Last week's Mystery Artifact was a toughie, I'll admit. It was hard because, instead of an artifact you might have recalled from your grandmother's house, the mystery was a specialized job. This job was done at the various hydro-powered mills around town, such as the Peninsular Paper Mill. The mill in the photo was one belonging to Henry Ford.This man is "clearing the rake." The rake is the series of wooden slats he's standing on--a wooden grill or comb that kept branches and trash out of the water stream providing power for the mill, so the machinery wouldn't get all clogged up. In the summer, this man would be clearing branches and storm-washed waste out of the rake. In the winter, he would be chipping ice off the rake.
One former Ypsilantian died this way, when he slipped off the icy Peninsular Paper Mill rake into the freezing Huron.
Let's hope this week's Mystery Artifact is easier! Take a peek at this doodad and see if you can guess what it is! It has a modern-day analog, so it's still around--just in a different form. Good luck!
