Douglas Malloch (May 5, 1877 – July 2, 1938) was an American poet, short-story writer and Associate Editor of American Lumberman, a trade paper in Chicago. He was known as a "Lumberman's poet" both locally and nationally. He is noted for writing Round River Drive and "Be the Best of Whatever You Are" in addition to many other creations. He was commissioned to write new lyrics for the Michigan State Song,
Michigan, My Michigan "Michigan, My Michigan" is a popular anthem in the State of Michigan, and erroneously believed by many to be Michigan's official state song. The actual state song, " My Michigan", was formally adopted in 1937 but remains relatively obscure, partiall ...
in 1902.
Life and work
Brother Malloch, as he was called, was born in
Muskegon
Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expan ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
which was known as a center of the
lumbering
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
industry. He grew up amidst the forest, logging camps,
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
s and lumber yards. He became famous among the people of twentieth century involved in the lumbering industry.
He married Helen Miller, a newswoman who was founder of the
National Federation of Press Women The National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) is a United States-based organization of professional women and men pursuing careers in the field of communications, including electronic, broadcast and print journalism, public relations, marketing, adv ...
.
;Poems
* "A Man"
* "Ain't It Fine Today?"
* "Always A Mason"
* "Be the Best of Whatever You Are" (also cited as "If")
* "Building"
* "Chaudière"
* "Christmas"
* "Connecticut Drive"
* "Echoes"
* "Father's Lodge"
* "Good Timber"
* "The Little Lodge Of Long Ago"
* "The Love of a Botanist"
* "Make Me Mellow"
* "The Masonry Of Spring"
* "Members Or Masons"
* " Michigan my Michigan"
* "Old Town Road"
* "The Road of Masonry"
* "To-day" (also cited as
* "You have to believe in happiness"
* "The Love of a Man for a Man"
* "In forest land"
* "The woods"
* "Tote-Road and Trail:Ballards of the Lumberjack"
* "Someone to care"
* "The heart content"
* "The Round River Drive"
* "Live life today"
* "be the best"
* "Oh Weep No Weeps"
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malloch, Douglas
American male poets
1877 births
1938 deaths
Poets from Michigan
Writers from Chicago
Poets from Illinois
People from Muskegon, Michigan
20th-century American poets
20th-century American male writers