George E. Bernier was a sled dog mailman in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in the 1870s — a time before roads and cars cut inland; a time right around when the government began keeping winter weather records.
George Bernier’s great-grandson reached out to Points North last winter — he told us about his family history and shared some old photos and newspaper clippings about George. One jumped out in particular: a short, uncredited piece someone wrote after hearing George recollect his time as a mail carrier. The writing is beautiful and eerie. But there wasn’t enough material for a full Points North episode.
So, in this Points North Short, we explore George's story in a different way: What would those long, cold nights have sounded like? How would it have felt to be alone in the woods, with just the sled dogs and stars? In some ways, the sleepless nights that George recounts in the newspaper clipping reminded our senior producer Ellie Katz of her own late night thoughts.
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Credits:
Host: Dan Wanschura
Editor/Producer: Morgan Springer
Senior Producer: Ellie Katz
Sonic ID: Nic M. Neves
Episode Art: Mikayla Kerba
