[Pierre]

William Monigal was my Grandfather. A 6' 3" horse logger that knew his business inside out. In the winter one year in his mid 40s he was moving a dray full of logs with his team when the load let loose and a log rolled on him injuring his left leg. The injury was permanent and such that his logging days came to an abrupt end. He went on to carve the world's largest miniature logging camp.
The capsullated story is in the following articles. I'll elaborate later. This one-handed typing is becoming a chore.







P

[Canopener]

Pierre,
Very interesting post and article; I am also sorry to read that you're carving career may be over. Hopefully, you will find a way to continue.
I think it is interesting to consider that "The Old Days" were not really all that long ago.
Here in Flagstaff, where the local college's mascot is a lumberjack, people did everything possible to succesfully deep six the logging industry. That is; unless it is some cute display to attract tourists. It seems clear cutting wallets is the way to go, these days.
I used to haul for a fuel and oil jobber and got out to some logging, ranching, etc. operations. One of my favorites was to a rancher that spent his summers on the old homestead. Joe was kind of crusty, so I just filled his tanks and did not wander far from the truck. One day he decided to give me the history of how his grandfather came to Flagstaff to cut railroad ties. He did it by hand with a broadaxe. The original cabin was cut from aspen and in bad shape; but his cabin and the cookshack made from railroad ties were in good shape. I was fascinated by his little ranch which by the way, was next to a water tank surrounded by an aspen grove; beautiful.
Any way, thanks for the article and please continue; a lot of us like that sort of nostalgia.
Jim

[Marci MN]

Pierre, where is this exibition now? I would love to see this whole project in a future WCI article... with many pictures..

Thanks so much for sharing this.. I loved it!! Just imagining the work involved is mind boggling...

[gene messer]

Pierre .. What a wonderful relic to remember your grandfather by ..

The pictures are a little hard to make out .. but from what I can see .. the work looks fantastic ..

He must of been a great carver and woodworker ..

A wonderful rememberance to one and all who didnt know him ..

Gene

[Thor]

I really enjoyed the article. I too wish the images were easier to see.
Thanks for letting us read that.
Thor

[Pierre]

Good morning. My Mother does have photography at her winter home in Florida and I'll call her today and ask that she mail whatever photography she has, scan it and post it. I do remember that the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Convention is the sole owner of the collection. I'll make a phone enquiry on monday and see what I can locate.
Good to be back here amongst the talent.

P

[AlArchie]

As an Iron Mountain native, that really was an interesting article. I have a very hazy memory of seeing the original (probably prompted by my communication with Pierre on old IM reminicences) but am not sure exactly where or when. Either way it would have been when I was but a tyke, and either at the Dickenson County Fair in Norway (back when fairs really were special) or the UP State Fair in Escanaba.

As a side note, I got transferred back to the UP in 1970 and while patrolling the back roads near Paulding on a sub-zero morning, I had to stop the car and gawk, as out of the pinery reared a team of draft horses, snorting fog, and kicking up the frozen undergrowth as they skidded out a load of fresh cut logs. Behind the team and load strode an apparition in high top leather boots topped off by wool socks. Into the sox were tucked the brown malones of the woodsman. A red, gray, and white checked wool jacket just under a heavy black beard and craggy face, topped by a red stocking cap finished off the scene. If Paul Bunyan ever really existed,(and who in these northwoods would doubt that?) here he was. I half expected a blue ox with a 42 axe handle and a plug of chewing tobacco spread between his horns to be following with another load, but that was only a hope, I suppose.

Is he still around, some 37 years later? I doubt it, but it really wasn't that long ago that a few sturdy souls still plied the pineries with crosscut and team to pull a living from the woods.

Ya know, I hope there's one of these loggers left to stop some young trooper in the road to gawk at a piece of history.

Al

[Pierre]

Ok. Just got off the phone with my Mother and she has a treasure trove of photos of all of it.... individual segments and the whole logging camp and writeups.... even the large carving of old Paul Bunyan hisself! They'll be FEDEX'd on monday along with the Sunset Magazine from the 60s that was dedicated to her own wood carvings.
Now I'm excited again.

P

[Curly Early]

Pierre, So good to see you writing again! Speaking for myself, I so enjoyed reading about your life chronicles, ect. off topics for woodcarving but no less interesting even including the sky jumps and old times of your and Als ancesters. I showed my wife the receipe of pasties, and was ready to cook some, she said I think we got enough of that stuff logded in our veins now, so receipe "on hold". While you two were writing about that, I wanted to tell you about the area of Illinois where we're from makes community efforts of Burgoo soup. They cook it all night in 50 - 60 gallon kittles and sell it by the gallon starting very early next morning. People line up in long lines for it, I drove 300 miles the day before and waited in line one hour for some, and yes it was worth it. I think I have the receipe for this, large or small batch, should any be interested. I always tease and tell all the benefits of eating this stuff, but Dixie says you can't say anything about growing hair because it hasn't did you a dimes worth of good. LOL
I really wrote this to say, with the talent you have, the chisels and mallet was only part of what you have to offer. Use what you have to impart knowledge to others, and you will both be blessed for it. I was thinking along this line a few weeks ago and got a phone call from a church I don't attend asking me to teach leather crafting to their Royal Rangers. Couple of projects done, the last one a miniture holster for their mothers as a tree ornament, billford starting this Sun. night, it has stretched them and stretched me, but so worth it when one boy came to me and said thank you so much for teaching us. Wow, it touched me. I must go now - kitchen calling as Christmas it so much about tradition, I make about 450 -500 lbs of peanut brittle to give out, I'll be readin' and not writin' Earl

[AlArchie]

Hey, Curly, ya GOTTA try that pasty recipe......heck, one or two ain't gonna clog ya up that bad, and they are really GOOOOOOD!

And I'd like the formula for your Burgoo soup, too. Not the 50 gallon one though, my math isn't that good!

Al