Governor's Heritage Award - Woodrow Gifford

Woodrow Gifford of Seaview, known to his friends as “Woody,” was a gifted poet, storyteller, singer, and songwriter. He grew up in eastern Oregon and moved to Deep River, Washington, to take over a dairy farm. Gifford ran a dairy farm and logged part-time for many years. After selling the farm, Gifford became a full-time bucker for Weyerhaeuser. From childhood Gifford had a great love for literature, an ability to recite the works of such great authors as Shakespeare and Coleridge, and a talent for writing and reciting poems. Influenced by some of the old-timers Gifford knew in the logging trade, he began writing poems about logging. Gifford eventually published scores of his poems in Loggers World and other publications, as well as a collection of poems titled Timber Bind. After Gifford was retired, he publicly recited many of his logging poems and performed songs he had written about his experiences. Woodrow Gifford passed away in 1996.