PHILOMATH Ore. (KPTV) - When the Interfor sawmill shut down in Philomath, Oregon last year, it felt like more than a loss of jobs. It felt like a rupture in the town’s identity.

The mill was the only one within city limits, and its closure eliminated more than 100 positions in a town of just under 6,000.

“We had no idea what was going to happen,” said Mayor Christopher McMorran. “There was a lot of fear that that was going to be it.”

In Philomath, timber isn’t just an industry — it’s a tradition. At the town’s annual Frolic and Rodeo, logging trucks parade down Main Street, a chainsaw competition draws crowds, and working in the woods or mills is a legacy passed down between generations.

“My grandpa used to haul Oaks Mill. My dad has been in it since he came out of high school,” said 1

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