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Log Drive on the River. Until 1991, logs booms were a regular sight on the Gatineau River. Traditionally, the logs were cut from forested hills in communities all along the valley and moved to the river's banks to be floated down to the sorting gaps where they were retrieved according to each company's identification stamp. The arduous drives and dangerous log jams, looked after by heroic log drivers, or draveurs, were a colourful part of Gatineau Valley life for over a hundred years, and the theme for
Log Drive on the River. Until 1991, logs booms were a regular sight on the Gatineau River. Traditionally, the logs were cut from forested hills in communities all along the valley and moved to the river's banks to be floated down to the sorting gaps where they were retrieved according to each company's identification stamp. The arduous drives and dangerous log jams, looked after by heroic log drivers, or draveurs, were a colourful part of Gatineau Valley life for over a hundred years, and the theme for many folk songs and stories.
(Photo - GVHS #007/00942)