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  • John and Pat Wicksall said the photo is of an annual get-together put on by Jack and Bill Wicksall Distributing Co. The Traverse City beer and wine distributing company was founded in 1949. Special to the Record-Eagle/History Center of Traverse City

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May 2, 2011

Readers identify photo of gathering

FROM STAFF REPORTS ----

John and Pat Wicksall identified the men in the History Center of Traverse City archive photo that appeared in the April 25 Community section.

Both John and Pat Wicksall said the photo is of an annual get-together put on by Jack and Bill Wicksall Distributing Co. The Traverse City beer and wine distributing company was founded in 1949. Pat Wicksall thought the photo was taken in the mid-1960s in the Logan's Landing area near Boardman Lake in Traverse City.

John Wicksall identified the man in the back row, far left, as his father, Jack Wicksall, who brought several cigars to the party. He thought the man next to his father was Russ DeClarke, a liquor representative. The man in the straw hat is Bob Sipple, who owned Jack's Market in Traverse City. The man wearing a pan on his head is Clayton "Swede" Johnson, who worked at a Chevrolet dealership and sold vehicles to Wicksall Distributing. The next two men are Wicksall employees Larry Mericle and Ted Baase. John Wicksall noted that Mericle was the first employee hired by his father and uncle.

The man wearing the fez on the far right is Joe Ganci. John Wicksall said Ganci, who worked for a Detroit-based company that imported wine, made a famous spaghetti sauce for the annual party.

Pat Wicksall said the man kneeling on the left is his father, Bill Wicksall.

The man kneeling on the right is Amos Drake. Wicksall said Drake, who is wearing an Altes beer patch on his shirt, was a delivery driver who drove the first diesel truck in the area. John Wicksall said the man on the ground is Arnie Shields, owner of Shields Restaurant on East Grand Traverse Bay in Traverse City.

John Wicksall said three of the men are drinking cans of Dreweys beer, which was one of the first brands carried by Wicksall Distributing in 1951. He thought the bottled beer could be Labatt, which at the time was a rarer imported ale.

Community section History Center of Traverse City archive photos can be found online at www.record-eagle.com/history.

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