Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1911-12-26

Il now realize that circumstances
might come about so that even
Parcher could fail me; if he does all is
lost" But this was an uncalled for
fear.
Mr.. Parcher never forgot his COM
pact with our humbleSt citizen, and
he, though sick abed, and not able to
attend to his own business affairs, did
not forget his compact with me. He
arranged to put the necessary money
In my hands; hence the logs, and
labor was paid for when due. In
August when ready to commence
marketing our lumber, our mill went
up in smoke. This left us SO that our
only asset was a claim of 81 500.
against the insurance company. OF
course we had the lumber yard, but
to counter balance that was our liabil-
lty TO Parcher, amounting from $4,000
to $4,000. Under these strenuous
circumstances, / vent to Parcher and
asked him. What are you going to
do about it9 What do you want me
to do? Will | assign the whole thing
over tn you, or what?" He replied,
Chris, you must work out your own
salvation. Your reports to ne, indi-
Gates that my money is all safe in
those lumber piles. Now if it is, you
can get it out of them. If it is not
all there, / could not get it out even
if took charge. What | want you
to do is, TO market that lumber, get
my money out of it, and pay me.
That is all there is to it," He turned
to his desk and got busy writing, and
[ went away far stronger man, and
with more faith in humanity than /
had ever had before.
Mr.. Parcher was not only liberal
and generous creditor, but he was a
builder of character. A man could
not thoroughly know r. E. Parcher
without becoming better and strong
er man.
At one time / labored under the
very much mistaken idea, that / was
an exception, or that Mr.. Parcher, for
some reason that / was not able to
comprehend, had singled me out to
bestow his great friendship upon.
This was because / had never heard
him tell about ever helping anyone
else But / soon learned that he never
wanted me to feel that he had done
anything for me.
Later years when our financial cir
cumstanceS were easier, | undertook
to thank him for the great things
he had done for US. He turned me
down insisting that / had absolutely
nothing to thank him for. That /
had paid him back capital and inter-
est, hence he alleged that it was he
that ought to thank me. This great
trait of Parcher's, that he never
wanted the world to know, the many
things he had done for others, | could
then not fully understand. Now /
know and understand that the num-
Der of persons, who received material
aid and encouragement through Mi.
Parcher, were many. And | now I'M
derstand and honor the motives that
prompted him TO insist that the good
things he did for others should not be
advertised
This phase of my relation with Mr..
Parcher, which required that he
should be my extensive creditor, or
youch for me at the banks, was a rela-
, Uion or condition that anyone would
wish to outgrow and discard, and to
that end we struggled and prayed, but
it continued for period of years.
But the relation as true friend,
which enabled me to go to him with
any of the knotty and tangled prob
lens OF life, with positive confidence
that | would get his honest opinion,
backed by that keen business judg-
ment of his, that relation lasted
through life, and was a relation that
was of ineStimable value to me. l
| found him the embodiment of integ-
| rity and honor, and love TO think,
of him as, the ''Grand Old Man. of
Wausau.