Winner--Best Biography/Memoir of 2002, Midwest Book Awards (St. Paul, MN)
Lumberjack is a firsthand account of the lumbering era during the white pine boom years of the late 1800s — early 1900s in the northern U.S. Millions of board feet of logs were cut in deep woods camps, driven down the rivers to the sawmills, and shipped by schooner and barge to build a nation. This edition includes 78 historical photographs and illustrations, a glossary, editors' notes, maps, and much more.
“The lumber barons, the lumberjacks, and the town people who worked in the mills--as well as the happenings of that period… are recalled by one who lived among them. I hope it will be an inspiration to others to set down their memories of the days of falling pine and belt-driven sawmills. Already too much of this story has passed beyond recall… a valuable addition not only to the history of Manistique, but to the state as well.”
--Ferris E. Lewis, Michigan History, Lansing
“An authentic first-hand account… which tells the whole story of big-scale lumbering during the 1890s and early 1900s. Chapter by enthralling chapter, Crowe recounts the times involved in the 'big pine' operations… it rivals anything so far written… rich in description and alive with thrilling episodes.”
--Marquette Mining Journal
“First-hand accounts of the dramatic 'big cut' by participant-observers are always illuminating. William S. Crowe's reminiscence of his years in the woods and the early days of Manistique, at the north end of Lake Michigan in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, was a classic in the 1950s. His granddaughters Lynn McGlothin Emerick and Ann McGlothin Weller have done a real service by republishing his book with ample photos and notes.”
-— Mary Hoffman Hunt, Midwestern Guides
«Focusing on Manistique and meticulously researched, Lumberjack explores the early days of logging and the lifestyles of the countless loggers that filled the woods in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. William Crowe, the author, was a logger himself who collected and relates real stories from the men who were there. This is a mandatory book for anyone interested in the history of the Upper Peninsula.”
--Mikel B. Classen, author/historian, True Tales: The Forgotten History of the U.P. and Faces Places & Days Gone By: A Pictorial History of the U.P.
From Modern History Press