Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Summer storms,





Good Morning,
Last night around midnight, one of those beautiful summer storms rolled through this region, a real window shaker with lots of lightning and heavy rain.


Up on the Bigfork River, the water started to rise around midnight and by daylight, it had spilled over its banks flooding bogs and gardens for miles. Made a lot of folks mad but it provided pretty good water for lakes that had been low.


Yesterday a few Anishinaabe people came by our home, to raise awareness for fresh water. Pretty good idea. Pretty good people. Darned long walk.


Today, Little American falls will be splashing and churning with newfound energy. It's quite a sight to see. 


You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day.

Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.

Good Reading,
Ron

Monday, May 30, 2011

Memorial Day 2011

This famous image is of the GI's hoisting the US flag on Iwo Jima during World War 2. An important part of this is the fact that Ira Hayes was one of this group. He fought hard to get to the top of this hill.

Ira Hayes was a Pima indian from the western part of the US. This was truly a man of honor who loved his country. My Hayes was found dead years later in a muddy pool of water having died from the effects of alcohol. Such a sad ending for a good man.

Thank a Vet.
Ron

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Raspberries



One of old Wil Morgan's favorite things was raspberries. Have you ever tasted raspberries with fresh cream? I mean fresh cream, just poured from the ice box. It has to rate up there with the best things on earth.

I remember an old lady we called Aunt Beck. She wasn't my aunt or even the aunt of anyone I knew. She was just plain Aunt Beck. She lived here in northern Minnesota and was at least 200 years old.

Outside her little house was a raspberry patch the size of Manhattan. Well almost. Every morning during berry season, as soon as the dew was off the patch, she'd put on her berry picking apron and grab at least four large pails, and head out the door.

Within a couple hours, she'd be back inside, with a good fire going in the cook stove, and a canner full of boiling water. She'd fill the jars with berries, loosely packed, a scoop of sugar and then fill the jar with water. Then she'd put on the lids and rings and gently set them into the boiling water. After the prescribed time, she'd take them out and set them on the kitchen table. As they cooled, the lids would make a click and she'd know it was done just right. The ones that didn't seal correctly, were given to me along with a pitcher of cream.

I'm not sure, but I think I can still remember how it tasted. My my my! It was wonderful to be eight years old.

You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day.

Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.

Good Reading,
Ron

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Wil Morgan



Wil Morgan was the key figure in "The River Calls" and he eventually made his way into two later books that will appear here and on Amazon.com.


Wil was a friend of mine. Not much else needs to be said, he was my friend. He told me stories that were absolutely fantastic. 


The first time we met, we were talking back and forth on Ham radio. During the conversation, he was in his airplane, flying backwards over Bowstring Lake. We became close friends.


Wil is gone now, but I try to keep his memory alive in my books. 


You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day.

Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.

Good Reading,
Ron

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Summer


Here at "The River Calls" we like to show you what the life of the first settlers in Northern Minnesota was like. 

I can't help but wonder if the first settlers into northern Minnesota took time to smell the roses. Did they ever have picnics? Did they have family gatherings?

The answer is a loud and echoing "YES".

Some of the old papers I've read say that community picnics were held for nearly any occasion. Each woman on the Bigfork had a recipe that they were famous for. When a couple got married, each family brought food for the whole community. Today we'd call it a pot luck dinner.

Then when it was all done, out came the ice cream churns. Inside went cream, eggs and vanilla. The ingredients went inside the bucket along with the dasher. The lid was put on and ice was packed around the center container. Then salt was put onto the ice to make it extra cold.

Then came the hard part of turning the crank. Sometimes it took over an hour of cranking and the job was shared by many. Just when the ice cream was getting solid, you threw in a couple cups of chopped up strawberries. The crank was turned some more and finally it was declared done. The dasher was removed and the canister was packed in ice and salt for a couple hours. 

What finally came out after all this hard work was well worth the wait. Strawberry ice cream. Does life get any better!

