Let’s Talk About Mary . . .
The Pantlind Hotel opened in downtown Grand Rapids in 1913, under the leadership of one of the city’s most important hospitality leaders, J. Boyd Pantlind. Throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Polish immigrants made their way to the city to find employment in hotels and restaurants. One of those was 17-year-old Mary Manko (daughter of John and Francis (Pasterzak) Manko, sometimes printed Mainko, Mainke, or Manke)).
Mary was one of the young servants working at the Pantlind Hotel, along with Josephine Krucko, E.E. Robinson, and Josie Luska. On the night of November 2, 1914, after a day of laborious work, the girls were retiring to their rooms after cleaning up the second-floor dining room, when things took a tragic turn. Some say Josephine was flirting with elevator operator Roger Turner, distracting him from his duties, others say there was horseplay among the staff and additional reports note a scuffling of some nature took place. Maybe a bit of each story is true.
According to an article that appeared November 3, 1914 in The Grand Rapids Press, “the cage floor stopped about a foot below the tenth story landing and as the Manko girl started to clamber through the partly opened doors, the Krucko girl grabbed the elevator controller in Robinson’s hand and endeavored to raise the cage on a level with the floor.”
In doing so, Mary was caught between the top of the elevator cage and the floor, decapitating her.
“Death was instantaneous and as the body fell into the cage the latticed steel door of the cage fell with it, blocking the elevator’s further progress.”
Mary’s body was taken to the Chester Derezinski morgue. Her funeral was held at St Adalbert’s Church and she was buried at the Polish Catholic Cemetery (Holy Cross Cemetery). An inquest into Mary’s death was conducted by coroners Dr. Simeon Le Roy and Dr. John B. Hilliker, after which Prosecuting Attorney Earl F. Phelps reviewed the case and decided to not charge Turner or any of the female maids in the case.
More than a century has passed since Mary’s death, but guests of the now Amway Grand Plaza Hotel report seeing her spirit near the 10th floor elevators, as well as around the historic part of this downtown Grand Rapids property. For more, check out this account from Tours Around Michigan recorded during the 2026 “Ghosts of the Grand” tour.