Recipe
6 Tbsp flour
2 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 lbs round steak, 1 inch thick
4 med onions, sliced
6 Tbsp shortening
½ cup chopped celery
1 clove garlic, minced
¾ cup chili sauce
¾ cup water
1 green pepper, sliced
Pound flour, salt, and pepper into steak. In preheated skillet, cook onions in 3 tablespoons of shortening and set aside. Add remaining shortening and brown steak on both sides. Reduce heat and add celery, garlic, chili sauce, and water. Cover and simmer 1 hour. Add pepper and cooked onions to skillet and continue cooking for 30 minutes or until meat is very tender.
History
Margaret Hazel Van Auken Kollig
“While in Ann Arbor, Dr. Kollig met the future Mrs. Kollig, then Miss Hazel Van Auken, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Willis G. Van Auken of Saginaw. Mrs. Kollig then was a student in the university.”
“They were married in Saginaw Dec. 3, 1912, during the year Dr. Kollig was teaching at the George Washington university.”
“Mrs. Kollig’s desire to live in Saginaw influenced the doctor to establish a practice here.”
-- From the obituary of Dr. Matthew Kollig published in the Saginaw Daily News, November 29, 1933
Born in Saginaw on January 15, 1886, Margaret Hazel Van Auken Kollig, seems to have preferred her middle name. Almost all records refer to her by her middle name, Hazel. Her September 14, 1972 obituary records the basic facts of her life:
“Passed away Wednesday, September 13, 1972, at Richview Manor Nursing Home, Age 86 years, Hazel VanAuken was born Jan 15, 1886. She was married to Dr. Matthew Kollig in 1912. He passed away in 1933. Surviving are one son and one daughter, John Kollig, Gull Lake, Mich.; Mrs. George (Margretta) Power, Pennville, Mich; eight grandchildren; three great-grandchildren, one brother and one sister, A.W. VanAuken and Mrs. Ezra Deibel, both of Saginaw. Funeral service will take place 11:30 a.m. Friday at Oakwood Cemetery. Rev. Charles Stuart will officiate. Those, who so desire, may make memorials to the St. John’s Episcopal Church.”
We need to turn to other sources to learn more about her accomplishments. The description of her December 23, 1912 wedding notes: “She graduated from the Arthur Hill high school in the class of 1905, and from the U.M. in 1912. She is a member of the Alpha Phi sorority.” She and Mathew Kollig were married at St. John’s Episcopal Church. The Saginaw Daily News reported:
“The bridal party, relatives and immediate friends then adjourned to the home of the bride’s mother, 806 South Michigan avenue, where a wedding supper was served.”
The home was beautifully decorated for the occasion by the use of poinsettias, red roses, and Christmas greens. Pink was used as decorative color for the bride’s table, and the center-piece was a tulle basket containing the bride’s bouquet.
Candles with pink shades were the lighting effects. The lady guests at the table were Mercedes de Gornago, Detroit; Luelle Stowe, Howell; Helen Draper, Louise Hannon, and Esther Van Auken, Saginaw.”
Saginaw City Directories indicate that by 1917 Dr. and Mrs. Kollig were living at 708 South Holland. Sometime in the late 1920s or early 1930s they purchased a cottage in Lakeside Association at Higgins Lake. After her husband’s sudden death in 1933, Hazel Kollig continued to live at 708 Holland and is listed as living there until 1956. After that time, her name no longer appears in the Saginaw City Directories and in 1957 she sold her cottage at Lakeside.
While we are still left with a mere outline of her life, we do have some hints at her accomplishments and interests.
See our Nov 27, 2021, post for her mother’s recipe for “A nice Luncheon Dish.”
Please note that early sources list Van Auken as two words and not one and often do not capitalize schools and streets even when part of a proper name.
We want to thank our colleagues in the Local History and Genealogy Collection at Hoyt Library for their assistance in preparing this piece.
Description of Photographs in Album:
In November 1909, Hazel Van Auken Kollig participated in the Mother Goose Market held at St. John’s Episcopal Church. She worked in the Little Miss Muffet Booth. Although we have not been able to identify her in images of the fair, we can imagine the costume she wore.
In 1912 she graduated from the University of Michigan.
On December 22, 1912 she married Dr. Mathew Kollig. The ceremony was held at St. John’s Episcopal Church and the reception was held at her mother’s home at 806 South Michigan Avenue.
