Southern Loggin’ Times magazine Associate Editor Jessica Johnson has the opportunity to visit Moretz Brothers Logging in Deep Gap, North Carolina. Justin and Greg Moretz knew they always wanted to be loggers. In fact, it’s what their family has been doing since settling in the mountains of Appalachia in the 1830s. How they got to their current set up is where the fun starts. Justin, 33, didn’t come out to the woods straight out of high school. First he traveled across the state to Raleigh and NC State. “I wanted to be a logger or work around the sawmill. That’s what our family’s always done and it’s what I like doing. I got the forestry degree because mama was not going to be happy if I did not go to college and that was the closest thing I could find,” he says with a smile. Greg, two years younger than Justin, followed to NC State and forestry, but not before flirting with mechanical engineering. “I got scared of all the math and thought forestry might be easier. Boy, was I fooled,” he says.

Featured Story: “Small Circle Scale Charm”

Written By: Jessica Johnson
Company: Moretz Logging
Location: Deep Gap, North Carolina
SLT Issue: January 2016

Check out other featured articles in the January 2016 issue of Southern Loggin’ Times magazine.
Southern Loggin’ Times magazine’s January 2016 issue features Oxford, Alabama’s RC Timber Company, Deep Gap, North Carolina’s Moretz Brothers Logging, and Iuka, Mississippi’s Tim Cox Logging. A special article offers tips for getting more out of your truck and trailer tires. Other articles cover the latest industry news, logging business tips, and new machines and technology.