On this week's episode of North Country History with Rob Burg, I am joined by Bill Jamerson, an award winning documentary filmmaker turned author and performer, to discuss the life and experiences of CCC Boy Michael Rataj. Mike came from poverty in Detroit and came of age in the wilderness of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where the CCC changed his life. Both Bill and I knew Mike and heard his numerous stories over the years, and we share some of our own stories and thoughts on Mike.

Michael Rataj was the perfect representative of what the CCC did for more than 102,000 young men in Michigan and millions across the country. For many years Mike was involved with both the National Association of Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni (NACCCA) and the Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni (MCCCA). Mike helped lead and organize the annual CCC Alumni Reunion that was held at Higgins Lake for many years, and was a volunteer and seasonal historical interpreter at the CCC Museum at North Higgins Lake State Park.

In 1993 Bill Jamerson produced his film on the CCC in Michigan, titled "Camp Forgotten." Michael Rataj was a contributor to the film. In 2007 Bill published the historical novel "Big Shoulders" about the coming of age story of a teenager who joins the CCC. Mike Rataj was Bill's main inspiration for the story and many of Mike's own experiences were used in the book.

You can support the podcast by clicking on the "Support" button on the right (Desktop version) or the $ symbol at the top (Mobile version).

https://northcountryhistorywithrobburg.buzzsprout.com/

For more Information:

For Information on Bill Jamerson, his programs, films, book, and CD: http://billjamerson.com/

For information on the CCC Museum, its hours and programs: https://www.michigan.gov/mhc/museums/hln-ccc

For further information on the Civilian Conservation Corps in the United States: https://ccclegacy.org/

For further reading about the CCC:

Apps, Jerry. The Civilian Conservation Corps in Wisconsin: Nature’s Army at Work. Madison, WI. Wisconsin Historical Society Press. 2019.

Hivert-Carthew, Annick. Proud To Work: A Pictorial History of Michigan’s Civilian Conservation Corps. Wilderness Adventure Books. 2006.

Rosentreter, Roger L. Roosevelt's Tree Army, Michigan's Civilian Conservation Corps. Lansing, MI. Michigan Bureau of History. 1986. (It is available online at: https://www.michigan.gov/mhc/museums/hln-ccc/ccc-in-michigan)

Schueller, Mary J. The Soldiers of Poverty. Richfield, WI. Rustic Books. 2006.

Sommers, Barbara W. Hard Work and a Good Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota. St. Paul, MN. Minnesota Historical Society Press. 2008

Symon, Charles A. We Can Do It! A History of the CCC in Michigan 1933-1942. Escanaba, MI. Richards Printing. 1983.

Send us a text

Support the show

Conservation and Reforestation in the North Country was of great importance in the beginning of the Twentieth Century, several states had their own programs to bring back forests, and the United States Forest Service was created to replant forests across the country. These programs did some good, early work, but the most important impact was made in the wake of the Great Depression.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt was innaugurated as the 32nd president in 1933 he offered up his "New Deal" to put the country back to work. One of his most successful programs was the establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps. This week I am joined by Phil Naud, a CCC historian, who speaks about the creation of the CCC, the work that they performed in Michigan, and about a special population of enrollees, Military Veterans of the Spanish-American War (1898) and the First World War (1917-1918).

In Michigan, the CCC would do great work to stimulate the regrowth of the forests that were largely destroyed during the 19th century lumber boom, and by the wildfires that followed. More than 484 million trees were planted by the CCC in Michigan alone from 1933-1942. More than 102,000 men served in the CCC in Michigan, doing everything from planting trees, fighting fires, building roads, bridges, dams, and airfields, creating or improving parks and campgrounds, and doing stream improvement, among other jobs.

