November 2007

Mill News Friends of the Pine Creek Grist MillWildcat Den State ParkMuscatine, Iowa 52761

Mill Meetings:

9:00AM The 2nd.Saturday eachmonth at theMuscatine CountyExtension officelocated at 1514Isett Avenue,Muscatine, IA

Presidents NotesPages 1 & 2

Restoration ReportPages 3

Interpretive ReportPages 4 & 5

Old Church MeetingPage 5

Bennett’s Flour MillPage 6

The Flour SackPage 7

FOM Receives AwardMillstones DonatedPage 8

Membership InfoDonationsPage 9

Huchendorf FamilyPhoto Found!Page 10

Mill Family TreePage 11

Page 12Membership applica-tion

Notes From The President By Tom Hanifan

To paraphrase from Muscatine’sMayor “Great things are happening at themill”. We accomplished many things thisyear. The passion and hard work of manypeople made 2007 a banner year. Supportfrom donors, the community and the IowaDepartment of Natural Resources madeour progress possible.

The high point was recognition ofour efforts at the national level, by theNational Association of State ParkDirectors.

Restoration has moved forwardon many projects. We have nearlycompleted construction of a uniquemachine to manufacture wood pulleys.This will allow us to move forward onplacing the steam engine back intooperation.

Record numbers of visitors andschool children learned about the mill.The number of children and parentscoming for school visits increased by29%. There was a 21% increase invisitors and tourists. Beautiful fallweather brought hundreds of visitors –including a record of 257 in one day.

We participated in several eventsthat drew hundreds of people. In thespring we had an information booth atEarth Day. In June we had an informationbooth, where kids could grind grain, atthe “Muscatine Experience” in downtownMuscatine. In the fall we had aninformational booth at the Senior Expo

At the Muscatine Mall. In Novemberwe had an information booth where kidscould grind grain at the “Meet MuscatineCircuit” in downtown Muscatine.

Two members of Friends werefeatured presenters at a meeting of theLegislature’s Natural ResourcesCommittee in Des Moines. DNR stafftalked about the benefits that volunteergroups bring to Iowa. Friends of theMill was their featured group.

Our first serious effort at fundraising was successful, and a learningexperience. We found that it is mucheasier to raise funds for projects than itis to staff the interpretation program.Many families and businessescontributed to our interpretationprogram. These donations met about½ of our need. Since the last newsletterwe have received donations from Wal-Mart, Central State Bank, Loryann Eis,Susan Craddick, Gloria Newell, Ruth &Bill Parks, Arnold Sohn, Dick Maeglin,Herbert Hetzler, and Freedom Bank ofElkader IA.

Several projects were funded byour friends. The Community Foundationfunded participation in a fund raisingworkshop by 2 members of Friends.Rotary and HNI Corp. funded thecreation of a unique machine to buildwood pulleys. Don Bently has fundedthe dating of logs from the possible Nyelog cabin. Since our last newsletter HNICorp. has funded insurance for the

Page 2 of 12Mill News

Notes From the President ContinuedHeritage Day /

Buckskinners Rendezvous. And theCommunity Foundation has fundedpurchase of a portable publicaddress system for the interpretersand for events.

Friends were part of aninnovative school project calledWildcat Kids. 5th grade studentsat McKinley Elementary Schoolcreated a Web site and set of childfriendly fliers about the mill,Melpine School and the Park.

A flier designed to bringtourists to the mill has beencreated. We are awaiting wordfrom the Eastern Iowa TourismAssociation on our grant requestto print 5000.

About 30 people heardGladys Mittman’s presentationabout a citizen of the Wildcat Denarea who claimed to be part of theassassination of President Lincoln.

We are working with amuseum studies student at theUniversity of Iowa to create a DVDdigital disk about the mill. It willbe made available to potential

Year 2004 2005 2006 2007

Visitors 5,077 3,808 4,247 6,146School Groups 765 715 937 1,212Sales Store $2,300 $654 $1,295 $1,834Donation Box $1,423 $798 $1,380 $2,394

visitors, potential donors, teachers,news media and others.

The Trail Run was a successagain. It is a popular area sportingevent that drew 120 runners andwalkers.

Heritage Day was anothersuccess. The number of visitorscounted at the mill was the highestever, at around 1200. We receivedan unusually high number ofcompliments from the community.The many new activities andfeatures were appreciated.

2007 was a great year. And

the future is looking even brighter.

