Sunday, October 19, 2014

It's Been Awhile; Some History

Luckily, the museum had a very busy summer, and the museum has a really busy winter planned. It still isn't any excuse to not check in with some random history stories.

One of my first stories will be about the environment and sawmills. An author contacted the museum to ask about the environmental impact of sawmills on the environment.

Not surprisingly, you won't find too many ex-sawmills in the Midwest labeled as Brownfield sites. In the West though, you will find that the sawmills have left their mark on the land in more ways than just barren forests (or in the more modern case, an engineered forest).

The impact of sawmills come from two main sources, the organic byproduct of sawmills and then the chemicals used to treat wood. So why won't you see too many sawmills in the Midwest labeled as environmental wastelands? Well our timeline. Remember that the logging of the Northwoods and Clinton's reign as a lumber capital was mostly in the late 19th century. So you can bet that the waste caused much damaged on the environment up and down the river. In fact, a future article will touch on this. But with time, it seems that environment has adapted with time.

The biggest reason you don't see a plethora of Brownfield sites, or lesser sites that are considered contaminated, was because the largest impact on the environment came from early wood treatment chemicals. Pentachlorophenol (PCP) and other chemicals were largely invented, or used widely, in the 1930's.

What's amazing about the impact sawmills had on the environment is how incremental it all was. All points of contamination: The leaking oil. The hydraulic fluids. The building pile of bark and sawdust. Then the dripping of PCPs off the wood as the dunked lumber went from tank of preservatives to the kiln. Most wood was either dunked in vats of fungicides or sprayed. You can imagine the urge keep up with the pace of a working mill. Then the kiln would dry the wood but evaporate more of the PCPs.


The result was over the years, chemicals infiltrated the waterways, infected fish and got into the drinking water. As a future post will show, it wasn't as if Clinton's sawmills left the environment untouched. We just see though that during the WWI-1970's time period, there were many chemicals used in the process that over years, turned the waterways and soil into a contamination zone.

Now the author who contacted the museum just wanted to know some background information to make a juicy plot point.







Sources:

http://yosemite.epa.gov/r9/sfund/r9sfdocw.nsf/86ca16814d20532b88256f0000092935/6b12e009c5be470f882570070063c2ec/$FILE/McN&P8_00.pdf

http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/hazardous/assessment-dioxin-contamination-sawmill-sites-2008-10/assessment-dioxin-contamination-sawmill-sites-2008-10.pdf

http://idosi.org/wjz/wjz1(2)2006/5.pdf

http://www.ecorights.org/mill_sites/mill_toppage.htm

Halloween! Haunted Maze!

The Sawmill Museum's Haunted Maze will be back again this year. On Saturday 10/25 and Sunday 10/26, from 1pm-5pm, a portion of the museum will be turned into a truly spooktacular maze for kids. The maze is a full fledged haunted maze as children work their way through the dark maze. In the corners of the maze, there are scary props and volunteer spookers. There will be sensory stations meant to test the meddle of a child. Be warned parents, it's just scary enough that most children will go through again and again until they defeat all the scary things. Touring the maze is included in the regular admission to the museum. Members get in for free. 
 
 
The maze will have masked people and depictions of zombies, clowns, ghosts, monsters, and other scary thing. There will be depictions of blood. There will be loud music, loud bangs, and a strobe light. There will be some crawling as well. Don't worry our volunteers are trained to come out of character and help guide the children along. The maze roughly takes 5-8 minutes to get through. Children are allowed to dress up, and there will be Halloween snacks provided as well. The target age is 5-11, and it is not meant to scare teenagers or adults; even though it might startle you!  

Bring out your kids and have a great time. Admission is $4 for adults and $3 for children. 

Monday, May 12, 2014

Iowa: Land of Many Mills

One of my favorite little books about the history of sawmills and gristmills in Iowa is Iowa: Land of Many Mills by Jacob Swisher. Published in 1940, the book provides a great picture of the role mills had in the development of the prairie (from Native American mortars to large steam mills of Clinton).

