Friday night was a step back in time for visitors to the Spruceholme Inn, as it was plaid, fur and traditional entertainment on the menu at the sixth annual Lumberjack Dinner.

With tables packed, full plates, and tunes to jig to, guests had all this and more to enjoy, as the evening focused on the history of the Davidson Mill.

With that focus, event organizer Jane Toller was proud to have a number of special features lined up, including performances by local favourites Louis Schryer and Gail Gavan, step dancers, and to top it all off, a comedy show in traditional “Frenglish.”

But, to make sure it was not all fun and games, attendees were also privy to viewings of two prerecorded interviews. The first was with Marcel Belair, the previous manager of the Davidson Mill, and the second with John Gallagher, a retired purchasing agent of the same mill.

The purpose of the evening is simple and something Toller has been proud to focus on since the event’s inception – to continue to celebrate the area’s legacy while looking ahead to the future.

Toller started the event in 2012 after hearing a lot of frustration and upset in the community over the closure of the area’s mills.

“I realized that the only solution to curing that and moving forward would be, instead of trying to forget the past, to be proud of it,” said Toller.

Each year, she seeks to shed light on a forgotten or undervalued part of the Pontiac’s forestry industry, and has seen it evolve with the discovery of new video clips and stories from the area.

Friday’s dinner was kicked off with a welcoming from Toller, who was accompanied by Wilma Bertrand, the first cook of the Spruceholme Inn. But her connection to the forestry industry runs deep, as Bertrand began her career at just 14-years-old cooking for the lumber camps, all in an effort to avoid going to school.

With stories big and small emerging from the bush and put on display at the annual meal, Toller knows the event is only growing bigger and has a hunch as to why.

“I think it’s grown because a lot of people are coming from Ontario, so people are travelling a big distance and I know why,” said Toller. “This is a unique event – this event doesn’t exist anywhere else in the province of Quebec or Ontario. So, it brings people together who have forestry in their blood.”

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