Historical Vignettes
In the l9th century if you were a lady cooking at a lumber camp this is
what would be required on a regular basis.
In those day the cook worked from sunup to sundown and had to be ready for a supper call. Beginning at 5:30, three time a day a meal was prepared for 65 healthy appetites. Sometimes there were one or two flunkies sometimes called "cookies".
Twice a week 35 loaves of bread were baked and 350 buns.-every forenoon a 50 pound keg of molasses cookies and a 50 pound keg of white cookies. Every other day she turned out a key of fried cakes and every morning before daylight 18 pies were in the oven.
Enough beans were cooked over time to feed a small army. Side pork and beef
steak were common bill-of-fate and now and then a little venison--there was
always lots of meat.
Breakfast in a lumber camp was one to bolster a weakened constitution.
Generally there were warmed up "taters" and salt pork along with
pancakes-all you could eat. Lots of coffee boiled in a big pot and poured
black and scalding.
There's more to warming up "taters" than most women know. You have to get
the meat fryings just so hot- almost smoking before the taters are put in
the iron skillet. Then you chop them with a tin can until they are very
fine. Brown them and turn them two or three times and they are fine, not
like the soggy ones in restaurants.
Dessert was ample with prune pie, dried apple an now and then, lemon pie- if
the ingredients were available.
There were no recipes to go by when one cooked for a lumber camp. One just
took a pinch of this and a scoop of that, a little fat or shortening and a
dab of something else and presto-good wholesome food.
Another item of which the men were fond was cornmeal mush. For breakfast it was served as cereal. Cooked slow and thin and served with brown sugar or it can be cooked longer and poured in a bread pan , then sliced and fried with a dab of butter and maple syrup- it is fit for a king.
Swedish and Norwegian lumberjacks liked their thin odorous sourdough pancakes. The worse they smelled the better they liked them. Another favorite was Vinegar pie: 1-1/4 c. sugar, 1-1/2 c. boiling water, 1/3 c. vinegar, 1/3 c. cornstarch and a dash of nutmeg. Stir the ingredients together and cook until clear and thick. Stir half the mixture into 3 beaten egg yokes, combine mixture again; place entire filling back on wood range for 1 minute add a tablespoon of butter and pour into baked shell.
Call to meals varied from camp to camp Sometimes a great iron triangle struck by a heavy iron was the signal. Or it was a long dinner horn with a call like that of a mating bull moose. Whatever the call no one was ever late for a meal. Each man had his own place and heaven help a new man who sat in the wrong place. There was no idle chatter at the tables. "Pass the taters", "some bread", "hand me the butter" was the extent of the conversation.
The ladies were there in major numbers. They did not have any electric toasters or dishwashers; they had no vacuum coffee makers or electric mixers. They did have ambition, endurance, and skill. They also had long hours; a 15 hour day was not unusual and an 8 hour day was rare. The ladies-- God Bless Them All!
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It was JUNE 1953 when a tornado ripped through Iosco County, killing four
area residents and injuring nine others. With a power failure throughout the
county the hospital which would have opened in about two more weeks was
forced to an early opening to care for the injured. Their generator enabled
them to have the only lights in the county for a period of time. The
healthcare facility first envisioned by the Tawas Hospital Association and
its founder, Dr. John LeClair, was a reality. On that stormy night of June
S, 1953 St. Joseph Health System was born.
Joseph Barkman, Historical Society Founder and lifelong preserver of artifacts and other memorabilia , and owner of Barkman Lumber Co. donated the land for Tawas Hospital, thereby becoming the first benefactor. W. J. Wigen of Saginaw was hired as architect. The hospital building was constructed in 1951 and 1952 and as bulldozers arrived and workers toiled at the corner of the two busiest thoroughfares in town-M-55 and US 23, community members saw the dream take shape.
In the 1940's community leaders had a vision to build and operate a hospital in northeast Michigan. They dreamed of a health care system close to home not an hour and a half down the road.
Key to the vision was Dr. John D. LeClair (the "town dentist", as his son John A. LeClair, now describes him) and the newly formed Tawas Hospital Assn. They began the process, working with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Nazareth, MI to raise the $300-650,000 needed for construction to begin.
On March 26, 1953, the Sisters of St. Joseph arrived at the hospital to receive the keys, begin organizing the facility and hire and train employees. An open house in May showcased the new hospital to local residents, administrative folks and association members and the Sisters of St. Joseph led residents on tours of the facility.
Under the direction of Sister Rita Louise the hospital opened its doors to the injured a bit earlier than scheduled and the rest is history. The Historical Society Board's trustee, Katherine Zelmer, has been an award wining hospital auxiliary member as has our super volunteer (always ready to pitch in) Edna Nunn. Board members Arlene Salisbury and Rosemary Klenow. are also long time auxiliary volunteers, and Trustee Mary Harpold had the 2000th baby born at TSJH. Stephanie Wilkuski (see Wilkuski room at museum) was one of the original local Grey Ladies. Her uniform (with three hemline adjustments) is on display at the museum.
