Bill McGrath presentation "Looking back at my grandfather James E. McGrath, the lumber tycoon" Stillwater, Mn

I am the last grandson of one of Minnesota's last lumber barons. James E. McGrath(1861-1940) employed more than 1, 200 men in the vicinity of Aitkin County's Snake River.  They cut down white pines which----around 1900---were floated down to Stillwater sawmills.  The town of McGrath, Mn is named for this remarkable man. My grandfather's fortune allowed him to buy one of the finest mansions, which is the house where I grew up in the 1950's. But by then, the money was gone.  So the story you are about to hear is a rags-to-riches tale about a man whose first job was sweeping sawdust in a mill. Because I am an environmentalist, a former business owner, and a person ashamed of specific 19th century actions by whites against the indigenous people, I have approached this topic as objectively as possible. ---Bill McGrath.   Bill can be reached at billmcgrath52@gmail.com.