The area man identified simply as The Woodsman has found a truck to replace the one that broke down, nearly stopping his mission of delivering firewood to those in need. After a GoFundMe campaign raised more than $24,000, The Woodsman now has a 2018 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck.
It’s just what he needs, he said during a recent visit where he showed off the truck.
“It’s got heavy-duty suspension. It’s got four-wheel-drive and an eight-foot bed,” The Woodsman said. “We had to have those in order to do the work. Anything less in terms of the length wouldn’t have worked. You’ve got to have four-wheel-drive to navigate some of these places in the snow and the ice and in the mountains all down here or anywhere.”
The Woodsman said he was grateful for the community generosity that made it possible for him to continue his mission.
“I look at it as the community refused to accept people not having heat in the winter,” he said, “and they got together and they made this happen. They literally resuscitated the free firewood program by doing it because we were shut down. Every bit counted, and anyone who helped spread the word to people who’ve donated any amount, or larger donors.”
Sawyer Motors gave the cause “a really good discount.” The community-minded Saugerties car dealership supplied a six-year-old truck with only 34,000 miles on its odometer.
“Sawyer” is another word for woodcutter, pointed out Woodstock children’s librarian Hollie Ferrara, who organized the fundraiser, and the word “Saugerties” derives from the Dutch word for sawyer.
“This could not have been more serendipitous,” Ferrara said.
The Woodsman said his “new” truck has features like heated mirrors, which will help on cold and icy winter days. He now knows what a “key fob” is, because he’s never had a vehicle new enough to have one.
The Woodsman had hoped to get a dump truck, but found many of them rusted out or with too many mechanical problems.
“We just needed something that we can rely on,” he explained. “The other truck was so touch-and-go. There were always things going wrong with the old truck, and now there’s a real confidence that it’s going to get us where we need to go when we need to get there.”
The wood-for-the-needy mission started about three years ago when the film and television director, writer and producer who became The Woodsman moved back to the area from Los Angeles to care for his mother. He stocked a woodstand on his mother’s property which operated on the honor system, but noticed the wood was disappearing without payment. Through the help of librarians in Woodstock and Phoenicia, points of community contact, The Woodsman found a way to help those in need.
The Woodsman asks anyone who knows someone in need of firewood to contact Ferrara at the Woodstock Public Library at 845-679-2213, or Phoenicia Library director Liz Potter at 845-688-7811.
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