It’s a pity you can’t get a good Beaver Dinner Anymore…

Posted on May 14, 2012 by martyjbird

I found this ad in an old copy of the Clare County Cleaver, our local newspaper in Harrison, a while back. For some reason I found it humorous and took a photo of it. Temple is a town about 15 miles west of Harrison in Clare County.Used to be an old logging community on the Pere-Marquette railroad line a century ago or more. Not much there now, maybe not even beaver.

I never had beaver so that is one reason the ad struck my fancy. Wonder what it tastes like? (And please don’t say “chicken.”) Just too doggone bad ain’t nobody serving no beaver no more.

Becoming a Better Reader of Topography

Posted on May 14, 2012 by martyjbird

I had a neat couple stop by the house last Sunday named Al and Gail (I am not including their last name since they have not given me permission to do so). This couple has wandered much of Clare County looking for–and frequently finding–old logging railroad beds that are fairly abundant in the county. They even put together a map (at left). The actual map is on display at the Clare County Historical Museum. The museum is open from 1 – 4 p.m. Saturdays now through October

I invited them to my home and property because I have what looks like foundations on my property and the remains of a possible road, and wanted a better idea of what it is I am looking at. By the way, when I say foundations, I mean rectangular dirt mounds, some of which contain square nails. There is no concrete or block on the site, which indicates the area was inhabited sometime around the end of the 19th century, which was the time logging camps were around.

Well, it was a wonderful visit. Not only do I know have a better idea of my land, but they also took me on a quick tour of the surrounding area and pointed out about 5-6 old railroad beds I didn’t even know existed although I pass by them nearly every day!

As to my property, Al pointed out that what I though was a creek bed was really a shallow man-made canal that allowed water to flow out of my pond. Back a 100 years ago or so, my pond was part of a large lake about a mile long. The canal was used in the winter by horse-drawn sleighs transporting logs from the forests that once surrounded my property.

Al also pointed out about six man-made structures on my property and speculated the site was probably the location of a small logging camp and then perhaps a family cabin stood there afterward, since there is the remains of a garden plot on the property. Eventually everything burned in a fire since the stumps that remain show burn marks and digging into the structures reveals some charred wood about a foot down. However, since nothing remains standing and time has eroded many of the individual sites, leaving only pits and mounds of dirt it’s hard to determine what was there, and what the buildings were used for.

So far, metal detecting has not turned up anything conclusive. One spoon and a couple of broken horseshoes, barrel hoops and lots of scraps of metal are among the things I’ve dug up.

However, Al’s conclusions help explain why I found the remains of a plow (for the garden) and a section of heavy sleigh runner (for hauling logs) buried in the muck of my pond. See my earlier posting for more information.

I’ll continue to investigate but perhaps not until fall. For now, the mosquitoes rule the site. Additionally, the vegetation is growing up making metal detecting more difficult. So I will return in the fall. In the meantime I will dream of hidden riches–or at least a hidden coin with a readable date. Whether I find of don’t find anything really doesn’t matter. The fact is, it’s all pretty cool.

I’m a Slow Reader (of Topography)

Posted on April 26, 2012 by martyjbird

I have a bit of property east of Harrison, MI. As some of you may know, I have the remains of a couple of old buildings on my property. I have also found some artifacts while metal detecting around there. They include an axe handle, small railroad spike, broken horseshoes, metal straps for wooden barrels, bent square nails and even a broken piece of plow and what appears to be a broken section of railroad track.

One of the foundations I have I have known about for a couple of years; the second I found earlier this spring. Yesterday, I found one more, maybe two. I just don’t know for sure. Digging into one of them I found several bent wooden nails and some charred wood about a foot down. Maybe it was an outhouse since there is a rather large depression nearby. Maybe there is more to be found (bottles, trash) if I take time to dig there. I just don’t know for sure.

As far as I can tell, the dwellings, whatever they were use for, burned during one of the fires that roared across this property, 60 or even 100 years ago. I just don’t know for sure. I can estimate the time the buildings were constructed to the 1880s to 1900s or so. That’s because no one settled here until after 1880 and round nails came into widespread use around 1900 or so. In addition, there are a number of large trees on the property and in locations that make me believe that they grew after the area was abandoned. However, I just don’t know for sure.

