Ever since I moved back to the community, I have taken note of the many changes in the landmarks of yesteryear. The community itself has changed and you can bet that the changes in the community, and the area in general, have brought about some changes in the people.
One of the most impressive changes to me is the growth of the forest and the demise of the old blueberry plains which used to be up on top of Mission Hill. Many summers were spent “on the hill” helping the family earn enough money picking and selling blueberries to keep food on the table until rabbit and herring season came along.
Life was a series of occupational activities and to sustain the family everyone sort of had to pitch in. Blueberry picking was important to us because, as kids, we were able to make a sizeable contribution to the family larder. We even picked a little extra each day for spending money.
I had lamented the passing of the plains and was sure in my mind that they were gone and never to be seen again without a fire or logging or both. I had heard several people talking about going to the plains for picking and wondered where that could be because the way the woods had grown around here I couldn't visualize anything like the plains of log ago.
WELL, last week my sister, Agnes, called me and asked if I wanted to go blueberry picking and I said, “yes.” And so, a couple of hours later we were in an honest to goodness blueberry plain with a lot of blueberries.
Well, my old techniques didn't work so I sat down, lay down or crawled about on my hands and knees and in less that two hours I had gathered in five quarts of berries. Aggie and her great-granddaughter, Sharee Weems, also picked five quarts each, and so we felt pretty good about this venture into the past.
You might want to know how to get to the plains, but you can't find out from me, because I only followed directions. I made about three left turns and four right turns, but I don't remember the sequence of those turns.
Aside from the berries I now have in my freezer, I also now have the assurance that the plains didn't go away, they just moved down the road a piece.
Bill LeBlanc is an elder of the Bay Mills Indian Community. He is retired from State government where he worked as an Indian advocate. He currently resides on the Bay Mills Indian Reservation.
