• Sunday-What'sUP January 9 - 11:53 pm

Browsing through the excellent Guest Gallery album by Russ Emmons, I ran across this White Pine postcard produced in the '40's, depicting men, horses, and oxen(?) skidding out the logs in winter. A quick check of the Archives turned up the old winter camp photo among the many references to logging which appear throughout the 4,000+ pages of the Pasty Cam.

I love the picture of the logging camp. My great
grandparents did the cooking at one of those
long, long ago and we have a couple of
pictures of it. I can't believe how many
flapjacks they must have turned to feed those
hungry loggers.

Just thought I would take a moment to say good morning to everybody and to say how much I enjoy this site.

My grandfather came down to the Keweenaw from Canada when he was 12 years old to work in the logging camps. That was around 1880. He lived near Phoenix with his aunt and uncle. He started out delivering food and water out to the loggers and worked his way up to driving a team of horses skidding logs. After he got married and had a family, he lived in Kearsarge. He worked in the woods all his life, for the mining companies,with the horses. His fingers were bent permanetly and he he had a couple of them that were cut by a saw. He said that they were bent from holding the reins for the horses. He died in 1954 and is buried in Lake View.

reminds me of michigan history class in high school have a good one everybody and GO VIKINGS!!!

I've read that the Diamond Match Company kept a crew of 600 loggers, year round, in Ontonagoon in 1900 just for wooden match timber. Hard to imagine just how many board feet of timber went into match production.

No NO No You mean GO PACKERS don't you!!!!!!!!!

Steve W.I
no cheese heads allowed in this state. Go Lions

The PACK is BACK!!! They're ready for the FROZEN TUNDRA RUMBLE... and the spirit of Vince has been heard on the field saying "LET THE MATCH BEGIN".

It looks as if the oxen have just finished pulling (rolling) the logs to the top of the load. This was done by wraping a chain around the log, one end was fixed to the sled, the other hooked to the oxen. As they pulled on their end, the log was forced to roll up on to the load. Try it with a string and a pen.

While growing up in Hubbell in the 1940's i can remember moms Uncle Joe Remillard coming to town a few times a year from the logging camp.I still have visions of these hard working pioneers as I drive across M-28 from the Soo to Seney...

From the Land of Lincoln, the state that doubled the tolls on INT 294 going around Chgo on 1-1-2005, (hey hasn't that been paid off yet?), deep dish pizza, da Bears (just hired an offensive coach they had ten years ago, the recently fired Ron Turner of The U of I) the state, whose motto and state shield is a hand open and the phrase, "Where's mine?". GO BELOVED GREEN AND GOLD!!!!

Where are the Lions.....Oh ya there sitting at home watching the good teams play ;')

Its good to see the pictures of the old logging camps and such. Remember years ago of an picture that showed the largest load of logs pulled by one team. It was huge. Makes one wonder how they got them up to the top.
My Great-Grandfather and his brother also came to this country from Canada to work in the Logging and Sawmills. Both were supposedly killed in accidents in a Sawmill in the L.P. around Cadillac somewhere.

The people who had the hardest physical work, were the lumberjacks. The people who had the longest days work were the cooks and their helpers. The lumberjack would burn 10,000 calories per day. Conseguently, they ate large good meals to keep them going. Every day the cook, for example, would have to supply two pies a day for each man. Because they had no large earth moving equipment to make roads, they only logged in the winter with sleds. Notice todays picture. I could talk forever on this subject, but out of courtesy will stop now.

Anyone out there have any stories of the Bollman Lumber Co. that had a narrow gauge railroad extending from Fulton to Phoenix - the route was South of Hmy 41.
Also, old maps of the Mineral Range show a spur that ran along the East edge of Seneca Lake to a point North of the Cliff Drive (Military Road), was that for logging or mining?
The Copper Country has a rich logging heritage that often is lost in all the mining history.

I always thought that most Yoopers are Packer fans, but now I don't know after some of these posts. I say, "root for da Pack".

I sent a picture of the tractor with wood halling of Jean Dimet I think last year
Therese

I really appreciate the way the forest is managed in the Upper
Peninsula. I hope I never see those clear cuts like out West.
Since I'm only in my 30s, it seems like the U.P. has been forest
forever. The old pictures give away the devistation. In most of
those old black and white photos of the mining areas, there's
not a tree in sight for miles. Things have recoved beautifully in
the last hundred years, and yet we're still able to have lumber to
use.

All those trees help make it the cleanest, most vitalizing air on
earth :)

John Van Dyke, I always wondered how they loaded the sleds with logs so high. Always figured they had a pully system on stilts or something. I never would of thought of rolling them up like that.

The ongoing discussion about Lions/Packers, etc. has been moved to What'sUP

My grandfather Meyers worked in the lumber camps in the Pike and Otter River valleys back in the early part of the 20th century.

My Dad spent a winter operating a skidding tractor up in the Huron Mountains. In his life story, he recounts the winter of 1947:

"That same winter the termperature on the Huron Mountains went to 57 degrees below zero. It stayed that way for one whole week. The trees were cracking like someone was firing a 40mm gun from the moisture freezing up in the tree trunks. The poor deer would stand in the skidding trails like statues, so cold they wouldn't even move while petting them. The tractors and truck would run day and night and sometimes this didn't even help, as the diesel fuel would coagulate. Fires were built under the tractors to thin the crank case oil and diesel fuel. We would have a roaring fire going at the landing all the time for the purpose of thawing hands, feet, the rest of the body and the lunch that was packed at the breakfast talbe each morning, was frozen solid by noon. The only way to keep the hands reasonably warm was in leather choppers with wool liners".

