The county lost an icon with the passing of Empire resident Dave Taghon.
Taghon, whose name became synonymous with Empire, died Friday, Jan. 3 at his home.
He was 81. Taghon was a hometown boy, attended Empire School and was among the first classes that graduated from Glen Lake Community Schools in 1961.
Following graduation, Taghon joined the U.S. Air Force and served four years.
Dave and his wife, Diane, returned to Empire in 1965 to raise their family. Dave went to work at the family-owned Empire Standard Oil gas station, taking over the business in 1980 after their retirement.
Over the years, their four children joined them in the family enterprise, which was remodeled into “Taghon’s Corner” Amoco station and convenience store in 1984. After 22 years of hard work, Dave and Diane retired in 2002.
Mike Bolton, immediate past-president of the Empire Lions Club, also grew up in Empire and knew Taghon well.
“It’s a huge shock,” said Bolton, who with friends Leigh and Linda Payment, had plans to go out to dinner before receiving the call. They last spoke with him after attending a funeral at St. Philip of Neri Church. “I new him well and for a long time… He was always service oriented, whether it was in business or the community. He was ‘customer focused’ in spades.”
Bolton also new Taghon through the Empire Area Heritage Group (EAHG) , which he founded with Jo Bolton (Mike’s mom) and Julia Dickinson.
“For the last 20 years, it’s been his show and has done a fantastic job with the museum,” he said.
The Empire Area Heritage Museum is a complex of five buildings which offer visitors a comprehensive look at Empire dating back to the late 1800s through today. The main building houses the Roen Brothers Saloon. There also a one-room school house, blacksmith shop, Beeman Barn and a 1911 Hose House. The museum is manned by an all-volunteer crew organized by longtime group president, Taghon.
He was the Enterprise “go to” guy for information for anything related to Empire history and that of nearby communities.
“This is a tremendous loss for not only Empire but the entire county,” said Kim Kelderhouse, director of the Leelanau Historical Society. “ Dave leaves an incredible legacy as the guardian of Empire history and one of the kindest people you will ever meet. I will always recall his warm smile and curious spirit.”
Taghon was also a proud member of the Empire Lions Club taking the mic for 40 years as auctioneer for the Club’s annual garage sale/auction each August.
Leigh Payment was a couple year’s younger than Dave at Glen Lake and moved two doors down from the Taghons when he and wife, Linda, retired to Empire in 2004.
“He’s irreplaceable,” said Linda Payment, who with Leigh (perhaps with encouragement from Taghon) has had an entry in most annual Anchor Day Parade, known to locals as the “Parade so nice, it goes around twice.”
The Payments were also traveling companions to Dave and Diane on a fiveweek trip to Europe in 2008; a historic tour by bus in Washington, D.C. and Virginia in 2018 and a cruise on the Danube in 2019.
“He inspired people to get involved. He was an inspiration,” Leigh said.
Taghon also made his mark on the community by serving in elected office. His tenure on the Empire Village Council was 1967 to 1994 — serving as president from 1980 through 1994.
He brought about many projects that changed the map in Empire. This includes Shalda Park baseball field and the preservation and permanent display of the iconic wooden anchor he also helped retrieve from Lake Michigan in 1977. Each summer since, the community has celebrated “Anchor Day” to commemorate the anchor’s retrieval. Leigh Payment is the vicepresident of the Empire Area Heritage Group and will be taking the reins of the group, which over the past few years had begun cataloging its collection.
He will have huge shoes to fill.