You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day.

Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.

Good Reading,
Ron

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Mosquitoes

Here at "The River Calls" we like to show you what the life of the first settlers in Northern Minnesota was like. 

It was thought by the first settlers that they had indeed found paradise. The place was unbelievable with everything anyone could ask for.

Then after a year their opinion changed some. The mosquitoes were bigger than full grown vultures and winters froze anyone solid that stood in one place for more than a minute.

It wasn't exactly paradise, but all in all it was the best place there was to raise a family.

You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day.

Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.

Good Reading,
Ron

Monday, May 23, 2011

Ricing



Here at "The River Calls" we like to show you what the life of the first settlers in Northern Minnesota was like. A large part was gathering enough food to get through the next winter.

Wild rice was used as a staple food that would last all winter if properly processed and stored. It grew in the lakes and rivers and is a tall grass like plant with seed that matures in the fall and is harvested by using a canoe or small narrow boat. It was pulled over the side of the canoe and hit with another stick so that the rice landed inside the boat. 

It took a two person team with one picking and one poling, pushing the canoe along with a long pole.
You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day.

Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.

Good Reading,
Ron

Sunday, May 22, 2011

The Blacksmith

Blacksmith shoeing horse at a lumber camp.




Here at "The River Calls" we like to show you what the life of the lumberjack was like. One of the jobs that kept the timber moving was that of  the Blacksmith. Anything that concerned metal, concerned him. He'd keep the horses shod with ice shoes in winter, make and repair axes and pike poles. He would cut and trim the horses hooves and then fit a perfectly made shoe. This was one job that if not done right would make the horse lame in short order.

You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com.

Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.

Good Reading,
Ron

Saturday, May 21, 2011

The Cook Shack



Here at "The River Calls" we like to show you what the life of the lumberjack was like. Those were tough times for anyone and many came to work just to have some food to eat and a warm place to lay their head at night. The camp foreman watched for the slackers and ran them off in a hurry.


Payday was always on Friday evening after dinner. Many of the men headed for town to drink a bit of fire water and play some poker. Most came back the next day broke and hung over, but that was the life they chose.


You can find the EBook Kindle edition of this book at Amazon.com and at www.peaceriverbooks.com.

Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.


Good Reading,
Ron

Friday, May 20, 2011

That's quite a load!

Here at "The River Calls" we'll show you some of what the big timber camps were really like. This load of logs is so large that it makes the team of horses look pretty small. Once the horses got the load moving, you had the problem of keeping it under control. That little tiny man walked along side of the moving load and if it got going a little too fast, he'd throw a little hay on the iced road to slow it down.

If the load got moving a little too fast, the man always had an emergency plan, but the problem was that it ruined the road. He could throw a little gravel down and that stopped the load..... permanently. A new road had to be built and iced with the water wagon.

Glad you stopped into "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to put something new here each day.

The book "The River Calls" can be found at Amazon.com and www.peaceriverbooks.com.

Good Reading,
Ron

Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Wanigan

Here at "The River Calls" we'll try to show some of the things that made the life of the lumberjack at least tolerable for the men. One of these was the Wanigan.

As the huge rafts of logs made their way down river, a sizable crew of men made it all happen. They pushed, poked and prodded the logs all the way to the big mills downstream.

The men needed to be fed too and that was the job of the Wanigan crew. The inside of this floating kitchen was roughly about five paces by two paces. There was a large cook stove, a table and a lot of storage space. On the shelves were sacks of flour, yeast, baking powder, molasses, honey and a large supply of prunes. The men all loved prunes.

When it was time to eat, the cookee (cooks helper) blew the horn and the men came running. They'd come in the back and out the front and then find a comfortable place on the river bank to eat. Nothing fancy, but it got the job done.

Thanks for stopping by "therivercalls". The new Ebook "The River Calls" is available at Amazon.com and peaceriverbooks.com.

See you tomorrow.
Ron

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Sit down, shut up and eat.

