Migrating to Michigan by Jeffery L Schatzer

place? It was in the middle of nowhere.”
    â€œGood question,” said Professor Tuesday. “Their original purpose for moving to Michigan was to be missionaries to the Chippewa Indians who lived in the Saginaw Valley. The Franconians purchased 680 acres of land for $2.50 an acre.”
    â€œYou said ‘original purpose’,” I noted. “Did something happen?”
    â€œThe families spent almost all their time building homes and farms. They really didn’t do much else. As for the minister, he was a bit hardheaded. I read in a book that the Franconian minister expected the Chippewa people to come to him. He didn’t travel to meet them. So he probably wasn’t a very good missionary after all.”
    â€œNear the log building there was a man talking to some Native Americans. Do you think he was the minister?” Rachel asked.
    â€œI do,” said the professor. “And, the building he was standing in front of was the first church in the community. It was called St. Lorenz. The church is still there today, but not the original building.”
    â€œThe farms were pretty,” Owen said. “And some guys were building something.”
    â€œI think they were building a farmhouse,” said Professor Tuesday. “The farms the Franconians built in Michigan were different from the farms they had back in Europe. In the old country, farmers lived in villages. Their farmland was usually outside the villages. Each day they would travel from their homes to work at their farms. The settlers in Frankenmuth chose to farm like most Americans did, living right on their farmland.”
    â€œWhat was that little building near the house they were building?” Rachel asked.
    â€œIt was probably the outhouse,” answered the professor.
    â€œWhat’s that?” Owen asked.
    â€œBack then people didn’t have bathrooms like we do in our time. They didn’t even have electricity, running water, plumbing, or flush toilets. So, they dug pits into the ground and put outhouses over them.”
    â€œO-O-Oh,” said Owen.
    â€œGross,” said Rachel.
    The professor thought for a moment before continuing. “Did you notice how big the trees were in the forest and how the farms were cleared out of the woods?”
    We nodded our heads.
    â€œWhen the people of Frankenmuth first arrived, the whole state was covered in trees. They had to cut down trees and clear the land before they could even plant crops. None of the trees they cut down went to waste. They were used to build the church, homes, and barns of the community. In many communities, immigrants would share a house with someone who already had one until theirs could be built. In other situations, they would live in mud huts, sometimes tents.”
    â€œI like camping,” I said, “but I don’t think I’d like living in a mud hut or a tent for a long time.”
    Professor Tuesday took a peek at Mister Adams. He could tell his nephew wasn’t happy about being in TIME-OUT. Then the professor asked another question. “Do you recall seeing the pigpen on our visit?”
    â€œWere the Franconians good pig farmers?” Owen asked.
    â€œPigs were pretty important to many early settlers to Michigan. The forest around Frankenmuth had a lot of oak trees. Pigs were fed acorns from the oak trees, so the farmers had a good supply of food for pigs.”
    â€œI’ll bet they also had chickens,” Rachel said. “My grandma and grandpa love to take us out for chicken dinners in Frankenmuth.”
    â€œI’m sure they had chickens,” answered the professor with a chuckle.
    â€œWhat crops did they grow on their farms?” Owen asked.
    â€œMister Adams was helping to pull weeds in a potato field. The early Franconians also grew some cabbage and beets during the first years of the settlement,” the professor added.
    Just then, the professor thought about his nephew in