Longwood Township

Clark County, Wisconsin

Follow the River.......

Historical Recollections by Lula Mae Stewart

Contributed by the Greenwood Public Library, Transcribed by Janet Schwarze

As a small child I heard these old lumberjacks tell about life in these camps. The camps were infested with bedbugs. They also told how the rats were so thick, they would come and eat the grain away from the horses.

These camps lacked sanitation, sometimes there was an epidemic of head lice, which made the men very uncomfortable. But the work was so hard that when night fell, they were able to sleep under these adverse conditions.

They were all happy when spring came and they were able to return to their homes and a better way of life. They had no choice as to what kind of work they would do, as there was nothing else available.

By working in the woods in winter and the saw mills in summer they were able to care for their families and pay for their farms. Later they built up their farms and things were a little better, but life was still hard.

These are pictures of logging camps that the early pioneer worked in many years ago. Life was hard for these met who cleared the land we now farm. All they had to work with was horses.

This picture was taken in the Withee area many years ago This is one of the first steamers as they were called, to come into use. You will notice the track on the wheels and the runners on the front. The men were local residents. Before these steamers came into use it was not possible to haul such large loads of logs with horses. Steam powered these machines, the steam was produced by shoveling coal into a boiler.

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