Who are you, where are you from..and what do you do?

Age: 48
Occupation: Office Coordinator for wind turbine maintenance
Location: North-Central Kansas, 12 miles south of Concordia. A mile from the closest neighbor, down in the valley in an earth home.
Years Burning: 4 years, 3 year break, now back at it.
Hobbies: Hunting, working around the "farm", taking naps with the dog.
Dogs: Shorthair, rat terrier, wifes toy poodle
Other sites: Tractor by net, arborist, various "artistic" sites

Craig, I really think you should get busy marketing a "Hearth Microbrew" gift set for the holidays. I'm not counting, but seems like we've got at least a 12 pack already! :cheese:

Name: Joe

Location: Buckley, WA, the wet side of WA surrounded by doug fir.

Occupation: Civil Engineer for a small city, previously a consulting company. Water, sewer, streets, and storm.

Education: BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the UW. Professional Engineer license.

Age: 31 so they call me GenX. I may be getting older but I refuse to grow up.

Burning History: wood stove growing up, dense suburbs for 5 years with no woodburner, and then the last couple of years with wood as primary heat.

Hobbies: off road motorcycle racing in enduro and harescrambles. tractors. hunting. gardening. welding. fixing up my 1963 built home. "camping" in a travel trailer. skiing. Bourbon, real bourbon that whiskey drinkers often don't like.

Family: Married 10+ years and two daughters under 6 YO. Live on one acre of pasture in the suburbs growing pumpkins and stacking wood. Own a 15 acre woodlot 50 miles away.

Name: Keith
Location: Jackson, MI (signs at the town entry roads announce "Birthplace of the Republican Party")
Occupation : Mechanical Engineer Develop Exhaust after treatment systems for gas and diesel vehicles and in my case also develop specific equipment to support the manufacturing process. Also develop vendors to build the specialized equipment in all the markets we operate in, since we cannot operate with a single source when our facilities are global. Deal with regional (company) politics and try to get people pulling in the same direction. Been doing this with this particular company for the past 10 years. The US is my 3rd continent with the company. Joined in South Africa at a manufacturing facility, 3 yrs later moved to Germany to do product development, 3 yrs later moved to the USA to support the soot filter development for 2007 US diesel trucks.

4 yrs later, here I am. Pretty sick of Michigan by now and looking to get out to CO as soon as possible. Tired of the months of summer heat and humidity. Tired of the bugs that try to eat you alive if you leave the house for a moment. Tired of my $4-5k/yr property tax while living on a dirt road that doesn't get plowed and everyone has a well etc. Tired of being on the donor end of a welfare state. Can't believe how expensive it is to live in such an ordinary place.

Age 40 yrs old this yr.

Burning History: 3rd time lucky. First installed a corn burning stove (did the research, corn price had been stable at $2/bushel for years) @ cost of over $3600. Corn price doubled the day after I got the stove installed and then doubled again. Burned 1 winter, then retired to a dark corner of the basement. Second attempt was a Morso 7110 based on a particular furniture layout negotiated with my wife. The Morso worked out fine, except for too short a burn making for a lack of sleep. This year bought a Pacific Energy T5 which will be installed in a few days (building the floor protector now) after finding a better layout for the room which provided space for a bigger stove. Morso is moving downstairs to the finished basement which is about 600 sq ft and where 24/7 burning is not required. Have done all install work myself and generally alone. Can be interesting working on steep roofs by yourself and requires careful planning....

Hobbies: Metal working shop in progress. Have a seemingly endless list of projects including maintenance of the cars, rebuilding an 80's Toyota RV, converting my Cobalt into a turbo diesel (shooting for 70mpg), working on a small electric vehicle for commuting, etc etc...

Family: Married, wife has 2 grown kids from previous marriage who live in Indianna and 1 granddaughter. Uncle and Aunt from South Africa who live in VA. Cousin who lives in Dallas TX. 2 sisters living in Auckland NZ with kids. Another cousin living in the northern territory in Australia. Parents in South Africa, presently selling up to move to NZ. 1 brother in Cape Town, ZA (murder & **** capital of the world).

Brad
35
Wyoming

I work as a production operator in a gas/oil field. Great job till winter
hits. Our field is basically on top of the continental divide at 7000 ft.

I do alot of camping and fly fishing with my wife and 4 yr old son.
Enjoy playing guitar in my spare time.
Was a welder fabricator for many years, still enjoy blacksmithing and
working with metal and wood.

Hanko said:

Henry A Haigh

Howell Michigan, Electrical Contractor, BA Industrial Engineering. Retired Air show pilot, man ho

57 Married to Diane (boss). been burning, chopping, splitting, stacking wood for 40 years.

Click to expand...

