OFF THE GOLDEN ROAD, Maine - Lumber barons have come and gone, their vast tracts of land bought, sold and sold again. And much of the manpower that cut and hauled felled trees from the North Woods has been replaced by machinery. But there are still loggers at work in the forests of Maine, and they're still hungry when they return to camp at the end of the day. Julia Bayly of the Bangor Daily News, our media partner, takes us deep into the Maine woods, to meet one of the last lumber camp "cookees."
There are lots of things that make life in a lumber camp challenging. One of them is getting there.
The Comstock Logging Camp, owned by H.O. Bouchard, Inc., of Hampden, is 77 miles west of Millinocket on the famed Golden Road, 96 miles of dirt and gravel from Millinocket west to St. Zacharie, Quebec, on the Canadian border.
The camp is, basically, a large, wide spot in the woods, where the rumblings of trucks and machinery can be heard from the camps as workers come and go through the day.
Like the Golden Road, the camps were originally built by Great Northern Paper in 1980 and, at the time, employed 50 men and three cooks. Now Melanie Morrell stands alone.
"I do not only feed these guys, I'm the unofficial camp doctor, unofficial psychiatrist, counselor," she says. "You name it, I do it."
Morrell, 40, is one of the last full-time cooks working in the woods every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday during the 10month logging season. She fixes three square meals for up to 30 woodworkers.
She has four propanepowered ovens; on three, she cranks out breads, roasts, casseroles, stews, soups, and pies. The fourth of course is reserved for baked beans only. But her job is about more than just food.
"You can tell when guys some in and they're having trouble with a wife or girlfriend, and you see it on their face," she says. "And when you see these guys day in, day out you know when something's off. And vice versa - they know I'm pissed off when they walk into this kitchen."
"Scary lady - deadly aim with a roll too. See that scar? Hit me with a roll a few years ago," says Skidder operator Ken Cummings. Cummings says there's lots of ribbing to go around, but the men know when to hold their tongue.
"And even if we did want to say something bad - we know she's got ears like an elephant - we can't 'cause she's going to feed us tomorrow," Cumming says. "Never mess with the cook!"
Mel, as she's know around here, is treated like "one of the boys." But there are times at camp when being the only woman among 30 men deep in the North Woods requires clear boundaries.
"There's a fine line. I work in a man's world. It's my choice, but there's also a fine line that never gets crossed," she says. "Verbal is one thing, physical is completely different, and I've had to say, 'I will not cross that line with you and you will not cross that line with me.' And you get the joke: 'Well, what if I do cross the line?' I says, 'Well, I do know how to use knives and I have for a long time. Do you want to go into battle?' 'No.' 'Nuff said. I cook your food - do you want to challenge me?' 'No. Nope.' 'OK. 'Nuff said.' "
And, by all accounts, the men love the food. At other so-called "bachelor" camps, the men bring their own food - often in cans. Having a staff cook is a real benefit for the workers, who are on machines for up to 16 hours a day. And despite all of the calories they burn in the woods, it's easy to put on a few pounds.
"About 16 years ago when I first started here I weighed 120 pounds," says skidder operator Tom Theriault. Theriault says he went through three sets of uniforms - and gained 40 pounds by the time he left camp.
Julia Bayley: "Is it thanks to Mel's cooking?"
Tom Theriault: "It wasn't Mel here at the time, but same thing. I did paving, didn't eat much. But go to camp, eat, go to bed - ended up getting a little fatter."
Mel Morrell says she wants the men to enjoy the food, but also tries to advise them on eating wisely.
"Moderation is the key, boys. Moderation is the key," she says. "I tell them that they should be able to see the bottom of their plate. And portion control - you should be eating 4 ounces of meat, a half cup of this, half cup of that, all the salad and veggies you want, just a couple tablespoons of dressing. And they look at me like I got three heads. So I do my part and the rest of it's all willpower after that. It's up to them."
For her part Morrell prides herself on never having the same entree twice in the same month.
View the story in the Bangor Daily News.
Keith Shortall contributed to this story.