PRIEST RIVER — The 2018 Bull of the Woods, Doug Cook, was the star of the Timber Days parade this past Saturday in honor of his 50 years in the timber industry.

"I would like to thank the community of Priest River for the warm congratulations I received during the Timber Days parade, and to the people responsible for me being rewarded with the honor of the Bull of the Woods," Cook said in a statement on Tuesday. "A special thanks to my family and friends who worked on and participated with me in the parade, and also a shout out to (Bonner) County Commissioner Jeff Connolley for the kind words and recognition as Bull of the Woods."

His daughter, Jennifer Cook Maltba, posted a story to Facebook last week with an old photo of her father at work, as it was how she remembers him — a Bull of the Woods.

"Some of the jobs we would get to go on as kids," she wrote. "I remember getting up so early in the mornings, it was still dark outside and riding to the job site. Cramming mom and all three of us kids in a single cab Dodge pickup. The ride was long, bumpy, dusty and the radio played old country tunes as we headed up the old twisting logging roads all squished in the cab as a family. The CB radio was the only means of communication with the other loggers and truckers as you were headed up the hill.

"I can still smell the chainsaw gas mixed with the smell of black coffee, sawdust and dirt. And I can still hear the sound the file made as my dad sharpened the chain of the Stihl chainsaw on the back of his tailgate. The pattern of metal sliding, sharpening, tapping and repeated while he prepared for the days work ahead. He would grab his saw and throw it over his shoulder and head off into the trees for a long day's work felling and limbing. As kids we looked forward to lunch time on the job. Mom always had something good packed in the lunch boxes. We loved the crew and got a kick out of how much they heckled each other. At the end of the day we would pile back into the truck. Hot, tired and dirty, dad would show us all the little mountain streams where our Grandpa Jackie used to hide his beer to keep it cool, as we drove down off down the mountain and the day was done."