Albany Woodworks in Louisiana Life Magazine, 1994
Bringing Cypress to its Knees
By Robert Fritchey
“The value of the cypress extends beyond the aesthetic, however; the tree is a renewable natural resource, the exploitation of which helped shape the state’s early course of development. What’s more, the cypress continues to support many Louisianians today.”
“Many log the ‘young’ nearly 100-year-old second-growth trees from the state’s bottomlands. Others dive to the bottoms of lakes and bayous in search of prized thousand-year-old logs; a few travel the country reclaiming antique timbers from buildings constructed of virgin Louisiana cypress at the turn of the century. Other Louisianians add value to this home-grown wood by milling it into marketable lumber products like siding and fencing, paneling, flooring, molding and other architectural millwork. Still others craft it into finished products like furniture, cabinetry, even boasts. To these men and women, the cypress tree represents more than a poignant silhouette along a lake’s shoreline – it’s a livelihood.”
From the 1994 Louisiana Life Magazine article: “Richard Woods (below) holds a board of ‘pecky’ cypress. Holes caused by a wood-eating fungus immune to the cypress’ resin create a desirable, valued product for decorative finishes.”
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