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It seems hard to believe, but after a warm summer and an incredible start to the fall, temperatures are gradually cooling down outside and the days are getting shorter. The leaves are nearly gone, and pumpkin pies and apple cider have appeared in many of our homes. It can only mean one thing – fall is here and winter is on its way.
Winter, of course, has always been a part of life here. The changes in the seasons may seem dramatic to us (from 90 degree days in the summer, to days with wind chills of -20), but it has always been something that those of us who live here have to deal with. But how we have handled extremes in winter weather has changed dramatically throughout the decades.
I have heard many a longtime resident say, “we don’t get the snow around here like we used to.” Even I remember there being much more snow when I was younger. Looking at photographs of the area from times past we should have no reason to doubt this. We really did get more snow then!
In the early days of Cheboygan and the straits area, dealing with the snow would have been a real challenge.
Lacking snowplows or any other modern conveniences, the bulk of snow removal would have been done by hand. In the streets, large rollers pulled by horses compacted the snow to provide a surface that could at least be walked on, though by no means did it remove the snow.
In the lumber camps winter was the preferred season for work. With the ground frozen, logs could be cut and then placed on sleighs with skis. These sleighs were then driven by a teamster and pulled by horses along a road (called a “tote road”) made of ice to the bank of a river where, once the spring thaws came, the logs could be floated to the mill. But driving those sleighs was one of the most dangerous jobs around – with so much mass stacked on the back, moving along a road of ice, they could sometimes run out of control due to built-up, uncontrollable speed or frozen obstacles embedded in the road (including manure!)
Winter also provided a free, valuable resource: ice. Heading out into local lakes, men would cut large blocks of ice which were then packed in sawdust and sold to local homes and businesses.
Even in the hottest days of the summer, the ice would stay frozen so long as it was well covered with sawdust. Ice was needed for home refrigeration, shipping fish and other perishables, and also for manufacturing beer at the local brewery. An account from December 1884 notes that, “Moloney Brothers have four feet thick of ice left in their large ice house of last winter’s harvest. It is as solid as when first put up…. [they] expect to commence filling their ice houses at their brewery soon. Last winter they began cutting ice when it was seven inches thick and in less than three weeks cutting and sorting 1000 cords, when they got through the ice was 32 inches thick.”
Dealing with the snow also led to innovation. In 1890 P.B. Brazel of Cheboygan patented a snowplow which was designed to keep tote roads and other roads open.
Brazel made a couple different versions of his plows depending on the type of road to be cleared. He billed his product as “The only snow plow of actual merit,” which apparently resonated with buyers as his plows were popular regionally and even sold as far away as Washington state.
Brazel first made the plows himself, then later they were manufactured by Thompson Smith’s Sons in Duncan City, and in 1920 Schwartz Boiler Works of Cheboygan took over the patent. They were manufactured until motorized plows rendered them obsolete.
As much as we may grumble and groan about the cold and the snow, winter has almost always been an industry here in the north – one which still continues to this day. The particular industries may be different now, but winter sports and recreation today make up an important part of our local economy.
Winters in the north may not be the storied winters of yore, but they are still a great time of year in northern Michigan. With snow on the way, remember it is one more thing that makes this area beautiful.
Matthew J. Friday is the Executive Director of the Cheboygan Area Chamber of Commerce and the author of books on area history. He can be reached at historyconsultant@sbcglobal.net
It seems hard to believe, but after a warm summer and an incredible start to the fall, temperatures are gradually cooling down outside and the days are getting shorter. The leaves are nearly gone, and pumpkin pies and apple cider have appeared in many of our homes. It can only mean one thing – fall is here and winter is on its way.
Winter, of course, has always been a part of life here. The changes in the seasons may seem dramatic to us (from 90 degree days in the summer, to days with wind chills of -20), but it has always been something that those of us who live here have to deal with. But how we have handled extremes in winter weather has changed dramatically throughout the decades.
I have heard many a longtime resident say, “we don’t get the snow around here like we used to.” Even I remember there being much more snow when I was younger. Looking at photographs of the area from times past we should have no reason to doubt this. We really did get more snow then!
In the early days of Cheboygan and the straits area, dealing with the snow would have been a real challenge.
Lacking snowplows or any other modern conveniences, the bulk of snow removal would have been done by hand. In the streets, large rollers pulled by horses compacted the snow to provide a surface that could at least be walked on, though by no means did it remove the snow.
In the lumber camps winter was the preferred season for work. With the ground frozen, logs could be cut and then placed on sleighs with skis. These sleighs were then driven by a teamster and pulled by horses along a road (called a “tote road”) made of ice to the bank of a river where, once the spring thaws came, the logs could be floated to the mill. But driving those sleighs was one of the most dangerous jobs around – with so much mass stacked on the back, moving along a road of ice, they could sometimes run out of control due to built-up, uncontrollable speed or frozen obstacles embedded in the road (including manure!)
Winter also provided a free, valuable resource: ice. Heading out into local lakes, men would cut large blocks of ice which were then packed in sawdust and sold to local homes and businesses.
Even in the hottest days of the summer, the ice would stay frozen so long as it was well covered with sawdust. Ice was needed for home refrigeration, shipping fish and other perishables, and also for manufacturing beer at the local brewery. An account from December 1884 notes that, “Moloney Brothers have four feet thick of ice left in their large ice house of last winter’s harvest. It is as solid as when first put up…. [they] expect to commence filling their ice houses at their brewery soon. Last winter they began cutting ice when it was seven inches thick and in less than three weeks cutting and sorting 1000 cords, when they got through the ice was 32 inches thick.”
Dealing with the snow also led to innovation. In 1890 P.B. Brazel of Cheboygan patented a snowplow which was designed to keep tote roads and other roads open.
Brazel made a couple different versions of his plows depending on the type of road to be cleared. He billed his product as “The only snow plow of actual merit,” which apparently resonated with buyers as his plows were popular regionally and even sold as far away as Washington state.
Brazel first made the plows himself, then later they were manufactured by Thompson Smith’s Sons in Duncan City, and in 1920 Schwartz Boiler Works of Cheboygan took over the patent. They were manufactured until motorized plows rendered them obsolete.
As much as we may grumble and groan about the cold and the snow, winter has almost always been an industry here in the north – one which still continues to this day. The particular industries may be different now, but winter sports and recreation today make up an important part of our local economy.
Winters in the north may not be the storied winters of yore, but they are still a great time of year in northern Michigan. With snow on the way, remember it is one more thing that makes this area beautiful.
Matthew J. Friday is the Executive Director of the Cheboygan Area Chamber of Commerce and the author of books on area history. He can be reached at historyconsultant@sbcglobal.net
