Category Archives: Article

Brewery Collectibles of America (BCCA) Article

Sebewaing Brewing Company Posted on by

BCCA Article IconI met Clayton Emery and his wife at Cranker’s Brewery in Big Rapids, MI on a Thursday evening, December 18th.  We chatted for awhile and enjoyed a few beers together.  As an editor, he had drafted an article for Brewery Collectibles of America.  Clayton asked me to read a preview of the story.  It was well written and very accurate.  It reminded me of last June’s story that ran in the Huron County Tribune that Seth Stapleton had written.  Both of these guys took the time to research and ask questions.

I enjoyed my meeting with Clayton.  He was very thoughtful and has a genuine passion for breweries and the collectibles that are a part of the trade.  So sit back and enjoy this nicely done article written by Clayton Emery.

I posted this article on March 4, 2015 in the Facebook Group “You know you are from Sebewaing, MI when …”.  and said:

“An excellent story has been written by Clayton Emery, the Editor and RaffleMeister of Brewery Collectibles Club of America. It is a five page article for Jan/Feb/Mar 2015 loaded with history details and photographs of Sebewaing Brewing Company memorabilia. Here is the link to read it. https://sebewaingbrewingcompany.com/…/Brewery-Collectibles-C…”

Here are the comments from the post:

Scott M. Thede This organization is looking for new members and you can read more at www.bcca.com

Kathie Kuhl What an incredible article to post for everyone to read. Scott, I’ve said it before and it needs to be repeated. What you are doing with this website not only thrills me because it’s family, but it reminds people what the American dream is all about. Hard work and people pulling together with a common interest to make a name for their town that will be remembered forever. Keep up the good work. It is so appreciated.

Scott M. Thede William, it may not be for everyone. I wanted to help on awareness that it existed. I am not a member currently.

Scott M. Thede Thank you so very much Kathie. Your words of encouragement really have helped me with this project. It makes me happy that you and others are reading this information. Thanks again.

William Harder Scott just letting who are trying to collect know this group has common labels and cans no posters and to help them save money. Been to a couple shows don’t have to be a member to go.

Scott M. Thede Sound good William. Thank you.

Clayton Emery just the editor and raffle guy for the Mid-Michigan Chapter of the BCCA. Thanks for the plug.

Clayton Emery Bill, some of the items in your collection actually came from one of our members, Wes Rundell. I believe he has other things that you may be interested in. Some of the Items listed were from his collection. He is a really great guy.

William Harder One item and that came from a garage sale by the marina, and that was a 1947 dog calendar it did not come from one of your shows Clayton,that is the only thing I bought from Wes

Bob Fournier Nicely laid out, will have to copy.

Thank you to those who took the time to comment in Facebook.

Otto H. Thede’s 1936 Union Book Returned to Family

Sebewaing Brewing Company Posted on by

Front Cover of Union BookAfter some negotiating with an e-Bay seller, I was able to acquire my grandfather’s union book from 1936 when he was a truck driver.  His dues were $1.  Aside from hand written content on the front and inside cover, the rest of the book was not used (e.g. travel, expenses, etc.).  It could have been sold in an estate sale or perhaps was part of the brewery paperwork that was left in the building.  Click on the image to the right to look at the book contents.

The union book is from the International Union of United Brewery, Flour, Cereal, and Soft Drink Workers.  This union merged with the Teamsters in 1973 according to this WikiPedia entry.

It is good to have a item belonging to my family back again.

1959 Aerial Photo of the Brewery

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1959 Aerial Photo of BreweryWhen I lived next door to the brewery, I remember people occasionally coming over to the house and asking for permission to walk the brewery property so they could look at the buildings and take pictures.  Technically, my grandfather Otto Thede would have been the one to clear it with since he was the last president and general manager when it closed and assigned the disposition of assets by the State of Michigan.  Anyway, my parents sorted things out and as people did the walk-around,  they took pictures, lots of pictures.  Where are they now?  I imagine stuck in shoe boxes handed down to family members that may not even know what the pictures are about.

I have made numerous requests for photos of the brewery out of people’s personal collections on the Sebewaing Facebook Group page, a newspaper article in the Huron Daily Tribune, and directly from the website.  No luck yet.  With the lack of pictures, I am looking at historical archives to see if photos may have been taken in other ways.  My latest research is looking for aerial photographs.  In the last few days, I was successful finding a 1959 photo the shows all of the buildings, the drives/alleys, the delivery trucks, and probably some employees parked while working. It looked like a prosperous operation! The year 1959 was their first million dollar year at $1,113,878!

Please, if you have any photos of the brewery, please contact me so I can make them part of this website.  Of the nine websites I host and maintain, this website is by far the most popular with 15,000 visitors since its creation on October 2013.  It is the most definitive collection of materials and information for the Sebewaing Brewing Company.  Let’s make it better with more pictures!