That many of our troubles and misgivings are purely imaginary and borrowed has been demonstrated by the many years of real happiness and enjoyment that have followed those few weeks of disillusionment that followed. Meeting my new “boss” and his amiable wife, Mr. and Mrs. George W. Brewster, I was almost immediately “adopted” into their comfortable home, given a room and cordially invited to become one of the family. The Ellwell family restaurant, where I got my meals, was conducted by English speaking people and they at once constituted themselves as special guardians and cheer leader for the homesick boy.

As a “cub printer” on the Oakland Independent, I found that it resembled most of the print shops in which I had worked - there was always plenty to do. The mechanical force consisted of the foreman, Ned Sidey; the apprentice, Ed Cord; and myself. Editor Brewster, himself, was also a practical printer, and at times helped on the tedious job of hand setting the paper, and in operating the presses.

That you may know something about the work connected with the publication, I will explain that the Oakland Independent was an “all home paper,” of four eight-column pages. All of the type which made up the paper’s contents each week had to be “set” by hand, as such things as linotypes or typesetting machines were scarcely dreamed of at that time. The work of composing consisted of “setting” from 25 to 30 “galleys” of type (a galley is slightly more than a column length of type). The body or news of the paper was set in what was then known as Brevier (now eight point) and the editorial column in Long Primer or ten point.

After the almost endless job of composing the type the “forms” or pages had to be made up, locked up and placed on the old Washington lever press (known as the “Mankiller”) two pages at a time, thus taking two separate printings to finish the publication for mailing. The circulation varied from 1000 to 1400. It took several hours of real hard labor to do the press work on each side of the paper, and during the hot summer days we managed to do most of the press work during the night or cooler hours.

Setting the jobs and printing them on platen job presses, operated by foot power, and various other work and details around the usual print shop, kept the printers busy from ten to twelve hours a day - and there was no overtime pay - we just worked as long as the job lasted -strikes and walk-outs hadn’t been invented.

Recreation and entertainment in our new home were not plentiful. There were two Swedish churches, neither with any English service. And the there was not any movies or even vaudeville shows. In company with some of the local boys we did some amateur hunting and did a great deal of walking.

Finally, Mrs. Ellwell of the restaurant, and this writer, secured permission from the Baptist church officials to organize an English Sunday school in the church. Mrs. Ellwell volunteered to act as superintendent and the writer acted as secretary. Our school was held immediately following the Swedish church service in the morning. We had let it be known among the English speaking people of the village, also any of those who wanted to attend and join our Sunday school, that they would be welcome. We did not lack for attendance.

The English people came out in generous numbers; and the Swedish people - especially the younger element - remained to attend the Sunday school after their service. The attendance was far greater than the school’s sponsors had dreamed of. Supplies and printed matter was secured and the school grew in interest and added not a little to the benefit and advancement of the community in a moral and religious way. Later the English Lutherans and Methodists established churches, and after a time, the “independent” school was merged with these churches.