In one and one third centuries Leech Township has been built from a wilderness, an area of woods, prairies, swamps, and wandering red men to the farm area that it is today,  a region of small towns and modern farms that have the use of electricity, modern homes, paved and gravel roads. That has been done by much effort, intelligent planning, and hard labor.  It has made modern farms from wild woodlands and swamps. It has built churches and schools. It has furnished its quota of food supply, the first essential. But in its climb upward it has known its troubles, troubles that could not be prevented such as sickness, and troubles caused by ignorance or viciousness. They have not been many because progress has triumphed, but in a history of a people, their difficulties exist. They have been the smaller things and will be given only scant space, but because they are part of the things which have been met and overcome in this township, they are mentioned, mentioned because they are merely another signboard that points toward the accomplishments of the township.

In the first division of troubles, those over which we have no control, or seem not to be able to prevent, at the time at least, there has been sickness. In the early days those pioneers had to fight malaria, typhoid, and chills as regularly as they had to have provisions to live. The lowlands were breeding places for malaria. The people suffered and some died. When there was illness, those people were often without medical aid except that given by the capable pioneer women. Hospitals were unknown, a trained nurse, unheard-tell-of. But they were a sturdy people and they survived. They depended mostly on their farm products. There have been periods when the whim of the weather has completely ruined the harvest, bringing grief and hardship on the people. It has not been alone in this century,. the floods of 1913, of the early twenties, and of 1937, or the droughts, especially of 1953 and thus far in 1954. But the last century had its droughts too. In 1849 the drought was such that one farmer plowed, planted and cultivated sixteen acres with a one-horse plow, only to have his whole corn crop ruined, only one stalk left standing in the field.   ** Sophronia Allison McKibben remembered that event, though she was only five.

There have been difficulties of impassible roads, the family being shut away in an isolated corner of its own.  There have been long periods of poor telephone communication so that the people had no direct contact with the outside world.

There have been other troubles, troubles that the township has mostly outgrown. In the early days when there were group meetings, tempers often flew out of bounds, and difficulties arising over trifles passed quickly to fist fights. Though people grow irritated now, they do not resort to physical combat.

In the early days there were no sources of amusement at times, and some youth felt the need for social contacts, anywhere to be with a crowd. Sometimes they attended church services, only to stand outside while the service was in progress. A few did more than stand. Something urged them to be active, and lacking a gainful outlet, they resorted to ungainful ones. When questioned later, some have replied, "I did it just for meanness," or "It was devilment."  In the horse and buggy days, a whip always stood in the whip socket. At church service there were several buggies tied to the hitching fence. That “devilment” or whatever it was that caused the urge whispered to a few of those youth to collect all the whips and break them. To-day softball games are played for the youth to participate in or to watch; scout and 4-H organizations give the youth gainful employment for minds and bodies. The township has outgrown the whip-breaking stage.

A reprint from the RECORD, May 19,. 1881, the Liberty news written by Observor, will show the trend of affairs as far as some troubles were concerned. He speaks of the objection of Wayne people. Leech Township is just north of Liberty, only a quarter mile. The comment may be assumed to concern some Leech people.

"Several of the Wayne County folks have been harping on the name of roughs being applied to those boys who have been disturbing meetings and other assemblies during the past winter. We had no more intention of applying the name to civil people of Wayne County than of White, and any sane person ought to know by the reading of the item that we only meant the roughs and no one else. The items that have been published in the RECORD by 'Robert' and in the PRESS by 'Alphonso' are mostly true yet we are not responsible for them as many claim . . . if roughs and others cannot be convinced of this fact, . . . so come on."

The article is interesting in its use of meeting. That word was used for many years to signify a church service.
The very fact that the county papers no longer print such news is proof that it is no longer considered proper by anyone to make a disturbance at a 'meeting."

An unusual type of trouble sometimes occurred when a new young man came into a neighborhood. Instead of giving him a welcome and helping him feel at home, a few natives sometimes took it upon themselves to run
him out, especially if he courted a young lady of the a neighborhood; that was not tolerated. When one considers the distance a young man may cover today to court a young lady, and be welcomed by the young men,  the may well surmise that those old customs of trouble making are no more.

Perhaps the temporary differences that have arisen at election times should be ignored, but in the past,  elections seemed to be much more heated than they are now. There were the times when glee club wagons were popular. Everyone who could sing wanted to ride on the decorated wagon, of his political party, and go from