 Two lumberman were brought in to facilitate the cutting and toppling of the tree : Paul Criss of Charleston and Ed Meek of Indianapolis . Criss brought with him a team of woodchoppers and sawyers representing the Kelly Ax and Tool Works Company . Criss was a public relations spokesperson for the Kelly Ax and Tool Works Company . Meek arrived with his own crew from the E. C. Atkins and Company , a saw manufacturer . Griffin also enlisted the assistance of a crew of game wardens and rangers . A nearby Civilian Conservation Corps camp also provided a team to assist in the felling and dismemberment of the tree . The E. C. Atkins and Company also brought a 9 @-@ foot ( 2 @.@ 7 m ) saw . Most of the readily available crosscut saws measured 6 feet ( 1 @.@ 8 m ) in length , thus rendering them ineffective at cutting through the tree 's wide trunk , which measured over 6 feet ( 1 @.@ 8 m ) in diameter 3 feet ( 0 @.@ 91 m ) from the ground . 
