Logging in the UP and giveaway!

Please welcome a friend and fellow author, Carrie Fancett Pagels to Heroes, Heroines, and History. Carrie is giving away a copy of her new release so be sure to read down to find out how to enter.

Thanks, Debbie Lynne, for the opportunity to be a guest on HHH, talking about the turn of the century in Michigan, when lumber camps were common in the straits of Mackinac. My Christy Lumber Camp Series shows the progression of three children of a lumber camp boss as they transition from life in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan to the Upper Peninsula in pursuit of better logging possibilities at the turn of the century.

First of all, where are the straits of Mackinac? The straits of water lie between the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. Three cities are the main gateways to this corridor, both today, and historically: Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island, and St. Ignace, Michigan. North of the straits of Mackinac we use a “c” at the end of this Indian word and in the Lower Peninsula, a “w” is placed at the end of Mackinac/Mackinaw. In between, the jewel of the straits, lies Mackinac Island. At the turn of the century, St. Ignace was a bustling city with four newspapers and was a mecca for tourists. Today it is a small town just over the Mackinac Bridge, into the Upper Peninsula.

Lilacs for Juliana, which releases in August. The photo was taken on Mackinac Island, during their annual Lilac Festival. It may be hard to imagine, but at the turn of the century, Native Americans were often educated away from home at “Indian Missions” including on Mackinac Island. Children were separated from their parents and lived at school, sometimes for years.

So, at the same time that lumber jacks were chopping down the pines to create beautiful structures like the famous Grand Hotel, the local Chippewa and Odawa were struggling and being “managed” by Indian Agencies, which sad but part of the history of this locale. This gorgeous lilac-covered island has a long history of strategic military location, too, with a French fort in Mackinaw City before the French-Indian Wars, moved to Mackinac Island during the American Revolution, and targeted by the British in the War of 1812.

Although Mackinac Island has a dearth of lumberjacks, lumber camps dotted the countryside both above and below the straits, with easy shipment, by water, of lumber to the mills. This was the prime time and location for Michigan’s “White gold” – the white pines that were frequently as wide across as a man’s height. The woods of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, full of hardwoods as well as pine, beckoned the lumber camp owners north as the massive white pines were thinned out. This necessitated the transition of lumber camps from Lower Michigan into the Upper Peninsula.

Many lumber camps had almost criminal reputations, and it’s not difficult to find descriptions of some of the nefarious activities that went on, if you search for those. However, this is unlike the family lumber camp, my setting for The Fruitcake Challenge. My Kentuckian grandfather was born near Traverse City, Michigan, during this time—presumably where his father worked as a lumberjack and he returned to run his own family lumber camp. In the 1800s and 1900s, a great many men came up from the South, worked in the woods, and then returned home. As the 20th century approached, lumber camp owners were searching for more virgin woods and they crossed the straits to the eastern and middle portions of the Upper Peninsula. Expanding railroad lines, during this time, made the expansion possible, too. I try to show this in my series, with the Christy family moving their camp to just east of St. Ignace and have a scene with the railroad cross-straits transportation, which was a fun thing to learn about at Mackinaw City’s lighthouse museum. Can you imagine having railroad cars pulled across Lake Michigan?

Want to learn more about lumbering? You can visit the Tahquamenon Logging Museum, in Newberry, Michigan, my home town – where my great-grandparents’ cedar cabin still stands, to get a good idea of what lumberjack life was like. Also, below the straits, in central Michigan is the beautiful virgin white pine stand at Hartwick Pines State Park, which I highly recommend visiting and they have a Logging Museum as well.


GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment to enter to win a pair of teapot earrings made by Carrie plus an ebook copy of the brand new Christmas Traditions Eight-In-One collection, The Fruitcake Challenge (A Selah finalist) The Lumberjacks’ Ball, or Lilacs for Juliana.

Bio: Carrie Fancett Pagels, the author of The Christy Lumber Camp Series, resides in Virginia’s Historic Triangle and enjoys reading, traveling, baking, beading, and researching--but not all at the same time!

Contact info
Carrie Fancett Pagels
Facebook Author Page
Facebook Personal Page
Twitter
Pinterest
goodreads
LinkedIn

Purchase Links:
Christmas Traditions Eight-In-One collection (August, 2015) on Amazon in Kindle. (Includes Carrie’s story, The Fruitcake Challenge, and seven other novellas by authors Gina Welborn, Darlene Franklin, Jennifer Allee, Cynthia Hickey, Patty Smith Hall, Angela Breidenbach and Niki Turner.

