Ox Bow hosts annual volunteer wood cutting event

Oct. 16—GOSHEN — David Gall, Elkhart, was hard at work late Saturday morning helping to chop wood at Ox Bow Park.

"I've worked here a couple of years," he said about the annual volunteer event the park hosts. "It's always a good fall activity."

The event ran in fairly sunny but a bit chilly weather from 10 a.m. to noon, with a small number of both park employees and community volunteers using a motorized wood saw to cut small logs into smaller ones, working off a pile at the park service center off C.R. 45.

Park Manager Brian O'Connor said that the wood comes from trees within the park.

"Most of them are storm damaged," he said as he got logs assembled to be cut into about four smaller pieces, each to be used for firewood. "We don't cut down trees unless we have to."

O'Connor said there are usually Concord High School students who help out at the event, but not this year. He also said that the firewood is used for the park warming house for sledding, and for Halloween hayrides.

Two years ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic first struck, warming houses were not used. So now, as a result, there is a surplus of wood at the park. Usually however, O'Connor said the wood gets used up fairly quickly.

Klaus Mueller, New Paris, also volunteered, running the motorized wood saw, and seasonal employee Lamar Lawrence was also working at the event.

"It's a good day for it," Mueller said.

To learn more about park activities, visit elkhartcountyparks.org/destinations/ox-bow.

Steve Wilson is news editor for The Goshen News. You can reach him at steve.wilson@goshennews.com.