What follows is the cliff-note's version of his chapter, Sawmills on the Frontier, infused with more detailed history when possible. Swisher's history is in italics.

When Europeans came to Iowa, more than 1/10th of Iowa was timber. The first business in many frontier towns was either the gristmill or a sawmill. One of Iowa's first sawmill was Benjamin Clark's mill on Duck Creek in Buffalo of Scott County. Clark established his mill in 1834.  (Swisher, 65). 

According to Bettendorf: Iowa's Exciting City, the mill was established 15 years before Elias Gilbert platted the town of Bettendorf. Clark's mill sat just north of the modern Route 67, and his main competitor was Samuel Hedges who operated a sawmill on Crow Creek in Pleasant Valley. Once again, you see that before settlement, the sawmill was established. The Bettendorf author make a wonderful statement when they say that there were plans to develop a town around Clark's sawmill. However, Clark was more interested in sending all the lumber to build the town of Buffalo, the town he laid out seemingly soon  after he established the mill.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

"There's satisfaction in a proud tradition"

Another of the newspaper clippings found in the books donated to the museum from Friends of Clinton Library:

Page 10 - Clinton, Iowa, Herald     Saturday, December 7, 1985

Picture Caption: Leslie Struve owner and operator of Hauntown's sawmill, works alone. He claims hiring people involves too much government red tape.

Hauntown- On a recent morning, amid these peaceful surroundings, the silence was suddenly shattered by the ear-splitting scream and high-pitched wall of a power saw. It was Leslie Struve, 79, owner-operator of the large sawmill, going to work on an order for several hundred two-by-fours. He works alone, explaining that hiring help involves too much government red tape.

To many, the Struve family and the milling industry are synonymous. They have earned the reputation of being honest and competent millwrights.

Ernest Struve, Leslie's grandfather, was the first of the family to own and operate the Hauntown mill, acquiring it in 1869. He was followed by his son, William, who assisted his father in the mill, and then in 1887, bought it from him.

At some time, according to records, Dr. E.A. Wood of Sabula held an interest in the mill. Quoting from an August 1894 item in the Sabula Gazette, "Dr. E.A. Wood sold his two-thirds interest in Hauntown mill to his partner, William Sturve, for $8,000."

In July, 1926, the old mill, then 72 years old, burned to the ground. William Struve and his son, Harvey, suffered painful burns in a fruitless attempt to retrieve the account books and other records from the fire.

The loss was not covered by insurance; nevertheless, Struve immediately announced his intention to rebuild on the same spot, but said it would be a smaller mill. This mill, two and a half stories high, still stands. Sometime in the years following, Struve's son, Leslie, acquired ownership of this mill.

The mill which burned, built in 1854 by William Haun and one of the oldest in Iowa, was an impressive structure, 36 by 60 feet, five stories high, with 12 by 12 inch beams clear to the top. Even the rafters rested on 12 inch plates.

In the early days, water power was used to operate the flour mill, the grist mill and the sawmill. Later on, William Struve attached a steam engine for use when the water was low. This engine was one that had been used in the Sabula packinghouse. He traded flour for wheat but he used the old buhrstone mill for buckwheat and rye. Early settles came from 100 miles around to Elk River mills and Hauntown became one of the prosperous settlements.

And still the old mill drones on, cutting the two-by-fours.

What keeps Leslie Struve going? Admittedly, he is now well past the usual retirement age, and he also admits that he tires more easily than he once did. His father, William, was called "the honest miller" because he gave honest measure. He was also a capable miller, as was his father, Ernest. Maybe this is what drives him on.

There's a good deal of satisfaction to be derived in carrying on a proud family tradition.


Wednesday, May 7, 2014

First Hot Day of the Year. I Need Some Ice.