This is a great time of year to be out and about the woods since the spring rains have washed some of last fall’s leaves off some of the higher mounds on my property. What I also noticed yesterday was what may be the outline an old road or railroad bed that cuts across the property near the foundations and parallel to an old stream bed. It’s a couple of hundred yards long. What it is, I just don’t know for sure.

That’s because I am a slow reader of the land. I see the features but don’t “SEE” them. I don’t know what I am looking at when I am looking at them. That’s alfun but it’s also frustrating. What I need is someone who is good at this kind of thing and can tell me what I’m looking at and maybe where to do. And the clock is ticking because soon the sprouting vegetation will hide many of the features I’ve found for another year. Plus, a few mosquitoes have already started buzzing around and they take some of the fun out of wandering the property.

So if anyone knows how to read the land for signs of roads or foundations or knows of someone who can, please let me know. I want to know for sure.

Railroad Spikes, Plates and UFOs (Unidentified Found Objects)

Posted on March 27, 2012 by martyjbird

I’ve been out metal detecting the last week along some old logging railroad beds in Clare County and found a few railroad spikes, bolts and broken plates used to tie rails together. The objects were about 4 – 6 inches deep and were apparently left when the rails were torn up after the trees were logged and hauled away. Pulling up the rails and reusing the materials was a common practice from what I heard since saving money was important and leaving rails out in the middle of nowhere as a waste of it.

From what I’ve read, Clare County may have the most old logging railroad beds in the state so there were a lot of rails to pull up and reuse. The large number of RR beds is not surprising considering it was the first logging railroad in the country when Winfield Scott Gerrish built a railroad into woods to help haul out the timber. Although the initial investment was high (around $300 a mile), it made it easier to get out the lumber. Gerrish’s fellow lumberman laughed at his venture when he first started but when they saw the huge return in his investment…well, they couldn’t build their own railroads fast enough.

So although the tracks are gone the beds remain and underneath them are a few treasures. It’s interesting to hold in one’s hand a spike that was last handled by some unknown logger more than 125 years ago. It’s also interesting to take a walk in the woods and stumble on a bed out in the woods. They are quite common once one knows what to look for.

Anyway, among the items I found were a couple of UFOs–unknown found objects–I call them. The items are shown at left (click photo to enlarge) and are about an inch long. I originally thought they might be bullets but their shape is awfully strange for a bullet in that they would not be very aerodynamic. The bottoms, by the way, are flat but have a small circle in the center. If anyone knows what they are, please let me know. My plans are to donate the items to the Clare County Historical Museum for their display on the logging era. I also plan to hold a talk sometime this summer on logging railroads on one of the old railroad beds at Mid-Michigan Community College in Harrison. railroads and the logging era. (More information on that coming soon.)

While I am asking questions, I’d also be interested in finding out what the rules are about metal detecting on state land in Michigan. I found information on the DNR site about metal detecting in state parks but nothing so far about state land. While I know walking the rail beds is legal on state land I’m not sure about metal detecting, and want to know before I go.

Spring is a Great Time to Find Some History

Posted on March 16, 2012 by martyjbird

Spring has sprung early this year. Hard to believe spring peepers are in full chorus and butterflies are flitting around. Oh, and the mosquitoes are non-existent. So get outside and enjoy it. It may not last for long. And while you are out combing the woods, stay alert for history. With the snow gone and the spring vegetation yet to start to grow, the contours of the earth are easy to see. That means one might be able to see a discarded antler or maybe an old railroad bed or other remnant of the past.

For example, I was out walking my property today and I found the outline of a foundation. Now I’ve owned that property for eight years and I’ve walked that section numerous times but today was the first time I saw the outline of the foundation that measures about 10 foot square. That makes two I’ve found on my property. The first one I found a couple of years ago (well, to be honest, my neighbors noticed it). Last year, for the first time, I took a metal detector and explored in an around it and found some neat stuff. Here’s the post with some photos. I’m still not sure of the age of either but because of some square nails and horseshoes that turned up, I’d wager the foundations were from Clare County’s logging days (circa 1880′s). I will be out there again tomorrow marking the corners of the two foundations and looking for more.

