Origins: Logging Song St. Croix Valley, MN/WI

Subject: Origins: Logging Song St. Croix Valley, MN/WI
From: GUEST,Fred
Date: 16 Apr 22 - 11:21 AM

I found a 1955 interview of a woman named Maggie Orr O'Neill at the MN History Society. As one of the very few women (she started off around 8 yo) in the camps I wanted to get more of her story. She helped as a "cookee" (sic) for her father's camp. Near the end of the interview she mentions a song she heard. She described it as "a song the river drivers, "red shirts" they were called, sang". Ever heard of it? I've done some online searching and pored through a few books I have (Pinery Boys, etc) but turned up nothing yet.


Oh I worked for Dunn and Crotty
Upon the Sand Creek drive
Where the mosquitoes were big as hummingbirds
And nearly eat us men alive

Subject: RE: Origins: Logging Song St. Croix Valley, MN/WI
From: Jon Bartlett
Date: 16 Apr 22 - 10:23 PM

The person you want to talk to is David Miller. Three outstanding CDs he's released are "Minnesota Lumberjack Songs", "The Falling of the Pine" and "The Lost Forty". The verse you quote is close to one in "Mickey Free" on the first-named CD:

I have been at stopping places, when travelling on my way,
Where greybacks big as June bugs were thick as flowers in May
And I worked with old man Greeley up upon the St. Croix drive
Where mosquitoes big as hummingbirds would eat any man alive.

Miller refers to Maggie Orr O'Neill in the attached notes.

A "cookee" was an assistant to the cook - peeling vegetables, etc. and sometimes acting as waiter. The word is very common on our west coast.

Contact Brian at http://www.evergreentrad.com/

Jon Bartlett