Al Capone - "Scarface"

Alphonse Capone, better known to most of us as Al Capone, or “Scarface”, was The most notorious gangster in the history of the U.S.A.  

Al Capone, 1930
(National Archives, Still Picture Branch,
306-NT-163.820C )  

Picture from FBI file

      Did the famous Al Capone (Scarface) spend time hiding out at Big Star Lake ?!  Some say yes, other say probably not.  But where did these stories all begin?  Is it just “hearsay”?  Even “hearsay” has to have some basis for a beginning.  So what truly did happen.  Let me give you a little back ground information, and then tell you a little about the History and life of Al Capone, and then you can decide for yourself weather it is fact or fiction that Scarface hid out on Big Star Lake .  

     On the north side of the lake is a lovely home, now completely remodeled, and added on to several times since the “Capone era”.  I was invited over to discuss this topic with the present owner of the home Phil Ryskamp.   Phil, being one of those who has lived on the lake longer than most, had many stories, but for me, this one caught my interest more.

     Phil begins, by telling me about his parents (Henry and Flora) getting married in 1923 and honeymooned up at the lake, and came back to vacation every summer.  When Phil and his wife were married in 1961 they first rented each summer, and in 1963 purchased their present cottage/home from Ada B. Pickle, who was the mistress of the deceased Foster VanZyl, who died in 1950.  Now - -this is where the story gets a little tricky.  Foster VanZyl was the owner of the land, so when he died, in order to sell the property, Ada had to prove that she had the rights to the property and could legally sell it.  This process took a few years in the courts before Phil and his wife were legal owners. Now back to Foster, - He was from Detroit, and it was said he worked for J.L. Hudson.  We don’t know “doing what”.  Could this be the “tie” to “Big Business”/ the “Mob”?  Many people have told me that Al Capone never owned land in his own name, for protection purposes.  But that is not true.  In my research I have found two instances where it states with out doubt that  he did own land.  One was property in Escanaba Michigan , and another, an estate in Florida, on Palm Island in Biscayne Bay, near Miami , which he purchased in 1928.  But that doesn’t mean there were not more, or he had them in other names.  In fact there are claims of many places he either hid out at or owned, like - Leland, Glen Arbor, Northport Point and North Fox Island, Berrien Springs, and the list goes on, because in his day, Michigan was still a very remote area and good for hiding.  

     Something else that may point to ‘fishy business’ going on at the property, is the story Phil told me about when he was a young boy and his family was up at the lake every summer, he and his other young friends would walk around the lake along the beach.  This was a full days excursion at that time, and they would stop and eat, and get drinks of pop along the way at various places.  When they got to the “VanZyl” property, there was a fence that went along both sides and way down into the lake, so that no one could get anywhere close.  The kids had to walk way into the lake to get around the property.  So - ask yourselves - why would someone do this in those days?

Picture from the FBI files

   * Research and Information for the above article is from: 
            1). FBI files, 
            2). National Archives, 
            3). Michigan Land Records, 
            4). Florida Land Records,

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Baldwin, MI.
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