The Yale expositor., 1921-03-03
Written BY Mrs. N. II. Morrill,
Kelley, at the Age of. rs Yrs.

When | was six years of age |
came to this spot in Michigan
with my parents, Mr.. and Mrs.
Levi Morrill,, who came to lumber
AT that time there were only two
houses here. Mr. White, father of
Henry White, remembered by
many, in one, moved here the prev
ious spring, and a family named
Hicks, in the other, where we
stopped for supper. remember
1t well, because | had such a
fright. My mother asked me to
hold my baby sister, three or four
months old, (Mrs. Albert Oatman)
while she was out of the room
short time. My arms ached and
ached until could net hold her
any longer and | had to- let her
fall to the floor.
fhe next morning had another
scare. We spent the night at the
nome of David Stephen. / had nev-
er slept in a log house before and
had never seen an alarm clock.
When that alarm went off |
thought those logs were all tumbl-
ing on me.
Our camps were about 70 mile
north of the county line. The TIM
ber fioated down the North Branch
There was a bridge and dam
where the railroad crosses now.
Smallpox was raging terribly
in Port Huron that winter. Faith
er went to Port Huron on business
and was talking to friend on the
street when Elias Sweetzer came
along on the opposite side, just
out after having the smallpox.
The wind was blowing strong from
him to them. Both my father and
Mr.. Gillett took the disease. The
latter lost child and seven had it
in our camp. Our men all left
but three. One was James Jack
son and the other two mothers
brothers. The disease was bad
and several in our camp came near
dying, but / never took it. There
was one man | want to speak Of,
, for he was the only one to come
near us in all that dreadful time.
He would come within calling dis
tance and father would go out
and talk with him. There was
fine big stump they used as an
office. Father would lay money
on the stump and this man would
get it and bring supplies to us on
his back. We always felt CRATE
~ful to Mr.. Griffin.
In the spring father bought 40
acres of land where Joe Moore
has recently bought, and when the
men were able to work they built
Il log house, but it was June be-
iOre we could move into it.
After a time we took my uncles
to their home near White Lake, in
Oakland county. Passing a school
house as school was out, one little
gill called out, "Oh, there goes a
man with a speckled face !" Uncle
says, Its pretty face, isn't it ?"
Eyes sir" she said.
Mr.. Stephens place was where
his daughter, Mrs. Jordan, now
lives. Her brother-in-law, John
d. Jones, was just finishing a nice
new residence that is standing
yet. The lumber firm of Ayre &
Merrill had bought quite tract Of
land and put up good buildings,
barns and nice house. a large
room for the men and sleeping
rooms upstairs.
think it was in 1854 that Ayre
X, ri ,cf, nH =
permission to build a school on
their land. Mr.. Merrill's family
were living in a log house a few
rods west of the house always
called the Red house (the Currier
farm later). They had three
daughters, the youngest my own
age. This place was called Mer-
rillsville.
There was no cemetery, so the
dead were buried beside the
school house.
We scholars had great times
when the logs were run down Mill
creek. They would always jam in
front of the school house and that
was very alluring to us. We
thought it great fun to play on the
logs until caught at it by John
Young-no more playing on the
logs for us girls, but the older
boys learned to ride logs there
and | remember one time when
Henry Howard fell in during a log
jam, but he quickly recovered
himself.
In thinking of those times. an
reminded of Othello Phelps, one
of the boys to learn riding logs
When the war started he was one
of the first to enlist. He served
three years, was given few days
furlough if he would re-enlist, be
cause the government needed