Settler: A Journey Into Michigan's Heartland

Henry Stubblefield flees on horseback to Michigan, finding work along the St. Joseph River. When a boat sinks in the icy waters, Henry rescues a drowning man. He saves the man's reward to buy a farm. Eventually, Henry takes a job in Grand Rapids where he is promoted to shop foreman. Henry weds Mary, another worker's daughter. They move north and buy a farm, but drought destroys their crops. Regrettably, Henry finds winter work in the timber forests, leaving Mary to tend the farm. As spring approaches Mary goes to harvest sugar maple sap. She injures her ankle running from a pack of wild dogs. She makes it safely inside the farmhouse, but her injury is serious. Henry returns during a late season blizzard to find her suffering. This is a story of determination in Michigan's heartland in the early 1900's. Each phase of Henry's life takes him through new adventures in the burgeoning industries of that historic period.