Yesterday Friends of the Clinton Library dropped by two books about general Clinton history. In one of them was two very pertinent and fun newspaper clippings. Here are the articles transcribed:

Page 24, Clinton, Iowa, Herald Saturday, February 28, 1981
Way back when: Ice that cooled came from river by Lee F. White Herald Editorial Consultant

Nineteen-inch ice on Mississippi River Pool 13 north of Clinton and Fulton this winter was a reminder for many years the ice that cooled things in the summer came from the river.

In more recent decades householders obtained ice from electric refrigerators which help preserve foodstuffs.

A city directory published in 1886 revealed that only one ice supplier served Clinton and none was listed for Lyons. The Clinton dispenser of the frigid material was O.G. Bauder, who operated under the name of Clinton Ice Co., 97 6th Ave.

As time passed things picked up a bit and by 1897 six dealers were listed- four in Clinton and two in Lyons.

George N. Chalker whose address was given as 915 S. 4th St., apparently was the top dealer as his name was printed in raised black letters. Chalker remained in the ice business many years but left it before the electric refrigerator became common.

Another veteran was Cummings and Co., 114 4th Ave S. Cummings got out of the ice business but continued to handle coal for many years, finally as a division of Camanche Building and Supply Co.

The river ice business began to wane after the Clinton Ice Cream and Artifical Ice Co., entered the ice business.

When "artificial" ice was introduced it was met with considerable opposition. Some claimed the "artificial" ice did not last as long as river ice frozen by Mother Nature during frigid winters.

But as time passed, the demand for "artificial" ice increased and pushed other dealers out of business. At least some apprehension was felt that river ice could be contaminated.

During the days when river ice was distributed and later when "artificial" ice became available, the ice wagon and its husky "ice men" had fixed routes. Householders used cards bearing number which indicated how much ice was wanted.

Delivery was made on chunks weighing multiples beginning with 25 pounds and moving up to 100 pounds. Not many of the big chunks were handled because of the weight.

Youngsters used to follow the ice wagons around to "mooch" pieces to suck but the "ice men" were not always in a generous mood.

Some private users of ice had their own small ice houses. They paid to have them filled with what was hoped to be a summer supply. All ice houses, large or small, covered stored ice with sawdust to control melting. When the "ice men" made deliveries they washed the sawdust from the ice chunks with buckets of water which came from the melting ice in the wagon.

The ice harvest began when the stuff was a foot or so thick. Special tools were used to saw out the cakes and load them on sleds drawn by horses to storage places.

The biggest harvester was the Chicago and North Western Railroad. It had a huge ice house bordering its tracks just west of South 14th Street. Thousands of tons were cut and hauled there for storage.

The ice was used to cool refrigerator cars hauling perishable fruit, vegetables and meat. During the ice harvest which was carried on just east of Little Rock Island, a special train was operated between the point and the ice house.

The ice harvest gave mid-winter employment to many men who otherwise would have been idle during the cold weather period.

The railroad ended its ice harvest when City Ice Co. came to Clinton, built a large "artificial" ice plant and used the product to cool the refrigerator cars. It was about the time that "artificial" ice and the electric refrigerator brought an end to the winter harvest of river ice.

Because of river changes through the years it would no longer be safe to use horse-drawn wagons or sleds across the Mississippi's channel to the Clinton shore.

Besides, who would want to mess around with all the problems of an ice harvest?



Saturday, March 29, 2014

Beaver Island-Albany War

Oral history recorded by Matt Parbs of Dwight Webber:

"My father was a saw filer for the Curtis Company. He also worked for Bennett Box Company. Once Curtis Company went under, Bennett Box bought the entire filing room-- well the equipment. My son-in-law has the rest of my father's equipment."

A few hours later, Dwight told the story about life on Beaver Island. Recorded is the conversation between Dwight and Docent Bob Alt:

DW: "My grandmother was born on Beaver Island."
BA: "You always heard about people driving to Beaver Island?"
DW: "You couldn't drive over there. They had a barge that would take people there during the summer. During the winter, people tried to drive over on the ice. They didn't always make it."
BA: "This was probably before the Lock & Dams. I bet the current was different."
DW: "It wasn't only that. There wasn't any water."

