Northern Narratives

 by Mary McDunn

My love for northern Minnesota began many years ago. When I was a young girl, many summer vacations included a 2-3 week family camping trip to the BWCA (Boundary Water Canoe Area).  Getting ready was a big part of the process; we had to pack absolutely everything that we might need. There certainly were not going to be any Piggly-Wigglys where we were going. Some of the images that I remember best are the galvanized metal buckets of powdered milk, the brown eggs that had been carefully dipped in wax, and a ridiculous abundance of fishing gear. I worked closely with my father during the day(s) spent packing. He was an expert at using up even the smallest of spaces in our powder-blue 1956 Cadillac.

Last year, I had the opportunity to revisit these trips. This time would be different, however. Rather than traveling to the BWCA, my focus was the shores of Lake Superior: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario.  For several years I had been searching for a vintage travel trailer and I decided that it was finally time to act. I purchased a 1966 Wildcat and spent three months cleaning, varnishing, caulking and riveting before it was finally spotless and ready for departure.

While on the road, sometimes alone for up to ten days, it is important for me to have plenty to read; my selections ranged from grocery store rags that I could later use to light my campfires to the history books that made every mile that much richer. The subjects of these texts were ubiquitous: La Salle, Hennepin, Radisson, etc. Eventually, I longed for something that I could relate to more directly. Then I came across the journals of two women: Ruth Douglass and Dorothy Simpson. Both spent a winter on Isle Royale, 84 years apart. One was a teacher; the other woman followed her husband’s job to a very remote and sometimes threatening location.

On August 30, 1848 Ruth Douglass arrived at a rough-hewn log home on  Isle Royale.  Her husband, C. C. Douglass, had spent time in the ‘deep  woods’ and had worked for the copper industry in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula before he met and married Ruth. He traveled to the island in the hopes of setting up a productive smelting furnace for his employers. This rugged and remote island presented a very different challenge for Ruth,  who before her marriage had been living a comfortable upper middle  class life in Detroit, which included an active social calendar. Ruth’s journal recorded her daily life on the island.

September 8, 1848,      Friday

The air is pretty cool this morning and the wind quite fresh and chilly. At   9 A.M. bundled in cloak & hood went out in a small boat to fish, said down the  Harbor 2 ½ miles had one bite, but lost it, stopt at the Siscowit Mining Co’s  location visited the grave yard there, there are only three graves in it and one of  them is a man that starved to death on this Island in the month of March A.D.  1844, his wife was the only person then remaining on this Island, and she  supported herself by ensnaring Rabbits. …

 September 15, 1848       Friday

Finished reading of the empress Josephine’s Secret Memoirs last Eve… Were  aroused twice during the night by the cry of the fowls they were pursued by a  Lynx who took several of them. Mr. Douglass fired at him but missed his aim….

As fall progressed island residents fled for the mainland, leaving but a handful of individuals, sparsely scattered about. Ruth began spending more time alone, while C. C. worked longer and longer days. Ruth was  never quite sure when or if he would return at night. At this time, she began to concern herself with preparing for the upcoming winter:  having enough supplies and the possibility of serious boredom.

 October 7, 1848      Saturday

A bright and very clear morning, and continues very pleasant through the day…  I sometimes feel as though I was squandering away my time to be out so much,  but these feelings are soon over-balanced by the thought that a long (and I  suppose very severe,) winter is close at hand, when I shall probably have to be in  the house all day.

November 4, 1848       Saturday

A very severe snow storm with high winds from the North East it seems to be the  minds of those who have wintered at this place previous to this, that winter has  fairly commenced, and that the Algonquin will not return here again this fall. To  me this is a gloomy idea, however if it is to be so, I can not help it, and I will  endeavor to submit?