So go outside and take a walk and look around you. Even if history is not your bag it’s still a great time to be out in God’s soon-to-be-green earth. Enjoy!

The Surrey House in Harrison, Michigan

Posted on March 14, 2012 by martyjbird

Plans are underway to reopen the Surrey House in Harrison if grants can be obtained to purchase and renovate the building. The goal is to take the historic two-story building that most recently housed a restaurant and bar and turn it into a mixed-use facility to help grow retail businesses. Tenants could include a small restaurant and community kitchen, and possibly several hotel rooms and a spa, according to an article in the March 1, 2012 issue of the Clare County Cleaver.

The Middle Michigan Development Corporation, a private, non-profit economic development organization responsible for the industrial and technological development of Clare and Isabella Counties, and the Small Business Initiative Council, an organization that seeks to foster entrepreneurial activity the county and create an atmosphere that is inviting for business growth are assisting in the project.

The city of Harrison agreed to the project including taking title to the building as long as the city would not be under any financial obligation if grants do not cover the costs involved. The Surrey House has been closed since January 21011.

This is an ad that appeared in the Clare County Cleaver not long after the Surrey House reopened.

The building was constructed around 1880, a time when Harrison was booming thanks to the logging industry. Trains pulled into town on a daily basis bringing lumberman, storekeepers, families and even criminals like the infamous Jim Car (one of the most despicable men Michigan has ever produced), and taking lumber back south to construct cities in Michigan and in the Midwest.

The building was originally called the Lockwood House and served as a boarding house and restaurant during the logging era. Later renamed the Ohio Tavern and then the Colonial Hotel, it was bought by two Flint businessmen in fall of 1945. At that time it was remodeled and renamed the Surrey House, according to an article in the June 13, 1945 issue of the Cleaver announcing the reopening. (There was no reason cited in the article for the name change.) Changes at that time included a Colonial porch constructed on the west side, two available entrances and “Beautiful sleeping quarters are on the second floor all remodeled rooms with splendid beds and cleanliness that is bound to please those seeking lodging.”

Rumor has it the building is haunted by a small boy that prowls the rooms upstairs. While his is a restless and sometimes mischievous spirit, it is not an evil one. Moving items from one location to another or opening closed doors is about the worst a waitress at the restaurant told me several years ago.

It will be nice to see the building reopened for use by more than just restless spirits.

Rules for Clare Bank Employees — 1909

Posted on March 13, 2012 by martyjbird

The following rules were found in the book “Clare Remembered 1879 – 1979,” published by the Clare Area Centennial Committee. Citizens bank stood on the corner of Fourth and MeEwan and operated for 70 years ,beginning in 1908.

Citizens Bank of Clare — Rules for Employees
March 10, 1909

Office employees will daily sweep the floors, dust the furniture, shelves and counters.
Each day fill lamps, clean chimneys, and trim wicks. Wash the windows once a week.
Each clerk will bring in a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day’s business.
Make your pens carefully; You may whittle nibs to suit your individual taste.
The office is will open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. daily except on the Sabbath, on which day it will remain closed. Each employee is expected to spend the Sabbath by attending church.
Men employees will be given an evening off each week for courting purposes, or two evening off a week of they go regularly to church.
Every employee should lay aside for each pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining years so that he will not become a burden upon the charity of his betters.
Any employee who smokes Spanish cigars, uses liquor in any form, gets shaved at a barber shop, or frequents pool or public halls, will give us good reason to suspect his worth, intentions, integrity of honesty.
The employee who has performed his labor faithfully, and without fault for a period of five years in our service, and who has been thrifty, and is looked upon by his fellow men as a law abiding citizen, will be given an increase of ten cents per day in his pay, provided a just return in profits from the business permits it.

Indian Artifacts in Utah and Michigan’s Indian History

Posted on February 27, 2012 by martyjbird

Looking down on the plain and stream bed from the ridge. Stones in foreground were part of a dwelling.

