They had to use what to cut down trees?!?!?

So in the last post I talked about why the loggers did their jobs in the winter and which trees they preferred but didn't discuss HOW they went about getting those giants down and to the river...
There were many different jobs to be had in the logging camp but it was essential that all of those jobs worked together for the larger goal. 
Around the turn of the century, like most careers at the time, a logging career started for most at a very young age.  Some of the workers were as young as 9-10 years old.  They started at the bottom as Bull Cooks.  These hard working kids had a tough job.  They were expected to get up before the rest of camp, along with the cook, and make the gigantic breakfasts the rest of camp needed to get through their day.  Now keep in mind that the rest of camp usually woke up around 4:00 - 4:30.  The Bull Cooks were in the kitchen with the cook and had to do the grunt work like peeling potatoes.  (think of how many potatoes a group of 30-40 loggers could eat in a day!!)

Then after breakfast was ready, the bull cooks would have the task of waking the rest of camp up.  They would have to yell "daylight in the swamp!!"  It was like the loggers version of an alarm clock.  Why don't we all see if we could be bull cooks by yelling "daylight in the swamp!" 

I'll wait...

Did you do it? 

Good!

So after these kids made breakfast, and woke up the rest of camp, they had to make sure all of the food was stocked on the table so the loggers could eat quickly and get out to work.  After breakfast was done, the Bull Cooks would clean the dishes and start making lunch.  This meal was a little more tricky because most of the time the loggers were far enough away from camp that they wouldn't come in for lunch which means the Bull Cooks would have to bring it out to them.  In the cold, and snow, without spilling the food.  And don't forget they were as young as 9 years old!

So after they brought lunch out to the loggers, they would have to come back in, clean the dishes and start dinner.  After dinner, they would clean the dishes, and get what little sleep they could before the next morning and they would start all over again!  So these youngsters were up before the loggers, all the while the loggers were awake, and AFTER the loggers had gone to bed!  Those are long days!

Oh and I forgot to mention that they only got paid around 25 cents a day. 

Wow!

Another entry level job in the logging camp was the position of Road Monkey.  While these weren't 9-10 year olds, they were still young; around 14 most of the time.  Their job was hard, and dangerous.  They were to go out during the night and make sure the roads were iced up well enough for the sleigh to slide on top of them.  Doesn't sound that tough or dangerous right? 

Well keep in mind that it was often -40 or colder at night,  

They had a giant wooden tank of water that they would have to let run into the grooves of the road, staying dry was likely not an option,

There were predators out in the woods at night, surely the horses could have been spooked, and

The majority of logs in this area were sent down a river to the mill, and we all know where there's a large river there's bound to be a hill with snow and ice!

All of this, and they were 14!

There were many more jobs in the logging camp but they'll have to wait until next time!

I know it's muddy but it's finally nice outside so remember to Take It Outside Today!

Great account of logging life here:
http://www.cameraontheroad.com/family/my-first-job-working-logging-camps-in-wisconsin/


Log Cabin Coloring Page:  http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://coloring.thecolor.com/color/images/Lincolns-Log-Cabin.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.thecolor.com/Category/Coloring/President%27s%2520Day.aspx&usg=__oxlFoyJEr9j0XN1bjrZUpR98KQk=&h=565&w=552&sz=9&hl=en&start=32&zoom=1&tbnid=IV8qkscDI7judM:&tbnh=125&tbnw=122&ei=f8CHTY6_GIiErQHJpuSzBg&prev=/images%3Fq%3DLogging%2Bcoloring%2Bpage%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1C1PRFA_enUS422%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D709%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C1000&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=566&vpy=131&dur=330&hovh=141&hovw=138&tx=49&ty=117&oei=bsCHTbeXK8mHrgHXivm0Bg&page=2&ndsp=34&ved=1t:429,r:29,s:32&biw=1280&bih=709
Silly Logging Coloring Page: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.supercoloring.com/wp-content/main/2010_04/sawing-log-coloring-page.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.supercoloring.com/pages/sawing-log/&usg=__QaEjsjz6OvX9EEPxHxOJ5MRKPuc=&h=350&w=458&sz=51&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=nCydJHUDxeCw6M:&tbnh=132&tbnw=173&ei=bsCHTbeXK8mHrgHXivm0Bg&prev=/images%3Fq%3DLogging%2Bcoloring%2Bpage%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1C1PRFA_enUS422%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D709%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=394&vpy=91&dur=2370&hovh=196&hovw=257&tx=109&ty=117&oei=bsCHTbeXK8mHrgHXivm0Bg&page=1&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0








