Axe Women Loggers of Maine show off girl power at NC State Fair

A mediocre throw would have been good enough to win it for Alissa Harper’s team. But Harper lifted the double-edged ax over her head and launched it straight into the center of the round wooden target.

Bull’s eye.

The standing-room-only crowd at the N.C. State Fair cheered.

The Axe Women Loggers of Maine are a new attraction at the Fair this year. Four lumberjills compete against each other and show off their skills throwing axes, chopping and sawing wood and knocking each other off a floating log into a pool of water.

“There’s a million lumberjack shows out there,” said Harper, 35, who formed the Axe Women Loggers of Maine five years ago. “I just thought we could show our side of it.”

Their side is a combination of strength, girl power and “some sex appeal,” Harper said.

The group, which includes a total of 12 women, travels to fairs, music festivals, home and garden shows and other events, usually in groups of three or four.

Harper is from Bar Harbor, Maine, and the group’s four original members were from her home state. But now the Axe Women have branched out to welcome members from elsewhere.

Tracie Henning, 35, works part time as a court clerk in Walworth, N.Y., east of Rochester, and also performs with the Axe Women. She got involved with the sport when she joined the woodsmen team at Finger Lakes Community College, and she said she has competed around the world.

“It became like an addiction,” said Henning, whose husband also takes part in the sport.

The logging industry in the United States dates back hundreds of years, when early settlers knocked down trees to build homes and other structures. Lumberjacks have become a symbol of strength and hard work – large flannel-clad men hoisting axes over their shoulders.

Over the years, as technology advanced, their back-breaking work became sport. The Lumberjack World Championships began in 1960 in Hayward, Wis., with several competitions including logrolling and chopping.

When she was 2, Hannah Mast was too young to take part in a logrolling class that was offered as part of the world championships in Hayward. So a professional who knew her family taught her how to move her feet quickly enough to stay on a spinning log in water.

Now 21, Mast performed with the Axe Women Loggers of Maine for the first time at the N.C. State Fair. She said the performances send a positive message that women can be strong.

“I feel like a good role model to younger girls that you don’t have to be that girly girl to be a girl,” Mast said. “You don’t have to grow up wearing makeup and dresses.”

Despite the rising popularity of the woodsmen sport, women were mostly left out for years. But females are finding their place; the Lumberjack World Championships now features a variety of women’s events.

Audrey Crossen, 32, stopped by the Fair show Tuesday afternoon with her daughters. She said she appreciated seeing women do something so unexpected.

“Logrolling and ax cutting – and they’re girls,” Crossen said. “I thought it was really cool.”

She said her 4-year-old daughter, Ginny, was also impressed.

“She was like, ‘Can I go do that?’ ” Crossen said.

Andrea Robarge, 46, knows the hard work it requires. She’s been competing for 28 years and has been with the Axe Women Loggers of Maine since the group formed.

The women cut and peel the blocks of wood used during performances, Robarge said.

“It keeps you in shape,” she said. “It’s fun because we’re showing stuff you don’t normally see women doing.”

Audiences always seem to appreciate it, Robarge said. “They always say, ‘Women power!’ ”

Sally Mitchell, 72, of Wendell recognized the women power.

“I wouldn’t want to make any of them mad,” Mitchell said jokingly of the Axe Women. “We need to stay friends.”

After the show, Bill Tyminski, 34, of Greensboro stopped to chat with Henning. He said he’s seen such events on TV, but never live. He was drawn to the physicality of the show – “the whole persona” of the women, he said.

“It’s awesome,” Tyminski said. “It’s kind of sexy, too.”

This story was originally published October 21, 2015 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Axe Women Loggers of Maine show off girl power at NC State Fair."