Bill Earl, the son of John Earl, who owned a sawmill at the end of River Street, was known in Champlain as an industrious and generous figure. In the late 1800s, he worked for his father at the mill and also hauled sand by boat from Lake Champlain to the Sheridan Iron Works. By 1906, he operated a small bicycle repair shop near his riverside home, where he repaired children's bikes for free and led them on cycling trips around the area. He also rented pleasure boats, owned a small paddlewheel boat that cruised the Great Chazy River, and took children to visit Lake Champlain's islands in summer. Though he never had children of his own, many local boys and girls called him Uncle Bill. He died on May 15, 1943, at age 76, and at his funeral hundreds of children passed his casket to pay their respects. He was buried in Glenwood Cemetery near his family, and a lengthy obituary by the Sons of Honest Bill recalled many fond memories of him.