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The building in the logging camp that Oliver and his family lived in during the first winter in the

area, later became the first school of the area. This is the school that the McAninch children attended

for their education in the area. The first teacher at this school was Jonathan J. Gildersleeve, brother

of Deborah, wife of Oliver.

Perry Moses McAninch, the oldest son of Oliver and Deborah, did not move north with his family,

but remained in Minneapolis to work and receive needed eye surgery. He worked in a creamery,

learning the processes involved with the milk and cream, and would find use for these skills later

in life. It appears that he did eventually follow the family to the homestead, for there are tales from

his time there that were from the period prior to his marriage. Probably the most notable was the

incident when a neighbor died. The closest authorities that would need to be notified were in Aitkin,

so Perry walked the 40 miles there in one day, and returned with the authorities by wagon 3 days

after his departure [11].

Oliver can be located on the 1910 census for Macville Township, Aitken County, Minnesota [12].

In 1913 Oliver, Perry’s father, made a verbal agreement with Perry to take over the Haypoint

homestead. Oliver and Deborah lived with their son Ira in Swatara, and spent some time traveling

over the next years. It appears that they had maintained contacts with relatives in Iowa, Nebraska,

and Kansas, and they may have visited them during this period.

Perry thought the agreement was an agreement to sell him the Haypoint land on contract. With that

in mind, Perry and Estella took their personal possessions, equipment, and stock, and moved from

a homestead they had developed on Hill Lake. At Haypoint, Perry and Estella built up their herd of

cattle to include a purebred Guernsey Bull, a small heard of high grade Guernsey cows, and the

team of horses that they had since their marriage. With Perry’s background in the creamery business,

they were able to produce a high quality cream, which Stella churned into butter in the summer and

sold in Hill City, 6 miles away. During the winter months they hauled the cream the 4 miles to

Swatara where they were able to ship it by train to a creamery in Bemidji, Minnesota. This gave

them a good cash income to survive on [13].

In 1918 Oliver returned, and indicated that the property agreement was a rental, and not a sale, and that

he wanted to take possession of the property again. Perry and Estella took their family, cattle, equipment,

and personal possessions, and moved back to their Hill Lake homestead, which they still owned.

Oliver appears again on the homestead on the 1920 census for Macville Township, Aitken County,

Minnesota [14]. Oliver is by then 65 years old, and Deborah 61. Living with them are Leslie McAninch,

their son, age 26, and Edith (Olds) McAninch, 24, his wife. Oliver continued to farm on the Haypoint

homestead, with the aid of his son Leslie, until 1930, when Oliver became incapacitated by a stroke.

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McAninch Family History NL, v.XIII.n.2 / April 2005 / Frank McAninch, Editor / page 2005-14