Whitmore Lake Farm Wins Historical Award

WHITMORE LAKE - Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Lemen of 11800 Lemen Rd., two miles northwest of Whitmore Lake, have been notified by the Michigan State Historical Society that their farm has been awarded a Certificate of Award as official recognition of continuous Lemen family ownership for more than 100 years.
The abstract for the Lemen farm property shows that is was acquired by land grant from the government in 1834 by William Lemen, grandfather of the present owner and has been operated continuously by grandfather, father and son since then.
The son and present owner of the farm will celebrate his 90th birthday on May 14 of this year. One of the earliest memories of childhood is the return, on furlough, of the hired man who was serving with Gen. Grant's armies during the Civil War. He recalls particularly that the soldier boy spent one entire two-week vacation hauling stones in a stone boat to clear a new field.
The original land grant to William Lemen in 1834 was for 360 acres. The farm today is 93 acres.
When not busy farming Lemen owned and operated a store and dance floor at Groomes' Beach, Whitmore Lake, for 26 years.
Life in the middle of the 19th century, Lemen says was self-sustaining and rugged. If Father needed a new pair of sox Mother promptly carded the wool, shorn from one of their own sheep, and proceeded to knit the sox. When the sitting room light burned low Son Frank placed wicking in a six-candle mould, melted tallow and filled the moulds. Plenty of steaks and chops were on feed out in the pasture lots and corn meal was available at the turn of a wheel.