Founded in 1903 as the Pennsylvania State Forest Academy, the campus that would become Penn State Mont Alto was among the first schools in the nation for aspiring foresters. In the early days, students would pay their tuition in part by working in Pennsylvania’s forests. Over the last 120 years, even as the campus expanded its mission to include other in-demand programs such as nursing, it has continued to train students to manage our country’s precious forest resources, and traditional lumberjack skills—how to handle an axe or a crosscut saw, for example—remained part of the curriculum. Sometime in the mid-twentieth century, annual field days started to offer Mont Alto students an opportunity to compete—first against each other, then against other schools in the region.
“All of these events go back to logging and working in the woods—people living in forestry camps, passing the time in the evenings. They would say, ‘I can chop a log faster than you,’ and they’d bet a day’s wage on it.”
“All of these events go back to logging and working in the woods—people living in forestry camps, passing the time in the evenings. They would say, ‘I can chop a log faster than you,’ and they’d bet a day’s wage on it,” says Alex Storm, a Mont Alto graduate who went on to earn his degree in forest science from the College of Agricultural Sciences in 2016. He has returned to the campus as a faculty member and coach of the Woodsmen’s team, which he captained during his years as a student. Between his academic duties and his own competitive career as a professional lumberjack, he holds two practices a week during the school year for the team, which typically includes ten to fifteen students of all genders and majors.
“Once classes were finished for the day, it was all I could do not to sprint to the Woodsmen’s shed to start practicing with my teammates,” recalls Martha King, a 2011 College of Agricultural Sciences graduate in animal sciences who attended Penn State Mont Alto. She is now an arborist in her family’s business, Chadds Ford Tree Service, and a multi-title world champion lumberjill (as women in the sport are known). “I competed in nearly every discipline, hungry to learn and master them all. Our coaches, Beth Brantley and Craig Houghton, were incredibly committed to our growth and success. Under their direction and care, we flourished. I poured my heart and soul into the team and walked away satisfied, with both memories and friendships to last a lifetime.”
As students, both King and Storm helped to raise money for the team by chopping and selling firewood, but the costs for the sport are high. Beyond the expenses of hosting and traveling to competitions, the custom-made axes and saws that can make the difference between winning and losing an event may cost hundreds, even thousands, of dollars. Last year, a group of the team’s alumni and supporters stepped forward to create an endowment for the Woodsmen’s needs.
Penn State Mont Alto Woodsmen during Jim Ingram’s years with the team.
The effort was led by Jim Ingram, who served as captain of the team when he was a student at the campus. After earning his agriculture degree at University Park, he returned to Mont Alto as an instructor and a competitor/coach. Ingram is now the president and chief operating officer for Bartlett Tree Experts, but he continues to attend Woodsmen events, and he is glad to support the team with his philanthropy. “It’s so important that we maintain the integrity of the team, and I would love to see it become an official varsity sport,” says Ingram. “It teaches students to honor the history of this field, to revere their tools, and to understand how they can use their skills going forward. It’s inspirational to talk to Alex and the team and hear their enthusiasm. It’s very easy to give to those folks.”
Mont Alto and Ag Sci graduate Marc Lewis also contributed to the endowment. While Lewis was not a member of the team as an undergraduate, his son joined the Woodsmen when he followed his father’s footsteps to the campus. Lewis and his wife, Diane, now volunteer for the team’s meets, and they see the impact on the students firsthand. “People who go into forestry can be a little introverted, and some of these students have never left Pennsylvania before,” says Lewis. “The team helps them to develop social skills and connections, and they get to travel throughout the region. They really grow as members of the Woodsmen.”
Storm is deeply grateful for the support of donors like Ingram and Lewis. “If my students are putting in the time and effort, I want them to have the equipment that equals those of the other teams they’re up against,” says Storm. “The football team wouldn’t go out there without the best cleats. The baseball team wouldn’t go out there without the best gloves. Our sport is different, and we’re not ever going to be competing for millions of dollars. But I want to make sure that we’re giving students the best possible opportunity to succeed in something they care about. Donors make that happen.”
