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View Full Version : Got an AWESOME lead.



hoser
11-19-2009, 03:32 PM
I was doing some historical society reasearch today and came across the story of a house of ill repute here in Grayling started back in the 1800's. After reading some of the story I made some calls and found the area where it used to be. It was quite the place too. Here is part of the story of the Notch.
A notorious house of ill repute,
affectionately known as “The
Notch”, was located 3 miles
west of Grayling just past the
bridge on M-72. It was built
about 1880 by Harry Young of
Toledo, Ohio. The house contained
a saloon with a large mirror,
a brass foot rail and
benches along a wall. There
was also an orchestra platform
for the dance hall area.
The logging industry was in full
swing and the house of ill repute
was widely known. (There
were 12 boarding houses in the
area at the time.) The Notch
was also a fighting joint. The
lumberjacks fought as well as
women such as Grace Conhard
who was one of the notable
performers. There were also
matched dog fights. Silver
Jack and Eight Day Bill were
among the notorious characters
who were regulars at the
Notch.
Old-timers told the story of
Honkytonk Jack, a livery horse
in Grayling who had been
driven to the Notch so often
that he simply couldn’t pass
the gate; he always turned in.
Sometimes the liveryman
rented the horse out to young
men who took proper girls for
a Sunday ride. Needless to
say, Honkytonk Jack caused
many embarrassing situations.
After a number of years,
Charles and Maude Blair purchased
the 110 acre property.
They employed up to 13 girls
in as many rooms on the second
floor. In 1913, when the
first military encampment
(now Camp Grayling) was
established, the Blairs voluntarily
closed the Notch.
There was a law prohibiting
the operation of such a place
within a certain distance of
military grounds.
The couple continued to live
there until they sold the
house of ill repute in 1920 to
Rasmus Hanson.
I will be beating on some doors come spring to see if I can find the exact location. By the sounds of it this place was probably a coin factory. Can you imagine how many things were lost in some of those lumberjack brawls. WOO HOO!!

angellionel
11-19-2009, 03:35 PM
Man! That would be an awesome location to work. I wish you success! thumbsup01

OkieDigger
11-19-2009, 03:47 PM
Very nice! I found one here, but the owners wouldn't let me hunt it. crying01

Islandhunter
11-19-2009, 03:51 PM
Sounds like a great spot (maybe even some gold coins??) and maybe they even minted some of their own house tokens and finding one of them would be fantastic as well.

Jason in Enid
11-19-2009, 05:34 PM
Sounds great! That large a place surely requires multiple hunting partners. thumbsup01

marchas45
11-19-2009, 06:37 PM
Great research on your location but I think I would have kept the location to myself as you don't know who is reading your posts on line. I hope you get the permission from the owners who own it know and find some nice goodies. Again great research and great story. thumbsup01

MNDigger
11-19-2009, 07:37 PM
Sounds like an excellent lead Bill! Best of luck to ya this coming spring! I hope by posting your lead someone else doesnt beat ya too it though! :beatdown:

Epi-hunter
11-19-2009, 08:17 PM
That is a GREAT lead Bill, stay with it... it could pay off nicely! :) Keep us posted :)

RWJR13
11-19-2009, 10:30 PM
:) :) That sounds great....Good luck..!! thumbsup01 thumbsup01

coinnut
11-20-2009, 12:53 PM
I hope by posting your lead someone else doesnt beat ya too it though! :beatdown:


I'm already on it lol Got a group hunt going there this weekend :twirlingeyes: Just kidding of course, but unfortunately some people would do that to you. But not anyone on this forum ;) We have very midieval rules governing stealing someone elses leads thumbsup01 No one really likes the stretching rack :shocked04: Good luck at it, but hit it quick!!

SeabeeRon
11-20-2009, 05:59 PM
We will be watching for the treasure you get from that spot!! :drool: thumbsup01

Krom
11-20-2009, 07:15 PM
I wouldn't bother bangin' on doors, Bill. It's probably shut down by now. :grin:

del
11-20-2009, 07:54 PM
sounds pretty cool hey how about a few pictures , i don't think i ever seen a house of ill repute before . the names they give'em now just aren't as colorful lol lol :twirlingeyes:

wish ya the best of luck Bill and you don't have to worry about Coinnut finding that spot , he gets confused and lost very easily . lol lol : ;)

coinnut
11-20-2009, 09:09 PM
wish ya the best of luck Bill and you don't have to worry about Coinnut finding that spot , he gets confused and lost very easily . lol lol : ;)


That's it Dan, back to the stretching rack for you. Besides you will look slimmer after a couple of hours on it. If I could only remember where that rack was :confused:

Jason in Enid
11-20-2009, 09:29 PM
I call dibs on using the rack next. My back could use a good stretching!

deltacornbread
11-21-2009, 03:13 PM
Great job of research. However like others stated, don't be quite as specific on your find. No shortage of people that will not only go hunt said site, will also take credit for discovering place.

coinnut
11-21-2009, 07:59 PM
I call dibs on using the rack next. My back could use a good stretching!


Done!!! :beatdown: :beatdown: :beatdown: But you have to gety DEL off of it. He likes his new 6'4 figure lol

hoser
11-25-2009, 11:26 PM
Sorry it took me so long to get back. I found the info on the net and its common knowledge, wriiten for all to see so I really didn't give up any secret. Its quite a large area and the exact location is still not clear yet. ;)

woodwizard
11-27-2009, 06:48 PM
I agree-that is definitely a spot worth checking out plus any adjacent buildings if given permission.oh yea yrs ago some places had tunnels for quick escapes look for those also