At the suggestion of LegislatorNathan Reichert we prepared a listof suggestions for improvement.This became the basis for meetingswith top level Department of NaturalResources staff and the StateHistorical Society. Action is beingdiscussed on several of thesesuggestions, as part of a broaderplan to make major improvementsat the Park. Some of the possibilitiesinclude new siding, handicappedaccessibility, rest rooms, repair ofthe dam, and outdoor interpretivekiosks.

Our GrowthNote: The mill

was closed part

of 2005 for roof

replacement.

Runners and walkers

at the Friends Trail

Walk 2007

Part of the Friends exhibit at

the Muscatine Experience event

in downtown Muscatine

Musser Public Library’s historic

photo exhibit at Heritage Day

What’s Coming upNext Issue of theFriends of the MillNewsletter:

The real story of the fight between Ben

Nye and Major Gordon!

The story of Kirk’s Grist & Planing Mill

How the Mill Works, Part 2: Aspiration

New Research on the life of George McCoy

Current news on activities at the mill

Page 3 of 12Mill News

Restoration Report By David Metz

Joe Clark (left) and Bob Willis

are attaching “Alligator” belt

lacing to splice a flat belt for the

flour roller mills.

Leon Carlson is screwing down

the new oak flooring in the

northeast corner of the mill’s

basement.

Scott Gibbs is cutting concrete to

level an area for one corner of

the new flooring to sit on. The

beam that needs to be stabilized

is to his right.

With the onset of coldweather, the 2007 restoration sea-son has ended. Since our lastnewsletter we have completed thegrain elevator interpretive exhibit.The exhibit consists of a restoredbucket elevator, grain bin (locatedin the basement) and grain chutes.The elevator lifts the grain (actu-ally plastic molding pellets) from thebasement to the third floor eleva-tor head. From there the grain fallsdown through a system of chutes,through a storage bin on the sec-ond floor, and back to the base-ment bin. Clear plastic windowsin the elevator and chute allow visi-tors to see the buckets and grainin motion.

The exhibit has also addedanother dimension to the mill ex-perience, visitors can now hear thesound of grain falling through thechutes and into the bins just likewhen the mill was in commercialoperation.

We have also been work-ing on many small things in the millthat we had ignored in past years.The three stands of double rollermills on the first floor now havedrive belts on them returning themto their original appearance. Sev-eral of the mills grist chutes havebeen repaired and the missingchute gates replaced. We have alsoremoved a great deal of old lumberand other junk from the mill.

Leon Carlson has taken onthe task of staining all of the newwood in the mill that is the resultof our restoration work. By care-ful mixing of different stains, he hasbeen able to match the old wood-work in the mill so the new blendsin visually.

Work has continued on ourpulley turning machine. The framework for the machine and the elec-trical control panel are completed.This winter we plan to complete thearm assembly that will hold the tool-ing. Once that is done, we can dothe final assembly and begin test-ing. Once the pulley machine iscompleted, we will be able to fin-ish a critical idler pulley that is partof the steam engine’s drive train.This pulley will allow us to placethe steam engine in motion usingthe mill’s electric motor. Gettingthe engine turning will be our maingoal for the 2008 restoration sea-son. We are also planning to com-plete the restoration of the mill of-fice.

Currently we are backworking down in the basement. Formany years we had an old woodendoor covering an opening to thepenstock pit in the northeast cor-ner of the basement. Besides be-ing a safety hazard, it also simplylooked ugly. The area has beencleaned up and a new oak floor nowcovers the pit opening. Naturallythis being the mill, whenever youstart one project, you discover morework that needs to be done. In thiscase we discovered that some criti-cal wood support beams (for ma-chinery, not the building structure)need either better support or to bereplaced due to rot. We have thefloor complete and are now work-ing stabilizing the beams. No lackof things to do at the mill!

With the penstock pit cov-ered with flooring, we can nowsafely allow visits to tour this area(with a guide) and see the turbine.New Safety railings have been in-stalled through out this area to en-sure that our visitors will be safe.

Page 4 of 12Mill News

Interpretive Program Report for 2007 By Ken Hyman

Telegraph operator Tom

Bremmer copying down a

message from the “Pine Mill”

telegraph station.

The Buckskinners Rendezvous

held in the upper camp ground

area of the park is an important

part of Heritage Day.

F.O.M. Member Haven Noble

with his antique view camera

that he used to make tin-type

photos at Heritage Day.

