Gladstone –The Hiawatha National Forest, in partnership with Michigan Technological Universities Industrial Archaeology, and the U.S. Forest Service Passport In Time program, are seeking 10 volunteers to participate in an archaeological excavation July 19-23 at the Midway Logging Camp.

Volunteers must be physically capable of hiking moderate distances each day and in a variety of weather conditions; previous archaeological survey and/or excavation, mapping, sketching, photography, historic artifact identification experience, and/or knowledge of area history is helpful but not required. The minimum age is 18, and volunteers must commit to participate in the entire session.

This will be the third season of a long-term research project exploring the lives of timber workers in the northern woods and will focus on a series of cordwood lumber camps owned and operated by the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company. This summer’s work will focus on the Midway Lumber Camp, which operated from 1913 to 1920 and contains at least six houses for the mostly Finnish workers who lived there with their families.

Project participants will join archeologists from the Forest Service and the Industrial Heritage and archaeology program at Michigan Tech to help map the site and archaeologically investigate the residential areas to reconstruct the lives and the overall cultural landscape of the workers.

Data from this program will augment previous research at the adjacent CCI cordwood camp district encompassing Coalwood, Roscoe and Zerbal, which date from 1901-1912; Midway was established after this district closed, and the aim is to explore how workers’ experiences changed over time.

To learn more and apply for this volunteer opportunity, go to the Passport In Time website at http://www.passportintime.c om/midway-logging-campiii-2021.html. Applications are being accepted until all slots are filled.