Arizona republican., 1913-07-02
ROAD BUILDING
 BY WOLVERINES
All Walks of Life Repre- scntcd i'll Gang Which Constructed 25O Miles of Good Automobile Road in a Day


 Five thousand Michigan men. from i nearly every walk of life have re 1 gently set an example which may well be followed by the whole United 1 states, b. budding 250 miles of eX- l cellent automobile road in a single day. And the women of the north eastern part of the state through | which the new highway runs. are en- titled to much credit. too. for while their husbands. fathers, brothers and sWeethearts labOred at digging and plOughing and grading, these women cooked meals that put new heart in the muscle weary workers and made l this most notable accomplishment possible
 As d result of the labors of these Michigan people, on Monday May 9th there now is an unbrollen line of eraVeled highway for over 250 miles rom Pay City. to Mackinaw City, where two days before there was mile after mile Of corduroy road sand holes and swamp lands.
 Mayors of cities and towns. state officials. millionaire lumberman and mill men slaved in the hot sun, hewing with picks and axes at corud- TOY road slabs. throwing stones. shovc!ing sand and gravel. leading plough horses or performing other of the innumerablc tasks which form rart of the work of road building Tn this picture you have an idea of the spirit which animates north eastern Michigan.
 T. C. DafOre. mayor of Alpend. went without his breakfast that he might board the big American Under C.lr1 ,i,I, l,f gang" he had been assigned for the day. William X. Comstock. re- egnt of the University of Michigan left his home at o'clock in the morning. The I'Ictchers. Gilchr1sts. Richardsons. Johnsons Churchills- all names which stand for millions in wealth and vastly more in prom thence and prestige in northeastern MichiGan-had family representation of at least one and in most cases more on the bee They sWeated side by side with the lowest farmers and !aborers of the district.
 They did what seemed weIl-nigh impossible in the big swamp in Pull asiH township, Presquc Isle county, just over the AIepna line. Corduroy which was laid d generation or more ago and had long been the terror of
 
 completely covered with q founda- tion of stones and earth, graveled on top. that it will never again jar the backbone of the good roads en- thusiast.
 The women ran out to meet you. and you could hear the men singing and cheering for afar as you came upon Pulaski hill q little farther on which was literally cut in two. It was too big a job for one day. but it will be done in a few days more and then will be removed one of the worst obstacles of the road. The hill was high and steep. Many mOtorist has called into requisition q team Of horses to make this hill
 It is an impossibility to tell the story of the Huron highway bee day in single breath It's too big Nothing has yet been said of the women who walked over country roads, all the family horses being at work on the bee, to prepare meals for their men at noon time and serve them on monatrous tables or carry the food to them as they worked.
 Old men who could hardly have lifted shovelfuI doddered a t piles of gravel or lead horses pulling ploughs They had to take part in the en- IIluSlcSln Ol the UaN Tn some way. Little boys and little birs who couldn't talk plainly. some could'n speak English at all. followed their daddies and big brothers with pail5 O. water banging against their shins The water carriers were as numer GUS as the workers in some cases
 Men of northeastern Michigan that night plodded their weary ways home and sank to contented repose on hunks of high and low degree. thor oUghly satisfied with the accomplish ment of what they had been dream ing of for months and in some cases years.
 The importance Of this Michigan spirit to the automobile world cannot be magnified. It is the individual demonstration of the urge of pro- Gress which has prompted scores of the biggest motor car manufacturers in the country to denote a share of their earnings to the fund for build ing cross continent highway that will be unequaied even in Europe. the home of good roads"
 . With display of even 4 part of this spirit in other states our coun- try would soon be criss- crossed with net work of highways that would bring unbounded joy to those for tunate enough to possess an auto mobile, increased prosperity of the "backbone of our nation,' the farmer and lower cost of living and better conditions to every citizen