The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1871-05-19

Consequences OlU uOU 30 Iuucu cHocV eh'
interests of the few people here, as tina
which was brought in here from Kala
mazoo. The manufactury here, mad
Highwines and sent it away to ours
some other people. 1t is the farme
who makes the country, but the me
chanic makes the town.
The first joiner who made a Location
in Decatur, was L. y. Odds, now res
ident of that village. There was blu
one other mechanic in the first five years
of its history as village, and the,
built nearly every house in the growing
town during that period commencing il
July 1S49. Mr.. Olds first came IL
Kalamazoo from Wayne county, N. Y.
in 1S42, where he learned his usefu
trade, and worked several years. ther
enlisted in the Mexican war, in which
he served over two years; fourteen
months of the time he was an inhabitant
of the city of Mexico. From this famed
battle field he returned to his quiet oc.
cupation in Kalamazoo, not however co
remain long, for the little huckleberry
patch, on the new M. G, r. r., just
completed the previous year, was about
to make an effort to struggle into vii
lage, (then and now called Decatur)
and they must have men in their midst
who could use the hammer and saw
Hence the necessity of the call sent out
for help, to which Mr. Odds responded.
When he commenced his labors there,
at the time before stated, in July 1S49,
a part only of the r. r. buildings had
been put up, the kitchen part to a
Hotel, known as the Barker House,
afterwards built on the now vacant lot
opposite the Downs House. Besides
the Hotel kitchen, there were but three
dwellings in the place. One of them,
the first one built in the village for a
residence, was one story of the house
now occupied by Dr. King On Delaware
street; this has since been raised up
and wholly remodeled. The other two
were shanties, one log shanty on the
lot occupied by Mr.. Rawson, opposite
DR.. Clark's residence, the other board
shanty near the R. r. buildings. "Only
this, and nothing more" is the picture
for which Decatur could have set twenty
two years ago. The first building after
these, was store, since burned, on the
ground where A. S. Hathaway's store
now is, built for Goss, Sherwood and Co.
For the work on this Mr.. Olds received
but one dollar day and board !; there
was then no ten hour system as at pres
ent. The mechanics days work was
the same as a farmers, all the time be-
tween sunrise and sunset, except when
eating. Times changes have brought
about a new era for mechanics. That
is about the same wages as young misses
receive now for teaching school six hours
a day.
The next buildings erected in Decatur
were the two low cottage houses between
the Presbyterian church and the Town
House, owned by Charles Duncombe
and DR.. Baker. These are the oldest
houses now in the town, except small
part of the one occupied by DR.. King.
In December of the same year the
Barker Hotel W as commenced, large
building twenty.four by forty feet in d.
mansions, trout to the kitchen before
mentioned. This Hotel since burned,
kept forty-fve boarders, majority of
them were men working on the long
puncheon road cover the swamp" to
Little Prairie Since then, on the same
ground, the large and commodious Hard
Ware Store, occupied by Moore and
Lisk was burned. Considering the
cleansing properties of fire, this must be
a very pure corner, now, more so proba
bly, than it was when the Barker House
was furnishing five or six barrels of
week, for its boarders and
other laborers in the small town.
The present stringent State law regard
ing the sale of liquor, would have been
a very wholesome one then, especially
SO, with the help of the present village
Marshall, Don Rogers, to see that it is
put in execution. BY certain classes,
he is called the worst one ever put into
that capacity in Decatur. Perhaps