Haehnle Sanctuary - Birds and Beer

Casapar II

Johananes Caspar Hähnle at 30 years of age emigrated from Giengen in the Baden-Württemberg area. He first went to Detroit where he married a German widow then moved to Jackson and became a brewer. His expertise probably came from his German background as in innkeeping. In 1867 Casper II, son from Johannes first marriage, emigrated to join his father in the brewery business in Jackson. The elder Casper died in 1869. The younger brought in partners and expanded the business then he died in 1893. 

Caspar III

Now there is another Casper born in 1876 who was only 16 when his father died but he set to work at the brewery until he was old enough to manage and take charge of the company. He expanded their breweries to the U.P. added a winery in Windsor, Canada. Success continued until Prohibition stopped beer production (and all other liquor) in the 1920's. The focus changed to the manufacture of ice, which they already did to transport beer maybe getting some of their ice from Eagle Lake, but now became a mainstay activity. Back to successfully brewing beer, in 1946 he sold distributor rights to Detroit's Stroh Brewery.

The brewery was at Haehnle Hill on Cooper St. where the I-94 interchange now sits. For more photos brewery history see: Peek Through Time: Raise a glass to Jackson's Haehnle Brewing Co., one of the city's originators of craft beer - mlive.com

Jackson H.S. 1922

This last Casper was a hunter, particularly familiar with ducks at Mud Lake where he had a hunting cabin and the surrounding area. So was Lawrence Walkingshaw (see previous post about him). And so was Harold Wing of the Michigan Audubon Society (the lookout at the sanctuary is named in honor of Harold.)"Cap" died in 1958 shortly after donating 497 acres around Mud Lake Marsh to Michigan Audubon. It was named after his daughter, Phyllis Averill Clancy died of a heart attack in 1950 at age 45 about 2 mos after the wedding of daughter Jean.

Phyllis attended UoM and in 1927 visited Havana with her mother. She married Dr. James Clancy and they lived in Hammond, IN with their two daughters; they divorced before her death.

John Casper, wife Nell Meyfarth, daughter Phyllis and other Haehnles are buried at Mt. Evergreen Cemetery, Jackson, in a Haehnle family plot.

Cap's original gift of 497 acres was enlarged to over 900 acres thru gifts granddaughter Judy Clancy Cory and by Michigan Audubon purchases.

The last of the Casper brewers, John, was struck by an auto in Jackson and died in 1958.

Dr. Lawrence H. Walkinshaw, tribute

His name came up in my research on Baker and Haehnle Sanctuaries. It warranted further investigation as his was the only name to come up in two sanctuaries. 

Lawrence Harvey Walkinshaw was born on the family farm in Convis Twp 1904. After graduating from Olivet College he went on to University if Michigan getting his dentistry degree in 1929. He had his practice in Battle Creek until 1968.

The Walkinshaw family has a long history in the township starting with his great grandparents James Honorable and Jemina Walkinshaw. Both born in Scotland and in 1842 immigrated to Marshall, Michigan. They moved to a small farm in Convis Twp. The lineage goes James, Charles, Beaton who married Eva Marie Grinnell and from whence came Lawrence. The plat map shows many Walkinshaws living around the Sanctuary area. So Larry knew this landscape well from his youth. Additionally he actively birded in the area east of Jackson that became the Haehnle Sanctuary. 

The draw for him were cranes. He leaves a legacy of distinguished ornothology. His distinguished career is covered in this account of his work: IN MEMORIAM: LAWRENCE HARVEY WALKINSHAW, 1904-1993 (unm.edu). Not only did he provide valuable research on cranes, but also Kirkland warblers and field sparrows. He saw the cranes restored but the prairie chicken disappear.

Sadly, there is no sanctuary named for him. It can't be said that he left a greater legacy than those who legacy was to have purchased land.

While the rest of his ancestry is buried in Austin Cemetery, Convis Twp, the doctor and his wife Clara Mae Cartland are buried in Holt, MI. For 40 years he did Christmas Bird Counts in Battle Creek then another 20 years of counts in Lakeland, Florida.

A debit is owed to Larry for his ornithological legacy and the beautiful places he helped people become aware of their unique value.

Baker Sanctuary - Nearby Conservation Minded Properties

Larry Holcomb is a retired wildlife biologist who grew up in Olivet. He hunted, fished and roamed the lands that became Baker Sanctuary. He studied at MSU where he received a PhD; later he became a Certified Wildlife Specialist with the Michigan DNR. In 2008 this 476 acre property called Big Marsh Lake was up for sale. It borders Baker Sanctuary on the east. Big Marsh Farm has forested and prairie uplands along with 140 acres of wetland. The Holcombs purchased it. In 2017 working with Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy, they secured a conservation easement for this special property. The Holcombs have another property just the other side of I-69 on which they previously placed conservation easement.

A person of note in important to this area, albeit not a land owner, is Lawrence H. Walkinshaw, 1904-1993. From Battle Creek he was an avid ornithologist and leading authority on cranes - or Guirformes (ah, we learn the technical term for cranes). Back in the 1930's Sandhill Cranes were a rarity. He knew the area well; here is where he did significant research on cranes that is still relevant.

Walkinshaw provides a detailed account of flora and fauna in his 1950 article  THE SANDHILL CRANE IN THE BERNARD W. BAKER SANCTUARY, MICHIGAN (unm.edu), Society for Ornithological Research Archives.

Mabelle Isham was a wildlife rehabilitator and Michigan Audubon board member. She owned 80 acres, Shagbark Trails, next to the sanctuary. Her daughter inherited the property and sold it to Audubon in 2016.