Logging camp carves its way into history

Handing children a saw near a golf course might not seem like the wisest decision in the world, but in Lakewood, it’s hands-on learning for students to understand Wisconsin’s logging history.

The Holt and Balcom Logging Camp No. 1, surrounded by McCauslin Brook Golf Course, is considered to the oldest logging camp still on its original site. Created in 1881, the logging camp was used in many different ways until 1929. The camp was given to the Oconto County Historical Society in 1949 but was passed to the McCaslin Lions Club, which restored the building and offered tours.

The historical society was given ownership of the camp again in 2007, and the following year, massive renovations were started and then completed in 2013. Since then, volunteers have conducted tours for school groups during the spring months and opened it up on Saturdays during the summer for residents and visitors alike to learn more.

“I’ve been involved with the camp since 2005,” said Bob Brown, curator for the museum. “I just started out as a volunteer, and then the previous director of the camp recruited me to be the new director. Since that time, Kathie (Marsh, the current director) got involved, and I stepped back to be the curator.”

Brown likes to be the curator because he is in charge of the artifacts, what he likes to call “things,” and each piece and room tells a story about the men who came out to a remote part of the state and cut down trees so they could be used to build things in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

“We have an educational mission,” Brown said. “Fourth graders learn about logging; they learn about Wisconsin history.”

Brown can often be seen wearing an apron when giving tours, and that’s because he talks inside the cook shack and explains how massive amounts of food were prepared daily for the lumberjacks who went out six days a week to cut timber in order to give them energy to work 12 hours a day or more.

“The cook happens to have been the most important person in the camp,” Brown said. “A guy knows that if he wants to be a logger, he can go to any logging camp in the area, and he will get the same benefits, which is $1 a day to work and all the food he can eat. So what’s the difference between one camp and another? The quality of the food.”

Brown enjoys seeing school children come to the camp because they not only get to hear about the lumberjack experience, but they get to have a go at sawing logs themselves and using a stamp hammer to brand the logs with the company’s stamp.

“The biggest fun for a kid doing a school tour is sawing the logs,” Brown said. “They love it.”

Brown said a lot of the credit for the latest restoration effort goes to Marsh. He pointed out that she raised $13,000 for the roof, which was the most pressing need in 2007, and then she raised another $130,000 for additional renovations.

“She sweet talked a whole lot of the local tradesmen into donating their time at either no cost or reduced cost,” Brown said. “We got it done. The original buildings were built right on the ground, and the logs were rotting from the bottom.”

Brown said he enjoys conducting the tours because it keeps him involved. When he sees a face light up, he knows he’s accomplished something that day.

“I’m a retired trust officer, but I am also a fan of history — always have been,” Brown said. “If it involves history, I’ll be somewhere involved.”

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com