The Pine Creek Grist Millhad a very good interpretive seasonin 2007. Once again the Friends ofthe Pine Creek Grist Mill had threemajor programs. One program isto market the mill and theassociated history to surroundingschools by giving students a handson experience and a close up viewof mill ing and the pioneerexperience. Another program is tostaff the mill throughout the warmseason so the mill, the mill’s history,and the experience of watching themill run can be enjoyed by thepeople of Iowa and other visitors.The third program is to host aspecial one day event calledHeritage Day in mid-September withmany presenters interpreting ourhistorical heritage.

The school interpretiveprogram in May had a totalparticipation (adults and students)of 1,212.

For our summer interpretiveprogram, May – Oct we had a totalvisitation of 6,146. The mill wasopen a total of 100 days.

School Interpretive Program

There were eleven schoolfield trip days lasting from May 3through May 31. A field trip daywas anywhere from 30 to 150students. The format for each daywas to divide the students intogroups of 10 to 15 students. Theneach small group rotated betweenpresentations. The number andsubject of presentations weretailored to fit the size and desiresof each group.

The total of 446presentations given is an awesomenumber. Each presentation was ahalf hour to an hour long and

represented one presenter talkingto one group of students or leadingone activity.

We received a lot of positivefeedback from the teachers and thestudents. Many of ourpresentations were participatory,hands on, activities. While havingfun, the students learned about lifeas a pioneer and also facts aboutlocal history. The presenters allknow we made a contribution to theunderstanding of our culturalheritage and helped students growin appreciation of our ancestor’slegacy.

Sorry to say, but the springschool interpretive program hasprobably reached its potential. Thestaff cannot do any more programswithout resorting to a paid staff toorganize the events and we wouldalso need to greatly increase ourpaid presenters numbers and hours.

The outlook for May of 2008 isbright. We already have eight ofthe ten days of the schoolinterpretive program scheduled.Many of the presenters from lastyear are looking forward to comingback in 2008.

Summer Interpretive Program

The popularity of the mill asa tourist destination continues togrow. The Pine Creek Grist Millhosted a record number of visitorsin 2007. May and early summerwere busy, the hot part of thesummer was slower as is normal,and fall visitation was very busy.October weather was great and weset attendance records in October.

As more of the mill isrestored, our ability to exhibit andinterpret the mill increases. This

Page 5 of 12Mill News

year a lot of work was done behindthe scenes where it did not showto the public, however, tworestoration projects did increase theinterpretive program. The dust roomwas restored on the third floor andthe main elevator was restored todemonstrate how bucket elevatorswork. The demonstration elevatorhas a Plexiglas window to view themoving buckets and the bucketscarry plastic pellets (impervious tomice) to show just how the elevatorworked. The dust room is static,no moving parts, but lets the visitorsknow that a mill was a dusty placewith grain dust a constant problem.

Another popular additionthis year was what we call the flipchart display. It has 24 large formatpages that explain the mill’s historyand operation. Another aspect ofthe flip chart display was that it wason the first floor and readilyaccessible to anyone who did notwhat to climb the stairs to the otherfloors of the mill.

We had six tour guides paid

Interpretive Program Report Continued

by Friends of the Mill, one tour guideemployed under the SeniorInternship Program, and one tourguide from past years who was kindenough to come in several times towork in the mill when no one elsecould work. Seven regular tourguides seemed like enough but onewas out for the summer with aninjury, and one was too busy withschool and a career in the fall towork. As a result, we always hadthe mill open during the advertisedhours but sometimes on weekendswe only had one person workinginstead of two. Some of the tourguides will be back next summerand some will not, so next springwe will be interviewing foradditional tour guides.

The visitation trend is for adouble digit increase each year. Themill is rapidly becoming adestination tourist site. With newexhibits in the works like having thesteam engine in motion, we willcontinue to improve the experienceour visitors have at Pine Creek GristMill.

Tour guide Dean Wooten is

making concrete “Indian

grinding stones” for the school

program.

Steve Schoenig, Paul Kemper

and Gladys Mittman at the

church discussing its future.

Friends of the Old Church Meet

Dean Wooten and Joe Clark are

restoring the cloth wall of the

mill’s third floor dust room.

