Comments on: In the Archives: The Cigar Maker’s Son

By: Laura Bien

Laura Bien — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:44:59 +0000

Dave, depending on where you saw those things, you may have seen some remnants of the vanished settlement of Lowell, which was on the river roughly one mile northwest of the Peninsular Paper factory, in the extreme southwestern corner of Superior Township. There's a Detroit Edison dam and hydro plant near the area today. At one time, Lowell was said to have had the best water power on the Huron and the best paper mill in the state, the Ypsilanti Paper Co. Lowell kids came to Ypsi for school, families usually came to Ypsi once a week for shopping, and several housewives worked on finishing underwear for the Ypsilanti Underwear Co. to earn extra money. Here's a nice article about it: [link] And another: [link] Also, I can scan and email more info from my files if you'd like. That section of the river is my favorite one for boating in the summer, but I can't recall seeing log cabins; may I ask, where did you see them? Thanks!

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:22:09 +0000

Can you do some history about the area between Dixboro Dam and the Paper Mill Dam? I can’t find anything about it…who lived there, industry, etc. When I’m canoeing you can see foundations of what appear to be houses, silos, etc. There are some log cabins on the bluff. Looks like the RR used to follow the river instead of being a straight shot like it is now. Etc….

By: Laura Bien

Laura Bien — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:35:18 +0000

(Enigmatically) That’s a thought-provoking guess, cmadler. Thank you for stopping by and for reading!

By: cmadler

cmadler — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:48:40 +0000

I’ll guess that it’s a coal bin.

By: Laura Bien

Laura Bien — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:37:04 +0000

Mr. Bean: That is an intriguing suggestion. The object may be found in the Ypsi Historical Society just off the solarium room, whose floor is visible in the background. I’ll supply the answer next column (Jan. 18).

By: Laura Bien

Laura Bien — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:34:34 +0000

TeacherPatti: Thank you for your nice comment! I pondered your suggestion and realized I do the same thing to the collard greens in the garden. Strange and interesting parallel.

By: Steve Bean

Steve Bean — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:25:36 +0000

The Mystery Artifact looks like something that would hold fireplace/wood strove tools (like brush and shovel) and hold ashes cleaned out from the firebox.

By: TeacherPatti

TeacherPatti — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:23:20 +0000

Love it! Somehow, Laura, we have to use the alternate definition of “stripper” in daily conversation today :)