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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cLet Trees and Children Grow Together\u201d was emblazoned on the sign in a photo attached to an article sent to me from the MTU archives. \u00a0The article recounted the dedication of the MacMillan Township School Forest that took place in the late 1930s. \u00a0The State of Michigan routinely granted local governments and school districts tracts of land to be used for parks, dumps, and school forests. \u00a0The only proviso was that the land would revert back to State ownership if the granted parcel was no longer being used for the original intended purpose. \u00a0This was one more clue for us to follow up on. \u00a0\u00a0Former Ontonagon Area Schools biology teacher Chuck Zielinski and I had already spent a number of years trying to get a straight answer to what we thought was a simple question: \u00a0\u201cDoes the Ontonagon School district have a school forest?\u201d \u00a0Seeing proof that at least one other Ontonagon County district had been granted land for that very purpose, we continued searching for what was proving to be an elusive answer.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Correspondence with various parties eventually lead me to a forester from Baraga who offered to spread the word among his peers that we were seeking information about school forests in the western U.P. \u00a0A year and some later, I received a copy of a type written sheet from a forester working for the State of Michigan in Grayling. \u00a0It detailed all of the State lands that were parceled out in Ontonagon County over the years. \u00a0We finally had a definitive answer to the question about an Ontonagon school forest: \u00a0\u201cNo.\u201d \u00a0This would have been a disappointing turn of events except the list showed two adjacent forty acre parcels just outside of Mass City had been designated as the Greenland Township School forest. \u00a0The Greenland Township School was consolidated with the Ontonagon School district in 1967 (along with Rockland, the consolidated district became the Ontonagon Area Schools whose new maroon school color scheme was derived from MAss, ROckland, and ONtonagon). This meant that the newly formed Ontonagon Area Schools also gained the eighty acre school forest in the consolidation process.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0With this information in hand, the Ontonagon Area Schools Board of Education set about the task of verifying that they were in control of this property. \u00a0Two more disappointments reared their ugly heads at this point: \u00a01) The property transfer at the time of consolidation had not been recorded at the State level and 2) The 1990 plat book showed only one forty acre parcel of land adjacent to the old Greenland Township dump designated as the school forest, not the two forties that were shown on the list we had been sent. \u00a0Both problems were resolved in a relatively short period of time. \u00a0The district completed the registration process for the consolidated school properties and the purchase of a newer plat book showed that the forty acres missing in the 1990 book had been a printing error. \u00a0There were and still are two forties that abut highway M 26. \u00a0One had been inadvertently removed in the 1990 plat book.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0With the paperwork completed and the lost forty found, the next logical step was to survey this parcel and map the forest types and health of the trees growing there. \u00a0With a little help from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Forestry division, we were able to secure two grants to hire Green Timber Forestry from Pelkie, MI to cruise the property. \u00a0In May of 2016, I had the pleasure of walking the forest with Justin Miller from Green Timber. \u00a0He used Google Map photos of the area to guide our route through the various forest types that could be discerned from the photos. \u00a0The boundaries were mapped using Ground Information Systems (GIS) and his practiced eye soon had given him the data necessary to construct a map of forest and soil types. \u00a0\u00a0These were later built into a comprehensive report prepared for the OASD board to review. \u00a0He also included some suggestions for future harvesting and educational use of these 80 acres.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The late Mike Uotila of Mass City had mentioned years ago that he remembered planting trees on a portion of this school forest when he was a student at the Mass City High School (circa 1960 to 1963). \u00a0As one drives out of Mass City toward the junction of M 26 and M 38, the orderly ranks of Norway (or Red) pines can be seen in the crowns of these nearly sixty year old trees. \u00a0Harvest and replanting this section of the forest is one of the recommendations in the Green Timber plan. \u00a0Reducing the percentage of Ash trees (which approach 80% in some parts of the forest) \u00a0is also in the plan. \u00a0Should the Emerald Ash Borers discovered in the Calumet area spread south, we would not want that much free lunch waiting for them. \u00a0With several feeder creeks and swampy areas that lead to Adventure Creek, establishing some kind of trail network on the property will take planning. \u00a0No doubt any steps toward a trail system will wait until the forest has been logged. \u00a0It is rather exciting that our current school students will get to be involved in the study and management of a forest that some of their grandparents had a hand in shaping in the past.