You can support the podcast by clicking on the "Support" button on the right (Desktop version) or the $ symbol at the top (Mobile version).

https://northcountryhistorywithrobburg.buzzsprout.com/

Episode Corrections:

At 7:02 I mention eight national forests in Michigan. This is incorrect. There are four in Michigan, eight in the Great Lakes region (Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin). The four in Michigan are: Huron NF and Manistee NF in the Lower Peninsula (they are managed jointly as the Huron-Manistee National Forest), and Hiawatha NF and Ottawa NF in the Upper Peninsula. The Marquette NF was also established in the Upper Peninsula, bust was later merged into the Hiawatha NF.

At 13:19 I respond to Phil's comment about the U.S. Senator from Michigan who suggested work that could be done. I said Vandenburg (Senator Arthur Vandenburg from Grand Rapids). It was actually James Couzens from Detroit. Couzens had been an executive with the Ford Motor Company and Mayor of Detroit before he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Additional Reading:

Carr, Ethan, Wilderness by Design: Landscape Architecture & the National Park Service. Lincoln, NE. University of Nebraska Press/Bison Books. 1998. (There is information regarding Recreational Demonstration Areas including Waterloo and Yankee Springs Recreation Areas in Michigan.)

Cohen, Stan. The Tree Army: A Pictorial History of the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-42. Missoula, MT. Pictorial Histories Publishing Company. 1980.

Rosentreter, Roger L. Roosevelt's Tree Army, Michigan's Civilian Conservation Corps. Lansing, MI. Michigan Bureau of History. 1986. (It is available online at: https://www.michigan.gov/mhc/museums/hln-ccc/ccc-in-michigan)

Schueller, Mary J. The Soldiers of Poverty. Ritchfield, WI. Rustic Books. 2006. (This is the book I referenced of the enrollee going from southern Illinois to Wisconsin to Isle Royale.)

Symon, Charles A. We Can Do It! A History of the CCC in Michigan 1933-1942. Escanaba, MI. Richard's Printing. 1983.

Additional Online Information:

CCC Legacy: https://ccclegacy.org/

Higgins Lake Nursery and CCC Museum: h

Send us a text

Support the show

This episodes marks the beginning of Season 2 of the North Country History with Rob Burg podcast. We look at what will be coming up on Season 2 airing from June through August, 2025. But first we recap Season 1 as a refresher and also an introduction for new listeners.

Season 2 will bring new guests to the podcast, take a look at the origins of the lumber industry in the United States in the Northeastern states of Maine, New York, and Pennsylvania, explore some new topics in forest history and to also revisit the lumber industry discussing technological changes, and the labor force of the lumber industry.

You can support the podcast by clicking on the "Support" button on the right (Desktop version) or the $ symbol at the top (Mobile version).

https://northcountryhistorywithrobburg.buzzsprout.com/

Season 2 Schedule:

June 2 S02.E02: Introducing Season 2 & Recapping Season 1.

June 9 S02.E03: The Civilian Conservation Corps Part 1: The New Deal's Outdoors Restoration Program. With guest Phil Naud.

June 16 S02.E03: The Civilian Conservation Corps Part 2: The Life of a CCC Boy. With guest Bill Jamerson.

June 23 S02.E04: Logging in the Northeast, Part 1: Maine-The Birth of an Industry.

June 30 S02.E05: Logging in the Northeast, Part 2: The Adirondacks.

July 7 S02.E06: Logging in the Northeast, Part 3: Penn's Woods.

July 14 S02.E07: Fire Follows the Axe: Lumber, Wildfires, and Climate Change.

July 21 S02.E08: The Passenger Pigeon. With guest Kyle Bagnall.

July 28 S02.E09: Lumber, Lakes & Lighthouses. With guest Bruce Lynn.

August 4 S02.E10: Railroad Logging.

August 11 S02.E.11: Sawmill Technology.

August 18 S02.E12: The Labor of Logging, Part 1: Timber Cruisers, Shanty Boys, and River Hogs.

August 25 S02.E13: The Labor of Logging, Part 2: The Men and Women of the Lumber Towns.

2025 North Country History Podcast Tour: N. Lower Peninsula/Upper Peninsula of Michigan, N. Wisconsin, and N. Minnesota. July 31-August 16, 2025.

