Although their pioneer experiences retain great interest for those who participated in them, they are not supposed to hold the same interest for these sons and daughters of younger generations that I see before me. Many of you will enter the next century in the prime of life and help solve problems we wot not of. But those who were born in the early morning of the present century and are still living should be content, for in the words of John S. Ingalls, greater progress has been made during their life time than in sixty centuries previous.

Note.—Mrs. Mary Frasier and Lyman Guilford, of Schoolcraft, William Bair, of Vicksburg, and O. H. Fellows, of Prairie Ronde, are all who are living who came to Kalamazoo county in 1829.

MICHIGAN MY MICHIGAN.

This song was written by Addison M. Brown in 1893, to be sung at the annual meeting and picnic of the Kalamazoo County Pioneer society, held at Long Lake.

Bride of my youth, I sing of thee,
Michigan, my Michigan.
Thy wave-washed shores, how dear to me,
Michigan, my Michigan.
Thee fondly chose I for my own,
With thee I built my cabin home,
And from thee ne'er had wish to roam,
Michigan, my Michigan.
Ne'er brought a bride such dower as thine,
Michigan, my Michigan.
Such wealth in forest, field and mine,
Michigan, my Michigan.
Thy youthful form how fair to see
Ere thy tall forests spared a tree
Or plow-share harsh had fretted thee,
Michigan, my Michigan.
My heart turns fondly to the day,
Michigan, my Michigan.
When, turning from my weary way,
Michigan, my Michigan.
I gently laid my tired head
On thy soft bosom wide outspread,
With naught but Heaven over head,
Michigan, my Michigan.
Swiftly, since then, the years have run,
Michigan, my Michigan.
The fateful thread is nearly spun,
Michigan, my Michigan.
Again my head shall soon be pressed
Upon the pillow of thy breast
To find with thee unending rest,
Michigan, my Michigan.

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:

Punctuation has been corrected without note.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been retained from the original.
[Obvious typographical errors have been corrected and are indicated in the text in color and underlined. The correction can be viewed by hovering the mouse over the word.]