Family history has it that, in this photo, Merle is wearing a new suit he had purchased from a Stanton tailor, Jack Willard, whose shop was located at the rear of Smith Brother's grocery store on Camburn Street. Merle worked for Glenn Gardner, owner of Gardner Light Company and he bought the suit using the first money he earned at that job.   Later he moved to Standish and then to West Branch where he was employed by Consumers Power Company, except for the time he served in WWII, until his retirement in the 1970s.