Piper’s Palace in Denhoff built to last
Piper’s Palace in Denhoff built to last
By ALLAN TINKER
Bringing a pioneer attitude and a desire to restore spirit to the Denhoff community, former Michigan residents Michael and Janeen Piper have purchased a home, are raising four grand children, and Michael is working on restoring the former People’s Sales and Service building. These are all happening in a town with no support businesses of grocery, gas or hardware. Postal service is a mailbox.
With a vision for both entertainment and practical uses, Piper’s Palace is reminiscent of the Mix and Tibeau hotels of the past, closer to the town’s flourishing early 1910 era. These establishments offered entertainment, dancing on Saturday nights and helped transport passengers to a nearby Lake for boating.
Piper has in mind a music jam fest, seen in some scale in other locales recently. He remembers the ones from his home state where everybody brought something to eat and played and sang music all evening, leaving at 11 p.m. to go home.
The loosely organized jam fests were a popular event with the live music developing on its own each fest, no two alike. He envisions this same atmosphere on the restored old tile floors at the front of the huge, well built building.
The building, cement, bricks and steel, is three distinct sections: office and display area, garage with hoist and equipment, and a back area suitable for vehicle storage and supplies. Each area has seen the hardworking hands of Piper and his volunteer crew of various talents working to make the old building hum. The Weaver hoist took only several gallons of oil to restore its ability to hoist heavy vehicles up for repair.
