There is not a great deal of collected memorabilia related to Camp Germfask during its time as a CCC and POW camp in the 1930s and 40s, though certainly scraps are around…. Bob Taunt send in these photos that he acquired from an antique store in La Crosse, WI:
I was looking… for old photos which I collect. There was an album of loose pages, no names or identification, but I noticed the one photo with a classic truck, and seeing the unusual name ‘Germfask’, I hoped I could find out more on the internet. I located your [MHHUGL] page and learned about a piece of history. There were other photos that now made sense to me, so I went back and bought all that looked related to the Camp.
Bob reminds us that “Unmarked photos frequently get tossed out because we forget who the people were and when and where the photos were taken. So when I can identify photos, I enjoy sharing or donating them to people who will have an appreciation for them.” Thanks, Bob!
The truck looks to be a Ford Model A pickup (though car buffs, please correct me!) so this could be from the 1930s CCC era of the camp, or 1940s POW period. The two other photos of men in what appear to be military uniforms, as well as the construction equipment make us think that this is probably from the construction of the camp. The cook and his girl seem to be standing under a deer dressing station, reminding us of the remote foodways up here in the UP, especially in the winter.
If you have any information or leads on who these people might be or what they are doing, drop me a line at sawalton @ mtu.edu.
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R.B. Taunt is a historical photographer how trades as Henry Taunt, a (fictitious) employee of Matthew Brady, Civil War photographer. See his work and other historic gems at his Facebook page: Brady Photographic Studio – Henry Taunt, Agent