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www.mybaycity.com June 15, 2014
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Portsmouth Supervisor and Historian Bob Pawlak shares a laugh at the Historical Museum presentation with daughters Miranda, 28, left, and Mallory, 25.

PORTSMOUTH EXPLORED: Museum Crowd Hears Local History From Grassroots

Supervisor Robert Pawlak Dusts Off Fascinating Facts From Amazing Past

June 15, 2014       1 Comments
By: Dave Rogers

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History made at the grass roots is only truly revealed when a dedicated historian illuminates it.

Such is the case with Portsmouth Township, Bay County, Michigan.

Native Americans, important pioneers, Civil War heroes, football stars, inventors and lots of farmers have called Portsmouth Charter Township "home," says Bob Pawlak, township supervisor.

Pawlak told of the "grass roots" of Portsmouth to an appreciative crowd at the Bay County Historical Society's Second Saturday presentation last week.

Portsmouth, population 3,300, is one of 1,240 townships in Michigan, one of 20 states that have the township as the basic form of government. Half the population lives in a township, he said. It is a form of government established by the Second Continental Congress in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, predating Michigan statehood by half a century

Portsmouth forged its place in national farmland and open spaces preservation history when it became one of the few communities ever to reject a Wal-Mart store.

Hardly anybody remembers Portsmouth making headlines when Wal-Mart wanted to build a new store on property along Tuscola Road, where five flags erected by Dr. Mark Stewart now wave. "They really look great," enthused Mr. Pawlak, noting that another Wal-Mart is located only four miles away.

Sprawlbusters.com has given Portsmouth an iconic mark in history with its posting recalling the 2005 populist campaign against the retailing giant: "According to an account in the Bay City Times, the crowd was chanting "USA" and "No Wal-Mart," as four American flags were raised along busy Route 15 for passing motorists to see.

"This was not your typical flag-raising event, however, even though the national anthem was played as the flags were lifted. Two of the flags, a Chinese flag and an anti-Wal-Mart flag, were then lowered to half mast. "We're here to prevent Wal-Mart from taking over the world," said Dr. Mark Stewart, an orthopedic surgeon who hosted the rally on his land next to the proposed Wal-Mart."

There are general law townships and charter townships, five among the 14 townships in Bay County besides Portsmouth. Others are Hampton, Bangor, Monitor, and Williams.

Son of former supervisor the late Charles Pawlak, he recalled selling dog licenses as a boy while his father collected taxes in the old township hall. At age 24, in 1982, he was elected a Bay County commissioner.

Before the arrival of European immigrants, there was a tree here that was said to mark the grave of Ke-wah-ke-won, a leader of the Ojibwe in olden days. The 20 square mile township was home to natives living along the streams that border and traverse the flat rich soils to the east of the Saginaw River.

When Saginaw County was organized in 1835, stretching all the way to the Straits of Mackinac, an educated easterner, Albert Miller, was appointed probate judge. In 1836 Judge Miller bought the land that is now Portsmouth Township from fur traders Benoit and Joseph Trombley.

At first there were only two townships in this part of Saginaw County, Williams and Hampton. Portsmouth Township was organized in 1871 and Civil War hero Gen. Benjamin Partridge was the first supervisor, said Mr. Pawlak.

One of the early pioneers of Portsmouth Township was Heinrich Brandt, a native of Germany, who cut trees on the sites of Third Street and Center Avenue and helped build the Fraser House, an early Bay City hostelry.

The Tuscola Plank Road had toll gates at Trumbull and Cass, predating the M-15 highway that was divided in 1955. The River Road was built on rocks filling swamps to Saginaw in 1928-30, he said.

The Townline School in Portsmouth dated to 1912 and the Hess School first was called Washington, a name phased out when the small local school districts merged with Bay City in 1957. The K-8 Merritt School still stands in adapted form at Bullock and German roads, he said.

Illustrating the longevity of Portsmouth families in government, Mr. Pawlak noted that the late Henry Brandt, a descendant of the early settler, was for 33 years treasurer of the township.

Likewise, he followed his father Charles who was a township officer and county official for many years. Robert Pawlak is in his seventh term as supervisor. He is a fourth grade teacher at Kolb Elementary and also teaches English at Saginaw Valley State University.

Jim Kanicki, township native, became a star tackle for the Cleveland Browns after a stellar career at Michigan State, and the late Walt Kanicki, his brother, was a nationally-known authority on therapy for sports injuries. Jim, named one of the 100 best all-time Browns players, runs a steel company in Ashtabula, Ohio.

Otto Reichle founded the Bangor-Hampton-Portsmouth Fire Department and kept the fire truck at his home. Bangor and Hampton later went independent, so Portsmouth was the catalyst for local fire protection in Bay County, Pawlak said.

Portsmouth resident Emil Mish, a trucking firm owner and former acrobat, in the late 1950s was the last person to serve as Bay County surveyor, Mr. Pawlak noted.

Notable among the township "characters" that Pawlak has known was Louie Neal, a county commissioner whose restaurant, Louie Neal's Pullman Diner on Broadway, was featured in the July 21, 1971 issue of Life Magazine.

Neal was constantly chomping on a ragged cigar clenched in his mouth where teeth were missing, he recalled with a smile.

Larry Van Zale runs Van Zale Electric, founded by his father Adam Van Zale, whose shop on River Road was the wellspring of inventions like the Van Zale gas station bell and electric cattle fences. Van Zale patented the air hose driven bell system Oct. 16, 1939 and sold it across the country.

Casa Vinny, a grocery store at Cass and Lincoln in Portsmouth Township, was noted for huge sandwiches named after saints.

Recalled Bishop Joseph Adamec: "When I was pastor of Saint Hyacinth Parish in Bay City, Michigan, I recall a deli in the neighborhood called 'Casa Vinny's.' The deli was famous for the fact that Vinny had it full of life size statues of saints, after whom he named various sandwiches.

"Some thought it rather sacrilegious to have saints associated with their food. However, Vinny thought that he was doing a good thing. Apparently, the statues were no longer needed in places of worship, and he could not see them simply retired.

"But, then, he also thought it was a good thing to send a packet of Michigan navy beans, which he called 'Peace Beans,' to various heads of state throughout the world. That included President John Kennedy. Vinny would actually receive photos and letters of thanks for his kind gesture. With these, he plastered the walls of his deli. The saints represented by the statues may have actually gotten more attention at the deli than they did in a church."

(Adamec is Bishop Emeritus of Altoona-Johnstown, Pennsylvania.)

Big Dan's, Jezak's and Doc's bars at Cass and Michigan became Krzysiak's House Restaurant under former Vescio's meat cutter Don Krzysiak whose establishment is reminiscent of the success of Frankenmuth's chicken dinner palaces the Bavarian Inn and Zehnder's.

The famed Interurban electric railway to Saginaw that went through Portsmouth, the Tuscola Drive-In movie, now an auto auction, and the iconic Brandt Barn later owned by Jerry R. Davis are other "celebrity" sites mentioned by Mr. Pawlak in his historical presentation.

Among the "legends" of Portsmouth is one that told of a horse electrocuted when his nose touched the electrified third rail of the Interurban.

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"The BUZZ" - Read Feedback From Readers!

terrykilley.tk Says:       On June 17, 2014 at 09:22 AM
I remember Louie Neal and the Pullman diner. Delivered the Bay City times. Also, got the biggest and best plate of french fries. Mr. Neal always had that cigar in his mouth.
Agree? or Disagree?


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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