The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1921-04-28
First Visited Brockway
Centre, In Sixty-Three
Lines Dictated in 1903 By James
Brown, Who Was One of
Our Early Settlers

Lines Dictated in 1903 BY James
Brown, Who Was One of
Our Early Settlers
(We bring before our readers
this week "reminiscences from the
mind of our deceased fellow
townsman, James Brown, which
were given to and taken down on
paper by his son, C.. S. Brown,
during the last few weeks of the
formers life in 1903. Our read
ers will bear in mind that this
sketch was written eighteen years
ago, and that it was not brought
to completion.)
PEN PICTURES
Of Men and Scenes of the Past
While passing very restless
night recently troops of shadowy,
misty faces of old-time residents
of Brockway Centre, whose bodies
are now mouldering under the sods
of the valley, with their toes turn
ed up to the daisies, came march
ing along in rapid succession,
bringing up vivid recollections of
old Brockway Centre, and it's ap-
pearance and growth from a small
struggling hamlet, through long
years of struggle and difficulties
which have been overcome, and
which have resulted in as thriving
and prosperous a town as there
is in Michigan.
Occasionally presented them
selves bright faces that then were
boys and who are yet living, their
hair turning gray, and who have
since, in these intervening years
been factors in the development
and prosperity of what is now
Yale.
The writer of this first visited
Brockway Centre forty years ago
this summer (this was two years
previous to his final settlement in
the township of Brockway, being
here on visit.) There wasn't
much of it. A few struggling
houses along Main street, good
deal of COW pasture, and mud ga
lore, (although in this latter re-
spect we haven't much to brag of
YETI The Masonic hall being the
northern terminus, the foot of the
hill to the south being the
southern terminus, there being no
back or side streets to the embryo
village. 1t was wild looking
place. North street, east and
west had no opening into the
country. Fields on either side of
the road right in the village.
The north side of what is
now North street was pictures
quely adorned with pine stump
fences, while the fields they en-
closed were literally a wilderness
OF pine stumps some of them of
huge dimensions. Not a single
house north of North street.
There were no churches, relig-
ious meetings being held in the
old red school house, which then
stood on the spot where now
stands the building occupied by
w. A. Cavanagh (Fred Taylor).
If we had a history of that old
school house, it's inmates, their af-
ter life, it would be an interesting
one. Originally it was painted red
but convenience in lighting the
fires on winter mornings had rob-
bed the sides here and there of
pieces of the red clap-boards
which we're replaced by patches of
boards without any reference to
size, and the adornment of paint
was lacking in all such new work.
The lower panels of the door had
long since been kicked out.
But the inside of the school
house was picture. The desks
being pine boards, nailed to the
side walls all around the building,
with long stools to correspond.
Those desks were a study. HER
oglyphics, pictures of things
known and unknown, and names
of the carvers, all cut out with
jaek-knives. Our illustrious cow
boy preacher was even then of
note and influence, and his name
was conspicuous by largeness and
depth. There were a few strag-
Cling seats of very ancient con-
struction in the center. All kinds
of meetings, political and relig-
ious, many Methodist shout
echoed between it's walls and MANY
political schemer had his hopes
blasted and his ambitions for
emoluments and Office were nip
ped in the bud, but there came a
time when progressive ideas de-
manded places more suitable for
religious worship and place for
teaching the young ideas how to
shoot. Then came a kick. a strug-