DW: "Beaver Island had everything you needed to live. Of course there was the Beaver Island-Albany War. They fought over 1,900 acres of kindling."

BA: "Where did you work?"

DW: "Clinton Corn. I left for seven years building church camps. (When I came back) I got laid off when they were having all that labor troubles in the 70's."

BA: "We were just talking about that. A lot of people lost their livelihood because of that."

DW: "Caused a lot of families to break up. Wives divorced their husbands. One of my friends had a sod house. He had to mow the walls because it was a sod house. (With Clinton Corn job), he bought a new house. When he lost his job, he didn't have enough money to keep going."

BA: "Lots of history between Beaver Island and Clinton Corn."

DW: "When I first started as a machinist apprentice at Clinton Corn, one of the guys took me up to the sewing room. The lady in charge of that was Ruth. She was from Beaver Island. She said 'I remember you. Your mother used to bring you over to my house.' She was old enough that she was having trouble remembering things. Turns out, it was my grandmother that was bringing my father to her house as a young man."

I will add commentary and sources to add accuracy over the next few days.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Agri-Talk & KCLN Agriculture Round-table

In honor of National Agriculture Day, I want to share a great event that happened at the museum on March 20, 2014.    

A few months prior, the phone rang. I didn't even let the voice on the other end finish his sentence before I said yes, you must. Museums live for these sort of moments. A national radio show would broadcast live from the museum, and afterwards, a two hour roundtable on agricultural issues affecting Iowan-Illinois farmers would commence. All the museum had to do was provide a space.




First and foremost a huge thanks needs to be extended to Chris Streets and his team at KCLN. When KCLN's parent company, Prairie Radio Communication, asked Chris to find a place that screamed Clinton, Chris told his boss, Vanessa Wetterling, The Sawmill Museum. So not only does Chris choose us, he and his team went above and beyond to make the museum's life easy. His team setup the entire show. They coordinated all facets of the day. As I said multiple times on March 20th, "This is my sort of event. They did all the work and still gave us all sorts of glory!"

Chris and his team though let the true stars of the day shine, the guests. I never got tired hearing Mike Adams of Agri-Talk announce to his listeners how beautiful the museum was. I loved the passion that every guest had about agriculture. If you haven't had a chance to attend one of these meetings or catch it on the radio you should. Once the podcast appears, I will link to them.  Below the break is a play-by-play of the day.



Friday, March 14, 2014

St. Patrick's Day: Traditions and Celebrations

If you don't wear green on St. Patrick's Day, you get pinched, right? The day that has been widely associated with leprechauns, pots of gold, Irishmen, shamrocks and clovers, and the color green is upon us in a few short days. How many of you can say you know much about this very green holiday?

St. Patrick's Day is a long-standing tradition in the United States. The Irish holiday was originally a religious feasting day in honor of the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick, but has today morphed into a celebration of Irish culture.

March 17 marks the anniversary of Saint Patrick's death, which occurred in the fifth century. Although widespread observation of the holiday in Ireland started as early as the 9th or 10th centuries, it was in America in 1762 that the first St. Patrick's Day parade was done. The participants were Irish soldiers in the English military, and the parade helped them re-identify with their heritage.

Due to increased Irish patriotism among American immigrants, many more parades sponsored by various Irish Aid programs sprung up. In 1848, several of these societies united and formed what is known as today as the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade, and is the oldest civilian parade still held in the United States. Every year 150,000 participants line up and march a one and a half mile route while over 3 million spectators look on. Other large parades are held in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Savannah.

