Courtesy of Wayne Abba Michael DesRochers and Ruth Morris unveil Morris’ original oil painting of the historic Ford Sawmill at Alberta during a ceremony Tuesday.

Alberta Sawmill Preservation Committee release

ALBERTA — The historic Ford Sawmill at Alberta was the setting Tuesday for the unveiling of an original oil painting depicting the sawmill as it looked in the 1930s.

Michael DesRochers, chairperson of the Baraga County Historical Society Inc. Ford Alberta Sawmill Preservation Committee, assisted artist Ruth Morris in presenting the painting to an appreciative audience.

Morris, of Mass City, was commissioned to create the painting by Brad Church, the grandson of Alberta Johnson, for whom Alberta was named by Henry Ford. Johnson’s father was Fredrick Johnson, who supervised Ford’s Northern Michigan Operations.

Morris said, “I got an email from (sawmill committee volunteer) Wayne Abba, and he said that he was contacted by Brad Church in Florida, that he was looking for someone to paint Alberta, the sawmill, for him, for a gift. And I graduated with Mike DesRochers’ wife, and she was the one who suggested that I would be a candidate.”

Church wanted her to make the sawmill look as it did in its prime. She used period photos as references and visited the sawmill with Dave Stimac of Alberta, the last sawyer who operated the mill before it was closed.

Morris commented that folks didn’t know there were plans to tear down the mill.

“I think people have driven by Alberta all their lives and just sort of take it for granted, Morris said. “We were talking with a man when we first arrived and he was a wealth of knowledge about the mill and the process and the innovations of Henry Ford. People need to know that Alberta is a one-of-a-kind and was state-of-the-art in its time.”

The artist has given the Historical Society permission to reproduce the painting, with proceeds to go to sawmill preservation. DesRochers expressed his appreciation, adding that the committee is preparing a business case to restore the sawmill and preserve it for future generations.

Donations may be sent to Baraga County Historical Society, Inc., PO BOX 567, Baraga, MI 49908, with a designation for the Ford Alberta Sawmill.