Journal of Martin Reeder

The document was put into digital format in September 1998. I have maintained the original style and grammar and have only corrected the most obvious of misspellings. Words in Italics were hand written on the otherwise typed original document.

Wes Reeder (2^nd great grandson of Daniel Reeder)

Several times I had asked my father, Martin D. Reeder, to put into writing some of the things he remembered about early Lake City, Michigan. But he always put me off. However, shortly before his death he gave me a few notes. They were evidently written over a period of time, as he happened to recall things. Consequently, there is some repetition in the notes, and sometimes the sequence does not seem logical.

The following is that part of his record which concerns Lake City. I have tried not to change his manner of writing. Where I could not make out a word I have used a ?. The words in parenthesis are my own insertions in the effort to make his meaning clear.

From Mary DuVall, Librarian

Her great grandmother was Eleanor Reeder Minthorn
 

Up in New Market, Ontario, Canada, lived a family named Reeder. ^XWilliam the father of English stock and *** his wife, of Quaker descent. When they came to Canada, or where from, no records are available. They were farmers. Their children were Daniel, Charles, Washington, William, Hattie, Lina. What the general set up of this family was are unknown or forgotten. It appears that Daniel was married and had four children, George, John, Agnes and Orilla.

Sometime about the year 1867, perhaps on account of the large family, or crowded conditions, and the fact that the war between the states was concluded, and too for the reason that his wife had died leaving these four small children, Daniel, the elder, got the urge to seek another location, this in the states, in Michigan. Land was cheap and he was sturdy and could hew out a new home for his family.

Probably in 1868 he came to Michigan alone, walking, as there was no other means of travel and, crossing at what was known as Sarina, Ont., he came on west to Grand Rapids, then north to Big Rapids, the furtherest northern settlement. He appeared to stay close to this point, going out from there to different points. During 1869 a party went fishing north and also exploring for homesteads to a lake called on the Stateland plot as Muskrat in Missaukee Co. Camping on the east bank of this lake in a blinding rain the party all,

^XEamon? Wife Elizabeth Randall. Buried in old Cemetery, L.C. MI:

except Dan, became discouraged and decided to return. After taking a washtub of fish, Dan, by the use of his plats and compass and taking a liking to his surroundings, located 160 acres for his homestead. Then by compass course, he traveled through the woods to the Government Land Office at Traverse City, 65 miles away, and filed on his section of land. At some time during the year he returned to Canada and the next year, 1870, with his brother Wash, returned to the new homestead on Muskrat Lake and Wash, also liking the prospect, located a ¼ section and filed on it at Traverse City. Returning to the homesteads they proceeded to perform the necessary homesteaders improvements of clearing a small plot and erecting a small log cabin.

Returning to Canada the brothers made their preparations to return to the homesteads with their household goods and Dan’s family. There was not much to move, and with an ox team their journey back in the spring of 1871 was long and tedious especially as they had to build a road the greater part of the distance north of Big Rapids. When they finally arrived and got settled the brothers gave their attention to clearing their land to a point at least where they might grow enough for their sustenance.

Several trips were made to Traverse City for provisions and necessities all of which had to be carried on their backs through the woods and by compass route as there were no roads or trails.

It seems that during one of these trips Dan met in Traverse City a young woman who came from New York and was teaching school at a small hamlet called Northport on the north end of one of the arms of Grand Traverse Bay.

Probably during the early spring of 1872 they were married and came back to Muskrat Lake to live. Her name was Mary Quick, and her father, a minister in New York State.

Along about this time also William and Charles Reeder came and located and filed on land close to the other boy and later brought their families or started them on their new locations. Thus a settlement was formed and called Reeder perhaps for no other reason than its being a natural conclusion of the times and places as they spring up.

All of the men were large, strong, sturdy and hard workers, knew the woods and farms and how to handle themselves. All of the wives of these men also exercised their homestead right and thus 320 acres each became the holdings of each (?) family. The girls' husbands all, except Lina, also came. The children’s father and mother (Eamon and his wife?) and finally Dan’s Wife’s father, brother and sister (John, Peter and Susan Quick?) All of these people and their homesteads and children made a sizeable community by the lake, about 20 homesteads of 6400 acres, all timber. Of Dan’s family, two children were born, a boy, Martin and a daughter, Louisa.

