November 1959
- charliebunton
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Autumn settled over Rogers City with the kind of quiet beauty that makes a person pause on their front step before heading out into the day. The maples and oaks had turned into a warm quilt of reds, oranges, and yellows, and the air carried that familiar bite that sent folks reaching for heavier coats as they made their way toward the polling places. It was a special election that had stirred conversations across Presque Isle County for weeks, a vote to decide whether the community would invest $560,000 in a new courthouse and jail. Neighbors debated it in barber shops, over kitchen tables, and along Main Street, each person weighing the cost against the promise of progress. When the ballots were counted, the proposition failed, 693–1033, a reminder that even in a small town, decisions about the future are never simple.
Not far away in Hawks, a different kind of reckoning came swiftly, devastating and unforgettable. The general store owned by Merlin and Birdie Mae Pardike, a place woven into the daily rhythm of the community, burned to the ground after a fire broke out in an upstairs bedroom where the family lived. Fire crews from Rogers City, Onaway, and Millersburg raced to help, but the flames were too fierce, too fast. The building had stood since 1878, built by Carl Dettloff, serving over the decades as a store, hotel, and dining room before becoming the Pardikes’ beloved business in 1945. Its loss felt like losing a piece of Hawks itself.
Yet in tragedy, the heart of a community often reveals itself most clearly. In the days that followed, friends, neighbors, and even strangers gathered at the Hawks Town Hall for an open house to support the Pardike family, who had lost everything. Around 200 people arrived, arms full of bedding, clothing, food, household goods, and envelopes of money—small gestures that together formed something powerful. It was the kind of moment that reminded everyone why small towns endure: when one family falls, the rest quietly step forward to lift them back up.
Meanwhile, book lovers across the county found joy in a gentler celebration. The Presque Isle County Library marked Library Week with pride, inviting residents to visit its new home in the Bradley House. The transition had given the library room to grow, offering a wider assortment of books, periodicals, and resources that made browsing feel like a small adventure. Saturday mornings had become a favorite for children, who gathered for story hour with Estelle Johnson, their imaginations carried away by her voice. Librarian Irene Plume, assistant librarian Kathleen Hein, and bookmobile librarian Dorothy Brege welcomed patrons with the kind of warmth that made the library feel less like a building and more like a gathering place.
And over at Rogers City High School, the gym was alive again with the familiar thrum of basketball season. The 1959–60 Hurons opened with a commanding 77–50 win over the Canadian Soo, a victory that sent a ripple of excitement through the town. Coach George Noch had a strong squad, anchored by 6'4" center John "J.R." Osborn, with Bob Quade and John Paulus at forward and Dennis Schultz and Norm Wozniak at guard. Their season unfolded with grit and confidence, ending with a 12–4 record and the honor of claiming their first Huron Straits Conference Trophy. Their triumph included two wins over Alpena Catholic Central, one of them a sudden-death overtime thriller in Alpena, 72–70. The future of Huron basketball felt bright, full of promise, full of the kind of energy that makes a town proud.
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