Sawyer County Gazette Jan. 11, 2017
"Yesteryears" column Jan. 1, 1992

Clarence E. Milner, 82, of Route 1, Exeland, died Dec. 20 of cancer after an illness of 2 years.

He was born Feb. 25, 1909, in Exeland, Town of Weirgor, the son of William and Anna Milner. He was the 6 of 12 children.

He was a lifelong resident of Exeland.

He and Adele Green were married on Dec. 10, 1940.

Mr. Milner was the great-great-grandson of Charles Bellile on his mother's side, who was the first white settler in what is now Sawyer County. He was very proud of that heritage. He had a great love for the Chippewa River, for the woods and for the wild animals. He also had a keen instinct for trapping and for tracking. He taught his sons his knowledge and was very proud of his family's achievements. He was an active gardener and was able to share much of his produce with his friends and neighbors. His grandchildren were his great pride.

Mr. Milner was a welder by trade and worked at the Fort Perk Dam in Montana during its construction and at AO Smith during the war, welding bombs. He also worked as a carpenter and worked at the Taconite plants in Northern Minnesota. He built Milner's Tavern in 1945, and it is now known as the Northern Bar. He and his wife Adele operated it for 29 1/2 years until their retirement in 1975.

Survivors include his wife, Adele; four sons, Gail (Elizabeth) of Bloomington, Richard of Eau Claire, William (Linda) and Michael (Jody) of Exeland; two daughters, Martha (Keith) Bauman fo Markesan and Ellen (David) Rudi of Ojibwa; 18 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; two brothers, Thomas Milner of Thompson Falls, MT and Amos Milner of Lynwood; three sisters, Sally Ray of Sisters, OR, Ann Hause of Murry, and Esther Gordon of Exeland.

He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Anne; brothers charles, William, and James; sisters, Sophie, Mary, and Grace; as well as his daughter, Karen, who died in 1968 and a son, Donald, in 1973.