As the health needs of the community have grown over the past five decades , so has St. Joseph Health System. St. Joseph Health System is a part of Ascension Health, a national Catholic -based health care organization. Rooted in the ministry of Jesus as healer they are committed to the values of service to the poor, reverence, integrity, wisdom, creativity and dedication.
Today new services are being offered to meet present day needs. Presently under construction are The Joint Replacement Center and a new surgical unit. The courtesy coach is a much used service. Services have expanded to meet the needs of the community. From a tiny acorn a mighty oak has grown.
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GOOD OLD DAYS IN THE TAWAS AREA
Story by Joseph Barkman as told to Mrs. Maude
Braman
Published by the Bicentennial Committee-1976-
My father, Abram Barkman, came to Tawas City In 1883 when he was 16 years old, working for T. W. Simon in his general store for five years. After leaving, he started In business in East Tawas, purchasing a building from A. J. Urhart, harness maker. This building was on the site of the A&P on the right hand side. The upstairs was used for living quarters. In the middle of the store were four hanging lamps, in case the lights went out. Today we have few of these lamps left on hand with brackets. Being it is over 50 years since the Dry Goods and General Merchandise Store was sold out, I will try to recollect the goods sold in those days.
In the front of the store on the left hand side, dry goods were carried on the shelves. Calico in different colors was sold at 3-1/2 cents per yard. Gingham was handled in different patterns, muslin sheeting, buckrum for linings in coats, outing flannels in different colors, pure white woolen flannels, pillow casing, bed spreads, percales, dimity. Lots of outing was used to make quilts; cotton bating was used for centers with colored yarns to tie the two sides. Cotton button used to come in rolls with blue paper around it, open on both ends. I never liked to handle them as the cotton got on your clothes and was hard to get off. When a person came in to buy 15 or 20 yards of white outing, we always had the idea that they expected an increase in the family, being it was used for diapers. Carpet warp came in different colors in 5# spools, being used mostly for making rag carpets, etc. Ready made quilts that used to sell for around a dollar or more were stuffed with all kinds of odds and ends. Blankets came in cotton and woolens.
In those days a good many women could not afford winter coats. So they used to wear woolen shawls instead. These came in dark colors. In the finishing lines, we carried embroidery, insertion, laces, silk ribbon, taffeta ribbons, baby ribbon. Silks and satin came in cardboard covers. A small stock of lace curtains in different patterns was carried also. Hosiery was all black for women and children. Prices were around 10 to 15 cents. People would have to be in a higher brackets that paid 25 cents a pair.
Corsets were handled in different styles, some with whale staves, others with steel staves. Also carried were brassieres that grandma wore to fool grandpa. If you look at the old styles around 1905, the women were all small waisted so that you could get your hands around them. One time a person took a Corset on approval, which she returned. Several days later she came in and wanted to know if we still had the same corset. So looking over the stock, we found it. It seems that she pinned her pocket book in the corset when she was trying it on and forgot it when she returned the corset.
A full line of notions of all kinds were carried, as well as heavy gold wedding
rings. A large stock of all kinds of button on cards was carried. Spool threads
in white and black of all sizes as well as silk thread. The concerns used to
give thread cabinets on larger sales of their products. Today, I still have six
of these cabinets left. Anyone seeing them always wants to buy them. Lots of
fancy vests in different colors were sold. Now it is a thing of the past.
The railroad men used to buy a better class of overalls that sold for around
$1.00 a pair. These overalls were manufactured by Hamilton Carhatt Co. of
Detroit. The buttons were of bright brass color with a heart and a car pressed
in them. Their slogan was, "they wear like a pig's nose".
Underwear used to come in balbriggan, fleece line, red and white flannel for all members of the family. In the winter McMillan pants manufactured in Malone, N.Y. were a heavy seller. In those days they had very tight leg pants. All you could do is get into them. They were called "By Jesus Pants". Men's good wool serge suits sold for $10.00 per suit. In the early days they used to tell when a party came in to buy a suit, when he when he was trying on the coat they would slip a pocket book stuffed with, paper into the pocket, so when the customer felt it he thought it had been left by mistake. I can imagine what the party thought after buying the suit and taking It home only to find out what was in the pocket book.
Hats, caps, and derbys in different colors were handled. If they were too small they would use a hat stretcher. If they were too large a piece of felt, about the size of a lamp wick was put into the band. One time, a dealer sending out statements, sent a farmer a statement for caps. A few days later, the farmer came in and wanted to know what the idea was of sending him a bill for caps as he only had girls. The dealer told him that he had a dunce for a clerk, always making mistakes. After the farmer left, he told the clerk to send the bill to John Jones as he had so many boys that he would never remember if he got them or not.
