A few minutes with life-long Burritt Township resident Roger McDougall

DOUG SCHRODER PHOTO The Gazette
Roger McDougall chats with Char Thorn inside the Burritt History Museum during the Trask Bridge Picnic on Sunday, Sept. 8.

By Doug Schroder
CORRESPONDENT
When it comes to people associated with Burritt Township and the Trask Bridge Picnic, one name that comes to mind is Roger McDougall.
McDougall is a life-long resident of Burritt Township and has been involved in many of the civic activities concerning the township throughout the years. He attended the recently held Trask Bridge Picnic where I happened to find him at the museum inside Burritt Township Hall. He and Char Thorn were conversing about Burritt Township history and the Trask Bridge Picnic when I joined the conversation. It was rainy at the picnic this year and McDougall shared a memory from one of the past picnics where it also rained.
“I was just a kid and me and Larry Christian had to pull all of the vehicles out of the mud with our John Deere tractors. We’d take two cars at a time out; cars had better bumpers back then. We’d push one car and then pull a car. Then we pulled out the exhibitors, then we pulled out the semis that brought the rides in,” recalled McDougall.
McDougall also mentioned that his parents attended the Trask Bridge Picnic before he was born.
The Burritt Museum takes up one large room at the Burritt Township Hall. While it is small compared to some other museums, the place is packed with history going all the way back to when the first pioneers came to the area in 1835 and created the Manchester settlement.
Many people have donated items to the museum, when they do they call Roger. One of the latest donations was a spinning wheel from the 1800s
“There’s a lot of history here. We have so much stuff. I’m glad people can enjoy this,” said McDougall.
McDougall has served on the Burritt Township Board since 1960, but his involvement in board matters started way before that.
McDougall’s father was the Burritt Township Clerk back when the meetings were held at the clerk’s house, Roger explained. The clerk was required to take notes from each meeting, but McDougall’s father had been involved in an accident with a drunk driver some years earlier and couldn’t write quite fast enough to keep up with the meeting.
“I sat there and wrote the meeting minutes for him,” said McDougall.
I would loved to have stayed and talked a lot more to Roger about the township and its history as he probably has enough information to write a book, but the weekly deadline loomed and there were pictures from the Trask Bridge Picnic to be submitted.
If you have something to donate or have any questions for Roger, he can be reached at 815-365-0779.
The museum will be open on Sunday, Oct. 13 and 27 from noon to 4 p.m. if you would like to take a gander at the many items there. The museum is located at 8284 Trask Bridge Road, Rockford. Information from the Internet can be found on Facebook at Burritt Township History Museum.