In "The River Calls" blog, we'll talk about the life of the lumberjacks here in Northern Minnesota a long time ago. They were a tough lot, but even tougher were the camp cooks. The men came into the cook shack and found a spot to sit. The food was brought to their table in huge bowls and platters. Fresh bread was always on the menu.

The cooks would not tolerate any conversation at the tables. You were expected to eat and leave quietly.

There was always butter on the table too, but it was a little hard to get at. You see, it was in the shape of a ball and frozen solid. So if you tried to get a little butter for your bread, all it did was spin in the bowl.

Stop in when you can. We'll try to bring you a little tidbit of the inside of "therivercalls". My books are available at www.peaceriverbooks.com and amazon.com.

Thanks for stopping. See you tomorrow?
Ron

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

River Pigs

In "The River Calls" you'll hear the term River Pig. It has nothing to do with BBQ or picnics. A River Pig was the man who helped guide the large rafts of logs as they floated down Minnesota's rivers. When the raft got stuck, he'd run across the logs with a ten foot pike pole and try to free up whatever was stuck. When that didn't work, he'd bring out the heavy artillery. A case of dynamite usually did the trick.

One of the big dangers of being a River Pig was that the raft of logs was always moving. If a log turned as he stepped on it, he'd either break an ankle or worse, go into the river and under the logs. Very few that went down ever saw daylight again. It was a tough life.

At "therivercalls" blog, we'll give you a fresh look at the book "The River Calls" each morning. Also the blog at www.peaceriverbooks.com will tell you about about all of my books. The Ebook editions can be found at Amazon.com.

Thanks for stopping by and Good Reading.

Ron

Monday, May 16, 2011

Shoepack Pie

In "The River Calls" you'll find many references to the great foods once served in the logging camps. A good camp cook was essential to keeping a full logging crew. Many tales were told of how a bad meal cooked by a drunk cook could empty a camp over night. Good cooks were paid well, but some had tempers that were legendary.

As camp supplies started to run low a good cook became somewhat more creative. At the evening meal, there was a "sweet" of one kind or other. One was Shoepack pie. It was lemon flavored and not very high but the taste was fantastic lemon. The thing that made it so memorable was the name. A lumberjack started each day with a chunk or two of cardboard in his boots for warmth. At night he'd hang his boots by the woodstove and when morning came, he just added more. When it came time to replace the soggy mess, it had the look of the pie they all loved.

I hope you'll keep checking in at "therivercalls" blog. We'll try to make it worth the trip.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Swingdingles and Snortpoles

In "The River Calls" you'll read about many unusual people, places and things, but none will be more colorful than their own private language.

Swingdingles: were a small box with sleigh runners. It was about two feet wide, four feet long and about two feet high with a tight fitting lid. It was used to bring the noon meal out to the men along with a big pail of coffee. Some of them had a bell attached to the box so the men could hear it coming.

Snortpoles: were used in the bunkhouse when the logging camps got full of men. The places where the men slept had bunks big enough for two men. The snortpole was placed down the center of the bunk to keep the rollers from disturbing their bunkmate.

In the following days I'll take you deeper into "therivercalls" and tell quite a bit about life in the camps. I think you'll enjoy it.

Good Reading,
Ron

Saturday, May 14, 2011

The Beginning

My first book, "therivercalls" is truly a labor of love. In it I recount many tales told me as a young man by the real woodsmen of Northern Minnesota, the lumberjacks

Lumberjacks were a large part of the community where I was raised. We never saw them all winter because that was when they worked in the timber camps. But in the summer, quite a few of them stayed at area boarding houses.

These were tough no nonsense men who'd fight at the drop of a hat. But there was a gentler side as well. The Sky Pilot would visit them at least once a week.

There weren't many married lumberjacks. Few women wanted to be married to a man who only came home in the summer.

This great Ebook "The River Calls" can be ordered quickly and easily by clicking on Amazon.com .

I wish you good reading.

Ron