Martin grew as all boys beside the lake and woods, largely fishing and hunting with the usual Boy-work. No schools but such learning as they had was from his mother until some time later when a log school was built and a teacher engaged. But his education did not seem to amount to much and while he may have absorbed something it was not worth much. While there were hardships, as all pioneers find, there were no Indians or Indian wars. No fears of this nature. Mother used to take us children when she went to pick blackberries; she tied us to trees so we would not wander away and get lost. They had little of the things homes needed. Being 65 miles from a supply point and no roads, everything had to be packed in on the back. They raised a little corn and grain. And old maple stump left by the Indians, the top burned out in the shape of a bowl, and a round stone served to grind grain and make corn meal. This was our bread- a Johnnycake, or cornbread. We had plenty of fish and a few years after settling, deer came in and this supplied our meat, or venison, in ample amounts.

Many hundred thousand big Canada geese came over and stopped on our lake. Dad shot many every year. One broke his wing and could not fly away. Mother took it in and splinted the injury and nursed it back. We clipped the feathers so it could not fly. It stayed around the log cabin and whenever geese flew it would go down to the shore and call the flocks in and they would come into the yard and hold a convention.

In late fall Father would have 12 to 15 deer dressed and hanging in the barn for winter. Quite a lot of this was jerked, or smoked and salted, dry and hard. A chunk carried in the pocket made a most excellent meal of lunch. Or bread and butter sandwiches in winter, toasted on a small fire in the woods with jerked venison made a meal that could not be equaled.

Some other settlers came into our county of Missaukee to the east and south. In those early days, few remained. ^XDan was born 6/23/74. To the best knowledge of the times he was the first white child (born) in the county. This has been disputed and there have been claims to the contrary but, right or not, he carries this distinction.

Dad finally managed to bring a team of horses from Canada, large, heavy, young, and powerful. They had much to do with making prosperity. One died about 15 years later:, the other, ^XXTip, lived for 28 years, the pride of the county and pet of everyone.

This team with others followed and helped to clear the lands and haul produce to the camps.

The county was largely what is considered hardwood lands with heavy stands of maple, birch, beech, elm, basswood, and hemlock cedar swamps and tamarack. But surrounding was the immense cork white pine forests. Perhaps this was the inducement for the fortunes of those days were in Pine. In fact, no moves were made to cut hardwood for hardwood would not float and could not be driven down the rivers while pine could. Pine was soft and light and easily worked. Hardwood was not. The light cedars were choice for shingles and posts and telephones poles, also for railroad ties. But at that time no telephones were in the north woods.

^XMartin Daniel - Mart ^XXBob?

Gradually the camps came in with the crews of lumber jacks. In the fall they built their camps and prepared for winter’s work. Built roads and rollways and tote roads for provisions and supplies. The firms from the mills of Muskegon, Manistee, Ludington, and Saginaw sent in their crews.

The winters were hard, 25 to 40 below zero, 3 to 5 foot of snow or more. The work was extremely hard. Men came in the fall and stayed all winter, going out to the town in the spring for a short period of 30 days and then for the river drives to the saw mills. Food was ? in the early days. Potatoes, salt pork, beans, coffee, bread, syrup. The first friedcake I ever ate was in a camp. The camps multiplied until thousands of men were in the woods and on the drives.

The little settlement grew and was called Reeder. The county was organized and the temporary county seat located there. More settlers coming into the east and south sides of the county made demands for the county seat to be located at Falmouth, or as known then, as PinHook.

For the times it was hotly contested and the possibility of its loss to Reeder caused serious alarm. Lumbering was then beginning. As the time for the vote was placed in late spring, Dan Reeder conceived the idea of majority voting. The county vote was carefully canvassed and he hired over 100 lumber jacks who had come from the winter’s work to stay in his town. His agreement was to pay them $1:00 per day and board for the time necessary to qualify as voters and to then vote for Reeder’s town as the county seat. It worked as the vote for Reeder’s town made the county seat permanent and it is yet.

Daniel Reeder from the very first became the leader and financial head of the county, if there were such a thing. He held a few minor offices but always preferred not to, letting some other person hold the office and he to be the power behind the throne.