Swamp Photo: http://joeroads.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/daylight-in-the-swamp.jpg
Quarter photo: http://www.brunswick.k12.me.us/lon/lonlinks/grade1/money/images/us-quarter.gif
Camp photo: http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/Buffalo/images/pf010264.jpg



Sawing Logs!

Sorry for the lapse in postings!  We just spent a week in the Caribbean soaking up the sun!!  And might I add, it was quite hard to return to the cold and snow that Wisconsin brings this time of year! 


So the winter time often leads people to spend more time indoors than out.  Frigid temperatures and deep snow could have something to do with it I think.  What I can't imagine however, is men leaving their families for months at a time to work in these conditions! BBRRR!!
That is exactly what men in the 1880's and through the turn of the century did along the St Croix River Valley.  Many men would leave their families and flock to the river valley for the cold winter months to work for a logging company.  Their job may seem like an easy one but in fact there were a lot of steps and A LOT of danger involved in their jobs.
  So everyone close your eyes and picture a lumberjack...do you have a picture? 
                                             Does it look like this man?

Massive, burly, and wielding an axe.  Paul Bunyan.  That's what most people think of when they think of a lumberjack, and to be honest, that's not too far from what I've seen in photos.  Maybe they weren't all giants that had a blue ox named Babe as a pet but they were burly, many of them bearded, and most of all, hard workers. 

Why in the world would loggers choose the harshest time of year to do their jobs?  Well there's a couple reasons. 

1.  Even though it was MUCH colder then in the winter than it is now, can you imagine logging in the summer time with the heat, humidity, and all those bugs?  No way!  Even though it was so cold out (many mornings plunging below -40) these men still worked up a sweat doing their jobs!

2. With winter, like we've talked about, comes snow.  Just like the temps were colder then, there was much more snow on average than there is now.  Moving and transporting the logs in the winter on top of the snow and ice was much easier than in the summer on top of the grasses and other plants. 

The next natural question is, "Did the take all of the trees or just some?"  The majority of the trees were taken but the loggers came to this area in particular for the large quantities of white pine.    Why white pine?  Well they took these for two reasons.  First they were giants in those days, standing well over 100 feet tall. 

Secondly, these trees floated well which was essential since they would be sent down river to the mills to be cut to size.

The White Pine was not the only tree taken, many places were completely stripped of all trees which later was inhabited by farmers who would remove the stumps and farm the ground. 

So these men would work hard throughout the winter logging this area and cutting down giant trees in the coldest of weather in the most dangerous of conditions. 

But this begs the question, how?

That's what we'll talk about next time!

In the mean time, remember to Take It Outside!

Great Paul Bunyan stories:  http://www.americanfolklore.net/folklore/paul-bunyan/

Paul Bunyan coloring Page: http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/early_childhood/color/paul.gif

Tree coloring page:  http://www.supercoloring.com/wp-content/main/2009_05/pine-tree-in-winter-coloring-page.jpg

Paul Bunyan Photo: http://www.kingoftheroadmusic.com/images/paulbunyan.jpg
Ice Photo:  http://media02.hongkiat.com/christmas_wallpapers_01/ice-firs-wallpapers_7717_1280x800.jpg
Photo of River: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/23/91938014_87f2bfc146.jpg?v=0
Sun Photo: http://www.worthingtonpools.com/files/6312/6150/3450/yellow-sun.gif