In 1845, the Great Potato Famine happening in Ireland brought many immigrants to the States, and they weren't immediately accepted for their new and different accents and their unfamiliar religious practices. When the immigrants attempted to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in their new home, they were depicted as drunk, violent, and rowdy by the newspapers, and a negative reputation stemmed from this coverage. However, because the number of Irish immigrants was growing, the group soon proved to be a powerful political swing vote, and the St. Patrick's Day parades became a symbol for Irish ethnic pride, as well as important and well-attended political events.

As immigrants spread throughout the country, old traditions followed, and new ones sprang up wherever the immigrants settled. One of these new traditions is the dyeing of the Chicago River green on St. Patrick's Day. The practice began in 1962, after pollution-control workers in the city had the idea to re-purpose the dye they were using to trace illegal hazardous waste in the river. Now, every year the river turns green for a few hours on March 17, but in the 1960s, so much dye was used that the river stayed green for several days.

The city of Savannah, Georgia swears that they were the first to have the idea to dye a river green for St. Patrick's Day. Savannah is home to the oldest St. Patrick's Day parade, which started in 1813. The claim is that in 1961, a hotel restaurant manager convinced the city to dye a nearby river green. When they attempted the feat, the river did not quite reach the vivid green color that Chicago regularly achieves. Rather, it turned a greenish blue color, and it was never attempted again. That same manager who asked the city of Savannah to try claims to have given the idea personally to the mayor of Chicago at that time.
The Chicago River on St. Patrick's Day.

The United States and Ireland aren't the only places that celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Other places are as far reaching as Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore, and Russia.

St. Patrick's Day in Ireland has always been a religious holiday first and a party second. In fact, until the 1970s, Irish law rendered all pubs closed on March 17. The stereotypical intoxicated Irishman on St. Patrick's Day is a product of the American newspapers smearing the reputation of the Irish immigrants who celebrated the holiday in America for the first time. Today in Dublin, where Ireland has it's largest festival, one million people gather to celebrate. The festival lasts for days and includes events such as parades, concerts, and fireworks displays.

Today in America, it is estimated that about 34.7 million Americans can trace Irish in their ancestries, and that number is more than seven times the population of Ireland.

In America, the Irish and non-Irish alike celebrate St. Patrick's Day by wearing green, eating a traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage, and images of leprechauns, shamrocks, and pots of gold are plentiful. How did these things come to be associated with St. Patrick's Day?

The color green's association with the holiday stems from the "Emerald Isle" nickname for Ireland, which the country received based on its beautiful green and rolling countryside. The leprechaun figure is believed to be based in Celtic beliefs in fairies, where they are identified as tricksters who initiated their antics in order to protect their treasures, or pots of gold, as we now commonly accept. The shamrock's association comes all the way from Saint Patrick himself, who is said to have explained the Holy Trinity, a Christian religious principle identifying the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, with the three petals on a clover. As the symbol passed through the ages, it became a badge of identification and pride for the Irish.

The tradition of eating corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day didn't originate in Ireland, exactly, as is commonly believed. The Irish alternative to corned beef was called Irish bacon, which was a cut of pork similar to Canadian bacon. Irish immigrants in America found that corned beef was cheaper and tasted just as great, and made the dish easy to prepare in the same pot.

Join us in celebrating St. Patrick's Day at the museum. A party will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 15. Let's see who can catch a leprechaun! There will be gold coins all over the museum waiting to be found. And don't forget to wear green!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Companions In A Desolate Place: Dogs & Their 'Jacks

I bet the first animal that comes to your mind when you think of a lumberjack is a big blue ox, or maybe a horse. Yet, dogs were a constant companion for the lumberjacks -- often as a helper or the camp mascot. Sometimes a dog or an animal ceased being of this world, like the Hodag-- which has no relation to a dog outside of a claim that its name means horse dog. What follows will be mostly a look into the lives of dogs in lumber camps. However, like so much in the Northwoods, you can learn most of about the reality by examining the folk stories and songs that permeated throughout the camp.
An amazing caption from Explore Rhinelander
Most of the accessible stories show that dogs were mainly used for transportation on site. Joe Lefebvre's shares a story in Donald MacKay's The Lumberjack, about using a team of dogs to deliver 200 loads of wood, most likely cords, a quarter of a mile one winter. The dogs were beneficial because the lumberjacks were cutting in swamp in Quebec. Horses would sink. Dogs could make it through. Later Joe had an accident. It was the team of dogs that made the 70 mile dash to safety (Mackay, 293). 

