Buena Vista Logging Days draws large crowd

Mostly sunny skies and mild February weather made the 29th annual Buena Vista Logging Days event a popular attraction this winter.

More than 1,000 people came to Buena Vista Ski Area on Saturday to participate in a variety of lumberjack activities, said Suzanne Thomas, daughter of the late Earl Dickinson, cofounder of the event.

Thomas said she ordered 800 buttons for this year's event. Before noon they had all been given away.

"It was wonderful," she said. "I think the nice weather and having snow on the ground made for perfect conditions. It was a day of family fun."

Several people were honored during the Tall Timberjack Ceremony at the Lumberjack Hall of Fame. They are:

--Greg Rostvit, who was noted for his years of work in forests near Effie, Minn.

--Robert "Bob" and Richard Seado, both of Bemidji, who were inducted in memory of their father, Kent Seado, whose face is displayed on the 2012 Logging Days button.

--Chere Seado received a plaque in recognition of her husband, Kent Seado, who volunteered at Logging Days for 28 years. He died April 14, 2011.

1/2: John Essig of Shevlin, left, is served a stack of pancakes from Mark Paulson, a volunteer with the Bemidji Lions Club, at Buena Vista Logging Days on Saturday. Anne Williams | Bemidji Pioneer

2/2: From left, Raelynn Trask, 6, of Bemidji, and Madeline Larson, 6, of Leonard work together to saw a piece of wood out of a log at Buena Vista Logging Days Saturday morning. Anne Williams | Bemidji Pioneer