In 1928 Paul and Thelma Krause owned Earl’s Cafe and barber shop downtown on State Street in St. Ignace and the little house to the left. They added to the building and turned it into the OK Hotel. It later was renovated into apartments. (Photograph courtesy of Burt Krause) The OK apartment building that recently burned on North State Street in St. Ignace has a history going back 100 years. Paul Krause, Sr. bought the property in the early 1900s and operated a barber shop there. He and his wife, Thelma, later continued in business there with a grocery store and then a restaurant. Mr. Krause slowly added to the building, and eventually the business was known as the OK Hotel, with 30 rooms. Thelma and Paul Krause raised seven children on this property.

Mr. Krause died in 1943, and his wife continued to operate the hotel until the 1970s, when she and her son, Lyle, converted the rooms to apartments. They continued to operate the apartment building until the early 2000s, when the building was sold to John Hughes.

Over the years, the lower part of the building was rented by many businesses, including a curio shop, frozen custard shop, Cheeseman Insurance Agency, a beauty shop, and an adult education school. During the brief current ownership of the building by Tom Briggs, the apartments continued to be rented, and, once again, the front space was used for a store.
Burt Krause and
Carolyn Krause McGlone
Lafayette, Indiana