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Green Timber also offered our school the opportunity to join their Tree Farm group. \u00a0This group is an association of forest landowners who share information and resources to assist each other in managing their own forest properties. \u00a0We will be proudly displaying our membership sign where it fronts Highway M 26 in the near future. \u00a0We would also like to erect some form of signage that will educate those who visit the forest about the historic nature of the \u00a0property and the evolving use plan. \u00a0This information would be updated as the plan is put into action.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0On June 9, 2017, I was able to attend the annual Green Timber Tree Farm group picnic held at the MTU Forestry Center located at Alberta, MI. \u00a0Established as a model community around one of his U.P. sawmills by Henry Ford, the Alberta mill was last operated by Ford in 1953. \u00a0It was then donated along with some 5000 acres of forest land to the the Michigan College of Mines for use in their forestry program. \u00a0I have driven by this mill and town site hundreds of times over the years but only knew the brief version of the site\u2019s history. \u00a0A chance to tour the historic mill after a picnic dinner and an opportunity to network with fellow members of the Tree Farm group was a great way to start the summer.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Tour guide Ken Vrana was our knowledgeable host and his introductory comments about Ford\u2019s interest in a concept he championed called \u201cvertical integration\u201d were enlightening. \u00a0\u201cVertical Integration\u201d simply means Ford wanted to be in control of all aspects of his manufacturing process. By owning his own forest lands, sawmills, shipping line, and factories, Ford could control his costs and profits. \u00a0At one point, Ford controlled over 500,000 acres of UP forest land with sawmill operations at Pequaming, Alberta, Big Bay and Kingsford. \u00a0Anyone familiar with the Beach Boys music and their mention of the iconic \u2018Woody\u2019 automobile knows wood was needed to make a car in those days. \u00a0According to the late Fred Rydholm of Marquette, it took 250 board feet of wood to manufacture a 1921 Ford Model T. \u00a0\u00a0When our guide asked us the names of Ford\u2019s other sawmill locations besides Alberta, I mentioned Sidnaw. \u00a0When he asked why I thought of Sidnaw, I recalled the famous photo of Ford, Thomas Edison, and Harvey Firestone sitting together in front of a tent in Sidnaw, but then it dawned on me that it was on a hunting trip, not a sawmill site inspection tour.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Both the state of the art mill and model town he created at Alberta were modern and efficient. \u00a0Despite the long working days, family men were able to spend more time with their families than would have been possible if they were working in the woods at one of the logging camps. \u00a0Ford wanted his workers to be comfortable because they would be more productive and be less prone to unionize. \u00a0One must wonder how Ford felt when the United Auto Workers became the voice of his assembly line workers, but that will be fodder for a later day. \u00a0\u00a0Ford also invested in the sandstone and slate quarry businesses around Keweenaw Bay. \u00a0These materials were used in his building projects in Detroit and he had a shipping fleet, so it made sense to use the water shipping route as much as possible. \u00a0I am not sure that he had anything to do with the lead mines in the L\u2019Anse area, but he did dam up Plumbago Creek which formed Plumbago Lake to provide a steady source of water for Alberta. \u00a0\u201cPlumbago\u201d comes from the Latin word \u201cplumbum\u201d which accounts for our use of the \u201cPb\u201d symbol for lead on the Periodic Table of Elements (the same way we use \u201cFe\u201d for ferrous, the Latin term for iron instead of \u201cIr\u201d). \u00a0The name of \u201cLead Creek\u201d was probably derived from the nearby lead mine. \u00a0Anyone who has driven past Alberta on US 41 has driven across the roadway that was built on top of the Lake Plumbago dam. \u00a0The lead mine was located just north of the present day lake and mill site.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The tour of the mill is well worth one\u2019s time. \u00a0If someone offers you a chance to see the collection of MTU researcher Rolf Peterson\u2019s moose bones, the sheer volume of specimens stored at Alberta will amaze you. \u00a0The Knothole gift shop features many examples of John Stimac\u2019s prize winning Nature\u2019s Way wood work. \u00a0If you want to learn everything you need to know about birdseye maple, this is definitely a worthwhile stop. \u00a0You don\u2019t really have to travel all the way to Detroit to visit a museum dedicated to Henry Ford. \u00a0We have one in our own backyard.<\/span><\/p>\n Top Piece Video:\u00a0The Trees<\/em> (of course) by Rush from Rush30