Our sister organization, the Friendsof the Old Church had a meetingthis September to discuss the futureof the church. The church is locatedabout a half mile north of the parksnorth entrance on a hill overlookingthe valley that Pine Creek passesthrough. Built in the 1860’s byGerman immigrants, it served thelocal community as a GermanMethodist Episcopal denominationuntil 1900. After that it served asa farm storage building. PaulKemper recognizing its historicimportance to the area deeded the

church and its surrounding land tothe Muscatine County HeritageAssociation.

Colorado resident Steve Schoenigbecame interested in the church’spreservation while doing familygenealogical research in this area.Since then he and the Kemper’s haveformed the F.O.O.C.

At the meeting several of the officersof the Friends of the Mill offeredSteve advice on the restoration ofthe church and its future possibleuses. Afterwards the group wentto the church and gave the buildinga careful inspection so future plans

can be made for its restoration.

Page 6 of 12Mill News

Friends of the MIll Wins National Award

Millstones Donated to the Friends of the MillRobert & Julie Minder have donated three mill-

stones to the Friends for use as exhibits at the mill. Thestones are solid domestic granite. All are 36” in diam-eter. Two of them are a matched pair, a runner and bedstone, the third appears to be a runner stone of lighterconstruction. The millstones weigh 1,400, 1,000 & 650pounds each. The runner stone (sitting upside down onthe trailer) has an unusual conical base instead of thenormal flat bottom.

The stones were sitting under trees in the yardbehind the house when the Minder’s purchased the prop-erty. They do not know what the stones previous his-tory has been. They could have come from any one ofthe several mills that operated in Muscatine county inthe 1800’s.

Muscatine Farm Equipment, our local John Deerdealer volunteered a tractor with fork lift forks and an operator to lift the stones and load them into arental trailer. Once at the park, the stones were unloaded with the park tractor and are now storedbehind the park shop. Over the winter we will be planning how to exhibit the millstones and where toplace them. DNR management is involved already with planning for the best use of the millstones.

The millstones loaded on the trailer. Left to

right are Scott Gibbs, Robert & Julie Minder,

Bob Willis, Ken Hyman, Joe Clark and Tom

Hanifan. Dave Metz is behind the camera.

For the first time the Friends has receivednational recognition for our work at the mill. Atthis years Heritage Day, Chief of Parks for theIowa Department of Natural Resources Kevin Sz-codronski presented the 2007 President’s awardfrom the National Association of Park Directors.

Early in 2007 Mr. Szcodronski recom-mended that the Friends enter the compitition forthe award. The FOM responded with a ten pagepaper detailing our work since 1996. The reporttold of the mill’s history and of the over 40,000hours of volunteer labor the FOM has put into re-storing and interpreting the mill for the public.

Charles Salkin, president of the NationalAssociation of Park Directors, wrote to the FOMin August to notify them of winning the award.He said that. “This award is presented to theFriends of the Pine Creek Grist Mill for yourextaordinary contribution at a state level to fur-thering the goal of the system of state parks.”

The award presentation at Heritage Day. Left to

right are Tom Baston, Logan McWean, Scott

Gibbs, Tom Hanifan (holding the award), Agnes

Digney, David Metz, Jim Ohl, Mitch White, Kevin

Szcodronski, Dale Awbrey, Bob Delong, Ken

Hyman and Mary Rankin

Page 7 of 12Mill News

Name

Organization

Address

City

State Zip

Date(s) you wish to sponsor

Person you wish to honor

Amount donated $

Make your check to:Friends of the Pine Creek Grist Mill

Mail to:Friends of the Pine Creek Grist MillC/O Mr. Tom Hanifan1226 Vista CourtMuscatine, IA 52761

Do You Have SomethingFor Our Newsletter?

Do you have an idea for im-proving the newsletter? Pho-tos or other material, historicalinformation or stories that wecould use? If you do, pleasecontact Dave Metz at 563-263-4222 or e-mail me atdavemetz@muscanet.com

Our officers are:

Tom Hanifan, President563-263-4818

David Metz, V.P.563-263-4222

Ken Hyman, V.P.563-262-9040

Agnes Digney, Secretary319-726-5983

Gladys Mittman, Tres.563-263-2451

Your Donations Are Critically Needed!

We need your financial support to help us interpretand continue restoring the mill in 2008. The biggest needis funding for interpretation. It costs about $10,000 peryear to interpret the mill and offer our school field tripprogram. The donation box and sales raise only about 1/3 of our needs. No State funding to interpret the mill isavailable to Friends. Its up to us to keep the mill open!

