This pic was taken February 1947, at Dammert's Farm which is somewhere south of Central. The photo was taken by Fred Carlson. According to information written on the back of the photo, there was a road that went from here to the Gay road. The man standing by the plow blade is Harry Aldridge, my father and the man in the truck is Ned Bovee, my uncle. The young guy is yours truly, age 10 at the time. The snow plow was used to clear logging roads for the Ray Aldridge woods operation in Keweenaw County in those days. My dad did most of the snow plowing and I rode with him when ever possible. They used a number of different plow trucks over the years. The truck that was used toward the end before my Uncle Ray sold out and left the Copper Country was a Dodge Power Wagon four wheel drive, which to this day is parked in Ahmeek.

Any relation to Bill Aldridge of Portage Hospital and his father the physician?
Regards,
Donn

Neat picture and I couldn't help calculate your age as being 65 now. : )

I think Frankie Aldridge was related to Ray. He and my late husband, Gary Curtin, were best friends when Frank went to school in Lake Linden. I believe they camped at a Aldridge camp near Copper Harbor when they were kids. Frank moved when he was about 15....I think to Manistique

was the camp past the end of of 41?i think my dad also worked for them.

I don't recognize the building in the back ground, but could that have been Bammerts farm?

Did Ray Aldridge have a sawmill in Fulton?

Ned
was that the Fred Carlson from Fulton?

Ray Aldridge had two sawmills in Fulton He first built THE LITTLE ONE NEAR bLACK TOWN AND THEN HE BUILT A BIGGER ONE ON NO. 5 ROAD AND FULTON ST. tHE BIGGER ONE BURNED IN THE EARLY 50'S i USED TO WATCH nED bOVEE PLAY BASEBALL IN FULTON

Ned was a good ball player as I recall, wasen't he the catcher....I remember walking to Mohawk school from Black town as a young lad. There was always to much snow on No 5 Road for the regular v plows had to walk the banks with my grandpa till the sno go would come..Up hill both ways.

a beautiful classic from the past indeed

A few answers to questions related to the snow plow truck photo posted today, Feb 23. As far as I know, we are not related to Bill Aldridge. Frank Aldridge is my cousin, his father was Elmer Aldridge who also worked for my Uncle Ray. Frank now lives in Ishpeming. Ray had two sawmills in Fulton. A larger mill which was closer to Mohawk and was used to saw larger logs into lumber and a smaller mill which was used to saw smaller logs into railroad ties. I don't actually know who Fred Carlson was (or don't remember) but it is his handwriting on the back of the photograph. Ned Bovee was a very good baseball player and he was a catcher. I remember watching him play at several different ball fields around Kearsarge and Ahmeek.

Nice to see this photo of a proud youngster with his dad. Excellent reminder that the greatest gift we can give our children and grandchildren is our time and attention. In time, other gifts are forgotten, but the memories of sharing time and love are with us forever.

I was 10 also in 1947--cant remember you tho--no lot of keweenaa boys--played football with them--fred barry--larry an mike kaifesh--hibber keisell--jack barry---smokey jackson--beebbly bartinen---worked iroquois mine in 56-57 with fred carlson from fulton loc--gus ojennis--an his boys bobby an jack--hlmer toiviolinen--good old C&H poor mans wages days--lo

These old photos and the conversations of the old timers (I'm an oldtimer too; a year younger than Ned; but just not a Copper Country oldtimer) are just great. They really bring Copper Country to life.

Toivo and Daryl,

The new web camera is fantastic! I'm looking at the bridge at midnight and can see everything. What a beautiful sight. I really appreciate all the work that you do, and Charlie too, to make Copper Country alive for those of us that aren't there (now). Thanks to everyone involved.

My dad used to work for Ray Aldridge at the sawmill. When the sawmill closed he went to work for C&H. A long time ago.

Ray Aldredge also had a sawmill in Merriweather on Lake Gogebic and a pre-fab home factory in Seney. In the early 50's his son Don and a few of us from Lake Linden, where Ray was Mayor for a time, would drive Dodge Power Wagons from Mohawk to the other mills. Mr. Aldredge and his lovely wife were put on earth by the man above as they were just the greatest people one could ever meet.

To old c&h miner - you were 10 I was 12, my seat mate on all out of town football trips was Hibber. Beebly was a year ahead and there was Trapper Dan.You mention Smokey and that was Jackson and then there was Chif Sager, Schubba, and the Gipper. I am from Laurium but now Birmingham, alabama however spend more time in the Keweenaw in the winter than the summer.

Can anyone confirm if this is Bammert Farm and where on the farm this picture was taken? I understand there was a logging camp near Bammert Farm in the 1930's and 1940's. Could the building be part of that camp? Any additional information would be appreciated!

Any of these Aldridges related to James D. Aldridge? The owner of the company I work for is Steve Aldridge, son of Jim Aldridge. Us employees recently gave Steve and his wife Carolyn a two night stay at the Sand Hills Lighthouse Inn. They were extremely happy with this gift. Steve told us a little story how he lost his Red Ryder BB gun near five mile point. I know he lived in the area as a child but, don't know where for sure. Later, Skylar.

You should have stopped by my office, Skylar . . . it would have been easier. Harry and Ray were dad's brothers. There was also Uncle Elmer and Uncle Floyd. Ned is my cousin. As for myself, I knew Uncles Harry, Ray, and Elmer the best, and they were the greatest. Uncle Floyd moved to Arizona when I was pretty young and I remember very little of him. Who was my favorite of the siblings? Their sister, Aunt Mable . . . she was also the prettiest.
Our mutual boss (my brother) and I lived in Laurium when we were small. And yes, he still whines about that darn BB Gun he lost on five mile point.
John Aldridge, Jim's youngest, Portage, WI

Does anyone have good pictures of the Old Aldridge sawmill near Boykin Springs?, or even better, it there any plan in existence that shows how the buildings still standing were used? I was there this weekend and the long building in the back (the one that had lost most of its roof) has been demolished! I've never taken a lot of pictures of the site because I never thought it would come down in my lifetime.

Ben Stafford
Dr.Ben@Prodigy.net

Does anyone have any pictures or know where any are when the mill was in working order or shortly after? I have visited it and am just trying to figure out the workings of the mill by the buildings and stone pilons that left? Thanks.

I am also looking for pictures of the mill when it was working. If anyone has any I would like to see them, Like you guys I have visted the mill several times over the years and I just wonder what each building was used for
Thanks Jeff Arringt

Any relation to Harry Aldridge, the obstetrician from Massachusetts? He would be about 100 years old or already passed by now.