Ionia-Eaton-Barry County MI Archives History .....THE SEBEWA RECOLLECTOR, Bulletin Of The Sebewa Association; Volume 17, February 1982, Number 4.  Submitted With Written Permission Of Grayden D. Slowins, Editor: February 1982
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
LaVonne Bennett lib@dogsbark.com April 14, 2008, 4:38 pm

SAWMILLER GLEN RAIRIGH – By Grayden Slowins
I wanted to get my walnut lumber planed and people I asked about it said to 
contact Glen Rairigh.  His mill is located just off M-50 on the old gravel 
Clinton Trail (now called Sandborn Road) about 1 ½ miles southeast of 
Woodbury.  When I went there to get the work done he threw in the story of 
sawmilling, Glen Rairigh style.

He first set up his portable mill and steam engine on the Jacob Sayer farm in 
1913.  Here he sawed out lumber for Jake’s “new” front barn and toolshed.  He 
said Clarence was just a kid and still at home.  However, I buried Clarence 
five years ago at age 87, so he was 25 then---six years older than Glen.

Clarence and Glen were second cousins.  Clarence had told me this and his 
grandmother Gunn’s tombstone tells it too.  Glen’s father may have been 
involved in the mill in those early years also, because his younger brother, 
Meryl, followed the mill crew and attended Sebewa Center School for a time.  
Glen is now 86.

In 1914 he set up the mill just south and across the road from the West Sebewa 
store where he sawed for Uncle John Lehman and others.  In 1915 he set up for 
Charles Ralston in the pasture just west of the brick house that is now our 
home.  Mrs. Charles Ralston was Hattie Olry and our west 30 acres belonged to 
Charlie and Hattie from about 1906 to 1942.

Glen thought it was about 1916 that he set up for Dan and Roman Slowinski in 
Section 35, Berlin Township.  He recalls they used the lumber for some of their 
toolsheds and other small buildings.  He thought it was one of the years that 
he operated the Chase mill out of Grand Rapids.  I believe Chase later bought 
out Cheesebrough at Freeport and someone still operates a mill there, though 
not the Blough mill.

Glen said he had worked with just about every mill man in Michigan.  I asked 
about Ezra Good (Mother’s cousin in the Wenger line).  “Oh, yes.  We logged 
together in the North.”  Glen eventually bought Allie Rader’s mill from 
Portland and it is part of his present mill.  Everything is powered by 
electricity now.  I think Allie Rader’s wife was a daughter of Sid Osman and 
the mill stood on that low field just east and across the Portland Road from 
Donald and Warren Roger’s place.  That was the old Hyland farm.  Mrs. Osman was 
a Hyland.

The morning when we planed was rather misty and the day before was very foggy.  
Glen said “Fifty-one years ago yesterday was foggy, too, and Old (then young) 
Doc Finnie had to lean out the window and watch the ditch to get to our house 
and deliver Glenwood.

I said “well, fifty years ago come January he had to fight a blinding snowstorm 
and drifts to get to our house.”

Glen’s son-in-law, Donald Curell, was helping with the planing.  He piped 
up, “What day in January?”  When I said it was the 20th he said, “Well, he came 
to our house on the 24th”.

Glen was pastor of the Portland Nazarene Church in the late 1930’s and early 
1940’s.  I gather he commuted, because his son and daughter were never in 
Portland school with us.  I think he continued to saw and farm.

A month ago he was in Hastings hospital and later in Provincial House.  Wilfred 
had said he probably would not be able to run the mill.  But somebody told him 
there was a load of logs on the skids.  He got out of bed, put on his clothes 
and was waiting for the doctor to say he was going home.  The next day he had 
the mill fired up, but I still had to wait ten days for my turn, including time 
to overhaul his cornpicker.  Doesn’t that sound like a grand-nephew of Theodore 
and Amelia Rairigh Gunn?               November 5, 1981





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