One morning Dad and Uncle Wash saw a deer swimming across the lake and took after it in a canoe. Overtaking it, they cut its throat and brought it back. Of course, they cut plenty portions for their friends.

Some disgruntled person had them arrested for taking a wild deer in open water. But to the jury Dad maintained that it was a tame deer, not wild, and the jury could not prove it was wild.

Dad always provided hard wood maple and beech stove wood cut 16 inches long for the town people and $1:00 a cord delivered. It was cut in the winter, dried out, hauled to our place, and piled up.

I had wanted a gun for a long time and Dad said if I would pile up the wood, about 1000 cords, I could have the gun. At the then prices for guns this was ½¢ (a cord?) for piling wood. My chum, Will Ross, helped me. When we had the job completed we received an old army musket, bored out, with a large hammer using hat caps, and an old iron ram rod, gauge 12. We hunted, one carrying the gun, the other the powder and shot, and changed about.

We would, through the week, collect all the stray dogs in the town ready for the Saturday hunt. Two boys with 10 or 15 Dogs and one gun, but few dogs ever got to the woods.

Of course we hunted small game and never got very much.

On one trip to some old camps we stopped to pick blackberries for eats. I happened to be carrying the gun, held between my legs while I picked berries. Soon something drew my attention and in looking ahead saw a black bear also picking berries. He had not seen me.

My first impulse was to run. Then the idea (came?) that Will would brag and make fun of me. So I carefully drew the iron ram rod out and slid it down the barrel. The gun was only loaded with fine shot. But slowly lifting it and cocking it, I got a bead on the bear and pulled the trigger. The bear went one way and I the other. Finally when I got my courage back we went in carefully to see the results. We never found the ram rod but did find blood on the bushes. The ram rod went clear through the bear. We tracked him for several miles and found him dead.

One of the sports and quarrels of two boys under these circumstances was good. Trying to get even with the other. One way was to load the gun for the other to shoot. A large charge of powder and ramming the shot down so the gun would kick and make a (lame?) shoulder. I had fixed a load for Will one day, but for some reason he smelled a rat and did not shoot it off. So when we got home the gun had the same load in it and it was stood in a corner the same as usual.

Next morning it happened some ducks lit in the lake close to the house and Dad, seeing them, grabbed the first gun handy which was mine and started for the ducks. He took a dug out canoe and paddled as close as he could and picked up the gun and fired. It kicked him out of the boat. And when he got back------.

But he got no ducks.

Those old days we did not have much variety of foods. For meat we had venison:; sometimes a goose, duck, or partridge. In the fall it was usual to kill 10 to 15 deer, dress them and hang them in the barn to freeze for winter use. Some were smoked for jerky. - salted and smoked hard but very pleasing to the taste and very nourishing. We carried a piece of jerky in our pockets for lunch.

The first apple and first orange I ever saw was at Christmas time. One each year. I never had a pair of boots or shoes till 8 years old, with red tops and copper toes and the leather hard as the Hubs of Hell.

Lake City was a one street town. Growing. Buildings largely wooden. In 1888 on the night of July 4 the fire started and when it burned out 48 buildings and contents with the brick Malone hotel were in ashes. No fire protection except the back woods bucket brigade- a team of men filling pails from the lake and passing them on to the fire.

The next spring Dad made a deal with the town and was granted a franchise to build a water works plant for town needs.

He built a good plant and I had considerable to do laying mains and foundations. Thykoff (?) wood pipe, a pine log bored out for a 6 inch pipe and bound with band iron, tarred and covered with sawdust. This was 60 years ago and the mains are as good and strong as when laid. As a boy I had much to do with this building and the operation for many years following. The plant was on Dad’s home lots in the center of town and are still there. A water tank and electric lights have since been added for the towns uses.

Missaukee Lake, which was first called Muskrat Lake, was a small, beautiful sheet of water. Fine, clean sand shores on at least ¾ of it, the balance a little soft but not mud.

It was full of fine fish, pickerel mostly, bass and sun fish. Early days Dad had 2000 eel fingerlings planted which grew to 6 feet long. They but rarely bit a hook but we speared them. After skinning them and stretching their hides on a thin(?) shingle to dry they made the finest kind of tough strings for harness repairs and strong ties.

