One of the greatest extinction events happened in the forests of the Great Lakes region and Eastern North America: the Passenger Pigeon. Kyle Bagnall, the Park Naturalist for the Mackinac State Historic Parks joins me as my guest to talk about this bird, that was once the most populous bird species on the planet and how it came to being extinct in the early 20th Century.

Kyle, a fellow environmental historian, and I discuss the life and history of the Passenger Pigeon, its impact on the environment, and the impact of human relations with the bird. Through loss of habitat, over hunting, and small birth numbers, the population of these great birds declined dramatically until "Martha," the last Passenger Pigeon died in captivity in 1914.

Kyle is the park naturalist for the Mackinac State Historic Parks, which includes Mackinac Island State Park, Fort Mackinac, Colonial Michilimackinac, and Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park. Kyle has been in this position since 2021. Prior to this, he was the historian for the Chippewa Nature Center in Midland, Michigan for 22 years and also at the Whiting Forest, Dow Gardens, also in Midland.

Kyle mentioned two new books available through the Mackinac State Historic Parks:

Wonders of Mackinac: A Natural History of Mackinac Island https://www.mackinacparks.com/books/wonders-of-mackinac-a-natural-history-of-mackinac-island

Arch Rock: Unsurpassed in Nature’s Handiwork. This one is not currently available online, but can be purchased at the Mackinac State Historic Parks.

Episode Resources:

Mershon, William B. The Passenger Pigeon. New York: The Outing Company, 1907. It is available online through Google Books.

Sharkey, Reginald. The Blue Meteor: The Tragic Story of the Passenger Pigeon. Petoskey, MI: Little Traverse Historical Society, 1997.

Other Recommended Sources:

Greenberg, Joel. A Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon’s Flight to Extinction. New York: Bloomsberg Publishing, 2014. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/feathered-river-across-the-sky-9781620405352

From Billions to None: The Passenger Pigeon's Flight to Extinction. (Documentary Film) You can currently stream it free on The Bryan Museum (Galveston, Texas) YouTube page: https://youtu.be/sjwyO5BGluI?si=GxiBx-wOSZ69K8aG

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From July 31-August 16 I went on my first official North Country History Podcast Tour to the Northern Lower Peninsula and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Northern Wisconsin, and Northeastern Minnesota. I visited numerous places, learned a lot of new information and met many great people.

In this final episode of the second season of the podcast, I recount my tour, visiting the numerous places that I stopped at. Many of the places that I visited and the information that I learned will be included in Season Three of the podcast, tentatively to be launched in January 2026.

Places that I Visited on the 2025 Podcast Tour

• Frederic Community Library, Frederic Michigan. I presented my "Deward: Michigan's Last Lumber Boomtown" program. https://www.crawfordcolibrary.org/
• Pigeon River Country State Forest https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/places/state-forests/prc https://pigeonriverdiscoverycenter.org/
• Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park https://www.mackinacparks.com/attraction/historic-mill-creek/
• Birch Lodge, Trout Lake, Michigan https://www.birchlodge.com/
• Fiborn Quarry https://mkc.caves.org/preserve_fiborn.html
• Kitch-iti-kipi, "The Big Spring," Palms Book State Park https://www.michigan.gov/recsearch/parks/PalmsBook
• Peshtigo Fire Museum, Peshtigo, Wisconsin https://peshtigofiremuseum.com/
• Cathedral Pines, Chequamegon-Nicolet, National Forest https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/chequamegon-nicolet/recreation/cathedral-pines
• Lumberjack Steam Train and Camp 5 Museum, Laona, Wisconsin https://www.lumberjacksteamtrain.com/
• Pioneer Park Historical Complex, Rhinelander, Wisconsin https://rhinelanderpphc.com/
• St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin https://www.nps.gov/sacn/index.htm
• Snake River Fur Post, Pine City, Minnesota https://www.mnhs.org/furpost
• Hinckley Fire Museum, Hinckley, Minnesota https://hinckleyfiremuseum.com/
• Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post, Mille Lacs, Minnesota https://www.mnhs.org/millelacs
• Forest History Center, Grand Rapids, Minnesota https://www.mnhs.org/foresthistory
• Ely, Minnesota https://www.ely.org/ https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/superior/offices/kawishiwi-ranger-district
• Gooseberry Falls State Park https://www.exploreminnesota.com/profile/gooseberry-falls-state-park/8224
• Drummond Woods, Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/regions/eastern/DrummondWoods/index.shtml
• Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, Ashland, Wisconsin https://nglvc.org/
• Ottawa National Forest Visitor Center, Watersmeet, Michigan https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/ottawa/recreation/ottawa-national-forest-visitor-center

Contact Rob Burg and the North Country History with Rob Burg Podcast: rob.northcountryhistory@gmail.com

Support the podcast: https://northcountryhistorywithrobburg.buzzsprout.com/2422296/supporters/new

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Happy Labor Day! To conclude this three part series on the Labor of Logging, we look into the work at the saw mills and in the milltowns. In 1885 it was reported that there were 50,000 men working in the lumber industry in Michigan, with 20,000 employed in saw mills. As I like to say about the lumber industry, it was to Michigan in the 19th century as what the automobile industry was to the state in the 20th century. It was the major industry that drove the state's economy. And it was the individual men that worked in the forests, on the rivers, and in the mills that carried this industry on their backs.

All areas of the lumber industry included dangerous work and the saw mills were no exception. This week I will discuss the working conditions, wages and hours, and the growing labor movement in the saw mills in the 1880s. I then follow this with the labor of various other populations in the milltowns, including African Americans, women, and children.

Episode Sources:

Ellis, Charles. Among the Michigan Pines. Chicago, IL: The Current, Volume III, 1885.

Fitzmaurice, John W. The Shanty Boy: Or Life in a Lumber Camp. Cheboygan, MI: Democrat Steam Print, 1889.

Kilar, Jeremy W. Michigan's Lumbertowns: Lumbermen and Laborers in Saginaw, Bay City, and Muskegon, 1870-1905. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1990.

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