Treva McCarthy and McCarthy Creek: Is There a Connection?

On a day known as April Fool’s Day, I thought a brief examination of my mother’s maiden name was in order by way of considering her family roots in relation to McCarthy Creek inLakeCounty.  Dawn, a guest author on our website, often refers to her childhood at Brookwood located right alongside McCarthy Creek.  But my mother’s relationship with that creek’s name has no real bearing as she grew up inLibertyville,Illinois, for it was my father who spent some of his childhood at the family farm onBigBassLake.

My father ran away from the family farm at age twelve to work inDetroit.  In our day that would have been unheard of as family services would be called in to correct that situation.  My father had no love for the family farm so it is quite ironic that all our family vacations were at that farm and that my mother who only had a relationship with that area through marriage was made to endure all our times there.  My father dropped us off there and returned to work in whatever city we lived in at that time.

So my mother endured outhouses before we had indoor plumbing at the farm and also came to know my Grandmother Noreika far better than my dad did and that was his mother.  As for our last name being Norris, my father, and his brother and sisters, all changed their name from Noreika to Norris to better fit in with workingAmerica.  That happened in the 1030’s and 40’s.  My grandmother held the original name Noreika till her death in the 1980’s. 

It is ironic that McCarthy Creek bears my mother’s maiden name but that is where the resemblance begins and ends.  Anything else is just water under the bridge on this particular April Fool’s Day.

Was Bloody Run Creek Really McCarthy Creek?

On December 13, 1911, a logging train was sitting fully loaded and the conductor told the head of the crew that the hill was too steep and icy to move because of an ice storm the night before. The conductor told him to stop worrying and get moving. He did as told.  I would think that an engineer would have better information than a conductor on the status and safety of a track.  It should have been up to the engineer on whether to proceed or not and not at the whims of a ticket taker.

When the train began to move down the hill almost instantly it began to slip. Suddenly the train hit an icy spot and began to slide uncontrollably down the hill. At the bottom of the hill was a curve and the moment the train hit the curve it derailed and hit the dirt causing the cars, loaded with logs and the men sitting on them to launch into the air. A “creek”, which was really a small river, was just around the curve was less than 100 feet away. The only witness said he could see the wheels, logs. cars, coupling pins-and the mangled bodies of the log-watchers raining down into the river. Now some say from time to time, a red fog can be seen in the water of a creek called Bloody Run.

Now was this “creek” a river or not?  No one knows for sure just what the original name of that stream was so perhaps it was McCarthy Creek?  That creek is found in the place where the crash was said to have occurred which was in Peacock,Michigan, and within the boundaries of SaubleTownship.  So just maybe it was McCarthy Creek all the time?  Oh, and there is NO Bloody Run Creek in Lake County anyway so I think that Bloody Run was only a temporary nickname to describe what happened there.  Make sense? 

Brookwood’s McCarthy Creek

I enjoy hearing of Dawn’s exploits at Brookwood and you can find them all in our category section under Brookwood on the sidebar. Last winter, I determined within myself to find this mystical place that Dawn writes so fondly about. Mike and I parked our truck on a nearby road and crossed some private property to get to our goal. Knowing it was winter, we knew that few live in this area year round but instead migrate to places like Florida to hibernate from the cold.

All we left behind on that property we crossed were our footprints going both ways.  Dawn had written about McCarty Creek but neither Mike nor I could find that stream in Lake County but we did locate a McCarthy Creek.  Even in the winter time I could visualize all that Dawn had written about.  She spoke of how cold that creek was and in winter it was still very cold. 

Yet only through the eyes of one that lived through those times can one gain the proper perspective of this Brookwood area.  I would urge all of our readers to read what Dawn has said about both Brookwood and McCarthy Creek.  It will warm your soul which is what Mike and I intended to do once back at our truck.  That was a very cold and windy visit to McCarthy Creek that day but one that I can honestly say I shared albeit for such a short time.  Enjoy all that Dawn has to say on this area for I sure do.

McCarthy Creek by Dawn

I believe I have found a picture of the elusive McCarty Creek in Michigan and for a story on this area I have copied a post by Dawn over at Memories of Michigan (Blogroll) which I highly encourage you visiting from time to time to read her posts on her memories of Michigan. Here is her post on McCarty Creek.

McCarty Creek ran through Brookwood. It was a pure, spring fed stream with frigidly cold rushing water. That water served many purposes for the Bartlett clan. It provided pure, spring fed, sand filtered drinking water that was unbelievably delicious. I have never enjoyed any water better- and I love water! I have tried many bottled and purified waters as well as tap waters. When served up in those tall, cold, vintage anodized aluminum glasses water from the creek would quench your thirst like nothing else. I remember that the glasses of water were so cold the glasses would immediately bead up in sweat. In fact, the water was so unusual, so beloved and so enjoyable, we filled 5 gallon containers to take home with us between trips. It never lasted until the next weekend!

McCarty Creek was gorgeous in the early hours of the dawn when you watched out the back porch windows and saw trout leaping after bugs and mink playing in the creek. What a wonderfully picturesque view!

We fished in the creek. I think all of us caught our first trout there. And across the creek, a short way into the Kragness property (shhhhhh! he never caught us there!) there was a wonderful little area where the creek pooled creating a quiet pond in a lush wooded setting. It was a great place to fish! The banks were covered in places with deep green, soft moss making it very comfortable to settle down and await a nibble on your hook!

Another use for McCarty Creek was as our refrigerator. We didn’t fire up the propane fridge while visiting, there was no need. If an item was perishable it would be put in a container and floated in the creek in a mesh potato sack. That creek kept everything fresh and safe to eat. It also housed our milk, any soda and the beer for the grown-ups. All of it rose dripping from the creek at the perfect temperature.
Very occasionally on a very warm day you might find us dabbling our feet into the creek- but you cooled off very quickly- or froze your feet! Those who were not weak of heart were sometimes found wading in the frigid water. Brrrr!