Would that happen to be Henry A Haigh of Haigh Electric fame?

guess I'll play too......
name; Geoff V...A....
age; 38 years old?
occupation; Master mechanic, electrician,engineer, PLC programming, industrial side of the business......
other; married to wonderful mrs gva
couple o' kids
couple o' dogs
hobbies; ............................windsurfing, (now boating) building/collecting/playing guitars, watching grass grow
Burning history 4 years w/ harman advance (and more with the misc. woodstoves growing up) now I'm in a warmer climate :cheese:

Name is Anthony
BXpellet is because I live in the Bronx
I burn a Harman Advance.
Occupation 27 years, Furniture and woodwork restoration, My company Maintains Furniture and woodwork in office buildings in the tri state area
All those big fancy fortune 500 companies UBS, Bank of NY, Warner Music group, Lehman Bros just stuck us for $50,000 the list go on, I have refinished more CEO desks then I can remember. What ever is done in a shop we can do it in there office space over night and weekends..
Hobbies playing hockey and coaching my sons Pee Wee team, Also when I get a chance hunting and fishing, and riding my quads with my sons.

Name: Bobby Joe

Location: Boatman, Oklahoma (population less than 100)

Occupation: Waste water plant operator, small farm operator

Age: 43

Burning History: Grew up with it.

Hobbies: Land Rovers, finishing a college degree,

General - married, 3 kids, 20-some horses, cattle, Wife is into bird photography

Odd ball stuff - Grew up on a cattle feed lot operation, grew up without TV and don't have one now, kids are home schooled and think they have it rough.

D/F said:

I'm sure this has been done at some point in the History of Hearth.com. But I thought I would try it!

We did this on a fishing website I moderate.

It's pretty much like the title says, it's interesting to see the age range, and occupation, location range around here.

I'll Start.


Age: 23

Occupation : Police Officer

Location: Western Oregon, about 40 miles from Portland.

Years Burning: 2. didn't know a darn thing until I came to this site.

Hobbies and such: FISHING. Volunteer Fire Fighter. Bird huntin' with the lab.



How about you guys/gals?

Click to expand...

Ok, I'll play.
Age : 52
Occupation : Retired
Former occupation: Brain Surgeon/Rocket Scientist.
Location : West central N.Y. State
Years burning <1 ,Used to know it all, the older I get the less, it seems, I know.
Hobbies: Rock&Roll;Drumming, Harley-Davidsons, Ultralight Trike flying and Women.,oh, and Beer ;-P
Snyde

Name: Marc

Age: 26

Occupation : Fire protection engineer working for FM Approvals (look for the FM diamond on fire protectione equipment inevitably next to the ubiquitous UL Listed mark)

Location: Dudley, MA

Years Burning: first year in my own house, helped my father since I was old enough to pick up a stick of wood with his woodstove

Hobbies and such: firefighting, skiing, backcountry skiing, mountaineering, ski mountaineering, cycling, sailing, piano, gardening, kiting, old house restoration, firewood processing of course...

woodconvert said:

Hanko said:

Henry A Haigh

Howell Michigan, Electrical Contractor, BA Industrial Engineering. Retired Air show pilot, man ho

57 Married to Diane (boss). been burning, chopping, splitting, stacking wood for 40 years.

Click to expand...

Would that happen to be Henry A Haigh of Haigh Electric fame?

Click to expand...

Yep. you blew my cover man, now I got to hide out again

Been awhile since I've posted but am online a couple times a week. Anyway,

Name: Eric

Age: 38

Occupation: Financial Controller for a well known Marine Products Manufacturer in Gloucester MA.

Home: Ipswich Massachusetts (20miles N of Boston) and my home away from home on 13 ac in Bridgton Maine.

Married 6 years with no kids and best damn Jack Russell Terrier I have ever seen!

This is the second year burning with our Harman Oakwood in Maine but I watched my father blacken the cielings in the family home for years.

We like to snowmoble, spend time in Maine, cut and split wood (just me), used to ride an 05 HD Road King but the prospect of 8 more acres in Maine got the better of us so we sold it and bought the property. Just bought a 20' Blazer Bass Boat and looking forward to some lake boating next summer

Name; Paul aka "Paulie"
Occupation; County employed, I drive a "saltshaker" I plow snow
Home; Scotts Michigan 6 miles sw of Kalamazoo
age 48
Will be married next spring. This is my second season of burning wood. We always burnt wood as a kid. remeber hawling wood with dad and grandpa at a very early age
I love riding my Harley taking road trips with friends, bondfires in the summer, hunting, fishing the big lake " Lk Michigan" boating, ATVs and just being in the woods or at least outdoors
And we love traning and breeding German Shepherd Dogs

MANIAC said:

I watched my father blacken the cielings in the family home for years.

Click to expand...

I can relate. My Dad tried shoving the Christmas tree into the fire place once. To this day I have no idea why the ceiling fan did not burst into flames.

Name: Laroo

Occupation: Retired UPS man after 28 years. Body had enough abuse, (they abused my ego too much too) I'm spending more money now than I used to. I'll be looking for employment soon.

Home: Wonder Lake IL, 20 miles south of Lake Geneva WI. Small town, no stop lights, plenty of cops.

Age: 50 in April, retired in June.

Hobbies: Anything that keeps me moving. Cycling, Snowboarding, camping, chopping wood. Upgrading just about everything inside and outside my home. Driving my Jeep wrangler keeps the wind in my hair.

