Powder Bill Robinson

(1977) "There's no room for monkey business around black powder and dynamite, says Powder Bill Robinson. He retired in 1968 after almost 50 years of working in the woods with black powder. At 72 he describes himself as "ornery and independent." He lives alone in a shack about 1 1/2 miles from Estacada. His companions are a loose family of dogs and cats.

He blew stumps, ditches, rocks and entire hillsides while building roads for Dwyer Logging Co. in the Mt. Hood National Forest. Robinson said he charged high prices for his work. "Powder work takes technique. You don't give it away. I was the only man I knew who could blow a square doorway in a concrete wall. I could make a 500 foot ditch in one shot. It was a job that took manpower and muscle. If I had a nickel for every 50 pound box of black powder I hauled into the woods, I'd be a millionaire today."