Local businessman, philanthropist Bill Hodge dead at 90

By Jane Nordberg

HANCOCK - Philanthropist and businessman Bill Hodge died Tuesday at Portage Health.

Hodge, who turned 90 on March 18, was born in Mohawk in 1918 and moved to Houghton at the age of three. In newspaper reports, he described the Copper Country as a busy, bustling area in his childhood.

Hodge honed his entrepreneurial skills as a young boy, peddling copper souvenirs to passengers docking on the Houghton waterfront.

"The dime store would let me take them out, and I would take the money in the next day," Hodge said in an undated interview.

He began his first store, Hodge's Sporting Goods, in 1957. The store was located in the former Miller's Department Store site in Hancock, where Sayens is located now.

After a fire, Hodge moved his business to Houghton and renamed it Surplus Outlet.

"I had 28 years in Hancock, and was in business for 52 years," he said in a March interview for The Daily Mining Gazette. "We had lots of business and things were good."

Houghton City Manager Scott MacInnes relayed a story Tuesday he heard from former city manager Ray Kestner.

"Ray told me when he became city manager that Bill had helped him out when he got out of college," MacInnes recalled. At the time, Kestner was a little hard up for cash and turned to Hodge for help.

"He needed a pair of boots, went to Bill's store, and Bill said 'take the boots and pay whenever you can,'" MacInnes said.

Known as the "Senator," a nickname given to him by his brother-in-law, Hodge became a strong supporter of the downtown Houghton business district.

He was active on the city's planning commission, downtown business association and the local chamber of commerce, among other pursuits.

Hodge said more people needed to be optimistic, positive and proactive about making Houghton a city they wanted to live and work in.

"If the town needs a boost, people themselves have to be the leaders," he said in an undated interview. "If you always let just a few people do things, they get burned out really fast."

MacInnes said those sentiments described Hodge in a nutshell.

"He was a strong advocate for our city and the whole area," MacInnes said. "His activities, particularly with the chamber, are a good example of how he wanted to see the whole area flourish, not just Houghton."

Hodge also was a strong supporter of local charities, donating to the Houghton-Portage Township Schools Library, the visitor's center building in Houghton, the Houghton County Historical Society and the Salvation Army, among others.

"I believe Bill Hodge really enjoys giving," then-mayor Tom Merz said of Hodge in a recent article.

MacInnes said Hodge's selflessness extended throughout the area.

"He never wanted to do anything for himself, just wanted to see the Copper Country be successful," MacInnes said. "He didn't want any accolades."

Hodge said in a March interview he never had any intention of becoming a businessman; his real dream was to become a stage actor.

"I always thought I had a real feel for it," recalling his role in a high school play. "But then, I wanted to stay here. This is a great place to live."

The Plowe Funeral Service of Houghton is assisting the family with arrangements, which are pending.

Jane Nordberg can be reached at jnordberg@mininggazette.com.