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This website was created to preserve the legacy of Herman “Winks” and Barbara Kettle Gundlach, maintain the history of our community, and to inspire the next generation of activists, feminists, and philanthropists.

From captain of the Houghton High School and Harvard University football teams to a captain of industry, Herman “Winks” Gundlach Jr. was a man of many passions. From 1946 until he retired in 1988, his Gundlach Construction company built many of the major structures in the Upper Peninsula. A humble man, Winks gave credit for many of his accomplishments to others. He revered the tradesmen of the area, and Winks stayed up late looking over his payroll, knowing that these names didn’t just represent employees, but local families.

A housewife, a mother, a Harvard alum, a feminist. These are all labels that could describe Barbara Kettle Gundlach. She was an able, intelligent woman whose competence covered a broad range of interests, including music, art, literature, religion, social ethics, and philosophy. You can read much more about her HERE.

“You were so humble and felt inconsequential; yet you made such a difference. You toughed it all out—body, mind, and soul!”

Julie Gundlach, daughter

“I first met ‘Winks’ when we moved here in 1985. It was at a Chamber of Commerce fundraiser — ‘Roasting’ Winks Gundlach. I did not know the ‘dignitaries’ doing the ‘roasting’, but they were rough on Winks. When it was Wink’s turn to give the ‘jabs’ back, he was hilarious. Our paths crossed many times after that evening in 1985. Winks and I were both in the Houghton Rotary Club. Every summer, Winks hosted a Rotary Club Picnic at his camp. Back in the old days, we would golf in the morning at Wyandotte Hills, then return to his camp where we would have a softball game, horseshoes, shuffle board, and skeet shooting. In the evening after the barbecue, we would play cards until the wee hours of the morning.

“Winks had many wonderful attributes. He was friends with everybody, no matter what your ‘ranking’ on the ‘social scale’ was. What really made him a hero to me was his philanthropic nature–everything from establishing the Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home to establishing a book club for children.

“Winks would always greet everybody with a smile. He made a person feel like he or she was a lifelong friend. Winks’ legacy will long be remembered.”

Tom Cole, Houghton Rotarian