My brother lives in Utah and each time I visit him I stop on some private land not far from his home and look for potsherds and arrowheads. The property was apparently home to a small community of Native Americans several centuries ago. It’s a nice piece of property with a ridge and southern exposure. About 30 feet below the ridge is a small plain and stream bed. On the ridge are the remains of six or seven stone dwellings. Now the stones (about a foot in diameter) are scattered around the ridge or have slid down the slope.

I could spend hours looking for these artifacts. I find the time relaxing and, at the same time, thrilling. Relaxing since there is no time constraint. Thrilling since finding means I can hold something in my hand that was made 300, 400 maybe 500 years ago. Who made them, I wonder? Was it a man or woman? What were they thinking as they worked? Were they as relaxed as I am or were they worried about invaders, the weather or starvation? What was their life like? What ultimately happened to them as individuals and to the community they lived in? One can picture them sitting on the ridge in front of their dwellings looking down at the stream as they worked, turning clay into pots or flint to turn it into weapons or tools.

A look across the ridge.

I don’t keep what I find. I used to do so but now the fun is in the finding and holding, not the holding and keeping. So I pick the items up, look at them, then toss them aside and walk on. Plus, it’s not like the artifacts are rare. There are literally thousands of fragments lying around the two- or three-acre site, and most of what I find is not larger

Just a few of the items (potsherd and flint) found on the ridge or that are sliding down to the plain. Note the black paint on the one pot sherd. Only a few of the pieces show evidence of having been painted.

than a dollar coin, although sometimes I do find the remains of a clay pot several inches in diameter. Any complete or nearly complete pieces were probably scrounged by others over the intervening centuries. I leave the potsherds because there is little I can do with them. Additionally, leaving them means maybe others will be able to the same fun I have. Oh, and the property I am on may be open to visitors but that doesn’t mean what is on the site is anyone’s property to take, and I’m not about to push my luck and find out.

However, what if I were to find a complete bowl or a complete arrowhead on the site? What then? Would I put it back–or would I keep it? Do I have ethics but only to a degree? Am I like the women in the joke who, when asked by a man if she would have sex with him for a million dollars, thinks about it before saying yes. When asked by the same man if she would do the act for a dollar instantly answers no and then asks in disgust, “What do you think I am?” To which the questioner responds, “We’ve already determined that’ now we are just quibbling over price.”

In Michigan, our Indian history is not so obvious and not as abundant. I’ve always wanted to find evidence of early Indians but never have. That’s not surprising. First of all, mid-Michigan didn’t have the large number of Indian communities that one finds in the desert southwest, and the remains of any communities we had are either buried many feet below ground or have been plowed over.

In Clare County, for example, there is little evidence of permanent communities. Archeological studies have found sites but most were temporary in nature and most have disappeared over the intervening centuries. Same with Indian mounds. There are still a few mounds in Missaukee County but none in Clare that I am aware of.

And so I continue to search for artifacts in both states. The finding is easier in Utah but obviously, Michigan is closer. While I hope to find a complete pot or arrowhead in either state maybe it’s best I don’t. After all, I enjoy the thrill of the find.However, maybe it’s best I don’t have to find out what I am.

Clare County Michigan History in Photos

Posted on February 27, 2012 by martyjbird

I added a video to You Tube, well, basically a slideshow that consists of old photos. Most of them show the cities of Clare, Harrison and Farwell. The show lasts about 6 minutes and music in the background. The photos are primarily from the collection Forrest Meek gave to Mid-Michigan Community College. Here’s the link to the show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTX84V-VZfM

The Best Well Digger in Clare County

Posted on February 7, 2012 by martyjbird

Paraphrased from the story by the same name in the book “At Ease With Col. Sharp” by Dale Sharp.

Whether the story is true or not is a subject of conjecture. Oliver Gosine lived until the age of 101, according to Roy Dodge who mentions him in the book “Ticket to Hell, A Saga of Michigan’s Bad Men.” Dodge reports that Gosine used to work for Jim Carr and that Gosine also cut ice winters in Budd Lake; however, Dodge doesn’t mention anything about Oliver’s well digging prowess. Gosine is also mentioned in a posting on my blog about the tombstone Oliver built for himself–with a mirror–that still stands in Harrison’s Maple Grove Cemetery.

