Ewald's Bar in Saginaw to close after more than 60 years, four generations of service

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(Gallery by Colleen Harrison | MLive.com)

A journey through the history of Ewald's Bar in Saginaw 33 Gallery: A journey through the history of Ewald's Bar in Saginaw

SAGINAW, MI — The Ewald's happy dance can be tough to describe.

Think of the "turn yourself around" part of the Hokey Pokey, add index fingers pointed skyward, blow a kiss or two, and you'll be close.

But the Ewald's regulars fortunate enough to be considered "family" by the longtime owners know it well. It's how the staff says goodbye to its favorite members of the Ewald's family.

Soon, the community will soon be the ones saying goodbye Ewald's itself. The bar at 301 Court in Old Town Saginaw, owned by the Ewald family for 61 years, will pour its last drinks on Saturday, May 25.

Owner Sheila Ewald, who grew up coming to Ewald's when it was still her father's bar, described the relationship with patrons.

"These are not customers," Ewald said. "They are family. I mean, everyone in here calls me Ma."

If you've never been inside this Saginaw institution, you are missing out on one of Saginaw's most genuine bar experiences.

From the painted Ewald's sign peaking out just above the Andersen (Court Street) Bridge to the generous people behind the bar, Ewald's is everything a true bar should be.

Though it has been operating as a bar since the 1800s, it became Ewald's when it was purchased by Bill Ewald and Jim Patow in 1952.

Ewald's Bar in Saginaw: A timeline of nearly 150 years of history at Niagara and Court

Bill Ewald's son, Bill Ewald Jr., remembers what the bar was like in those first decades of operation.

"It was basically home to everyone from Steering Gear Plant 1," Ewald said. "The third shift would come in at seven o'clock."

The bar was famous in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, he said, for its hamburgers.

"They would all call in their orders and descend upon the place," Ewald said. "People would say they had the best hamburgs around."

Bill Ewald Sr.'s wife, Edna, and their son, Ken Ewald, took over management after the original owner's death in 1970. Ken later became the sole proprietor, and the mantle was handed to his wife, Sheila Ewald, in 2007 after Ken's death.

Sheila Ewald started working at the bar in 1978, at the age of 27, and remembers the bustle of those days.

"We'd be busy from 7:30 in the morning until 2:30 in the morning," she said.

In recent years, most of the employees working the bar at Ewald's have been members of the family, she said.

"Ken always felt that you could trust family more," Ewald said.

Ewald was joined for many years behind the bar by her daughter, Dee Clark.

Clark said Ewald's has been different things to different people. With dart championships, pool leagues, live music, poetry slams and fundraising parties, each generation left its mark on the bar, she said.

"We all brought something different," Clark said.

She said countless couples have come in over the years with tales about how they met, or even got engaged, at Ewald's Bar in Saginaw.

"It's a pretty lucky place for a whole lot of people," Sheila Ewald said.

Ewald said the relaxed atmosphere and people who come through the door are what have made Ewald's special.

"The thing you just gotta love about this bar is the real people," she said. "It just doesn't take much to have good people come into a good bar."

Jim Kelsey, who said he comes in once or twice a week, said he values the community that has formed among Ewald's customers and staff.

"I've served him, I've served his son, and I've served his grandson," Ewald said.

Kelsey said he is not sure where he will go once Ewald's shuts its doors for the last time.

"Wherever she says she's headed is where I'm going," he said, with a nod toward Sheila.

The most recent bartender, Nick DeyArmond, is Clark's son and Sheila Ewald's grandson. DeyArmond said he has only been working there since he turned 21, about two years ago, but has been coming to Ewald's since he was a baby.

"My grandma would get us a Coke and smooch us on the forehead," he said.

While saying goodbye to his family's bar is difficult, DeyArmond said he has stacked up a lot of good memories talking with the old-timers who are regulars there.

"It's bittersweet," he said. "What I'll miss the most is hearing the stories about what Saginaw used to be. It's really nice to hear about those things; it makes the city not seem so dark."

On May 25, Ewald's will wish the community farewell with a celebration-slash-liquor liquidation event.

An auction of bar equipment, furniture and miscellaneous Ewald's memorabilia will take place at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 4. It will be held at the bar at 301 Court, at Niagara near the west end of the Andersen Bridge in Saginaw.

Sheila Ewald said it will be difficult to say goodbye to the bar itself, though saying goodbye to the community that formed inside it will be much more difficult

"I just really hope that when they do think of Ewald's they have a smile on their face," Ewald said.