Visiting the Hasenbanks MCHS Ghost Tour 2024

The Mason County Historical Society held its inaugural Ghost Tour Saturday, June 1. During the tour, two buses explored the remnants of the Manistee & Grand Rapids Railroad/Michigan East & West Railroad, that ran from 1899 to about 1920 on a route starting in Manistee and ending in Osceola County. The train travelled through Mason County's Free Soil, Meade and Sheridan townships. Along the route, tour participants were greeted by people whose lives were impacted by the railroad. Among them were Wilhehm and Johanna Hasenbank who came to Free Soil Township in the 1880s. The characters were played by Melanie and Jason Hargreaves. Melanie is the great-great granddaughter of Wilhehm and Johanna. They performed at a bus stop at her aunt and uncle's farm, owned by Sue and Bruce Hasenbank, land first owned by Wilhehm and Johanna.