Empty Hotel At Hamburg Filled With Memories

HAMBURG -The old Winkelhaus Hotel, which has stood as a landmark in this small farming community since the 1840's, is empty now. But it is still full of memories. And it will continue to have memories for those whose Uves were affected by the old structure despite the fact that soon the hotel "will be the victim of the wrecker's ball." Mrs. Ralph Winkelhaus of i 11211 Silver Dr., whose ] in-law, J. W. Winkelhaus, bought the hotel 65 years ago, said that the buüding will be torn down any day now. The hotel was in the family estáte until a few months ago when Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ward of Belmont, Calif. bought the hotel for less than $10,000. Mrs. Ward is the former Hazel Winkelhaus, one of three surviving children in the family which had three boys and two girls. . . , Mrs. Winkelhaus explained that the decisión to have the hotel razed was made because of its deteriorating condition. For the last several years, me hotel has been the object of the destruction of vandals. "It would be very expensive to remodel it, because the hotel is just falling apart. The fire department and township offi' cials will be glad to see it go for it was a fire trap and was a constant victim of vandals," she said. She pointed out that perhaps something will be built on the site but nothing definite has been decided. The f a mil y just wants to retain ownership of the property as long as possible. Á tour of the light-brown shin-1 gle three-story structure is an eyeful of broken glass, peeled ceilings and o!d papers and junk littering the floor. Bul a tour is also an earful of colorful experiences of the "good old days" as members of the family relate tales about the hotel. The same day J. W. Winkelhaus got married in 1903, he assumed ownership of the ing which had functioneel as a hotel prior to its being sold to ' Mm for a price of about $5,000. ' Until 25 years ago, when the building ceased being a hotel, it did a bustling business. Since it was the town's only hotel, its 23 rooms were usually Ml most of the time. Louis Winkelhaus, the pnly surviving son of the family, who now lives in Ann Arbor and owns a consulting engineering firm there, said that many salesman stayed at the hotel. "We use to teil how many we could expect for dinner by just loo'kmg out the window at the railroad depots. If we saw a stranger get off the train we knew he would probably have a meal at the hotel or stay overnight." He added that the Ann Arbor Railroad had six passenger trains stopping in Hamburg then. The Grand Truck Railroad made four stops there. That was prior to 1920. The depots are gone now although trains still pass through the village. Besides, salesmen, a lot ol area vacationers also stayed at the hotel. Winkelhaus recalls one railroad worker who lived alone at the hotel and was considered one of the family. "I remember when I was a boy and there would be these big social events at the Odd Fellows Hall. My brothers and I used to take turns on those nights to stable the horses. We used to stay up as late as three and four o'clock in the morning until the parties broke up to help people with their horses. It was cold but we got 25 cents a horse though," Winkelhaus said. He noted that since the doors j jf their business were never ] ;losed, occasionally, some men ] after a "night out on the town" g would find their way back to the hotel, lócate a empty bed somewhere and crawl into it. Sometimes, a few strangers would be found sleeping on the hotel' s front porch the following moruing. In the early 1900's, a traveler could get breakfast, lunch, dinner and one night's lodging all for $1. The hotel's famous family-style chicken dinners (all you could eat) were even cheaper. They were 35 cents. Besides, having a busy hotel trade. there was also a livery ;table where a horse and buggy :ould be rented for one day for fl-50. The hotel was also complete with a bar, pool and card tables. Liquor could then be purchased from the bar with five cent tokens. Behind the hotel were located the livery stable, a boat house and a chicken coop. Only the stable still stands today. iii,i i TlTTIMmiM All of the Winkelhaus chil-J dren were born in the hotel andl all had jobs to do. The girlsj helped clean rooms and workedl n the kitchen and dining room! while the boys helped out in the ivery stable or did other chores around the hotel. About 1915, when Livingston) County "went dry," Winkelhaus decided to convert his bar into a garage and later a Ford Dealershiu. The garage business, ater owned by one of his sons.l Ralph, the deceased husband ofl Mrs. Winkelhaus, was moved to I its present location on.W. Ham-I burg Jtd. about eight years ago. I The family also operated a I grist mili about a block from I their hotel. At the rear of the I building, there was a taxi service from their livery stable. Other undertakings included a farm equipment business and a creamery receiving depot. At the latter place, cream was tested twice-weekly for its quality then shipped on to Durand. One of the hotel's "claims to f ame" was that rt was the first place in town to have electricity installed. Once a week, the dentist arrived on the train and set up office at the hotel to fix the teeth of area residents. Because there was no high school in Hamburg, the Winkelhaus children moved to Anti Arbor to attend school. A house on N. División St. was purchased by the family. There, the children and their mother stayed while their father kept the hotel business going. On weekends and during the summer, the children would return to the hotel to help. All three sons were graduated f rom the University of Michigan. The jtwo girls attended the University for a while, but were married while still in school. The second daughter, Mrs. Arthur (Hilda) Doherr, now lives in Parkridge, 111. The surviving members have reunions occasionally and reminiscence about their experiences in the hotel. Although the building wasn't used for a hotel for the past 25 years, Mr. and Mrs. Winkelhaus continued to live there. Sometimes, a few people would stay at the hotel. The Winkelhauses even had their golden anniversary at the hotel in 1953. That same year, Winkelhaus died. His wife followed him fai death about 1960. For about the past seven or eight years, t he hotel has remained empty. "The big mistake we made is that we should have rented the hotel to someone. It wouldn't be in such poor condition now,;" commented Winkelhaus. "Sometimes I drive by the oíd place but I don't go in." The family has mixed . tions about the hotel being razed but the memories continue to linger.