On July 12, 1879, The Ottawa Free Trader had this to say about the paper mill at Dayton:

The paper mill of Williams & Co., situated at the lower end of the manufacturing portion of the town, is one of the best in the state. Their products are so favorably known that running night and day the year round they are unable to supply the demand.

In the 1880 census, twelve people were listed as associated with the paper mill –
owner H. B. Williams, age 40
Arthur Dunavan, 12
Mary Coleman, 15
William Ryan, 17
Emma Geduldig, 17
Frank Benoit, 19
William Rust, 24
James Lanegan, 25
George Smith, 30
John H. Lyle, 34
Charles Burch, 34
John G. Dunavan, 42

For comparison, in the same census the paper mill at Valparaiso, Indiana, where Charles Burch received his training, had a staff of 7, all male.

There should have been one more worker at the Dayton mill, 15 year old Fred Green, but 3 days before the official census day, he was seriously injured through being caught in the machinery. His left arm had to be amputated and he lost the first joint of two fingers on his right hand. Luckily, he survived and went on to an interesting life, including such experiences as directing brick makers in the Rocky mountains, suffering malaria fever in the Louisiana bayous and superintending several hundred laborers in ceramics work at Knoxville, Tenn.