August Hunicke
TreeHouser
Pictures taken October 1998
Mr. Baranek, just so you know. . . Your book "The Fundamentals of General Tree Work," I bought in 1998, 12 years into my career. Those 12 years prior to the book were painful ones. I was big on balls and nil on knowledge. I remember once, very early on, agreeing to dead wood second growth fir trees in a cemetery. I stacked two extension ladders, one on top of the other against each tree to get to the first dead limbs and then climbed through them only to tie off and swing to the adjacent trees on a garden hose. People worried about me. It was as though I wanted to make the cemetery my home. I have always been resourceful but I won’t say I wasn't dumb. I needed a teacher but I was almost completely self-taught and well acquainted with a salty mix of injury, ambulance, glory, and embarrassment. In 1998 your book became my teacher. It was gospel. It was a holy vocational bible of skill, teaching, experience, and tactful objectivity. I saw the Jedi-level moves and knowledge I wanted to have. I also saw so many things spelled out play-by-play that I understood but couldn't explain prior to your book. I don't know how many times I exclaimed,
"Wow, there's a name for that!"
Terms like, "trunk drag, and “salami cut,” and even, “nervous tension,” (which, because of you is where I begin when I train someone.)
So many times over the years I've wanted to somehow call you up and thank you for working so hard to share your knowledge. I never dreamed I'd be able to just chat it off to you instantly in such a place as a "Tree house!" But I can so, Thank you! Your diligence, passion, humility, and skill-on-loan from God have played a huge part in my development. I wish I had found your book many years (and injuries) sooner than I did, and because of that I've loaned it to many young woodsmen under my care since. You have the heart of a teacher and the knowledge, skill, and diplomacy to back it up. I've been a grateful student and have attained many victories as a result of it. Also, your dedication to documenting your experience has rubbed off on me, and now in this media-gadget splendor-land of the 21st century I can take viewers places I always wanted to but never dreamed I'd be able to. Thanks for the book. I’m sure it is just a snapshot of your depth but wow! What a picture! It should have a $1000.00 price tag on it, after all, that’s probably the minimum cost to get in an ambulance. -August Hunicke