In fact, it sounds like the use of dogsleds rose out of multiple strains of need. In the entry "Lumberjack Sky Pilots" on Mnopedia.org, Frank Higgins, a minister who would visit the camps, would in addition to saving souls would attempt to save lives and limbs. Frank would bring injured lumbermen into town. "After a particularly long and bumpy toboggan ride," Frank came up with using dogs "as a dog-drawn ambulance." 

Frank Higgins and his dog sled as found on http://www.mnopedia.org/multimedia/frank-higgins

Friday, February 14, 2014

President's Day at the Sawmill Museum

Photo Courtesy of the National Park Service
We are familiar with the presidential faces on Mount Rushmore, aren't we? George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln peer down at us from their places carved in the side of the mountain. Did you know that these men also had experience with surveying?

A special President's Day event is taking place at the museum this Saturday, February 15, starting at 10 a.m. At that time, museum director Matt Parbs will be giving a presentation about presidential surveyors. Not only will he shed some light on the Mount Rushmore men's experience in the profession, but he will share information on over ten more presidents who also have experience in the field, including Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan. The presentation will also showcase the field's changing position as a professional and recreational activity through the years.

Later in the day, children will have the opportunity to create a President's Day craft, beginning at 1 p.m. A repeat presentation will take place at 4 p.m.

We hope to see you at what will prove to be an interesting and informative presidential surveyor discussion!

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Twice the Love for Valentine's Day and Love the Boy Scouts Day

February 8 will be a day full of love at The Sawmill Museum. With Valentine's Day nearing, participants will get the opportunity to create the perfect box to collect this year's valentine cards in. The day also brings us the birthday of the Boy Scouts of America. 2014 marks the 104th year of the Boy Scouts, a day we are commemorating with Love the Boy Scouts Day. You could say that we'll be feeling twice the love on February 8!

Speaking of love, isn't that what Valentine's Day is all about? The centuries-old holiday is celebrated in the name of St. Valentine by swapping cards, candies, and gifts, but who is St. Valentine? What is the history of this lovely holiday?

 One legend says that St. Valentine was a priest who, when the emperor of Rome in the 3rd century prohibited young men to marry in favor of them becoming soldiers, continued to marry young people in love in  secret. Another story has St. Valentine being killed for helping imprisoned Christians escape the Romans. A third legend says that Valentine himself was imprisoned and sent the first valentine card to a young girl with whom he'd fallen in love during her visits to his place of incarceration. Legend would have him sign his letter "from your Valentine," a phrase that has survived to be printed on the Valentine cards we send today.

This time of the year was celebrated by the Pagans as a festival called Lupercalia, which focused on fertility, and by Christians as St. Valentine's feast. It was at the end of the fifth century when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 as St. Valentine's Day. However, the association with love that defines the day for us now didn't come about until much later, and well into the Middle Ages.

The earliest known written Valentine dates to the year 1415, and was written by Charles, Duke of Orleans, during the Hundred Years' War. 

Today, Valentine's Day is celebrated in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Mexico, and Australia. The Greeting Card association estimates that about 1 billion Valentines cards are sent each holiday.

With that much love being spread,  maybe we could extend some to the Boy Scouts of America!

Thursday, January 23, 2014

National Opposite Day... Or is It?

No, it's not Opposite Day, and no, we don't have any exciting National Opposite Day activities planned in order to celebrate it.

Don't plan to be at the museum on Saturday, January 25, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., because you won't be missing out on a wonderful Opposite Day celebration.