Years burning: .5 put in a PE Summit classic in march. Been splitting about a cord a month since then. I have a cord or two that will burn, hope the rest drys out fast.

Hanko said:

woodconvert said:

Hanko said:

Henry A Haigh

Howell Michigan, Electrical Contractor, BA Industrial Engineering. Retired Air show pilot, man ho

57 Married to Diane (boss). been burning, chopping, splitting, stacking wood for 40 years.

Click to expand...

Would that happen to be Henry A Haigh of Haigh Electric fame?

Click to expand...

Yep. you blew my cover man, now I got to hide out again

Click to expand...

Henry- I'm a Haigh too (yes, with the second "h").

Name: Joe

Occupation: Professional Geologist, emphasis on hydrology/hydrogeology (hence the name)

Home: (Snowbelt of Ohio in exile to) Topeka, KS.

Age: 32

Hobbies: Anything that keeps me moving. Home repair, hunting, fishing, camping...

Years burning: My Dad brought me home from the hospital in an El Camino with a load of scrounging he picked up on the way to the hospital. Been burning ever since. (wood stove, wood furnace, pellet furnace) Now I'm using an old Fisher insert and am slowly upgrading as funds allow.

Name: Steve
Age: 59
Location: Connecticut: Plymouth
Work: State Farm Agent
Burning: 40 years burning on my own, 12 years feeding the family stove, 7 years watching.
Hobbies, Street Rods, Motorcycles, Clocks, watches, pocket knives, etc.
Thoughts: Have travelled all over and like New England as a base with the South West for winters and the rest of the country for trips. The Old World is OK, but there is so much here that I can live without it until things stabilize worldwide.
Wish: I wish this USA would focus on itself, bring the troops home, bring the jobs home, help ourselves first, then others. (you can't help others if you can't help yourself) I hope our children will. I pray for this recession to be shorter and not as deep as projected. I think we better get a handle on global warming soon. I want only to keep what I have; most of all my health and my family's health. Lastly, I think my fellow woodburners are a great lot!

I'm Marty
Northern MI
Age 65, retired (see below) but goin' back - got starch still left
I burn hot and long in a Harman TLC 2000 (wood/coal) and a TempCast masonry heater
I worked hot and best under stress and pressure
X bikini waxing hair removal franchise in south Florida (I'm a 'cracker')
4 kids (good'ns) that I know of from 5 mothers
Love cookin' dead things on ma'stove
Sailed a while
Keel hauled too often...

Aye,
Marty

Grandma used to say: "Swallowing rum ain't drinkin'. It's survivin'."

Name: Mark
Location: N. Central MA(Gaahdna, hey!)
Occupation:Software Tech
Age: 38 next week
Burning History: 2 years in f/p and still trying to hook up my castine..running into trouble getting the liner in.
Hobbies: Playing guitar in a beatles tribute band(I know. real original), poker

Name:Alden
Location: Northwood NH, ie seacoast NH
Occupation:Insurance agent, Selectman, Farmer (part time at this point)
Age: 29
Burning History: grew up with it.
Hobbies: Hunting, 4-H leader, Motorcycling, Snowmobiles, Sugaring, and I'm sure I missed a couple.
And to go along with one of the earlier posts, I grew up without a TV also. We have one now but rabbit ears only.

Name: Erik
Location: Chester Springs, Pa (30 mi West of Philadelphia)
Occupation: Quality Assurance Manager
Age: 45
Burning History: Grew up with it, took 25 yrs off, back at it for 2nd yr.
Hobbies: Fishing, Hunting, Sailing, Gardening.

I grew up with TV (but only 1) rabbit ears, also only had 1 phone that was physically attached to the wall.

Occupation: Biomedical Engineer
Location: Northern RI
Age: 29
Burning History: Not much...about a year, but loving it more and more.
Hobbies: Wife, sons, and Germanshepherds...and lots of guitars

Name: Matthew

Location: Dodgeville WI, South West corner of the state

Occupation: Tech Coor/Network Admin for K-12 School District or as the little kids say
"the computer guy"

Age: 33

Burning History: Folks started with a Thermo Pride when I was age 5, 11-17 truck loads a year,
I remember thinking growing up I not ever gonna due the labor and burn wood to heat my house.
yep after 2004 and paying $300 a month for heat I got came across a used wood boiler for $300 and set the old girl up in garage dug a trench to the house put in some Pex Lines and been burning since.

Hobbies: Vol Firefighter in town, Family owns 100 acres of woodland 6 miles from my home so working out there on maintaing the trails or making news one and harvesting firewood for burning at home. ATV trail riding. I have a 68 Dodge Charger Sublime Green in color. I like having the Old car out and about but it takes time to keep her going as well, also have a 78 Ford F150 old wood hauler need TLC to keep going, Put a 5.0 in my 87 Ford Ranger and full little fast truck but need TLC to keep running.

Wife, who likes me 5 day's out of 7 so that's well ya know,
2 boys one is 2YO and likes to help on everything and the other is only 1 month old so doing the late night feedings and stuff

sublime out.