Knechtel Collection

    Country store in Alpena County with Texaco gas, Royal Crown Cola, and an IGA. Typical of country stores that dotted Alpena County, this store offered a little bit of everything.

    This downtown fire was located on the west side of Second Avenue between Chisholm and Rivers Streets in the early 1920s next to the Hanover Block (now Center Building). The fire seems to have origina

    Railroad logging crew in front of a Lake Shore Michigan Southern Railway car.

    Once done by horses, the steam loaders made loading logs onto railroad cars much easier. The horse-drawn piece of equipment shown on the right is a "big wheel." The big axle allowed it to be driven o

    People in front of a logging camp during the winter could be family visiting or cooks with their helpers and chore boys.

    Loading or unloading logs on a Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway car.

    Logs were easier to transport during the winter on ice roads. A sprinkler wagon sprinkled water on the road to freeze into an ice path for the horse teams to pull a log sled.

    Arthur Linke Historical Museum business card. Arthur Linke was a great collector of Alpena memorabilia. Much of his massive collection was donated to the Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan.

    Lemuek G. Dafoe business card. This man had a varied career including lumbering, trial lawyer, member of the State legislature, Alpena Postmaster, and Mayor of Alpena (1910-1914). This card shows him

    Correspondence from the Elliot Company to Arthur Linke regarding an antique music machine.