In talking about the cook camp, he noted:

"The cook camp was separate from the sleeping area and when the "gong" sounded that chow was on, it was every man for himself. Nobody said a word during the meal, other than asking for something out of reach. Could the sawyers eat after being out in the woods all day! There was one pair, especially, that cut down over a million board feet that year with a cross cut. The arms on these two guys were larger than my thighs and their bodies would put Atlas to shame. When they sat down at the table at night, everybody got out of their way. They ate twice as much as anyone else..."

From all the stories I have heard, it is clear that it took some seriously rugged individuals to tackle those forests of virgin timber.

great shoebox memory photo today, reminds me of our future son-in-law going down the road in his
log truck with a load on the way to his destination.

When Keith was talking about the temperature and the hard work, I got cold in my warm house. And we think we have it bad!!Lights, running water, and heat! To feed thoes men must have been a big job.

I just love this stuff!!!

Mr. Bill
... the Diamond Match Company kept a crew of 600 loggers, year round, in Ontonagoon in 1900 just for wooden match timber.

And still today we have Matchwood Twp (I would guess is perhaps the least populated township) in Ontonagon County, which includes the beautiful "metropopli" (?) of Matchwood and Topaz, both located along M-28 between Ewen and Bergland!

FRNash/PHX,AZ

Thank you for your update. Any recommended book titles regarding the activities?

Reader of all things Yooper. Sorry for the earlier typo "...goon", finger sliped on "gon" in Ontonagon.

Mr. Bill:
(And in spite of copying and pasting it, I didn't even notice the typo until you mentioned it!) -Sorry I have no info on book titles.

Charlie -- I have a question: Do the calendars have the moon phases on them? Thanks.

My paternal grandfather was a cook for many years in the lumber camps of Wisconsin and Michigan. My maternal grandfather worked for awhile in the iron mines. Grandpa Louie would talk about being a "bull cook" in the camps. If anyone knows what that means I would appreciate the info. He was a tough and strong man. Only educated through the third grade, but with a heart of gold. In his later years he and my Dad hauled logs with their trucks. I only wish all those wonderful stories were recorded!

ert: I just looked at mine, and yes, they do have the moon phases.

My paternal grandfather was a cook for many years in the lumber camps of Wisconsin and Michigan. My maternal grandfather worked for awhile in the iron mines. Grandpa Louie would talk about being a "bull cook" in the camps. If anyone knows what that means I would appreciate the info. He was a tough and strong man. Only educated through the third grade, but with a heart of gold. In his later years he and my Dad hauled logs with their trucks. I only wish all those wonderful stories were recorded!

re: LZ SWMI, Here is an ad for a Bull Cook in Canada

Of course today you need to know MS Word and Excel

Job Responsibilities: - Assisting the Cook/Chef in the food preparation including meals, baking.
- Kitchen housekeeping including washing the dishes, tables, counters, and equipment.
- Assisting with receiving, and the sorting of weekly grocery orders.
- Takes an active part in doing the grocery inventory.
- Other related duties.

http://www.find-a-job-canada.com/joblistings2/12212004_1084.shtml

Years ago, I was told by a lumberjack that worked at one of the old lumbercamps, that he and his crosscut partner would not speak to one another all day long unless it was absolutly neccessary. I guess they wanted to save energy to do their sawing, or maybe they didn't get along. They sawed more logs than most of the other sawers.

I own a piece of land in Matchwood. Thier,s no town there,it died in the eary 1900,s

sorry....1940,s

rich,mich:
...Matchwood. There's no town there...
(That's kinda what I meant by my twisted reference to it as a "metropolis".)
Q: Is there anything even vaguely resembling a "town" anywhere in Matchwood Twp? (Not that I'm aware of, and I don't think the "metropolis" of Topaz counts either, but it's been eons since I've been west of Ewen.)

Did the RAY ALDREDGE LUMBER CO. have a camp out in Matchwood in the 40's-50's?? We used to visit his mill on the north shore of Lake Gogebic in a little area knows as Merrywether. Do I know rich who posted above??

Merrywether \ch->}Merriweather

er, that's:
Merrywether ® Merriweather
(My turn with the typo now?) J

You can go to www.abebooks.com ask for j. o. curwood or s.e. white...both have written some good books on logging, turn of the century style

My grandmother worked as a cook in the lumbercamps. When she passed away I was given the dancing wooden puppet that one of the lumberjacks made for her. I remember as a kid going to grandma's house and asking to play with the wooden dancing man. I also remember her bringing home the doughnut 'holes" from the doughnuts she made at the camps. Those holes sure were a treat for us girls.

Thanks, maijaMI, that's something I just have to have on my calendars.

How do I order the PastyCam 2005 calendar? I am only a visitor to the Keweenaw but a faithful viewer of the Pasty.Com.

To order calendars only, click here... or keep reading to see how to order pasties, calendars, and more.

today's trivia - veneer logs from Tula (near Wakefield) were used to build British Mosquito fighters - late 1930's

Helen downstate:
How do I order the PastyCam 2005 calendar?
You're a faithful viewer, but you never browse or explore around the various nooks & crannies on this site?

Just scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Order Now link!

Once you get there either choose a shipping date, or click on the link below the picture of the pasty for the next available shipping date. That will take you to the order form. Although the form is primarily oriented toward ordering pasties, you can order just one or more calendars - but shipping charges as noted on the order pagewill apply (shipping is free with a pasty order).

For all of you who added the real time history to this site, I want to Thank you. My son had to write an essay for school on physical fitness in the 1800's. Of course lumberjacks came to mind and this site had great information to add to his paper. Thank you for your input.