Lilacs for Juliana releases in August, 2015, on Amazon.

The Lumberjacks' Ball (2015) on Amazon in Kindle and paperback.
The Fruitcake Challenge (2014) on Amazon and on Barnes and Noble in ebook and paperback formats.

History Does Repeat Itself

by Debbie Lynne Costello

I love bridges old and new, as long as I'm not needing to cross them. There is something about being in the middle of bridge and looking down at the ominous water below that sends shivers through my body. Today I wanted to share some history that comes close to home about the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge aka the International Bridge.

By Ccyyrree - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23832429

 

The double arches on the American side
Public Domain Wiki

A little information about the bridge before I tell you the 2014 history in the making. The bridge spans the St. Marys River between the United States and Canada. It connects the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and Sault Ste. Marie Ontario. (Did you know that there were twin cities with the same name separated by a river and in two different countries?) It is a steel truss arch bridge with a suspended deck.

Left the single arch Canadian side. Four Soo locks at top right.
PUblic Domain Wiki

The United States side has a double arch span and the Canadian side has a single arch span. The double arch spans across the four U.S. Soo Locks and the single arch spans the single Canadian Lock. The total length of the bridge is approximately 2.8 miles. Construction on the bridge began in 1960 and officially opened October 31. 1962. And that is where my story starts, or rather my brother-in-law's story starts.

Carl Reiter was a truck driver who frequently made runs to Canada to pick up lumber and deliver it to furniture plant in Muskegon, Michigan. He made this trip up to four times a week. Carl and Marie had five children, the youngest, Arvid Reiter is my brother-in-law. Carl made the long hauls and on occasion brought one of his children to keep him company. On this particular trip Barb, Arvid's sister was to go.

It was October 31st, 1964, twelve-year-old Barb got to skip school to ride along with her father (Is that not an awesome dad? Seriously, how many dad's would let their child skip school to go on a truck run?) but that also meant she would miss trick-or-treating. Barb was excited. Instead of crossing the St. Mary's River on a ferry which between wait times and crossing the river could be up to a two hour wait, Carl and Barb were the first commercial vehicle to use the newly built Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge. (Okay, I'm not sure what's worse, being at the mercy of a ferry or crossing a bridge.)

1964 Carl Reiter and his daughter Barb paying the toll as the first commercial vehicle to cross the International Bridge

Barb remembers how the crowd greeted her and her father as the headed south down I-75 after crossing the bridge. "There were just miles of traffic. Everybody out of their cars tooting and waving, it was one of the best memories I ever had in my life." Barb said. (When Barb said this, it made me think what a different time this was. I can't imagine people waiting in line to watch the first vehicles cross a new bridge. I believe they had a greater appreciation for the hard work that went into things and also the way it would make their life easier, than people of the 21 century do.)

2014 Arvid Reiter and Barb paying the toll on the 50th Anniversary of their father's crossing of the International Bridge.

On the fifty year anniversary, Carl's youngest son, Arvid made the 1100 mile round trip to the bridge in his semi truck. Unfortunately, Carl passed away nine years ago and didn't get to see his son repeat history. Carl was the first commercial vehicle to cross the bridge and pay at the new toll booth and Arvid was the last to use those booths. A week later the old booths were removed as part of a $8.9 million International Bridge Toll Plaza construction project. The five lane toll will go to a seven lane along with new booths.

History really does repeat itself.


 I'm excited that my story, "The Letter," is included in this year's A Cup of Christmas Cheer in the Tales of Christmas Past.  

Purchase A Cup of Christmas Cheer Here

Debbie Lynne Costello is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. She attended Heritage University, where she studied Journalism and worked in the editing department.

She has a short story coming out in Guideposts 2014, Christmas Cup of Cheer on October 20th. She has completed five full length novels set in Charleston and Savannah areas in the late 19th century along with one Medieval, and is now seeking homes for them.

She and her husband have four children and two grandbabies. They live in upstate South Carolina with their family. Debbie Lynne has been raising Shetland Sheepdogs for 18 years and her and her husband enjoy their Arabian horses.