We boys used to cut fat pine wood and with a basket jack in the bow of a boat we lit the wood and at night went along the shore and speared, sometimes two wash tubs full of fine fish. Great sport and no one hurt.

Killing a deer in the water was great sport, even if it had some dangers. In early spring a deer’s (?) is hollow and they float up better. I have killed several and even had them smash my canoe and had to swim ashore but tied the dead deer to the canoe and came back for it. If you don’t think a buck deer can put up a tough fight in the water, try one once. They are fast swimmers and their hoofs can cut through almost anything. Between horns and hoofs you have some scrap.

Fishing and baling? was my best sport. Barefoot out on a peeled boom stock slippery beyond any idea--. To catch a large fish and get him ashore was a problem and always a wetting and a lost fish.

Running lots was another. The old White Pine days found our lake Muskrat a splendid holding ground for white pine logs. Some years the lake was so full of logs we could cross in any direction on the logs. Sometimes we went through and had rough times getting out. We were splendid at birling or rolling also.

A large slide built at one corner at the mouth of the Mosquito Creek was where logs were hauled up and loaded on narrow gauge cars for the haul (?) to Clam River.

This road was owned by Cody and Moore., Larry Cody and George W. Moore with Nelson Ross as superintendent of woods and logging. Bill Ross was my chum. Many the trips we made to the banking ground and dumps of logs.

Our lake was a splendid holding body for surplus water to be turned into Mosquito Creek and on down to Clam River for flooding and splashing out the drive.

One year when it was very high and held for the Big Drive it overflowed the Waterworks and put fires out from under the boiler. And Ross would not pull the flood gates. Another year when water was low and Ross needed it for splashes our Town would not allow him to use the water and put watchmen with rifles to guard the dam. Ross came to me, a kid, and wanted to know if there should happen to be a fire if I could blow the fire whistle good and long as I was working at the Waterworks.

Every kid loves a fire so we agreed. Then next night an old blacksmith shop was loaded with kerosene and set on fire. It made a dandy fire and I pulled the whistle long and loud.

The men guarding the Dam about a mile and ¼ south of town heard the whistles and saw the fire and started on a run for town. Ross had a crew of about 300 men and teams hidden close by and when the watchers left the dam his crew went in and dynamited it and dredged the banks out for a heavy splash. By morning the lake was down and the joke was on the town. Ross got his water, his logs out of the Clam and into the Muskegon.

In the early days lumber work was a hard way of life. As a boy I got on the drive, bringing down the rear, then on the drive, and breaking rollways. Out early and in late working in wet, frozen clothes with poor meals and no place to dry out. No wonder men drank whiskey to keep alive. Wages were $16:00 a month and board. Poor at that. Sow belly beans, molasses, sour bread. Some got $12:00.

Dad was the most forehanded and the real leader of them all. He backed up and supported everything helpful and progressive, spent his money wisely and freely for the town and people. The town of Lake City was built on his homestead and laid out by him. He was director of the little bank and I worked there several years. He was no Politician but always backed the cleanest side and spent money to buy elections like any true citizen. Never drank liquor and quit smoking. Mother was sure a good example for him and a guide. He built the first hotel and when a saw mill came in and went busted he took it over and ran it for the benefit of the community. He backed every man worth while and many not so hot. He farmed. Raised prize wheat for seed, sold it at $1:00 a bushel, full heaped and running over. Clean of all foreign seeds. I know. I had to turn the fanning (?) at the mill all winter to do it.

He paid his men $1:00 a day and boarded them even when wages was 25¢ and 50¢ a day. But he made them work and he set the pace. Said no man could live on less than a dollar a day and raise a family. His word was worth more than a bond.

He got the railroad in there and got their right-of-way. When the town voted $250,000:00 for a ? the land and the bonds were issued he went to Grand Rapids to deliver them and found the railroad would be built anyway and on a ? so he refused to deliver them. Abe Stout was with him and on conference they burned the bonds so they would not have to deliver them. Came back home and told what he had done. He had no bonds to bring back but people thought that was OK and he was smart. So that ended that.

I don’t know what Dad was like when young but when Mother got through with him he was a Hell of a good Christian. Built the Methodist church, paid the preacher, clothed him and his wife and family, fed them and heated their home and built them a parsonage and of course he led at revivals and always had the preacher in for meals. Mother was some planner(?).