• Frederic MI: "Deward: The Last of Michigan's Lumber Boomtowns."
• Pigeon River Country State Forest
• Mackinac State Historic Parks
• Peshtigo Fire Musem
• Nicolet National Forest
• Cathedral Pines Natural Area
• Lumberjack Steram Train & Camp Five Museum
• Rhinelander WI
• St. Croix River National Scenic River
• Snake River Fur Trading Post
• Hinckley Fire Museum
• Forest History Center
• Ely MN
• Superior National Forest
• Grand Portage National Monument
• Gooseberry Falls State Park
• Chequamegon National Forest
• Ottawa National Forest

How to Connect with North Country History

Email: Rob.NorthCountryHistory@gmail.com

Website: The North Country History with Rob Burg Podcast https://northcountryhistorywithrobburg.buzzsprout.com/

YouTube: North Country History with Rob Burg https://www.youtube.com/@NorthCountryHistory

Facebook: Rob Burg-Environmental Historian
https://www.facebook.com/RobBurgEnviroHistorian

Instagram: North Country History https:

Send us a text

Support the show

In 1917 with the United States of America's declaration of war against Germany, a call went out for volunteers to serve in the expanding U.S. Armed Forces. Not only were soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines needed, but so were lumberjacks, foresters, sawmill employees, and others who did work related to the lumber and forestry industries. These men were important support troops that were part of the unsung elements of all armies that go to war, the engineers.

As mentioned in episode 14, Major Edward E. Hartwick of Detroit, formerly of Grayling, Michigan, served with these men, as the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of the 20th Regiment of Engineers (Forestry). Edward Hartwick's biography, written by author Gordon K. Miller in 1921 sheds light on some of the work these men did to aid the war effort in France. Through diary entries and letters to his family, Major Hartwick described the work and living conditions of his soldiers.

Engineers and other support troops, such as commissary, supplies, teamsters, and hospital personnel, among others, have always been important for armies to march and survive. Not everyone who serves, carries a weapon. Listen this week to learn a little bit about some of these soldiers of the First World War.

You can support the podcast by clicking on the "Support" button on the right (Desktop version) or the $ symbol at the top (Mobile version).

https://northcountryhistorywithrobburg.buzzsprout.com/

Episode Sources:

Guthrie, Jno. D., James A. WHite, Henry B. Steer, and Harry T. Whitlock. The Carpathians, Tenth Engineers (Forestry) A.E.F.-1917-1919. Roster and Historical Sketch. Washington, D.C., May 1940.

Miller, Gordon K. A Biographical Sketch of Major Edward E. Hartwick, Together with a Compilation of Major Hartwick's Letters and Diaries written during the Spanish-American and World Wars. Detroit, 1921 (Privately Published). Reprint by Heritage Books, Berwyn Heights, Maryland, 2015.

20th Regiment of Engineers Website. Created by Bruce Porter. 20thengineers.com/ww1.html

World War I: 10th and 20th Forestry Engineers. Webpage of the Forest History Society, Digital Collections. foresthistory.org/digital-collections/world-war-10th-20th-forestry-engineers/

Send us a text

Support the show

In this bonus episode of the North Country History podcast we commemorate Memorial Day today with Edward Hartwick. Most people know of Edward Hartwick as the man who Hartwick Pines State Park is named for, but what do most people know about Edward Hartwick?

Edward Hartwick, a native of Grayling, Michigan was an army officer who attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Hartwick graduated from West Point in 1893 and received his commission as a Second Lieutenant. Lt. Hartwick served with the United State Cavalry in the western United States in the 1890s with the 9th Regiment of Cavalry. The regiment, one of the famous "Buffalo Soldiers" regiments consisted of black soldiers, led by mostly white officers. Edward Hartwick would serve with the 9th at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, in Cuba during the Spanish-American War in 1898, then at Fort Huachuca, Arizona until he resigned his commission and left the Army in 1899.

