Michigan's Lumbering Past

Dusty D occasionally teases her non- Michigan- born sweetie with tales of legendary Michigan toughness. This morning I was all over the Weather Underground while he was attempting to get ready for work.

"That storm they were talking about went over Lake Michigan," I announced, having nerdily scrutinized the regional radar. "But there's another blop coming up from Indianapolis."
"It's just as well it missed us."
"Honey...you should WELCOME adverse weather conditions," I said. "Think about Michigan's lumbering past!"
He made motions like a waddling elephant.
"Not THAT kind of lumbering...logs! Sawmills! This is the time of year when the lumbering season would start. They worked in winter, because it was easier to get the logs out as opposed to mushy spring or summer."
Sweetie made a noise, while looking for socks, that I interpreted as appreciative of being lectured on Michigan's 19th-century lumbering industry.
"A lot of 'em would come down to Ypsilanti after the season," I informed him. "Don't forget, they were working up there without Thinsulate or Polar Tec [clothing]..."
"But they had whiskey."
"They had whiskey...whiskey and large sharpened tools is a great combination..."

Seriously...hours of back-breaking work wearing inadequate clothing, only to come back to bunk in an uninsulated cabin and be fed some sort of iffy grub...that was the life for Michigan lumbermen. They were tough. Tough in a way that's forgotten today. You wonder why they did it--well, that was the only job available for a lot of them, so it was lumber or starvation. Working in snow, hail, and freezing rain...so a blip on the weather radar, though it may throw us into a tizzy, was just SOP for them. Dusty D has respect for those leathery old lumbermen. Here's a virtual shot of whiskey poured for them.