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.

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.

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.

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.