Some of Beaver Island´s Nuns enjoy a sleigh ride on the Ricksgers farm (circa 1950), pulled by the good-natured "Lady."

A communal firewood cutting party with Peter Doney´s buzz machine in 1949. Logs were cut  at the Black Hills with two-man cross-cut saws and hauled to the Ricksgers´ farm.  Power was provided by an old Essex engine. After the firewood was cut, it was delivered to different farms by a team of horses.  Pictured (l to r) are George Ricksgers, Walter McCauley, Henry Ricksgers, Patsy Doney, Peter Doney, and Perry (Budger) Palmer (age 15, already living the life of a grown man.)   [ next ]