Harold Falk

Biography

Timeline

1. After the foreclosure

   Dan builds a house on Harold Falk’s farm

   Falk permitted Dan to build a small squatter's house in exchange for sawing cleared-timber logs into boards. The house had one large room upstairs and one downstairs, with tarpaulin partitions.

   History of the Guild Family

2. After settling on Falk’s farm

   Dan saws lumber and sells preserved lake ice

   The sawmill could handle logs up to 36 inches in diameter. Dan packed winter-cut ice from a lake on the property in sawdust and sold it in summer.

   History of the Guild Family

Stories mentioning Harold

• A Sawmill and a Small Home on Falk’s FarmAfter stating that Dan lost everything, the account says he retained the sawmill. Harold Falk let him build a small house on his farm in exchange for sawing logs into boards. Dan also used sawdust to preserve winter-cut lake ice for summer sales. Iris, Merlin, and Bernie remembered the plain two-story tar-paper house, where tarpaulins divided living and sleeping spaces. A barn for cows and pigs was added later. The 103 acre farm included part of Round Lake and two rivers and was still owned by Marvin Falk in 2001.
• From the Old Farm to a New Start in MolineFamily memories follow Dan and Olive on the Falk property, the mysterious driveway inscription, Myrtle's minnow sales, and Bessie's diphtheria quarantine and marriage. After Dan lost the property, Clarence moved to Bessie's home and Floyd stayed with Uncle Bernie, learning horse care and practical jokes. Gus Falk helped Floyd move to Moline and find work in 1921. Relatives admired his success, and visits and reunions continued through his parents' later years. The passage preserves contradictory dates in Olive's calendar account and the boys' refusal to admit writing the inscription.

Referenced in

• History of the Guild Family — THE SAW MILL
• History of the Guild Family — THE SAW MILL