Friends is recognized by the Internal RevenueService as a tax deductible organization for tax purposes.Monetary gifts are deductible. Also, we understand thatthere may be tax advantages if you donate investmentssuch as stocks that have increased in value. Weunderstand that it’s even possible to have a tax benefitfrom donating assets that have decreased in value.Contact your financial planner or legal adviser. Or, youmay wish to contact the Community Foundation of GreaterMuscatine for advice. The Foundation can anonymouslymake your gift available to us. Contact Frank Kelly orPaul Carroll at 563-264-3863

If you wish to make a cash donation to seeinterpretation and restoration continue, please use the formbelow.

Would you like to sponsor a special day, week or month at themill? Please fill out and return this card with your donation.please indicate the date(s) and your name will be posted at themill as sponsor. F.O.M. has been granted 501(c)(3) status bythe Internal Revenue Service.

Bennett’s Flour Mill By David Metz

Page 8 of 12Mill News

Bennett’s Mill ismost notable for itslocation close to the riverand that the building isstill standing. JosephBennett built the mill in1848. It measured 50’X 85’ and stood fivestories in height. His newsteam powered flour millhad four runs of buhrstones and could producefive hundred and twentybarrels of wheat flour inone day. Being locatedon the corner of FrontStreet and Pine Streetdirectly across from thetown’s steamboatlanding, Bennett couldship his flour simply bymoving the barrels acrossthe street to the landing.

On August 23rd,1851 the mill burned witha total loss of $33,000.Even though Bennett hadno insurance, hemanaged to completelyrebuild his mill within 90 days. In 1868 he soldthe mill to J.B. Hale who renamed it MuscatineMills. Milling continued till 1876 when the HuttigBrothers purchased the mill and converted it into asash and door factory.

It operated as millwork plant till 1879 whenMuscatine Oatmeal Company purchased thebuilding and converted it to an Oatmeal plant.Muscatine Oat Meal soon became one of the largestproducers of oatmeal in the Midwest. The originalBennett’s Mill grew to include several otherbuildings on the site and two grain elevators onthe river front across the street from the mill. By1883 the oatmeal plant had 25 employees andcould produce 175 barrels of oatmeal a day. Steadygrowth of the mill continued till 1887 whenemployment had grown to 250.

The Sanborn map of 1883 shows the oat

meal mill as being equipped with two 80 HP steamengines for power and that it was running “day &night.” On the first floor is listed one “exportstone” turning at 800 RPM. 2nd Floor: hullermachines. 3rd Floor: 16 oat-cutting machines.4th Floor: 1 cockle machine and 4 separators. 5th

Floor: 1 separator. There were also 12 steamheated brick oat kilns located in the powerhouseon the Pine Street side of the building complex.

By 1900 the mill could produce 60,000two-pound packages of oatmeal a day. Itconsumed 9,000 bushels of Iowa grown oats eachday to feed the mill. In 1901 the owners of themill decided to combine its operation with severalother mills and formed the Great Western CerealCompany. During this same period other oatmealmills were consolidating. These included a groupof eastern mills centered on Akron, Ohio. Amongthem a mill in Ravenna, Ohio that used the

Bennett’s Flour Mill, photo by J.G. Evans taken June 1869. Pine Street is on

the left. The photo was taken from the roof of a grain elevator located across

the street (on the river front) from the mill.

Page 9 of 12Mill News

The Flour Sack Contributed By Joe Clark

In that long ago time when things were saved,

when roads were graveled & barrels were staved,

when worn-out clothing was used as rags,

& there were no plastic wrap or bags,

& the well and the pump were way out back,

a versatile item, was the flour sack.

Pillsbury’s best, mother’s Gold Medal, too

stamped their names proudly in purple & blue.

The string sewn on top was pulled & kept;

the flour emptied & spills were swept;

The bag was folded & stored in a sack,

that durable, practical flour sack.

The sack could be filled with feather & down,

for a pillow, or t’would make a sleeping gown.

It could carry a book & be a school bag,

or become a mail sack slung over a nag.

It made a very convenient pack,

that adaptable, cotton flour sack.

Bleached & sewn, it was dutifully worn

as bibs, diapers, or kerchief adorned.

It was made into skirts, blouses & slips

& mom braided rugs from one hundred strips.

She made ruffled curtains for the house or shack,

from that humble but treasured flour sack!

