Mike Hankwitz with fellow enthusiasts at the former Manistee & Northeastern Railroad Riverview Depot located just east of Grayling. It is now owned by the Riverview Rod & Gun Club. Seated (from left): Jerry McGowan, Sonny Miller and Mike Hankwitz. The team sometimes scours the countryside to find old railroad grades and routes, which are overgrown and forgotten. Courtesy photo.
By Carmelitta Tiffany
“I don’t really consider myself an historian,” commented Mike Hankwitz from his makeshift collection room overlooking Hamlin Lake on a gorgeous September afternoon.
Dozens of bankers boxes line a wall, each labeled neatly. Binders fill bookshelves in his living room, intermingled with historical reference books and memorabilia of Hankwitz’s illustrious football career. His recent move from Indiana, upon his retirement from Northwestern University, has added to the collection.
“I’m just a guy who found an interest in my hometown, who wanted to know more about how it became such a special part of my life,” Hankwitz said.
The former college ballplayer and assistant coach/coordinator was raised in nearby Scottville, Michigan, where he discovered, at a young age, his interest in the area’s past..
“I would go out into the woods with my cousin, fishing or small game hunting, and there were these huge stumps everywhere!” Hankwitz recalled. “I asked him why they were there, and he explained that without those big trees, we probably wouldn’t be there.”
His cousin was referring to the lumber boom, which had drawn the first white men into the area. Hankwitz was intrigued. That thirst for knowledge remained with him as he grew older. He eventually went away to college, seeking a career in education. His plans changed when he had success in college football. (See accompanying story.) When he could, he would delve deeper into his love of local history.
Postcard passion
There were numerous historical subjects for him to focus upon, but a fateful stop at an antique store paved the way to his passion: railroads.
“I stopped at this shop between Scottville and Ludington just to look around,” he recalled. “And there was this box of picture postcards that caught my attention, because they weren’t your regular tourist-type postcards.”
The postcards were from the lumbering era, old sienna-type images of lumber camps, lumbering crews, and the trains and railroads that carried the crews into the forests and hauled the lumber out. Hankwitz bought the box of cards. Little did he realize that it was the beginning of a life-long adventure.
Now he has acquired thousands of photos and postcards, through purchase and trade amongst his fellow collectors.
“Each image has a story behind it,” he explained. “It’s often a puzzle, trying to figure out which train and what railroad company are represented in the sometimes out-of-focus, faded scenes.”
However, and this is the difference between a collector and an historian, Hankwitz doesn’t keep his treasures to himself. He often researches extensively to find out where the photos were taken and donates copies and/or scans to the local historical society from the vicinity where the images were made. He has donated thousands of hours and photos to organizations from Benzie County south to Oceana County and east to Lake County. He is an active volunteer at many historical organizations, as well.
Combing the countryside
Hankwitz doesn’t spend all his time indoors, though. He and a few of his compatriots enjoy outings in the woods. Using their maps, shovels and metal detectors, they dig for artifacts and plot out long-gone railroad grades and lumber camp sites. Sometimes they go on a road trip just to see other venues. He spends a lot of time away from home, but he says his wife Cathy doesn’t mind his hobby much.
“It keeps me out of her hair,” he said. “We’ve been married 34 years, but I was always working so she was used to me being gone a lot.
Sharing stories
“I enjoy meeting people who share my interests,” he said.
For example, one time he came across a box of railroad items at one of the research libraries where he volunteers. He attempted to contact the donor, to no avail. Later, while working as a docent at another museum, he recognized the name of a guest who had just signed in as the donor from the other museum. He introduced himself and asked if she could give him some information on the items she had donated. During a long conversation, she told him her great-grandfather was a locomotive engineer for the Mason & Oceana Railroad and was killed in an accident.
Hankwitz did some research, unbeknownst to her, and presented her with a binder of the information, copies of newspaper clippings, and photos of the type of locomotive her great-grandfather had driven.
“It’s all part of the passion, to be able to share the stories with others,” he said.
He hopes that sharing stories will lead to more of the younger generation becoming interested in their past and where their community came from.
Ideally, it would be great if high schools taught local history…”
Mike Hankwitz
“Ideally, it would be great if high schools taught local history,” he suggested. “But, hopefully, parents and grandparents will show their children and grandchildren how interesting the past can be.”
He also suggested that members of the public become more involved in their local historical societies and other organizations.
“It doesn’t take much time or money to do your part in keeping history available to the public for generations to come,” he said. “My plans are to continue what I am doing and eventually donate my collection to the various places they belong.”
Carmelitta Tiffany resides in Mason County, where she spent the last 30-some years enjoying the blessings of rural life. She is a semi-retired journalist who serves those needing “wordy” advice.
