In Memory of Donald (Don) Price, #3928
of Brazil, Indiana passed away on September 17, 2014

by
Arthur Lee

Don Price joined IWCS in 1985. Don was very involved with the Indiana meetings. I first met Don at the Great Lakes Regional Meetings in 1999. That was the first time I saw a Wood-Mizer sawmill with a built-in seat on the carriage. He told me the story that he got the machine in a trade with Wood-Mizer for his old machine – which was the third sawmill they had ever built. He was always ready to saw at any IWCS regional or annual meetings. In addition, I always looked forward to seeing Don at Sawmill Days at Bob Chastain’s house, where they sawed and sold lumber to benefit the 4-H club of the three surrounding counties. On one occasion, he had a heart attack on his way home from Sawmill Days, but that never slowed him down. This past year on his way home from Sawmill Days, Don had the misfortune of the sawmill hitting a bridge guard rail, and it caused his truck to overturn. As he was recovering from that, he was still planning on how to rebuild his saw to continue working. Unfortunately, he never had the opportunity to get it rebuilt, as he passed away on September 17, 2014 at Union Hospital in Terre Haute, Indiana.

At Wood-Mizer’s office, they have a wall of plaques to honor sawmill owners that have sawn over a million board feet. Don is on that wall, for having sawn over 3 million board feet. Any time he was asked to run his sawmill, he gladly donated his time and efforts to help the organizations. There were no breaks when you helped work the saw with Don running it—just ask Bob Nunan. In addition to sawing he was also a very talented woodworker. He will be greatly missed.

Most of his adult life was spent as a dairy farmer, and he also worked as a substitute mail carrier. Don worked to create the establishment of the Dick Johnson Volunteer Fire Department, where he served as fire chief for many years.

Don standing by his saw at Sawmill Days with Bob Nunan (in gloves) at his near right.

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