Newell Beam, interviewed by Edward D. "Sandy" Ives
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of twenty interviews totaling approximately thirty-two hours conducted by Edward D. “Sandy” Ives in 1986 with men who worked in the woods and on the river-drives along the Machias River.
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1986
Creator
- From the Collection: Ives, Edward D. (Interviewer, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
For digitized items free from access restrictions, we are working to upload this material (pdfs, mp3s, jpgs) for public access, but it is an ongoing project. If you don’t find what you are looking for here, contact Special Collections (um.library.spc@maine.edu).
Extent
From the Collection: 20 items
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Abstract
1908 Newell Beam, 1903 - 1995, interviewed by Edward D. “Sandy” Ives, March 10–May 25, 1986, Cutler, Maine. Beam talks about his experiences working in the woods along the Machais River; breaking through heavy snow; a block of land owned by two companies; logging around Fifth Lake in the early 1920s; pay fluctuations and what the company provided; description of photographs; construction of camp buildings and beds; lice and ridding the camp of lice; superiority of selective cutting; camp life and recreation in the evenings; sings and recites “The Jam on Gerry’s Rock”; predominance of local workers; peeling pulpwood and hemlock; axes; number of logs the could be gotten from a tree; how to lead a tree; problem of trees getting caught in birches; crew composition; road maintenance; toilet facilities; games and tricks; special jobs in the camps; difference between single and double camps; hunting and poaching on Sundays; footwear; scaling logs; marking logs; using horses in the woods; Sunday recreation; scaling units; use of Lombards to haul logs; burning trees to create light; camp meals; and locations of lumber camps. Includes drawing and catalog of Beam’s homemade cassettes plus two homemade cassettes of Beam’s storytelling and singing. Text: 139 pp. transcript. Recording: T 1927 – T 1928, T 1941, C 0235 CD 2134, C 0236 CD 2135, C 0249 CD 2136 4 hours. Photographs: P 6163 – P 6166.
Repository Details
Part of the Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History Repository
5729 Raymond H. Fogler Library
University of Maine
Orono ME 04469-5729 United States
207.581.1686