Randolph Spears and George Pardee (left to right)

COURTESY EDWARD BLANKMAN (THE LLOYD BLANKMAN COLLECTION)

Lloyd Blankman

William Pardee was their father. He was born and raised at least partly in the Pardee clearing about two miles up across Little Black Creek, northwest of the Conklin clearing at Little Deer Lake. At one time this Pardee family lived somewhere near Northwood.

Will Pardee had eight boys, by name John, William, Charlie, Ernest, Alvin, Raymond, Edward and George. There were several girls in this family also. George and John married sisters, daughters of Burt Conklin. George died with pneumonia following the flu in 1920 at the age of forty.

George worked in the woods for Burt and together they guided hunting parties for several years. They hunted regularly for parties from Liberty, Oswego and Oneida. George guided steadily for Fred Ralph of the Oneida Brewing Company of Utica. Fred had a camp at the head of the Seabury Stillwater and probably spent half of his time there from the first of May until the middle of November.

George was a good shot. In fact he was a sharpshooter with either a rifle or a shotgun. Mr. Ralph would tip George $5 for every partridge he shot. Once, George shot a kingfisher with a 30-30 Winchester across the bay near the outlet of Black Creek Lake. The bird was sitting on a large rock. The gun that George used the most was a 30-30 Winchester Carbine.