It's uncertain exactly when and with whom Opposite Day started, but we do know that we celebrate it January 25 every year. On this day, everything we say, do, see, and even hear, are total opposite of what those things mean on a normal day.

Opposite Day at the Sawmill Museum is gearing up to be lots of fun. The festivities will include an opposite scavenger hunt, and some opposite craft projects. Think we'll be able to keep it all straight?

If SpongeBob Squarepants can make it through a day of opposites, then so can we, so don't be there!

Six More Weeks of Winter?

What a winter we've had this year. With record low temperatures and heavy snowfall, I think we all are asking the same question. When is it going to be over?

February 2 will bring Groundhog Day to us, and possibly an answer to that question. The day has an interesting history, and is the theme of our event on Saturday, February 1, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., where participants will be able to make their own groundhog and terrain.

Groundhog Day was first observed as it is today in 1886. In the town of Punxutawney, Pennsylvania, a groundhog by the name of Punxutawney Phil will emerge from his home on Gobbler's Knob and take a look around, predicting the weather for the remainder of the winter. If Phil sees his shadow, then six more weeks of winter will follow. However, if Phil does not see his shadow, then it is predicted that spring will shortly follow.

The Groundhog Day tradition has roots in Pennsylvanian German customs, which date back to the 18th and 19th centuries and have origins in European weather lore. Groundhog Day also may have stemmed from Candlemas Day, an event observed by early European Christians. The custom was that clergymen blessed candles that were then distributed to the people. On the day that this happened, the weather was noted, and was used to predict the weather for the next few weeks. There are varying rhymes from different regions and countries that suggest what the weather meant, and included are English, Scottish, and German versions.

These days, Punxutawney Phil's appearance every year on February 2 draws tens of thousands of people to Punxutawney, PA and Gobbler's Knob to watch the little animal make his prediction. The Inner Circle, the group responsible for the care of Phil, recognizable by their top hats and tuxedos, plans the ceremony, which begins long before the sun rises at about 7:25 a.m. Based on past predictions and weather records, Phil's predictions have been correct 39 percent of the time.

Folklore suggests that since 1886, there has been only one groundhog that emerges from Gobbler's Knob every year, and that groundhog is Punxutawney Phil. According to the lore, it is a special groundhog elixir that he is given a sip of every summer that keeps Phil healthy and adds seven more years to his life.

When Phil is not at Gobbler's Knob predicting the weather, he lives in the town library with his 'wife' Phyllis.

Want to make your own Punxutawney Phil or Phyllis? On Saturday, February 1, at 1 p.m., you will have the opportunity to do so, and to create his or her own terrain. Join us to see if we get an early spring, or six more weeks of this winter weather.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Society for the Prevention of Calling Sleeping Car Porters "George"

Known simply as SPCSCPG, the man who created the Society for Prevention of Calling Sleeping Car Porters George called Clinton home. A George was behind this group, and this George was the key organizer behind two of Clinton's most enduring businesses, Eclipse Lumber Company and the Climax Engineering Company.

George Dulany established Eclipse Lumber in Minneapolis, but the firm had 22 lumber yards throughout America. To better manage the yards, George moved the headquarters to Clinton in 1910. He purchased the old Lamb Office Building, which sadly no longer stands.

While in Clinton, he is often credited for the creation of the Chamber of Commerce, getting the local Boy Scout troop started, and serving various other local organizations. His national claim to fame was the creation of SPCSCPG in perhaps 1914 or 1916. Eventually, the Society had Babe Ruth and King George as members, and at its height, 30,000 other members joned to advocate that the nickname for porters be changed from George to well anything.

Why would a George from Clinton, Iowa, England, and others care? Porters were almost always African-American. They were called George because George Pullman was their boss. A holdover from slavery, whites prescribed to African-Americans their master's, or in this case boss's, name. This didn't sit well with George Dulany.

