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Transcription
Janet Schwarze
For a while Reid Murdock
had a pickle station near where Bergstom’s garage is now. One fall we had a fair
in there. A lot of us young folks displayed our fancy work and wore the ribbons
we won.
The Opera House was about where the gym is now. We had class plays, graduations,
dances, shows that came to town and roller skating there.
The Telephone Office was in the rear of the building now Weddig’s Drug Store. N.
J. Charette had a grocery store there about the time the Company Store closed.
The Canning Factory was always in its present location. The Owen Box and Crating
Company used to have their factory, lumber yard and dry kiln where the Post Co.
is now located. Boxes and ironing boards were manufactured there. Girls worked
there during World War I in place of young men who went into the service.
The side walk and Highway 16 (Yellowstone Trail) crossed the mill pond bridge
over the dent. Sometimes the water was so high we were afraid to walk over it.
The big rail-road bridge over Popple River behind the school house was a meeting
place when the weather was nice. We used to skate on Popple River way down to
Meek’s Dam and up above Red Bridge. When the Mill Pond was safe, we skated on it
and on up to the bridge on the North Withee road.
The Company made ice on the north end of the mill pond. We couldn’t skate there
after ice cutting started.
In 191) there was a flood and we kids used pieces of wood side walks for rafts
and floated all around the east end of town. The clean-up of our homes after the
water went down wasn’t as much fun.
VILLAGE OF MAPLEHURST
Mrs. Harry Bull -- Teacher in Maplehurst some forty years ago
Maplehurst was probably started between 1900 and 1902. It was a sawmill town
founded by Gee. Blackburn and J. Bost. The mill was operated as Squaw Creek
Lumber Co. and was located on what is now the L. Wisniewisid farm. It was a good
sized industry getting its logs and bolts from the surrounding woods supplied by
individuals and the company’s logging camps.
The first house, built for a boarding house, is still standing on the property
of Olive Bull. Also located there is a company barn used to stable the horses
that brought the logs and bolts to the mill, hauled the finished product to
Withee, and brought back supplies.
The village was plotted and divided into out lots and blocks. It has been said
it was the best plotted village in Taylor Co. The streets were all named. What
is now Co. Trunk T was East Main St. Co. Trunk A was Knapp St. built by Harry
Merrill, Orvil and Harry Bull. They used a team of Oxen for pulling the stumps
and other work done by machinery today.
One of the earliest settlers in this community was a Helm’s family. They lived
on what used to be known as the John Larson farm on the west side of Black River
on Co. Trunk T. Mr. Helms began a German type castle on the river but passed
away before it was completed. It was in the Helms’ home that the first school
was held. One of the teachers was Eleanor Packard from the town of Hoiway. Later
a school was built on Outlet C. Other early teachers were: Ethel Cheney, Ellen
Christnian, Alma Herrick, Frances Drake and Marguerite Drake. This building is
now used as the Maplehurst Town Hall.
There was a large 2 story building used for a Company General Store and a good
sized 2 story brick hotel where the men that worked at the mill boarded and
roomed. There was also a 2 story saloon. Another large store built by Nathan
Drake was also a post office for a time. The mail was brought by Stage Route
from Withee. A Mr. Heski drove the route at one tine.
Names of people living or working in the village when it was flourishing are:
Beirman, Miles, Joe and Walter Lwidy, Steinberg, Snyder, Drolshagen, Freese,
Alton, Holcombe, Scranton, krndt, Tormey, Smith, Hunejager and Moody. Some of
the names of people that ran the hotels and boarding houses were: Berry, Wm.
Nichols,(father of Ethel Nichols Bender who taught the Munson (Willow Dale
School) in the 20’s) Maurer, Planticgo and Anderson.
A tragedy happened at the mill yard in March of the spring of 1907. Two 12 year
old boys played around and on the rollways of logs in spite of many warnings.
The spring weather caused a rollway to break and the logs rolled over the boys
killing both. One was an Anderson boy (nephew of the late Sven Svenson the other
was an Arndt boy.
There had been hope of a railroad coming to the village so a right of way was
graded and ties laid for approximately a mile, but the railroad missed
Maplehurst.
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