“He’s doing quite well, although I admit it’s hard to get used to working with a stranger. I had a secretary back in Philadelphia. We’d worked together for several years. Trying on a new secretary hasn’t been without its challenges, but I have to say that your son works hard to please.”

Pastor Sedgwick gazed into the fire. “I’m glad to hear that. He has struggled a bit to find where he belongs.”

“I suppose we have all done that.”

“Oh, certainly. I used to be a fisherman before becoming a preacher. Our family was here prior to the Panic of ’57, when so many people pulled out. We’re members of the ‘Ancient and Honorable Order of the Fish Eaters.’”

Luke chuckled. “I’m afraid that’s an order with which I’m unfamiliar.”

“We’re the ones who remained. There was a big boom here prior to the crash. A lot of people came up here, hearing about prosperity. There were eleven incorporated townships and a combined population of fifteen hundred. We had sawmills and flour mills, boat builders and farmers. And then it all came to an end.”

“I remember the crash well,” Luke admitted. “My father is in banking, and it wasn’t pretty. Problems started abroad in England. My family is originally from London, and we heard about the issues early on. As soon as the prime minister circumvented having gold reserves to back their currency, we knew there were going to be major problems and took steps to do what we could to protect our fortune. Still, we lost a good amount of money.”

“It spelled doom for us here. The towns dissolved with the evacuation of the people. We had to get our supplies from Superior, which was better situated and established. Those of us who were left found our main food supply in the lake. Hence we were called fish eaters.” He smiled. “We still are. It’s a sort of rite of passage.”

“So what happened?”

“Your Mr. Cooke happened. Of course, there was also a little thing called the War of Northern Aggression.”

Luke gave him a curious raise of a brow. “I’ve only heard Southerners call it that.”

Pastor Sedgwick laughed. “Yes, well, I had a lot of dear family in the South. But that aside, I did not feel we were wrong to take our stand against slavery. After the crash, my faith was challenged, and I began to study God’s Word with more interest. As I studied, I felt a calling to share what I learned, and before long, I found I was doing more preaching than fishing. It started with simple discussions amongst other fishermen. Then folks started coming to me with their questions. One day they asked if maybe I could just have a little gathering on Sunday, since most of the preachers had gone and those who’d stayed weren’t to their liking.