As to the well digging story, whether true or not, I found it amusing. I hold Col. Sharp, wherever he is, will not take me to task for rewriting it and publishing it on my blog.

In the spring of 1889 Harrison was still basically a lumber town but homesteaders were building and claiming the land in the area. The conversion from lumber to farming was just beginning. Jim Carr, undoubtedly the the most despicable person to ever live in Clare County, was history. It was a fresh time and Oliver Gosine was the best well digger in Clare County.

Gosine was kept busy digging wells. People literally stood in line to employ him. However, the only way Oliver liked water was mixed with a little bourbon.

One May morning in 1889, Oliver was getting ready to dig a well for a homesteader when the sheriff rode up and asked Oliver to stop what he was doing and dig a well for the county jail. Apparently the well at the jail had just about gone dry and they needed a well pronto. In the interest of the village’s welfare Oliver took on the job.

The way Oliver dug a well went something like this: He would dig down the first six feet by hand. Once he had a hole six foot wide and about the same deep, he take a large bucket and toss it down into the hole. Now the line was secured to Oliver’s horse, Old Gray, with a long rope.Oliver would climb down into the hole, fill the bucket with sand, climb in the bucket, yell “git up” and then slowly he and the bucket would be taken to the top as Old Gray moved slowing away from the hole. Oliver would unload the bucket and repeat the process until he struck water—usually 18 to 30 feet down.

Things apparently went well on this dig until the third day. It was then Oliver struck a rock. Deciding dynamite was the only way to deal with the problem Oliver had Old Gray “git up” to pull him and the bucket out of the hole. Oliver then commenced to walked over to Hughes Brothers Hardware and bought himself five sticks of the explosive, a blasting cap and a couple feet of fuse. Going back into the hole he packed the five sticks under stone, tamped it all down, lit the fuse, climbed into the bucket and yelled up at the horse to “git up.” Well, nothing happened. Oliver yelled louder and still the bucket and he remained unmoving in the hole as the fuse burned closer to the dynamite meant to blow the rock to smithereens. In a state of panic, Oliver dove out of the bucket toward the rock, crawled over to the fuse and pulled it out at the last second.

A couple of hours later, one of the local judges was walking home and spied the horse standing half asleep at the top of the hole and Oliver at the bottom of it fit-to be-tied. The judge led the horse away from the hole bringing the bucket up. When the bucket andwell-digger reached the top Oliver lit into the horse with a litany of expletives in two languages (Oliver also knew French).

The judge went home not too much afterward swore he heard a gunshot but passed it off as routine in this rural community. The next day walking to work he noticed a large crowd around Oliver’s not quite completed well. He peered over the edge and saw Old Gray standing at the bottom, blood dripping from its head and what appeared to be a boot print on its rump.

Sheriff Thompson was summoned and although the evidence was circumstantial Oliver was arrested for cruelty to animals.

It apparently took two days to put the horse in a sling and pull it up the 20 feet from the bottom of the well, apparently none the worse for wear despite it’s wound.

As to Oliver, he went to trial. Although the boot print on Old Gray’s rump matched the one Oliver wore and the fact Oliver had a derringer in his pocket that the sheriff sniffed and announced that it had been fired, Oliver was found not guilty by a Judge Green. Rumor had it that Green was beholding to Oliver since the latter had taken the rap for illegal pike spearing while Green hid in the bushes.

Anyway, the next day Oliver and Old Gray were seen heading off toward Leota for some fishing. The next morning Oliver returned alone–and on foot. When he was asked what happened, Oliver said that Old Gray had just stopped in the road near Jed McCord’s place, when the horse stopped, rolled over and died. Jed said Jed offered him $5 for the carcass to feed Jeb’s hounds and Oliver took the offer. “Now gentleman, what would you have done,” Oliver would ask with a twinkle in his eye.

By the way, the story doesn’t say whether Oliver ever finished that well at the jail. It does say that the day Oliver reported that Old Gray had died of natural causes that Jed heard a gunshot.

The Moving Finger in Mid-Michigan

Random musings about Michigan, its History and More