Grover Morrison, interviewed by Joan Brooks

Series

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

Ten interviews totaling 23 hours conducted for a course at University of Maine taught by Edward D. "Sandy" Ives in 1976 about a pulpwood operation at Little Musquash Lake run by Grover Morrison. This project included the publication of Northeast Folklore: “Suthin,” XVIII. These interviews were the basis of “Suthin:” It’s the Opposite of Nothin’: An Oral History of Grover Morrison’s Wood’s Operation at Little Musquash Lake, 1945-1947 (Northeast Folklore XVIII: 1977 ). Collection includes the text of the poem, “Suthin’”; other poems; information about daily work in the woods and with the portable sawmill; life in the woods camp; and notes, letters, sketches, and journals from the class’s field trip to Little Musquash Lake.

Dates

Creation: 1976

Creator

Brooks, Joan (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: 12 items

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Abstract

NA1071 Grover Morrison, interviewed by Joan Brooks, October 9 and October 29, 1976, in Lincoln, Maine. Interviews about poem “Suthin’” and related woods operation at Little Musquash Lake, 1945-1946. Morrison talks about putting a road up around Matagamon Lake in order to farm the lumber there for Diamond Match Company; building lumber camps; getting snowed in at Trout Brook Farm; the meaning of the poem, “Suthin’;” where many of the surviving workers of his woods operation are living now; his house burning down in 1960; his first job working for his father and Great Northern in 1913; being sent to Bangor to recruit men for the Great Northern job; learning to pole logs or river drive; managing a logging camp; and songs that were sung in the camp. Morrison talks of scouting the forest for the Diamond Match job; the layout of the Diamond Match logging camp; how the rationing of World War II affected the camp; his relationship with boss, Clifford Cheney; how cook, Mac McKinzie lost his job in the camp; recruiting farmers from Aroostook County as teamsters; a day in the life of the camp; problems with excessive alcohol consumption at the mill; and machines he invented to help the work go faster. These interviews formed the basis for NF XVIII: “Suthin’.” Text: 69 pp. detailed catalog and notes. Recording: T 1083 - T 1088. Time: 4 hours. Photographs: P00928 – P00935, P02340 - P02343.