This section may well be called “Deleted Scenes,” as it is a collection of anecdotes that did not make it into the final book. However, I liked them too much to just let them go, so here they are!
Robert Bryers is, of course, well known as one of Lakefield’s earliest settlers. In 1930 he and his wife, Sarah, celebrated their 60th anniversary. Quite a lengthy article appeared in the newspaper, and in it the following story was related:
“At that time the upper peninsula was covered with a virgin forest. Except along the lake shores there were no settlements and only a few hardy souls penetrated the wilderness. The nearest source of supplies was Naubinway on the Lake Michigan shore. There were no roads, only trails thru the woods, and these none too well marked. These hardy souls through noting of leaving home in the morning, walking to Naubinway and returning at night with a sack of provisions on their back. A long, grueling journey which they made in a day, a darn long day to be sure.
Mrs. Bryers stayed in Naubinway while her husband was preparing their home on the homestead. One day while working on the cabin, Bob had a premonition, a sort of hunch that he should go home. Dropping his tools he started off through the woods at a dog trot, arriving a couple of hours before Mrs. Bryers gave birth to twin babies. Both children afterward died.”
That’s a run of over twenty miles!
The other two stories are somewhat longer and more involved. Here’s the first one: Drama in the Deestruck Skule.
And the second one: The Tragedy at Shoepac Creek.