My first job, as I remember, was in the Missaukee Independent office, a newspaper published by George Stout. There I learned to set type, and distribute it, operate an old hand press for hand bills, letter heads, etc. Then on the large Washington lever press on the weekly publication. All this was gradual. Then the building of advertisements and a small amount of notes of interest.

The first rotary press was built in Lake City. It was a round maple log, bored out in the center and filled with sand. On this was the felt cover with a pipe through the center for handles. When mounted, we would set the type, lay the paper on it and roll the roller across. On the next operation the roller was rolled back. This was not much of a success and was soon discarded and thrown out. Too many smeared pages and too cumbersome to handle. But in all it was an education. I never had any schooling.to speak of.

Ron Barker who ran a newspaper at Reed City in those very early days came to Lake City and started a paper. It was not much but it was a newspaper. He and his wife decided to take a vacation. I was their printers devil. So he wrote up several weeks issues of the paper of the things he thought would happen. Run the papers off and addressed them and tied up each weeks issue in a bundle and put in a barrel. My job was to take out that weeks issue and mail it.

Next came a job in the Missaukee County Bank. Was put on the books and kept these and made up bank books. Later was on the cash counter to fill in. Finally the safe, time locks, and combinations. All this was only more education. Bank customers always helped to show me how and our cashier, Abe Stout, was all right. I did all the book work and handled all the cash and Stout handled the loans and collections.

But prior to Abe was a cashier who had a pretty wife and Abe fell for her. Then her husband died and Abe fired me and took her on in my place. Shortly after she and Abe left over night and were not heard from for years. He was honest enough for when he went he took only what was his right to, but he left a note to get me, Mart, who knew the inside and combinations and time lock. So I was back in the bank.

Just at that time the Republicans took the County elections from the Democrats and of course the new County Treasurer took the County money to a new bank just started. This was known and it started a run on our bank. I was alone and (the) Directors (did) not know how to work the bank. Money was being drawn out fast. It fell to me, a boy, to handle the situation. A quick check of cash and balance showed a better than average position but with a run this was something. Began ordering cash from Grand Rapids in 5000:00 lots and Dad rode Old Bob to Cadillac to get it off the 1:35 A M train. Cash went fast and the last 5000:00 we had at Grand Rapids was ordered in gold. When this came in it was piled on the counter loose and this stopped the run. People had never seen so much gold before. They took a look and left the bank. Others who had drawn out their money, many of them brought it back. They all thought we had the mint behind us.

We had about 9 to 13 saloons and they all prospered. Whiskey was cheap and every one drank more or less. Thom Dorthy (?) was one saloon keeper and Jim Sharp another. Both tough fighters. They met on the train from Cadillac to Manton one day and mixed. The train was stopped while they fought it out. They fought six hours straight and neither one licked. , but they were two broken men and never after that time could they do anything. It is still talked of by old-timers who saw it, if there are any left. I saw it.

These were just a few of the recollections of a kid. Many others come to mind, but they are of no importance.

The old time lumberjack was a prince of a fellow, tough, hard, cheerful. But when they were drunk they were the hardest, toughest, (?) most dangerous men on earth. With cork shoes, I mean spiked, they enjoyed walking their man and most all of them had calk marks on their faces for life. They never knew when to quit. No one gave in and all fought as long as they could stand. But when it was over they were generally good friends. In the spring they came out for their drunks and for an outfit for the drive to the mills. Cork shoes, heavy woolens and caps. When the drive tied up at the mills they went back home. Walked. No roads. No money left.

Michigan was the home of white pine. Enormous quantities were cut and shipped to lake ports by schooners and barges. More was burned in forest fires than was ever sawn. Many people burned out and up. None of us suffered. We always knew how to handle them and was ready in plenty of time.

In my experience I have seen all the virgin growth of timber of the north cut and burned. Some may say this is deplorable but that is not so. For the northern timber, first the pines and then the hardwoods, had a use. The pines built the entire Mississippi Valley homes and cities and towns. The hardwood followed in furniture, factories, wagons, and farm implements. So the timber made an empire. Waste was a large factor but it had its place in the larger picture.

So Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Canada may be proud of their contribution to the progress and building of an empire, and all of this during the period of one pioneer boy that had a large part in its progress.