As a strainer for milk or apple juice,

to wave men in, it was a very good use,

as a sling for a sprained wrist or a break,

to help mother rollup a jelly cake,

as a window shade or to stuff a crack,

we used a sturdy, common flour sack!

As dish towels, embroidered or not,

they covered up the dough, helped pass pans so hot,

tied up dishes for neighbors in need,

& for men out in the field to feed.

They dried dishes from the pan, not rack,

that absorbent, hand flour sack!

We polished & cleaned stove & table,

scoured & scrubbed from cellar to gable,

we dusted the bureau & oak bed post,

made costumes for October (a scary ghost)

& a parachute for a cat named Jack.

From that lowly, useful old flour sack!

So now my friends, when they ask you

as curious youngsters often do,

before plastic wrap, Elmer’s glue

& paper towels, what did you do?

Tell them loudly & with pride don’t lack,

“Grandmother had that wonderful flour sack!”

“Quaker OatsTM” brand and the North Star Millsof Cedar Rapids Iowa. Formed in 1907 theowners named the new combine the AmericanCereal Company. In turn American CerealCompany reorganized and adopted the nameQuaker Oats due to its name recognition. In1912 the Great Western Cereal Company passedinto ownership by the Quaker Oats Company.With the much larger newer North Star Mill inCedar Rapids close by and having excesscapacity, the new company decided to close theMuscatine plant in 1913. This ended the use ofthe Bennett’s Mill building as a mill.

From 1913 onward the building has helda variety of businesses. At first auto garagesoccupied it including the Hupmobile dealershipfor Muscatine. The Hahn family used it for aproduce warehouse and in 1942 the buildingbecame the Ronda Button Company owned byClarence Schmarje. Schmarje also operated amachine shop and tool company in the building.He became one of the early developers ofTungsten Carbide cutting tools for Muscatine’spearl button industry. The Ronda Companyceased production of buttons in 1966. SchmarjeTool continues in operation in the old mill buildingtoday.

Bennetts Mill Continuied

This is a scan of an

original paper Rye

flour bag. Does

anyone have an

original Pine Mill

cloth flour bag? If

you have one, the

Friends would very

much like to see it.

The mill sold its

wheat flour under

the “White Lilly”

brand name.

Mill News Page 10 of 12

Huchendorf Family Photo Found

Huchendorf family portrait taken 1884 or 1885. Left to right: Baby Wilmette

in her mother Mary’s lap. Anna (left) standing in the rear with her younger

sister Mary. Between the parents are Edith Bell (rear) and Grace May (front).

To Herman’s left is his son Clinton.

I had just completedchecking the upper station ofmy Telegraph Exhibit at thisyears Heritage Day. As Iturned away from it a womancame up to me and said, “Areyou David Metz?” I replied thatI was and as she opened alarge envelope that she had inher hand, she replied, “I’mVera Cawiezell and I believethat I have something that youare looking for. This” she saidas she pulled out a copy of aphotograph, “is HermanHuchendorf and his family.”

I had been looking fora photo of Mr. Huchendorf,one of the mill’s mostimportant owners for the lastyear. I have to admit I that Ifound myself a bitoverwhelmed to finally holdthe photo that I had beensearching for. As part of myresearch for my book on PineMill, I had been looking for anyinformation I could find on theHuchendorf family. At theMuscatine Library I haddiscovered that earlyMuscatine photographer OscarGrossheim had taken a photoof the Huchendorfs. Howeverthe original glass platenegative no longer existed. Ithen contacted Mr. Jim Carter,a great grandson ofHuchendorfs. He searchedthrough his family archives andcould not find a photo of Mr.Huchendorf either. I had justabout given up hope whenVera stepped up to me.

Vera is a direct descendant ofNancy Funk, the sister ofHerman Huchendorf’s wifeMary. Nancy’s and Mary’s

parents were Daniel Funk andBarbara Blessing. Vera is a retiredschoolteacher now living west ofWest Liberty, Iowa. I visited withher after Heritage Day one Sundayafternoon. She answered manyof my questions about the variousfamilies that were involved withthe mill and naturally opened thedoor to many more questions. Iwant to thank her for bringing allof us this valuable information. Thestory of the early owners of PineMill is a complex one and one thatwe need to do a lot more researchon. If anyone reading this can addto the story of these pioneerfamilies, please contact me.

Help Save Pine Mill’s

History!

The Friends is making aconcerted effort to locate

historic photos of the mill andthe family members that were

involved with it.

