Another well-researched slice of Michigan history. The lumber era is often viewed through rose-colored glasses (ie Paul Bunyan and the photos of lumberjacks with horse teams next to piles of cut logs that harken in a romantic way to a bygone time and place). But as you show--and Dave Dempsey's footnote from his book indicates--it was also another example of exploiting nature's resources coupled with a callous attitude towards the workingman's safety. The barons built their mansions and controlled state government, with some getting elected as governors or US senators, while the crews worked long hours and then were tempted with the saloons and other amenities of the towns. And then the catastrophic fires that swept across the upper half of the Lower Peninsula. But in Michigan nature is resilient and the greenery came back. And people often employ the luxury of a short selective memory and many don't care much for the harder lessons of history.
The lumberjack is a colorful figure in Michigan’s history, but left an ambiguous legacy.I would like to see the work of conservationists who rebuilt the forest celebrated as well. They’re the builders who succeeded the cutters. Some of them were colorful too.
Another well-researched slice of Michigan history. The lumber era is often viewed through rose-colored glasses (ie Paul Bunyan and the photos of lumberjacks with horse teams next to piles of cut logs that harken in a romantic way to a bygone time and place). But as you show--and Dave Dempsey's footnote from his book indicates--it was also another example of exploiting nature's resources coupled with a callous attitude towards the workingman's safety. The barons built their mansions and controlled state government, with some getting elected as governors or US senators, while the crews worked long hours and then were tempted with the saloons and other amenities of the towns. And then the catastrophic fires that swept across the upper half of the Lower Peninsula. But in Michigan nature is resilient and the greenery came back. And people often employ the luxury of a short selective memory and many don't care much for the harder lessons of history.
The lumberjack is a colorful figure in Michigan’s history, but left an ambiguous legacy.I would like to see the work of conservationists who rebuilt the forest celebrated as well. They’re the builders who succeeded the cutters. Some of them were colorful too.