He bought an electric saw and some lumber to patch the second-floor gallery, but every time he was halfway through a board a fuse would blow in the spider-haunted circuit box in the kitchen.

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His mother worked as a retail clerk and a waitress, and his father, who had ridden the rails during the Dust Bowl days, was a saw filer in a lumber mill, a storyteller, a depressive, and a blackout drunk, who died at fifty-three.

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But the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, which was raking in money from the lumber sales, saw it as an excellent deal worth continuing.

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The Saint Lawrence was also vital in the early transport of fur and lumber, and saw action during WWII as well, with fighting between German, British, Dutch and Canadian submarines and warships.

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Pine, the most commonly farmed tree in the U.S., reaches pulp stage in 10 to 14 years, is ready for saw mills near age 20, and by age 25 to 27 is fully mature and usable for framing lumber, plywood and telephone poles.

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