04/19/2026
In September 1910, during the Big Fir strike in Coos County, Oregon, logging camps shut down and workers were left without pay. A Swedish immigrant logger, Oskar Lind, age 36, along with his wife Britta, 33, and their four children, were forced out of their company housing. With nowhere to go, they found shelter inside a massive old-growth Douglas fir tree that had been hollowed out by fire, nearly 12 feet wide at its base. Oskar covered the opening with canvas to create a doorway, while Britta improvised a small stove using rail spikes. The family lived inside the tree for seven months. Despite their situation, the children still walked three miles each way to attend school and were known locally as the “tree kids.” Over time, the family earned money by collecting pine cones and eventually saved enough to purchase two acres of land. Years later, Britta reflected on their experience, saying, “The company took our house, but the tree gave us one—and for that, we were grateful.