Hartwick married his childhood sweetheart, Karen "Bessie" Michelson, whose father, Nels Michelson, was an influential lumberman in Michigan. Nels Michelson helped to set up his son-in-law in the lumber business, parterning with Edward Hartwick in a small retail lumber business in Mason, Michigan, before Edward went out on his own, starting lumber businesses first in Jackson, Michigan, then in 1909, in Detroit, and starting up the Hartwick Lumber Company. This business would grow to five locations in the city by 1917 when Edward Hartwick would re-enter the Army.

The U.S. declared war on Germany in 1917, finally entering the Great War on the side of the Allies. Edward Hartwick immediately tried to volunteer for service in the expanding Army but was initially refused. At the time of the declaration of war, Hartwick was turning 46 and was deemed too old to go to war. The Army did have a need for experienced lumbermen and created the 10th Regiment of Engineers (Forestry) to provide needed lumber for fortifications, hospitals, barracks, and other military needs. It was soon evident that more forestry engineers were needed and in September 1917, the 20th Regiment of Engineers (Forestry) was established. It was then that Edward Hartwick was commissioned into the Reserve Officers Corps at the rank of Major, and appointed to the command of the 1st Battalion of the 20th Regiment of Engineers.

Major Edward Hartwick immediately threw himself into the training and leadership of his men at Camp American University in Washington, D.C. and on November 11, 1917 the first two battalions of the 20th Regt. embarked for France. The 20th arrived in France on November 26, 1917 and soon was sent to southern France where they began their forestry work. Major Hartwick commanded his battalion in Dax, France. In March of 1918, Major Hartwick contracted Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis and died on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1918. He was initially buried at the American Military Cemetery in Bordeaux, France. His remains were exhumed in 1920 and returned to Detroit where they were reinturned at Woodlawn Cemetery. Major Hartwick was one of the many war dead who died not from wounds from battle, but from disease.

You can support the podcast by clicking on the "Support" button on the right (Desktop version) or the $ symbol at the top (Mobile version).

https://northcountryhistorywithrobburg.buzzsprout.com/

Episode Sources:

Miller, Godon K. A Biographical Sketch of Major Erdward E. Hartwick, together with a Compilation of Major Hartwick's Letters and Diaries Written During the Spanish-American and World Wars. Detroit, Michigan, 1921 (Privately published).

Send us a text

Support the show

In the early Spring of 1854, 31 year-old David Ward, not yet known as "the Pine King" sought one of the state's greatest stands of "cork pine" (the highest grade of the Eastern White Pine) west of Otsego and Bradford lakes in Otsego County. This would be a race with the St. Mary's Falls Ship Canal Company's timber cruiser, Addison Brewer for the same stand of pine.

With the backing of Detroit lumbermen and bankers Dwight, Smith, and Co. and William A. Howard, David Ward and his assistant, John Baily, and their packers would experience the extreme changes in Michigan's late winter and early spring weather from three and a half feet of snow, frozen rivers, and -30 degree Fahrenheit temperatures to south winds and fast warm-ups that melted most of the snow in a single day.

The competition with the "Soo Canal Company" men continued south to Detroit then northwest to the United States Land Office in Ionia, west of Lansing.

The outcome of this is that David Ward would purchase 16,000 acres of prime "cork pine" at a cost of $20,000. At the time of the purchase, this great pinery was located far from the lumber markets with no easy way to move the lumber and it was considered to be "Ward's folly." By the end of the Nineteenth century, a major north-south rail line would run through the heart of Ward's holdings, and much of the timber would already be harvested, though a little of this holding would be part of the Deward Estate that would be logged the following decade during the existence of Deward.

In this special bonus episode, I read David Ward's own account of this event from The Autobiography of David Ward, published in 1912, after his death.

You can support the podcast by clicking on the "Support" button on the right (Desktop version) or the $ symbol at the top (Mobile version).

https://northcountryhistorywithrobburg.buzzsprout.com/

Episode Resources

Ward, David. "The Autobiography of David Ward." New York, 1912 (Privately Printed).

