.  Pretty soon, the little raccoons started peeking out from under the sofa.  Before I knew it, they were climbing all over me.  I didn’t pay much attention and kept talking.  One of them was digging in my pants pocket, pulled out my pack of cigarettes, and started removing the cigarettes one by one.  All my aunts and uncles were staring at me with a big frown.  I looked down and realized the raccoons had revealed my use of tobacco.  I was in big trouble!”

“What about the bees?” I asked.

“Well, a few years later, I was working on a job high up in a tree.  Sometimes you have to walk out on a big limb to cut the end.  You have a rope, but you can fall 10 feet.  Well, I lost my balance and just at that moment I was attacked by a cloud of bees.  They were all over my hands and arms.  These were not domesticated honey bees.  These were aggressive African-type bees, and they were angry.  I fell off the limb and grabbed onto the tree.”

“The bees were all over me.  I hollered ‘Bees!’ but no one could hear me.  When I got to the bottom of the tree, I stripped off my gear and started running as fast as I could, but the bees were still on me.  You’ve seen cartoons where a cloud of bees is chasing someone.  Well, as I was running, I looked behind me, and there was a giant cloud of bees chasing me!”

“Luckily, I got to a store and burst through the front door.  The lady could see something was chasing me.”

“I hollered, ‘It’s bees!’  But she hollered back, “It be’s what?”  So I hollered, ‘It’s bees!’ But again she hollered, ‘It be’s what?’  Finally, out of breath, I said, ‘It be’s bees!”

Todd couldn’t stop laughing!