A Tale from a Log Mill was serialized in the Gregg Writer in 1916 Pre-anniversary shorthand in February and March 1921. Authorship was credited to Ethel R. Brown; Berkeley High School; Berkeley, California.

The Tale of a Log Mill was written in Anniversary shorthand for Gregg Speed Studies (1929). Authorship was credited to Ethel M. Brown. This is a much shorter version of the story.

Two different titles with different middle initials for the author. Same story.

Ethel R. Brown (AKA Ethel M. Brown) is a ghost on the Internet—literally. A Google search returns several obituaries for several different women.

The Gregg Writer asked high school teachers to send in shorthand plates, and occasionally they printed some.  This story probably falls into that category.

Here is the link to the pre-anniversary story:

TaleFromALogMill