Woodlands group offers tour of Champion wood mill

The Westmoreland Woodlands Improvement Association is sponsoring a field trip Saturday to a wood mill in Champion that turns lumber into handles for landscaping and gardening tools.

The tour of the Ames Companies’ mill begins at 9 a.m. at 135 Roaring Run Road. It is expected to last about 90 minutes.

The Babcock Lumber mill, which was founded in 1887, was acquired four years ago by Ames, which had its start in 1774.

The trip is open to the public at no cost, but pre-registration is requested by Tuesday. Call Sandy at the Westmoreland County Conservation District office, 724-837-5271.

A carpool will leave at 8 a.m. Saturday from the Donohoe Center in Hempfield. For details, call WWIA President John Hilewick at 724-925-1667 or 724-552-8786.

Plant manager Patrick Cannin will show trip participants how logs harvested from within a 75-mile radius are processed. The tour will include the sawmill, kilns and the handle shop, where the wood is finished for shipping to Ames assembly facilities in eastern Pennsylvania.

“We’re in our busy season prepping for the spring gardening rush,” Cannin said in a press release. He said tool handles made now will end up on store shelves in two to three months.

Those attending should wear closed-toe footwear, preferably boots, as the tour may include muddy areas. Safety glasses and earplugs will be provided.

Visit www.westmorelandwoodlands.org for more information about the organization.

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, jhimler@tribweb.com or via Twitter @jhimler_news.