All photos will be digitallyscanned and archived. We are

preparing a photo collectionthat will be available for all

FOM members and that will beplaced with local libraries and

museums.

Mill News Page 11 of 12

The Pine Mill Owners Family TreeCan you find your family connection to the

families that were involved with the mill?

Over the past few months I have been re-searching the histories of the families connectedwith Pine Mill. During my discussions with VeraCawiezell, I began to map out the relationships be-tween the various families like the Nye’s andHuchendorfs. Much to my amazement I discov-ered that all of the families involved with the mill’searly years are related by marriage!

At first this surprised me, upon some con-sideration, it began to make sense. The populationof the area in the 1800’s was small and transporta-tion difficult. Your dating choices were limited andchances are young men of the era had a datingpool whose size was limited by how far they wantedto ride on horseback to meet a young lady.

The key relationships that the tree revealsare those of Amanda Funk and Harriet Nye. TheFunks were a large family living in the Sweetlandarea north of the mill. Amanda was the youngersister of Mary Funk, Herman Huchendorf’s wife.Amanda married Charles Patterson, the grandson

of Benjamin Nye (the son of Laura Nye and RobertPatterson). This marriage tied all of the familiestogether. Family reunions of this era must havebeen interesting and big!

The tree also shows the relationships thatHarriet Nye had with George McCoy, Judge Bisselland her second husband Warner Marsh. Note thatDorothy Marsh is a descendant of both of Harriet’shusbands Warner Marsh and George McCoy.

In order to cut the tree down in size to al-low its reproduction here, I have removed some ofthe detail and the dates. Only two of the presentday living descendants are shown. If you are de-scended from one of the mill families, I would liketo hear from you. I am collecting digital scans offamily photos and would like to hear any oral his-tory of the mill families. The goal is to record thishistory before it is lost to us all.

David MetzPhone: 563-263-4222E-mail: davemetz@machlink.com

Clyde HuchendorfEva Cromer

Julius Hermann Huchendorf

Mary B. Funk

Nancy Funk

Daniel FunkBarbra Blessing

Anne WathanEdward Cawiezell

Edward Wathan Vera CawiezellWalter Cawiezell (brother)

4 Boys & 4 GirlsCharles Patterson

Amanda Funk

George McCoy

Judge Bissel

Warner Marsh

Clarence Nye McCoyLaura Lavina McCoyJohn Floyd McCoy

James K. Polk McCoyGeorge Guiles McCoyLydia McCoy

Valorus Nelson Perry

Cass U. McCoy Marsh

Charles S. MarshJohn C. Marsh

Albert G. MarshCora L. Knapp

Dorthy Vela Marsh

Harriet Nye

Olive HuchendorfWilmette Huchendorf

Grace May HuchendorfFredrick Denkmann

Edith Bell HuchendorfRudolph Meyer

Rose BiercampClinton A. Huchendorf

Mary HuchendorfHenry Herlein

Anna HuchendorfWilliam Carter Harold Carter

Florence May HiggansJames Carter

Herman Huchendorf Jr.

Laura NyeRobert Patterson

Benjamin NyeAzuba Webster

Jacob HuchendorfAnna Pietz

Charles W. Marsh

Minerva I. Perry

Pine Creek Grist Mill is located in Wildcat Den State Park, MontpelierTownship, Muscatine County, Iowa.“The mission of Friends Pine Creek Grist Mill is to restore, operate and maintainthe Mill and to share the historical significance of the site through educationalprograms, public tours, and events.”

2008 MembershipMembership is only $20.00 per year, membership includes:

One year basic membershipNewsletterAn oppertunity to learn more about a local historical treasure

Name __________________________________________________

Address ________________________________________________

City ______________________ State ______________ Zip ________

Phone number (________)__________________

Email address ____________________________

Send this application and your check to:FOM C/O Mrs. Gladys Mittman323 Main StreetMuscatine, Iowa 52761

Friends of the MillC/O Mr. David Metz725 Climer Street

Muscatine, Iowa 52761Return Service Requested

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDMuscatine, Ia.Permit No. 96

Pine Creek Grist Mill is onthe Web!

See us at:

www.pinecreekgristmill.com

Friends of the Mill Membership

Friends of the Pine Creek Grist Mill

Don’t want to receivethis newsletter any-

more?Contact David Metz at

563-263-4222 ordavemetz@machlink.com