Askov American., 1942-03-12

cially along towards spring.
South of Askov, at the Clausen and
Adolf Jensen farms and south of
there, we were told that the logging
crews were "thawed out" one year.
They had cut logs all winter. There
was little snow and before they could
get the logs hauled out the snow
left and the men never came back
for them, and there were thousands
of half-rotted logs to clear and burn.
Boom in East Pine.
There was still much virgin timber
in eastern Pine county and to the
north around Kerrick and Nickerson.
Camps were started there after we
came here in 1906. Eastern Pine
county was logged off after the 500
Line put a railroad through about
Is years ago. There was a real
boom out in Cloverton and Markville,
where hundreds of cars of pulpwood
and other timber products were
shipped out shortly after the rail-
road came. They are still cutting
timber out there and have been near
ly every year. This year they are
cutting poplar for lockwood to be
used at the Twin City Ordnance plant
at New Brighton for shipping am
munition. In northwestern Pine
county they also have quite a bit
OF timber to cut, mostly second
growth. In eastern Pine county they
have been cutting timber also. There
has been a lot of cedar cut into
telephone poles and fence posts in
that neighborhood.
The logging industry has played an
important part in Pine county in the
past and will continue to have q
part, but not on such a grand scale
as in the nineties when Paul Bunyan
and his big blue OK were at the head
of the game. Legend has it that Paul
hauled Section 81 to the river bank
and logged it off and dumped the
logs into the river and then hauled
the land back again. His big blue
OK is accused of having made the
swamps in Pine county-its feet were
so big, and when he grazed on the
land in the summertime he just
made swamps and lakes as he walked
around.
Paul Bunyan Tales. ...
There are many other tales of
Paul Bunyan. Among them being
that when he made pancakes for his
crew in the morning, he had two
negroes skate across the griddle with
strips or sides of bacon tied to their
feet to grease the pan, and a big
cement mixer to mix the dough and
steam shovel to pour it onto the
griddle. Then the blue OK hauled
the finished cakes onto a long table
where the men went at them with an
appetite so vast, it has never been
equaled since.
There are many tales about the
loggers of the early nineties. They
never shaved from the time they went
into camp in early winter until they
came back to civilization in the
spring. They were never paid while
in camp. They received all their
clothes, tobacco and Whiskey from
the company and record was kept
of what they bought. In the spring
when they were discharged they were
paid by checks which were not to
be cashed until along in July when
the logs had arrived at the sawmillS
along the st. Croix. Naturally the
men needed money when they came
to town in the spring, so a gang of
cities who cashed the checks for the
men at discount of up to so per
cent of the amount called for The
men usually went on a spree, got
drunk, had shave, etc., and were
broke again. In the summer they
fished the many lakes and streams
in the country, hunted little. Some
cut hay in the swamps for the win
ter's feeding of horses and oxen, some
helped make new camps and roads
and in the fall hunting was a pastime
and a means Of feeding the family.
Then along in November the rush
was on again.
The Government Dam.
Government dam three miles north
and two miles west of Askov, played
an important part in the early log
ging days. The dam was a bridge
also and the road passing over It
was the main thoroughtare between
the Twin Cities and Duluth before
the railroads were built. Stages were
running on schedule as was the mill
tary to protect the scattered settlers
from Indians. This government road
is still used in places as highways to
this day. Going down to Rock dam
as it is also called, three miles north,
we see several houses, such as Deger-
strom's and others a distance from
the main road. They were built
along the government road, that being
the only road at the time West of
Kettle river we find Jes Larsen and
others on this same road.
Much more could be written about
the logging industry of Pine county
and of Minnesota as a whole. Min