ENSLAVED WOMEN: Subject of Novel on Lumbering Days in Mid-Michigan
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Jody Hedlund is described as a best-selling, award-winning author.
Jody Hedlund of Midland is a writer whose novels have led her to a crusade for social justice.
Ending human trafficking -- a worldwide curse -- is the goal of this novelist's latest initiative, and her appeal is implicit in her latest book about prostitution during lumbering days in Harrison, Bay City, Saginaw and other mid-Michigan communities.
Not only did the lumbering industry devastate the land, but it also brought a plethora of moral dilemmas: alcoholism, prostitution, and violence. In fact, the lumber era is credited with introducing white slavery (forced prostitution) into Michigan.
A percentage of proceeds from the sales of Jody's third book, "Unending Devotion," are being used to stop sexual exploitation of women and girls.
Jody Hedlund is the bestselling author of "The Doctor's Lady" and "The Preacher's Bride," which won the 2011 Inspirational Reader's Choice Award and the 2011 Award of Excellence from the Colorado Romance Writers, and was a finalist for Best Debut Novel in the 2011 ACFW Carol Awards.
Her work is sometimes categorized as "Christian Fiction."
She received a bachelor's degree from Taylor University and a master's from the University of Wisconsin, both in Social Work. Currently she makes her home in Midland with her husband and five children.
Why did she start this campaign? Jody explains:
"I live in central Michigan in an area that was once filled with towering white pines and that played a major role in the lumber era. In the 1870s through the early 1880s, lumbering employed more workers than any other industrial occupation in the United States.
"The white pine was considered 'green gold' and netted greater profit than the gold rush of the West. The lumber era of the North Woods brought confidence and prosperity to the Midwest.
"It helped develop many of the cities in existence today. The era is often glamorized, and many legends, songs, and stories have developed from it. I decided I wanted to explore that era, especially since it happened in my backyard."
2. How did your story grow out of that?
"During my research, I began reading biographies of people who lived during the lumber era. And I ran across stories of young women who didn't fit into the glamorized legends and songs. The stories of many of these women were much darker, tales of abuse, exploitation, and even enslavement.
"Unending Devotion is inspired by one of those women, Jennie King. She rode a train into central Michigan in answer to a newspaper ad for a job. She expected to work in a hotel. Instead she found herself enslaved in a brothel. She fled, but was recaptured and beaten.
"The brave and desperate woman escaped again, wearing only a nightgown, and this time gained help from a local family. The brothel owner tried to get her back again, but the family helped smuggle Jennie out of town and to a safe place."
3. What are the setting and time period of your novel? Are any real streets, towns, cities, physical structures, or landmarks used?
"Unending Devotion is set in Harrison, a real town in Michigan that sprang up during the lumber era. In the early 1880s, it had a population of only 2,000 people, but had over 20 saloons.
"James Carr was a real villain who took up residence in Harrison to prey on the shanty boys of the area. He built a two-story saloon and brothel on a hill overlooking the town and named it the Devil's Ranch Stockade. Every night between 50 to 250 men visited the Stockade. So many men lost their lives there that eventually the hill outside the Stockade became known as Deadman's Hill.
"When recruitment of prostitutes for his brothel ran low, Carr resorted to procuring women by any means possible. He kidnapped young women off the streets of Saginaw and Bay City and advertised in downstate newspapers for chambermaids and waitresses for his Harrison 'hotel.'"
Often forgotten in all the lore and legends is the toll that lumbering took, not only on the land but also on lives.
Many lumber barons had the philosophy of getting all they could from the land, as fast as they could, and then letting tomorrow's people handle tomorrow's problems. As they moved their camps from place to place, they left behind barren land in their wake, often not even suitable for farming.
Currently there are still women and children being enslaved every day across the world. According to the A21 Campaign (Abolishing Injustice in the 21st Century), human trafficking is the second largest global organized crime today, generating approximately $31.6 billion U.S. dollars each year.
Trafficking for sexual exploitation alone generates $27.8 billion U.S. dollars per year.
"It was my hope in Unending Devotion to bring attention to some of the problems that existed during the lumber era, particularly the issue of white slavery, which unfortunately is still a problem today, both in the United States and throughout the world.
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