“It was a free and healthy job” : timber floating on the river Ångermanälven in the 20th century

Abstract: The exploitation of northern Sweden's forests began in about the 1830s and continued expanding northwards over the following decades. A key factor that enabling the exploitation of these forests was the natural infrastructure, such as the network of rivers, creeks and flooding during the summer, which made it possible to float timber from the forests to the sawmills on the coast. The overall aim of this work is to analyze timber floating on the river Ångermanälven, highlighting the log drivers’ role in timber supply to the industry and how timber floating was integral to local society. The timber floating in northern Sweden was a complex process, involving technical, ecological, economic, and social factors, which also evolved over a long period of time. To do justice to this complexity, I have used various methods to answer my questions. Firstly, I studied many different historical records at the National Archives of Sweden, Härnösand, including annual reports, maps, salary agreements, photographs, and newspapers. Secondly, I conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 20 people who worked in timber floating on the river Ångermanälven. The timber floating season on the river Ångermanälven was a complex process with different stages and work duties through the season with preparations, floating in the creeks and rivers and the final clear-up. The work as a log driver was a high-risk work with jam-breaking and rowing in the rapids. All my male informants said there was a good spirit and cohesion among the log drivers in the team. They also said they enjoyed working in timber floating even though the workdays could be heavy, and many log drivers wanted to work in timber floating year after year. Moreover, women had an important role in timber floating as cooks and served proper food during the heavy work shifts. Timber floating was part of the timber value chain, enabling the transport of wood from forest to industry, and the logging and timber floating seasons created an annual cycle of employment for many men in the northern inland of Sweden. Timber floating had noticeable impacts on the local communities along the river since it created work opportunities for many people. Although the river Even though Ångermanälven was one of the last rivers on which timber floating was performed in Sweden, it could not compete with lorry transport and the other factors that had affected timber floating negatively. Nonetheless, timber floating brought imprints and memories to the people involved. I hope this study will contribute to that the oral history of timber floating on the river Ångermanälven will be preserved to future generations.