On Sunday May 18, 2012

  Temps were about 70 degrees, and it winds were between 20 and 30 MPH.  Blue skies overhead.  Our mission;  ride to church.
   
     Kind of sad to see the lumbering that has been taking place, but it happens.  This piece of equipment seemed to be multipurpose, complete, with a huge saw blade.  Many trees had already been cut.  In time new trees will replace them, but until then we will ride past a big empty place, where they used to be.  It makes me glad I didn't live during the lumbering era, when so many forests were decimated.

  As we rode by, I  wondered how many men once filled the woods in this area.  Lumbering is part of the history of Michigan, and lives on today, although not even close to what it was in the past.

     White pine was  abundant in Michigan and as it was converted to dollars, it provided many jobs.  Some men became wealthy lumber barons, but most who worked in the woods were paid between $20.00 to $26.00 per month.   Some times towns grew up around lumbering, other times, if the location was remote, lumbering camps would be built.  These camps were occupied and run by a diverse population.  Many Scandinavians, Canadians, and Swedish immigrants spent long days harvesting trees.

     Lumbering is part of our family history.  Tony's Grandfather was a lumberjack in the area around Rex MI,  in the upper peninsula.  Tony's Grandma was a cook in the lumber camp.  Their first child was born there, prematurely.  She was so small that she fit in a bread pan, which was put on the open oven door, to keep her warm.
   
     A cook was an integral part of the camp.  The hard working loggers needed to be fed, and food was usually plentiful, offering the men all they could eat.  The only day off was Sunday, and a huge meal was served, the men would eat, then trudge back to the bunkhouse to sleep, play cards,  or write letters home.


     The bunkhouse wasn't such a pleasant place to be.  The lumbermen worked long. hard hours and could not afford such luxuries as having their  laundry done, or taking baths.  Old clothes were patched, until they fell apart, unable to hold anymore patches.  On winter nights, the pot bellied stove not only kept the men warm, but provided heat to dry wet clothes and socks.  Quarters were close in bunkhouses.  TB was easily spread.  It claimed Tony's Grandfather was in his 30's when he died, leaving behind a widow and 7 children.  Tony's Mom was the youngest,  18 months old, too young to have any memories of her Dad.

     From the close contact of caring for her husband, Tony's Grandma also contracted the disease.  She had to go to a TB sanitarium for almost a year.  The children were taken in by friends and family.  It was a relief to the family, when they could all finally be together again.  Even after Grandma returned home, she continued to go for outpatient treatments at the "San," for another year.  None of the children  got TB, but  from the exposure , several of them test positive for it, to this day.

     For many years logging was done in the winter months, because the snow made it easier to haul the logs.  Then came the invention of the "Big Wheel," which was 2 huge wheels, that was pulled by horses or mules.  Logs would be fastened in between the wheels and dragged out of the woods.  I tried to get this picture on the blog, but the best I could do was post a link to a picture of the "Big Wheel."

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smartee_martee/1867935286/

     The old equipment was sure different from what our modern lumberjacks use.

     On the way home,  we came upon a young squirrel sitting  in the road.  He wasn't sure what to do when he saw us, so he started running in front of us.  Only when we pulled along side of him, to pass, did he dash into the tall grass next to the road.  I bet his heart was racing as fast as his feet had been.

     Rode 16 miles today.