This book might be found in some libraries. The Devereaux Library in Grayling, Michigan, part of the Crawford County Library System, has a non-circulating copy that is available for patrons to study. Reprints may be available as well, as the book has gone out of copyright and is now in the public domain.

Inflation Calculator, www.in2013dollars.com.

"$20,000 in 1854 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $756,359.52 today, an increase of $736,359.52 over 171 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 2.15% per year between 1854 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 3,681.80%"

Send us a text

Support the show

In this final episode of the first season of the podcast, I am recording this remotely from the old lumber ghost town of Deward, Michigan. Deward lived as an actual town for just twelve years, 1900-1912, while the David Ward Estate logged off the last great pine lumber holdings of David Ward, Michigan's "Pine King" at the tail end of the white pine lumber boom.

Deward was located on the banks of the Manistee River near where Antrim, Crawford, Kalkaska, and Otsego counties meet. This was in the center of Ward's last great holdings of white pine lumber. David Ward was one of the great figures of Michigan's 19th century lumber industry. Born in 1822 in Keene, New York in the Adirondack Mountains, David Ward first came with his father to Michigan, to assist him in timber cruising for Eastern clients in the newly opened Michigan Territory. His family soon followed his father and David to Michigan, settling in Newport in St. Clair County (today's Marine City). David Ward followed in his father's trade as a surveyor and timber cruiser, however he tried other employment before settling completely into the lumber industry. He worked as a school teacher, a commercial fisherman, and even studied medicine at the University of Michigan, but it was in the lumber industry that he would make his fortune.

As a timber cruiser, David Ward was hired by others to seek out and purchase prime timberlands. Part of his payment was the right to reserve some of these purchases for himself. Ward was able to string together landholdings all over Michigan, primarily in the Saginaw River Valley and in the region of the headwaters of the AuSable and Manistee rivers.

David Ward died in 1900 at the age of 78. His will stipulated that his heirs had to liquidate his timber holdings within twelve years. A sawmill was located on the Manistee River with a rail connection to Ward's own railroad, the Detroit and Charlevoix Railroad. The mill was completed in late 1900, though logging operations had already begun in the area, with logs initially shipped by rail to other mills. The mill cut its last logs in the Spring of 1912 and the town quickly shutdown.

Michigan's last great stand of Eastern White Pine had been cut.

You can support the podcast by clicking on the "Support" button on the right (Desktop version) or the $ symbol at the top (Mobile version).

https://northcountryhistorywithrobburg.buzzsprout.com/

EPISODE RESOURCES

Leech, Carl Addison. Deward: A Lumberman’s Ghost Town. Michigan History Magazine. Lansing, Michigan. Vol. 28, No. 1, January-March, 1944.

Maybee, Rolland H. Michigan’s White Pine Era 1840-1900. Lansing, Michigan. Michigan Bureau of History. 1988.

Ward, David. The Autobiography of David Ward. New York. Privately Printed. 1912.

Mabel Edwards Secord Papers. Michigan Historical Collections, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Ward Family Papers, 1872-1964. Michigan Historical Collections, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Send us a text

Support the show

In this week's episode we travel to Hartwick Pines State Park where I visit with my old friend and former coworker Craig Kasmer, the park's interpreter/naturalist to learn about the wildlife that live in the northern forests.

The Old Growth Forest at Hartwick Pines State Park is a unique area. The large white pines that survived the lumber era is the main attraction, but they are not the only special part of this forest. The decaying logs and snags (dead standing trees) provide habitat for many species of wildlife. The wildlife in this forest and in other northern forests can vary greatly and are affected by outside forces from climate change to logging, fire, and construction. Craig talks about how the wildlife has been affected by all of these changes.

You can support the podcast by clicking on the "Support" button on the right (Desktop version) or the $ symbol at the top (Mobile version).

https://northcountryhistorywithrobburg.buzzsprout.com/

Learn more about Hartwick Pines State Park and its programs:

https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/places/v-centers/hartwick

Send us a text

Support the show