Book Description

Author's Preface: The title, Bay City Logbook, suggest several historical themes that are interwoven within Bay City's past. Indeed a "Logbook" is a record of events most commonly associated with a ship or aircraft. From that perspective, the community's ship-building industry, its fishing lore, and its pioneers in aviation legitimize the title choice. More recognizable, though, is the reality that little progress would have taken place had it not been for the city's original dependence on logs and lumber. The lumber boom of the second half of the nineteenth century initiated the development of a complex urban society. Economic guideposts put in place during the lumber era also directed the city along the twentieth-century highway that continues the community's industrial journey. A "Logbook," in the broadest sense of the meaning is "a record of progress of a journey or an experiment". This defines Bay City's past well, and gives direction to an illustrated history that traces both the pathways to progress and the innovation that characterized Bay City's heritage. These are the themes that direct Bay City's past and should be noted as one looks through this illustrated history. By combining text, remembrances, and narrative with photographs, the reader can grasp the legacy of Bay City's enduring past. It is a journey marked by persistence and durability. Bay City Logbook should encourage everyone to study the community's past as an indispensable resource to plan for the future