Adolph Hann
Published in many southwestern Michigan newspapers—the Herald-Palladium, Watervliet Record, Hartford Day Spring and others worldwide—Adolph Hann’s photographs were seen by many. With a range in subject matters, from a one-year-old’s birthday party to the launching of Naval ships during World War II, it is no wonder that Adolph created a library of nearly 10,000 negatives.
In Southwest Michigan, he is probably best known for his “shots from the air” when news outlets highly valued such photographs. He also offered his services to individuals who wanted to view their farms and other properties from the air.
As a Watervliet Paper Mill employee with a fascination for photography, flying and adventure, Adolph turned his hobby into a full-time occupation. During World War II, Adolph was the official photographer for the Navy at the Dachel-Carter and Truscott boat companies in the Twin Cities, where his assignments ranged from ground pictures of new boat launchings to aerial shots from a precarious position on a bosun’s chair 100 feet above the channel. His photographic ability was turned into an indispensable wartime business.
His adventurist spirit, along with his love of aerial photography, prompted him to obtain his pilot’s license when he was in his 40s. He even purchased his own two-passenger Aeronca Chief in 1952. Prior to the purchase, he used three commercial pilots and had a Civil Aeronautics Commission waiver for low flying, down to 500 feet.
Born in 1911 in Wolhynien, Russia, Adolph Hann was brought to America by his parents Ferdinand and Henrietta Hann aboard the Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse, landing in New York on May 14, 1913. The family was bound for Benton Harbor, Michigan, with $200 in money. Adolph was raised on a farm near Hartford, Michigan, attended schools there and began his career with his bride, Grace, at his side.
Photography was a major interest for Adolph, but he worked at the Watervliet Paper Mill as a Machine Tender prior to World War II to earn a living. Photography turned into a necessary wartime business for him. In the late 1940s–early 1950s, he was the proprietor of Hann Motor Sales across from Auto Specialties on US 12 (Red Arrow Highway), a general garage and gas station also selling autos and tractors as his aerial photography took off.
Mr. Hann died in May 1983, during an operation to correct an aneurism, having been unwell for a week. During a career that spanned over 40 years, Adolph Hann had focused his cameras on every landmark in Southwest Michigan and many in other parts of the state and Midwest.
Click the Images Below to See Closer
Images provided by WMU Archives
City of Coloma
April 12, 1960
Colom Bridge Construction
April 25, 1967
Watervliet High School
December 2, 1970
City of Coloma
April 16, 1963
Benton Harbor
Unknown date
Paw Paw Lake
June 7, 1972
Watervliet Community Hospital
Unknown date
City of Coloma
April 1960