Bill McRae Jr. has spent the last two months finishing the loggers’ memorial on his property just off the side of Hwy16 at Usk east of Terrace.
The site now includes landscaping in addition to a rock memorial and large statue carved out of wood which was unveiled in the spring.
The memorial, conceived by McRae and erected with the help of friends and donated time and material, pays tribute to loggers killed on the job in the region over the years.
The spellings of some of the names of those killed collected by McRae have since been corrected as well.
“And I would like to apologize for the mistakes I made with the names,” McRae added.
As of the latest count, more than 70 loggers killed have been listed at the memorial.
The wooden statue, created by local chain saw carver J.J. Jung, displays a logger wearing a 1950s era hard hat holding a large saw.
The statue and the memorial consisting of several large boulders were dedicated at a gathering April 27, 2014 attended by friends and family members of those who were killed on the job.
It’s believed to be the only memorial of its kind in the province and began as a tribute by McRae for a friend that was killed. The Spotted Horse Nursery supplied the flowers and the Kitsumkalum First Nation supplied the crush for the landscaping work.
