FRANKLIN B. HENKEL
Sheriff from 1925-1926
Franklin B. Henkel was born on a farm two miles south of Howard City, Pierson Township, Montcalm County on June 4, 1875. He was one of eight children born to Henry and Barbara Brunner Henkel. He spent most of his life on the family farm and it was there that he learned the meaning of work, dependability and honesty. His father was well-to-do but Franklin never took advantage of that. When he reached the age of 17 his father virtually turned over the management of the farm to him. When he turned 18 his father sent him to North Dakota to harvest 1,000 acres of wheat. This continued for several years. And each time he would return home and give the proceeds of the crops to his father with an exact account of every penny. After his father passed away in 1920 he remained on the farm to care for his elderly mother. He was devoted to her every need.
Franklin's public service began when he served as Pierson Township supervisor for fifteen years. In 1924 he announced his candidacy for sheriff of Montcalm County. His opponents would be stiff competition, two having already served as sheriffs for the county, those being Alphonsus E. Ward and James M. Ford. But when the Primary election was over he emerged the winner beating his nearest competitor, James Ford, by 700 votes. He went on to win the November election. When it came time for him to take office and he did not appear, there was quite a bit of speculation as to the reason. Suddenly he came before the board of supervisors and told them his mother was sick and he had to stay with her. She died shortly after and it was then that Franklin assumed the office of sheriff. On January 20, 1925 he married the former Ileen Engelman in Grand Rapids. They moved to Stanton and one of his first appointments was that of his wife, Ileen, as undersheriff.
Franklin completed his first year as sheriff and had just been nominated by a large majority of the people for a second term in office and he was awaiting the upcoming November election. Wednesday, September 22, 1926 found him at the Lakeview Home Coming celebration. Over 8,000 people had been in attendance that day enjoying the activities. Two brothers, Dave and Edgar Arnett were part of the crowd and they had spent the day drinking moonshine. By midnight they were not only drunk but were causing a disturbance. Sheriff Henkel ordered them to go home and then followed them to their car to make sure they left. When they got in front of their car they started arguing about who was going to drive. Sheriff Henkel again approached them and ordered them into the car. It was then that Edgar Arnett pulled a gun and Henkel grabbed for it. When Henkel did that Dave Arnett grabbed Henkel from behind, put his arm around Henkel's neck and swung Henkel around so Henkel's back was to Edgar Arnett. Henkel pulled out his club and started hitting Dave Arnett. It was then that Edgar, seeing his brother in trouble, fired two shots. One hit Henkel just left of the heart and one hit his abdomen. Henkel, although badly wounded, managed to write down the car's license number. He was taken to Kelsey Hospital where surgery was preformed to remove the bullets and for a time it was hoped he would recover. But late Friday, September 24th, his condition worsen and he passed away at 11:30 p.m. that evening.
His funeral was held at the Congregational Church in Howard City. Long before the funeral the streets were lined with automobiles containing neighbors and friends of Sheriff Henkel. The crowd was so large that hundreds were turned away for lack of space in the church. The funeral sermon contained a plea by one of the Pastors for the State of Michigan to enact a law demanding capital punishment for those who so cruelly and without reason murdered their fellowmen. Another Pastor spoke of Franklin Henkel, Abraham Lincoln and other martyred men of state and nation in the same breath. Both men spoke of the dead officer's love and attention to his mother, which he gave not for days but for years.
The following is an excerpt from a sketch of Franklin Henkel written by Clifton A. Youngman and published in the Grand Rapids Press:
"The death of Franklin B. Henkel, Montcalm County sheriff, cast a gloom over this entire section of the state. Sheriff Henkel was shot while attempting to send two allegedly drunken men home from Lakeview. To the outside world Franklin B. Henkel will be remembered only as the sheriff who lost his life in the performance of his duty, but to the people of Montcalm county his memory bears a greater significance, for Frank Henkel was a man in every sense of the word…………Frank Henkel gained a reputation for dependability and no one can recall when he ever violated his trust. His conduct and habits were the kind that every man might well emulate. He never used tobacco in any form and it is common talk that he never touched a drop of liquor in his life. ……He believed every man honest until he had proved himself otherwise and it was while following out this principle that he was treacherously shot by a man to whom he was doing a kindness. Frank Henkel was always doing something for somebody. Because of their belief in his honesty, people were constantly seeking his services in a thousand and one things. They told their troubles to him and he ironed out their differences so that everyone was satisfied. But the outstanding characteristic of Frank Henkel's life was his devotion to his mother. After the death of his father, he cared for her, and her interests were paramount. When, after an accident, he found he had an internal injury and that an operation was necessary, so she might not worry he took the train to Buffalo, apparently on business, and she did not know what was his mission until after his return……….Shortly after she (his mother) died and Frank Henkel again assumed the role of protector, this time for the people of Montcalm county. How well he has fulfilled his obligations can be learned from anyone who has been in contact with the sheriff's office. He was fearless but never overbearing; and prisoners who have come under his control testify as to his fairness in his treatment of them. With the aid of his wife, whom he married shortly after his mother died and with a capable force of deputies operating in the face of an indifferent public, regarding the enforcement of the Eighteenth amendment, Sheriff Frank Henkel did his utmost to enforce the prohibition law in this county. Just what affect his death will have in changing public sentiment in this regard in the county of Montcalm and other counties of Michigan, is a matter of speculation. After the culmination of Montcalm County's greatest tragedy, it is unbelievable that men and women in public or private life will continue to laugh at the enforcement of the prohibition law."
Franklin B. Henkel was buried at Pierson Cemetery, Montcalm County, Michigan.
(Stanton Clipper-Herald, Friday, September 24, 1926 and Friday, October 1, 1926; Lakeview Enterprise, Wednesday, September 29, 1926; Montcalm County marriage records; Ancestry.com - census & WWI draft registration card) |
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