Gary Hendrickson, can remember the year when the Squamish Days legacy began in 1957.
"We had everything from burling to waterskiing," he said. "In those days it was mostly all the logger guys in town, strictly Squamish guys, and the only way you practiced was in the bush."
It's taken the passion of countless logger sports enthusiasts for Squamish Days to reach its 50th anniversary, and the Hendricksons have been a part of the show from the beginning.
"There's so many other fellows that it's hard to mention them all." Gary was 18 when his father, Al Hendrickson, was chairman and announcer at the first Squamish Days festival.
"I competed in everything we had in those days," Gary said.
The show used 100-foot trees for climbing when it began, he said, (it now uses 80-foot trees) and climbing was one of his favourite events.
Gary took over from Squamish Days veteran Bup Carson as foreman of the grounds in 1978, and passed the title onto his son, Grant, in 1991.
Al Hendrickson taught the MC ropes to long-time announcer Al McIntosh, who went on to MC for 48 years and will be back this year for the Logger Sports 50th anniversary.
Hurford is another well-established Logger Sports family name.
Vic Hurford, came to Squamish in 1946 at the age of 20, when the valley was still only accessible by boat.
He worked as a logger until he retired at 63 and can remember when the sport started up.
"We got together and did it for entertainment. We did things like hand bucking and throwing axes and splicing and driving trucks, whatever we could do. And then you went and had a beer."
He remembers the days when Al Hendrickson announced the show, and still volunteers for Squamish Days ever year.
Like the Hendricksons, the Hurfords have three generations of loggers sports enthusiasts.
Vic's son John designed the current sports grounds and is the head judge and coordinator for the festival weekend, and Vic's grandson Armand is a local favourite competitor.
Armand was log rolling in Grade 2 and spent his childhood weekends traveling with his family around the province to watch his dad compete.
"It's just sort of in me," he said of the logger sports family tradition.
Armand was the Canadian Novice Champion in 2000 and now works with Bryan Couture performing in lumberjack shows across the province.
Couture - a volunteer with Squamish Days for 32 years - worked as a logger before turning his talents into the West Coast Lumberjack Shows nine years ago. Couture performs internationally, but he remains integral to Squamish Days as the festival's president.
"Logger sports competition started because at the end of the day, you're so fit and you want to keep going," he said. Couture holds the Canadian championship in the choker race and the record for the same race at the PNE, which he set 25 years ago.
"The guys today are fast, but I was faster back then," he laughed.
Loggers sports may have started out as a male-dominated competition, but today more and more women are picking up axes and joining in.
Squamish Days favourite Jacqulin McNicol, 29, watched from the stands five years ago and the next year she entered the show."She's keen," said Couture. "She's a crowd favourite here, and mighty."
McNicol places in the top three every year, and won the women's choker race her first year of competition. Twice she has received the honour of sportsman of the year, a title voted on by grounds crews and competitors and awarded to one participant for the entire show.
McNicol said that women's loggers sports are growing, and said about 12 women enter in Squamish every year. "There's girls getting into it."This year, past competitors and Squamish Days supporters will once again return on invitation from the Squamish Days committee to mingle with the competitors like McNicol and Armand Hurford, who represent the future of the festival.
"I'd like to see it go for another 50 years and more," said Armand.
"I think it's important the we remember the heritage and the history of the area, and I think there aren't too many places to do that better than Squamish Days."