In the shoe line we had different classes of shoes for men, women, and children. We used to handle shoes manufactured by Selz Shoe Co., trademark "make your feet feel glad'. Also a line manufactured by Hirth Krause Co. of Greenville , that had a French name meaning Red King. This concern is now the parent company of the Hush Puppy line of shoes. We used to have men's shoes that sold for $1.50. The side leather was very stiff, the soles had wood pegs and were very rough inside. You wonder how a person could really wear them. Lots of pattern leather shoes were sold, which is now a thing of the past. Ladies shoes were either lace or button. After a woman tried on a pair of shoes she could button them up without changing them, then take off the buttons that were sewed on by thread. Would have to use a three-prong clip, putting one prong into the eye of the button, then put the button into a plier, than fasten them on the shoes. Children's shoes used to come with copper toes so they would not wear out so fast. In those days when a foreigner came in with his children to buy, he would buy what he thought would give the best service. But Americans were different; if Johnny did not like the shoes the sale was spoiled. Woodsmen would always buy felts that they would put in rubbers with one clasp called Hurons.
In taking inventory, we did not have any measuring devices, so we would have to start in November. We would have to take all the bolts of goods and unwind them, and then measure and wind them all back up and put a tag on them showing the amount on each roll. Each time some was sold, we would have to subtract the amount sold. The counter would have three brass balls on each end of a yard wide, two in the center for half and one between for 1/4 yard. By the time that you would measure up all the different kinds of goods, laces, ribbons, etc. you would know that you had done a good day's work.
In the early days, there was no such a thing as one price. The merchants had to mark goods a little higher as they would expect that the customers would want it much cheaper. I always remember one time that a Fin came in to purchase some goods. He would pick out all the things he would be interested in. So, after you figured it up, the total would come somewhere around $40.00; he would tell you that he would give you $20.00. It was hard bargaining to get more out of him. So, if you priced it high enough, that would leave you a small profit and you would accept his offer.
In neckwear, we had regular ties, and also four-hand and bow ties in all prices from 25 cents to $1.00. In the early days, the fast collars and cuffs were made out of paper. Suspenders In different weights, as well as scarfs, both silk and woolen. Women's gloves come in mocha and fine leather. If the fingers of the gloves were a little tight, we would use a glove stretcher to loosen them up. Trunks were made out of thin lumber. The tray inside was the same class of wood, but with paper covering. Telescopes were made out of heavy cardboard covered with canvas, two straps and a handle. The size ran from 16" to 36" in width. In shipping, they were nested so that you had to take them apart. Women and girls wore long black button leggings for warmth This was considered best for health; now they are going without stockings.
Women's wrappers were around 98 cents. Shirtwaists from 75 cents to $2.50. Black petticoats in a range of prices. Nightgowns were mostly in long lengths made out of flannel for winter use and cotton for warmer weather. There was a big call for lambskin soles in all sizes to knit the upper with different colors of yarn. When men could not sew on buttons they used batchlor buttons that came in little boxes, 6 for 10 cents They were made of two pieces. You would insert the prong part in the back of the pants and insert the button part in the front over it it had a small lip so if you wished to remove the button just lift up and pull the button apart. In the winter men wore coats with sheepskin wool lining. More handkerchiefs were sold at Christmas time for gifts than any other time. Prices ranged from 5 to 25 cents. I always remember a certain customer who would be the last customer on Christmas Eve to buy handkerchiefs. So we knew we could then close for the day. One time Andrew Merschel asked my father if be believed in Christmas. He told him "no" but he believed in Christmas dollars.
When the traveling salesmen came, they used to have from 10 to 14 trunks of samples, with a packer to handle them. Not having room in the store, they used to put them next to the building. Also on the outside of the sidewalk. The shoe salesman had three or more trunks with single samples of all kinds of shoes in separate trays. All the merchandise came in white pine cases, some as high n 5'. If we got 50 cents for these cases, we thought it would be a good price. Today if we figured the amount of lumber used, these same cases would cost between $20 and $25. We took orders for men's suits out of sample books. When the season was over, the women folks liked to get these books to use the swatches to make quilts.
After the Baltimore fire, due to the heavy loss that the Insurance company suffered, rates were raised throughout the country. The rate for merchandise was $60 per thousand making it prohibitive to carry a full amount of insurance. After that we had 50 fire bags made up that were about 4' wide and 5' high with a drawstring so that if a fire occurred, the bulk of the stock would be dumped into these bags and hauled away. I remember we had to use them twice, on account of the Holland Emery store burning down, also when the Schill restaurant caught fire, it was not such a hard job putting the stock back, as we knew, where everything was supposed to go.
Store hours were from 7 in the morning until 9:30 or later in the evening. If customers came in during your mealtime you figured that they came first, your meals could go later on. In those days the city light went out at midnight, so they could oil up the engines, which took five minutes or more. Because we Iived upstairs one night father came down the back steps to check if he locked the back door. Just as he did the lights went out. Feeling his way down the wall he felt a man's head. He hollered out "Who is it?", but the party did not answer at once. At last he stated. "It's me". It seems that our hired girl, who lived upstairs, had been visited by her boyfriend and was just leaving when my father was coming up the stairs.
I have tried to remember what I could and no doubt I left out many items. I hope you have found this history interesting.
Joseph Barkman
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