Like so many whites in the turn of the century (like my boy William Faulkner), there was often an interesting relationship between blacks and whites. Whites, while not necessarily wanting the death of African-Americans, often operated from a very paternalistic position of power. George funded the Piney Woods Country Life School, a black boarding school in Mississippi, in "the memory of Aunt Lunky, a faithful mammy who served our family many years."

It is one thing to help educate those who served you. It's another to have to see them take your name. So whether out of amusement or true consternation, George Dulany founded the SPCSCPG. In 1959, the Clinton Herald described the SPCSCPG as one of his lighter side projects that was a "national fun organization." The Society was often featured in Time, Business Weekly, and other magazines. The Society sent out tens of thousands of membership cards to every George it could find.

While Dulany might have been having fun, it was real for the porters. The use of the name George robbed them of their identity. Having to be subjected to this harassment, tested their patience. George truly meant nigger. Whites realized quickly that the n word was charged. The use of the n-word would be too much for many whites. George though solved that. It solved it so much that George caught on in other professions. In fact, today the grunt workers at car dealerships are often called George.

Porters always fought and eventually gained a union and many rights like nametags.

The Racial and Class Riots of The Raftsmen

      Many raftsmen called Iowa and Illinois home, either permanently or just passing through. The American heritage often celebrates them through song and myth. Often they are viewed through the prism of the working class and a shared river experience.

           While it is easy to romanticize the raftsmen and river pigs, one should never forget that their antics were permanent and forever affected their contemporaries.


       Take for instance, a little note in the 1869 when 125 raftsmen boarded the Dubuque steamer in Davenport.  Simply: The raftsmen, riding the deck, tried to enter the area "roped" off for the cabin passengers. A "negro" guard blocked their entry, which caused the raftsmen to attack the guard and then the crew. All told, the raftsmen stabbed five African-Americans. The raftsmen commandeered the boat and headed north. The ship captain notified the sheriff of Rock Island about the vigilantes, and the sheriff formed a large "army" to save the ship. Actually on the shores of Clinton, the sheriff and his army took control of the ship, and 42 raftsmen were jailed. The other 80 or so, on their best behavior, supposedly spent the night in the town.



Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Boothby Family Lore

Recently Jim Boothby visited the museum on one of our sawing dates, and he left us a gem of a note:

Family Lore,
    The sawmill (it was north of the building at Hauntown) was purchased by the Struves from Bert Boothby in 1922. It was located in the Green Island bottoms and hauled to Hauntown by the Struves. My granddad Bert and father told me this. I believe grandpa told me that with the top saw, it would cut a 54'' diameter log.
Jim Boothby.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Goodbye 2013... and Hello to 2014

What a year 2013 has been. We at the Sawmill Museum have done our best to provide the community with fun and interesting activities and a memorable museum experience.

We extend a special thank you to those who helped us accomplish our goals.

The new year has some exciting things in store for the museum. January has several events coming up quickly. On Saturday, January 4 from 1 to 3 p.m., museum-goers can learn to make ice cream with just a few ingredients. Which will be colder, your homemade ice cream, or the cold January temperature?

Then on Sunday, January 5, starting at 1:30pm, our vintage sawmill will be up and running. Our sawyers will be making some interesting cuts.

On Tuesday, January 7, from 5pm-7pm, there will be a special reception for Lyons Middle School's art projects.

The following Saturday, January 11, from 1 to 3 p.m. is Wacky Science Day. A few hands on experiments and some demonstrations of some cool science themed projects.

Saturday, January 18, from 1 to 3 p.m. is Be an Engineer Day. We'll provide the wood, but what you make from it is completely up to you. Let's see what you can do!

Saturday, January 25, from 1 to 3 p.m. is National Opposite Day. Join us for a day filled with crafts that require flips and flops, twists and turns, and mirrors and reflections to design.

As we welcome the new year, keep in mind that a family membership to the museum is only 50 dollars per family, for up to six people for a full year.

All programs are free with a paid admission to the museum.