He found himself approaching, with a feeling of reverence, those majestic trees that had stood through ages of sun, wind, and snow.

Soon it became difficult to fell them.

When he had filled his order and returned home, he was amazed to learn that in the swamps and forests he had lost his heart and it was calling--forever calling him.
When he inherited his father's property, he promptly disposed of it, and, with his mother, founded a home in a splendid residence in the outskirts of Grand Rapids.

With three partners, he organized a lumber company.

His work was to purchase, fell, and ship the timber to the mills.