As I sit here this morning drinking my first cup of coffee and reflecting about the many trails Pete Lapham and I have traveled together over the years, I can’t help but shed a few tears even though grown men are not supposed to cry. My thoughts today are of the times Pete has been involved with our annual logging show, every year since 1968. He was always helping fellow competitors with their saws, etc., and did it with a smile on his face. He would never rest easy until the log-rolling pond was drained, the ax-throwing block stored safely away for another year, and I had my equipment and logging paraphernalia home. He never did utter a complaint, no matter what the outcome of events turned out to be, and he never lost that award-winning smile. This year because of his illness, his only connection to the show was when wife Diana Lapham left his bedside long enough to come out to the fairgrounds and take some logging show pictures to show him. I will always believe that Pete had a working relationship with God that allowed him to stay around with us until this year’s show was put away for another year. The timing was perfect. And I know Erwin Hertz, Mickey Geary, Dave Conzatti, Alan Heinrich and I, as well as the new people who have taken over logging show responsibilities, will miss your smiling face.
Leo Smith