In Weymouth, Nova Scotia, Graydon Sabine’s workday starts before most people have poured their first cup of coffee. By 6 a.m., he and his operator, Danny, are in the woods, deciding who will run the harvester and who will run the forwarder, then getting to work cutting, moving, greasing, fueling, and preparing the machines for another day.
For Graydon, owner of Graydon Sabine Logging Ltd., the woods are more than a workplace. They are family history, a livelihood, and, in many ways, home.
“My family’s been logging for generations,” he says. “It’s in the blood.”
On both sides of Graydon’s family, logging reaches back through grandfathers and great-grandfathers, sawmills and log trucks. His great-great-grandfather had mills during the Depression. His grandfather was a carpenter, sawmill owner, and logger. His father ran log trucks. On his mother’s side, the same pattern appears again.
Graydon was introduced to the woods early. “I started working in the woods with my grandfather – Grampy Barr – on the chainsaw when I was 13,” he laughs. Out of 27 grandchildren, he remembers being the only one his grandfather took into the woods. They worked with a tractor and winch, learning the old, manual way.
After school, Graydon ran a chainsaw in the woods on his own with his old porter before getting his class 1 licence and driving a log truck. He stayed in forestry until he was 23, then moved into the mink industry, where his family was heavily involved. When that industry declined and the family farm closed, he eventually found his way back to logging.
At first, he ran equipment for someone else. Then, when that operator sold his log truck, Graydon reached a turning point.
“I said, well, I guess if I’m going to work in the woods, I may as well work in the woods for myself.”
That decision led him to Freeman’s Lumber and to Marcus, who helped him get started. It also brought him to Rose Madden at CBDC Digby-Clare, who supported him through the Self-Employment Program and financing for the forestry equipment he needed.
“If it wasn’t for Rose and Freeman’s, I probably would have never got going,” Graydon says. “I just started logging, and pretty much took it from there.”
Starting up was not simple. Graydon bought his first machines during COVID, when travel restrictions made even looking at equipment in New Brunswick complicated. CBDC financing helped him purchase the machines, while the Self-Employment Program gave him breathing room in the early months.
“That was a big help,” he says. “I lived off that for the first 40 weeks, so I didn’t have to take a wage. It gave me a chance to build up the company a little bit.”
A couple of years later, CBDC Digby-Clare also helped finance a commercial building near his home in Weymouth, giving him space to store equipment and work on machinery. For a small logging operation, that kind of practical support matters. Equipment is expensive, repairs are constant, and downtime can quickly become costly.
Graydon speaks about Rose with obvious appreciation. “Rose made things really easy for me to do what I’ve done,” he says. “If you have trouble or something’s going a little bit sideways, she’ll help you along the way.”
Today, Graydon Sabine Logging Ltd. remains a small, tight operation. Most days it is Graydon and Danny working side by side, with Graydon’s father helping on the excavator when needed. Danny has been there from the first day.
“I said, I’ll buy machines if you’ll come work with me,” Graydon recalls. “He came to work with me from day one, and he still works for me.”
The partnership works because both men understand the job and the machinery. They switch between machines, share the workload, and keep the operation moving. “We get along great,” Graydon says. “We’ve never even had a disagreement on anything.”
The work itself is demanding in ways people may not see. Modern forestry equipment may be heated and air-conditioned, but the job is still stressful, technical, and mentally tiring.
“It’s as much mental as it is physical,” Graydon says. “When you’re running the harvester all day, you’re thinking all day. Your brain’s just working.”
Most of the wood Graydon cuts goes to Freeman’s, with hardwood moving through other buyers such as A.F. Theriault. Much of his business comes through reputation rather than advertising. He works with a small number of landowners, many with larger land bases, and says trust is everything.
“It’s basically people that know you and know what you’re about,” he says. “Being honest is a big thing. You’ve got to be honest, and you’ve got to be on the ball.”
That reputation has grown beyond his own business. Since CBDC helped finance Graydon’s operation, other forestry clients have approached the organization after hearing about it from him. Industry partners have also spoken highly of him, describing him as a respected operator and a strong example for others in the local forestry sector.
Graydon does not pretend the work is easy. Fuel prices, parts, repairs, market pressure, safety requirements, environmental rules, and fire precautions all affect the business. Still, there is a part of the work that continues to pull him in. He likes when everything is running well: the machines working, the wood moving, the day unfolding as it should. He likes walking land, marking property lines, and seeing what lies ahead.
“You’ve got a job where you get to be in the woods every day,” he says. “How do you get any better than that?”
Outside the woods, Graydon is a proud father with a young family. His nine-year-old son already seems to have inherited the same draw to the machines and the work. “If it was up to him, he’d quit school today and start running the machine,” Graydon says with a laugh. “The logging blood runs thick.”
For now, Graydon is focused on the work in front of him: keeping the machines running, treating landowners fairly, supporting his family, and building a business with the same steady determination that got him started.
“Logging is not easy,” he says. “It’s not for the faint of heart.”
Then he explains the mindset it takes: good times, bad times, and the willingness to keep going when the day is hard.
“There’s times you want to throw in the towel,” Graydon says. “But you just have to get up in the morning, put your boots on, put your head down, and keep working.”
For Graydon, that has always been the way forward.