Nothing in Ruth’s life could have prepared her for the extreme isolation and loneliness of her new life. How many women have uprooted themselves to begin or hold onto a family?  At least Ruth had the comfort of her husband, and his income, on most of those winter nights.  Dorothy Simpson, on the other hand, was a divorcee who said good-bye to her family and friends in Michigan and traveled to Isle Royale in mid-September of 1932, during the Great Depression.  She packed up her six-year-old son, Bob, and accepted a teaching contract for the winter on the island.  She had six students: the five children of the Johnson family (of Chippewa Harbor) and Bob. Earning just $65 a month, she paid the Johnson’s  $35 for room and board. Her independence is daunting to someone of my generation, and must have been utterly shocking to her friends and family.  This confident spirit was no doubt an asset she utilized frequently that winter.

September 26, 1932      Cold, Rainy

The first day of real school work is over. It seemed very queer to teach so many  grades with just one pupil in each grade. I’m afraid it will be hard to motivate  some or much of the work under these circumstances. Also, I realize now how  little material we really have – we are really operating under difficulties.

 October 14, 1932     Cold N. wind Rainy

Full Moon tonight.  Another busy day is over and I have just finished scrubbing  and cleaning the school for one more week. I am janitor, water carrier— everything….  To bed at 10:00.  An eerie night – the moon high and a roaring sea  and the frost smoke coming across the harbor. A night for ghosts to walk!
As winter approached, Dorothy hurried to prepared both the schoolhouse and her cabin, for the harsh weather that lay ahead. By this time she was comfortably integrated into the Johnson’s home life and the daily routine of the island.

February 7, 1933      N. wind,
Temp. -40, 82 days

The coldest day so far. And we had a good fire all night—I was up every two  hours. We had to hug stove today—managed to keep tolerability warm except the  feet. The cabins are not built for cold weather like this! Decidedly are not “air”  tight. … snow and ice everywhere.

February 18, 1933        S. wind,
Temp +22, 71 days

…The ice is breaking up again—I’m glad—I don’t like to feel so shut in. As long  as the water is open, we could get out if necessary. A fine sunny day –just right  for the weekly washing of Bob and me (which I perform in a bucket)—I mean both  the clothes and us—and it’s the same bucket, too!

April 1, 1933       S. wind,
Temp. +40, 29 days

There is a wide strip of open water to be seen today, If only we’d get a good strong wind to keep the ice moving it would soon break up. Mr. J. still expects the boat a week from tomorrow.

Today we celebrated three birthdays…we had homemade presents and cards and I made a cake.
In late April, Dorothy prepared her students for their required exams, which took place over two full days. This marked the end of her teaching; all she had left to do was to submit her reports and to clean and close up the schoolhouse. By the time that the “Winyah” arrived to take them to Duluth, Dorothy and Bob had spent a full eight months on the island.

These diaries illustrate two very distinct women and the experience of spending a winter on Isle Royale. Although Ruth and Dorothy had very different lives and were from two decidedly dissimilar eras, both struggled with the inevitable weariness and loneliness that came with the isolation.  Also, in very similar ways they each became very keen observers and interpreters of even the subtlest changes in the weather, obsessing about the quality of the ice in the harbor and which way the wind was blowing.

Reading these first person accounts has helped me transcend my own winter.  As I tote the laundry down two floors, only to bring it up again later, and stare out the dusty glass into the icy gray street in Southeast Minneapolis, I experience a kind of timelessness. I imagine the shape of a small but sturdy woman, dragging her bucket into a rustic cabin and making it all work. 

Note:

This summer, I will continue my search for traces of the daily lives of early women around Lake Superior. As sources for this research, I am culling through historical collections and varied primary documents (journals, diaries, memoirs, etc.).  These texts are the only remaining material evidence of the lives of some of these important women, who contributed to the culture and survival of this area.  Their stories document a changing landscape, which is now almost unrecognizable.  The memories of these women provide insight into a significant time period in the history of this area of the country, and the nation itself.  

Sources:

• Root, Robert L. Jr. “ Time by Moments Steals Away”, The 1848 Journal of Ruth Douglass, Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1998.
• Manuscript of Ruth’ journal, Clarke Historical Library. Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant.
• Simonson, Dorothy. The Diary of an Isle Royale School Teacher, Houghton: The Isle Royale Natural History Association, 2004.
• Manuscript of Dorothy’s journal, The Isle Royale Natural History Association. Houghton. (Granted permission to use photo of Dorothy and Bob.)

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