North Country History with Rob Burg
Your podcast on the Forest History of the Great Lakes Region. The forests of the Great Lakes have been home to people for centuries and have provided great resources and wealth, shelter, food, and recreation for many. But in the wake of these uses, the region has been environmentally damaged from deforestation, fire, and erosion, and are still recovering to this day. I will be your guide for exploring the forests and sharing stories of the forests and the people who have called them home.
About Rob Burg: Hi! I'm an environmental historian specializing on the forest history of the Great Lakes Region. I am a mostly lifelong Michigan resident and studied at Eastern Michigan University for both my undergraduate degree in History and graduate studies in Historic Preservation. My 35-year professional life has mostly been in history museums, including the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, the Michigan History Museum, and the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer. I began my environmental history career with managing both the Hartwick Pines Logging Museum and the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum for the Michigan History Museum system, directing the Lovells Museum of Trout Fishing History, archivist for the Devereaux Memorial Library in Grayling, Michigan, and as the Interpretive Resources Coordinator for the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer in Grand Island, Nebraska. I am proud that the first person to ever call me an environmental historian was none other than Dr. William Cronon, the dean of American Environmental History.
North Country History with Rob Burg
Woodsmen go to War: The 10th and 20th Regiments of Engineers in World War I
In 1917 with the United States of America's declaration of war against Germany, a call went out for volunteers to serve in the expanding U.S. Armed Forces. Not only were soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines needed, but so were lumberjacks, foresters, sawmill employees, and others who did work related to the lumber and forestry industries. These men were important support troops that were part of the unsung elements of all armies that go to war, the engineers.
As mentioned in episode 14, Major Edward E. Hartwick of Detroit, formerly of Grayling, Michigan, served with these men, as the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of the 20th Regiment of Engineers (Forestry). Edward Hartwick's biography, written by author Gordon K. Miller in 1921 sheds light on some of the work these men did to aid the war effort in France. Through diary entries and letters to his family, Major Hartwick described the work and living conditions of his soldiers.
Engineers and other support troops, such as commissary, supplies, teamsters, and hospital personnel, among others, have always been important for armies to march and survive. Not everyone who serves, carries a weapon. Listen this week to learn a little bit about some of these soldiers of the First World War.
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Episode Sources:
Guthrie, Jno. D., James A. WHite, Henry B. Steer, and Harry T. Whitlock. The Carpathians, Tenth Engineers (Forestry) A.E.F.-1917-1919. Roster and Historical Sketch. Washington, D.C., May 1940.
Miller, Gordon K. A Biographical Sketch of Major Edward E. Hartwick, Together with a Compilation of Major Hartwick's Letters and Diaries written during the Spanish-American and World Wars. Detroit, 1921 (Privately Published). Reprint by Heritage Books, Berwyn Heights, Maryland, 2015.
20th Regiment of Engineers Website. Created by Bruce Porter. 20thengineers.com/ww1.html
World War I: 10th and 20th Forestry Engineers. Webpage of the Forest History Society, Digital Collections. foresthistory.org/digital-collections/world-war-10th-20th-forestry-engineers/