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Munger Among 128 Michigan "Shadow Towns" Tracked in New History

Livonia Historian Documents State's Rural Heritage, Small Town Legends

September 16, 2005       Leave a Comment
By: Dave Rogers

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Drawing of a lumber train passing a general store enlivens the cover of Gene Scott's new book on Michigan rural places, both forgotten and unforgettable.
 
Famed pinch hitter Jerry Lynch was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1988.

Munger, Michigan, potato capital of the state, once was a thriving village with a population estimated at a peak of 500 in the 1880s.

Perhaps the most noted former Munger resident was top major league baseball hitter Jerry Lynch of the Cincinnati Reds.

Gene Scott of Livonia picked the village of Munger in Bay County over Beaver, Bentley, Brooks, Crump, Duel, Fisherville, Mt. Forest, Nine Mile and Wenona to highlight in his new book, "Michigan Shadow Towns: A Study of Vanishing and Vibrant Villages."

Mr. Scott consulted books by Les Arndt, Col. Adolph Gansser, Odeal Sharp and other authors who have written about Bay County as well as my book "Paul Bunyan: How A Terrible Timber Feller Became a Legend" (Bay City: HistoricalPress, www.paulbunyanbook.com) and others about other ghost towns in Michigan.

"There has never been hunger in Munger," author Scott states authoritatively, noting the village's staple crops of sugar beets, corn, wheat and potatoes.

Interestingly, he notes that the annual Munger Potato Festival, held in August, attracts about 200 times more people than the 200 who live in the unincorporated community, or about 40,000 festival goers.

"Two fairly large potato companies truck out produce almost daily in season," he writes. "More recently, the village has added a brick making plant and this has helped give employment to some older residents who haven't found jobs in the bigger towns."

Mr. Scott also notes that former Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jerry Lynch grew up here and that members of the 70 Munger families socialize at two bars, Enser's and the Tool Shed.

A Reds' Hall of Fame inductee, Lynch's pinch-hitting was a key to the team's "dark horse" National League pennant victory in 1961. He had 25 pinch-hit RBI that season. His 18 career pinch-hit home runs stood as the major league record for 21 years.

Tidbits like the Lynch information spice what might otherwise be a boring book about villages almost everybody has forgotten. Mr. Scott also sprinkles the book with comments from current residents of these obscure hamlets.

For instance, the town of AuSable, hard by Oscoda in Iosco County burned in 1911 and has never arisen from ashesperhaps because a little girl, Laura Shipley, fell through a wooden sidewalk. It seems that Laura's family sued and the town had to float high interest bonds to pay off a $44,000 debt, causing budget problems that left only broken down equipment when thefire struck.

Averill, in Midland County, may be, or at least have been, one of the most famous little burgs in America. That is because it was once known as Red Keg, and was featured in Eugene Thwing's "Red Keg" novels of the early 1900s.

The epic Joe Fournier-Silver Jack Driscoll brawl in the Red Keg Saloon at Averill is recalled, a historically correct event documented by many writers and even a painting.

Red Keg was so named because whiskey kegs painted red were piledatop the town's saloon in the 1870s. It was advertising designed to attract thirsty train passengers.

Author Scott even recounts some of the ageless apocrypha perpetrated by Oregon writer Stewart Holbrook in his 1938 bestseller "Holy Old Mackinaw: A Natural History of the American Lumberjack."

Holbrook did much of the "research" for his outrageous stories in the saloons of Bay City, not necessarily the best place to obtain verifiable information. Among the dubious tales Holbrook foisted on the reading public: Joe Fournier had a double row of teeth, he could chew up glass goblets, his skull was used as evidence at his killer's trial and his jawbone was displayed in the University of Michigan Dental School for years. These ridiculous ideas were so intriguing they circulate even today.

Other area communities readers may recognize that are featured in the book include Turner, in Arenac County, with 140 residents one of the state's smallest incorporated villages; Meredith, on the border of Clare and Gladwin counties that won ill fame because of Jim Carr's house of prostitution; Edenville and North Bradley in Midland County; Lupton and South Branch in Ogemaw County; Comins in Oscoda County; and Lyon Manor/Higgins Lake in Roscommon County.

The best thing about this well-researched book is that it brings the reader up to date on facts of many rural spots that hold charm for many folks despite their remoteness.

The book was produced partially under a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council. The price is $15 plus $3 shipping and handling. Contact Gene Scott, 8861 Utah, Livonia, MI 48150. For information call 734-523-7844 or e-mail genocam@htdconnect.com.###

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Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

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