of only one. Her name, Mabel Ellen Starbird. Well, Miss Starbird and I were married in Portland July 26, 1916. Our family began to grow by the arrival in October 1918 of a daughter Florence Starbird, followed by a son, William Edgar III in March 1920. In the following December our little family journeyed East for a visit to "Grandmother" and "Grandfather". We remained until March of the following year, and this proved to be the last time that my mother would see her grandchildren. She had been partially paralyzed by a stroke. My sister Edna was also an invalid, for whom no cure or relief could be found. Thus my father had to invalids and two business to look after, which seemed to me too much. Before departing for the West I told him that if he ever wanted me to return he had only to say the word and I would come. Spring and Summer passed. In the early Fall, just after we had begun apple harvest I received one of my father's usual weekly letters. After reading it my actual thought was that it was as close as he ever would come to asking me to return. This was in the afternoon. I took it to the house, handed it to Ellen without comment, and returned to the day's work. At supper I asked what she thought of the letter. Her reply was identical with my thought, namely - "I think it is a close to asking you to return as he will ever come". I asked her how she would feel about leaving the West with all that it meant to her. She very generously and promptly said that if I decided that I should return East she would willingly go. I thereupon wrote my father that we could come at the end of the apple harvesting. The crop was picked and packed, and auction held to dispose of the household effects, a man left in charge of the ranch and our little family left it forever in December 1921. Two days before the actual departure my mother suffered another stroke and passed away.

During my twelve years in the West I naturally was not in close touch with my father's business, and so am aware only of the highlights. The new business was incorporated as the Uptegrove Cigar Box Lumber Company. When the Mill was completed and ready to operate all the old customers promptly flocked back for the Cedar needs. In the meantime, the American Cigar Box Lumber Company had continued to operate uninterruptedly, to produce and sell Poplar Cigar Box Lumber.

Then came World War I, which created great difficulties in obtaining Cedar logs. From the earliest days they had come from Cuba, but the War created a huge demand for sugar at fantastic prices. To take advantage of this opportunity in the maximum way, Cuba cut and burned their forests and planted sugar cane.

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