Pascoe's Place
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Frank "Bullhead" Pascoe
Simpson Born: March 24, 1873 Hillsdale, MI Died: February 1, 1949 Muskegon MI |
Minnie Mathilda Woycke Born: 1879 Died: Unknown |
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Frank H.
Simpson Born: 1905 Died: November 21, 1943, Muskegon, MI |
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 Comedian Buster Keaton visits Pascoe's Place in 1949 |
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| In November of 1905, Frank "Pascoe" Simpson, a laborer in the local lumber mills, purchased the small French Mission church at Bluffton, and announced his plans to open a resort hotel on the site. Instead, the idea evolved into Pascoe's Place, an unpretentious tavern and a Bluffton landmark until it's demise in 1960. | |
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The original two-story building was moved to the
Wilcox site from a location on the hill behind the Linderman Machine Co. on
Lakeshore Drive (later, the home of the Norge Machine Products
division of Borg-Warner Corp).
In later years, Simpson added a single floor dining area to the original
structure. Simpson and his wife lived in the apartment above the
restaurant. In the city of Muskegon, Pascoe's was the place to go for perch. A big, kindly man, Frank ruled the place with a firm hand. He "fried succulent perch with perfection. His method, which involved having deep fat at just the right temperature, was never equaled." |
 Bullhead Pascoe |
 Pop Millard, Ed Gray and Joe Keaton at Pascoe's. |
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When Bluffton was home to the Actors' Colony, the tavern served as the
unofficial headquarters and post office for many of the area residents. Drawings
by Colony member William "Mush" Rawls decorated the walls of the place. A
nickel beer was the most popular drink, and upon occasion, Max Gruber's
elephant, Minnie, was dispatched to taxi a patron home when they had too
much. Located on the main road to Lake Michigan Park, the restaurant and tavern remained popular with local residents and tourists throughout the twenties and thirties. But, with the death of his only son in 1943, Pascoe prepared for retirement. The establishment was sold to Martin and Marcella Bowen in 1944, and reopened after some remodeling. In 1949, Buster Keaton stopped by for some perch and a beer, during a visit to Muskegon and his old stomping grounds. |
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 Minnie and Frank in later years. |
The little tavern ran into some difficulty in 1955,
when the Muskegon Board of Education built an elementary school next door. However, despite a state law that
said a tavern may not be within 500 feet of a school, Pascoe's Place
was grandfathered, and survived. Ultimately, a change in the
traffic route to Lake Michigan Park (now known as Pere Marquette
Park, or the Ovals) brought the sale of the restaurant to the Board
of Education. The site was cleared in 1960 to expand parking
at the school, known as Bluffton Elementary. |
 Buster Keaton, on the steps of Pascoe's in 1949. |
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| Post Cards to Bullhead Pascoe sent by Joe Keaton from the road. | |
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Special thanks to Jerry for the images of the post cards and to Susan for Lake Muskegon's Liar! |
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