Michigan Lumbering Days and Camp Life

Please join Lapeer District Library for a free informational presentation on Michigan Lumbering Days and Camp Life on Monday, February 27, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at the Marguerite deAngeli Branch Library, 921 W. Nepessing Street, Lapeer. 

The deAngeli Library welcomes returning lecturers, and Program Source International’s prominent Michigan researchers, Dave and Al Eicher, who have presented the previous deAngeli programs “Michigan in the Civil War” and “Michigan’s Early Days of Radio”. The Eichers have produced twenty-five television documentaries on Michigan town histories and historic events.

Two hundred years ago, the early pioneers of the Michigan territory wrote about the majestic

forests, the tall white pines, and the great oaks. Early expeditions and survey teams commissioned by the Congress of the new Union of States reported Michigan lands were dense marshes and soil conditions were not fit for farming. The value of the timber was not considered.

By the mid 1850’s, most of the people in Michigan lived south of a line from Grand Rapids to Port Huron. At that time, 600 lumber camps employed a wonderful mix of humanity including Germans, Swedes, Poles, Italians, Norwegians, and Native Americans. The woodsmen performed a variety of roles such as river hogs, buckers, swampers, limbers, and cookees (cook’s helper).  The video portion of the lecture shows rare historic movie footage and photos of this period in Michigan’s history.

For more information about this or other upcoming library programs, please visit www.library.lapeer.org. To register for this educational program, please contact the deAngeli Branch Library (810) 664-6971.