The Adams: The Adams: The Adams: The Adams: Final ChapterFinal ChapterFinal ChapterFinal Chapter By: Tom Deschaine

The Adams fly is the most acclaimed fly pattern in the entire world. The original recipe

for the pattern and the story of its origin has repeatedly been told and historically

documented.

I have been researching Leonard Halladay (1873-1952) and the Adams fly for over three

years. Almost daily more information and new contacts are discovered. It’s time to

complete the story and share with you new information that has recently come to light

about the Halladays and the Adams fly.

The Halladays

I reported in an earlier article that Len Halladay was born in New York. His family was

originally from there but Len was actually born

just south of Mayfield, Michigan.

We know, through Leonard Halladay’s

grandson, Mr. John Falk that Len completed up

through the eight grade of school. Back in the

1800s it was common place for kids to quit

school at that age to begin to help to support

their family. We also know that Len Halladay

had several jobs the most noted of which was at

the near-by hydroelectric plant.

With a good job at the electric plant and a few

bucks in his pocket Leonard eventually met and

married the love of his life, Mary Marillus

Koch, called “Rilla”. They went on to raise six

children.

According to family history, Len was about

forty-five years old when he was first introduced

to fly tying by Ralph Widdicomb, the famous

furniture magnate from Grand Rapids,

Michigan. In an interview with Harold Smedley (late 1940s), Len was quoted as saying,

“ I have been tying flies since 1917. I haven’t caught a fish on a baited hook for the last

thirty-five years. I use the fly only.” He later, tied for Ralph, one of Michigan’s earliest

patterns which he named the “Widdicomb.”

Leonard died on Thanksgiving Day, in 1952, followed by Rilla in 1959. Today the

family continues with five surviving grandchildren.

The Inn

In 1903 Len and Rilla purchased the old ‘Kelly Boarding House’, which was home to

many of the lumberjacks during the logging era of the late 1800s. The boarding house

was located near the Mayfield Pond, which is a dammed up impoundment of Swainston

Creek. Leonard and Rilla

renamed the old boarding

house the ‘Halladay

Hotel’.

Their idea was sound. The

Hotel was located just

minutes away from the

Boardman River.

Between the hotel and the

Mayfield pond ran the

Grand Rapids & Indiana

Railroad, with a

scheduled stop at

Mayfield. The tracks

were literally just a few

steps from the pond and the hotel. It was here that Len and Rilla would cater to hunters

and fishermen from Indiana, Illinois and southern Michigan. Even summer residents of

the area would take advantage of Len’s hunting and fishing guide services.

Len Halladay had two teams of horses

and a buggy. After breakfast he’d drop

off the fishermen to the hot spots on the

banks of the Boardman River. Len would

then return each afternoon to deliver

‘bag’ lunches to each of the fishermen.

He would once again return in late

afternoon to gather the fishermen. The

horses were later replaced with Len’s old

Ford truck.

Years later when the Halladay family

donated the land to the township for the

park, the hotel was so dilapidated that it

just was not worth trying to save.

Regretfully, the hotel was demolished.

The Park

The Mayfield Park, just three miles north of Kingsley, Michigan, has been in existence

since 1984. In 1989 the Halladay family donated the adjoining Halladay Hotel property

to Paradise Township in memory of Len and Rilla Halladay. In 1991 the site was

commemorated with a plaque donated by the Michigan Outdoor Writers Association.

The township has built a pavilion at the location of the old hotel. The pavilion contains a

fireplace, the bottom half of which is original. The small park is very charming and well

cared for. The park is open to the public, and I might add, the pond is still very fishable;

home to some very large trout.

The Fly

John Falk, Len’s grandson is in possession of Len’s original tying bench, vice, tools and

tying materials. He is very proud of the fact that he was taught, at a very young age, the

fine art of fly tying by his Grandpa Halladay. He is knowledgeable about all of Len’s

original patterns and most, if not all, of Len’s fly tying techniques.

We now know that Len tied with both cotton and silk threads, which he waxed himself.

He finished his flies with a secret knot that he called the ‘Buggy Whip Finishing Knot’.

He had attached to his bench an old bait casting reel which he wound his tying threads

on. He simply adjusted the ‘drag’ on the reel to provide the exact tension he wanted on

the thread. Because of John’s input we now know that the Adams was originally tied

with black thread.

Kingsley Library Exhibit

Just south of Mayfield lies the small town of Kingsley. In the town library is a small,

modest exhibit which houses an original Adams fly tied by Leonard Halladay. Its home

was carefully chosen by Edna Sargent, a close friend and neighbor of Len Halladay.

Edna wanted the fly to remain as close as possible to its site of origin. The story is as

follows…..

George H. Wells was a professor of microbiology at Ferris State University. In addition

to that, he was an accomplished fly fisherman and a well known sports writer of the 40s

and 50s. George summered at Spider Lake near Mayfield and knew Len Halladay very

well. Mr. Wells was a frequent fisherman at the Mayfield Pond. In the summer of 1932

George went to Len’s house and asked for one of his Adams ‘original’ flies. Len obliged.

George saved and treasured the original pattern for years. He affixed it to a piece of

paper and wrote: “This is valuable (about extinct) Len H- Adams. An original given to

me in 1932 by the tyer.”

Mr. Wells bequeathed the pattern, along with a letter stating its authenticity, to his friend,

Dr. Dan H. Gottwald, a serious fly fisherman with a deep respect for the history of the

fly. Dr. Gottwald felt that the fly should be returned to its home and contacted Edna

Sargent. In his own words, Dr. Gottwald says: “I presented this fly to Edna Sargent for

display at the Grand Traverse Historical Museum. This exhibit was disbanded and

basically put into storage at the Grand Traverse Historical Museum. The fly was

retrieved by Edna Sargent and, with my permission, was permanently donated to the

Adams fly exhibit appropriately located in the new library at Kingsley.”

Is the fly authentic? By all

accounts, and by virtue of the

documented lineage, I would

say yes. The body of the fly

was also examined and

compared to a sample of the

original wool material that

Len Halladay used to tie the

pattern (which was graciously

donated to me by John Falk).

It matched!

There are many fakes and

frauds out there, all of which

claim to be ‘originals’ tied by

Len Halladay. Although there

may be a few held in private

collections, I believe this to be the only known, authentically documented ‘original’

Adams fly.

For this, the final chapter on the Adams, I leave you this message. If you are a fly

historian, a devotee of the Adams or just a rambler of rivers; a pilgrimage to the Mayfield

Pond and the Kingsley Library is a must for your bucket list…..

See you on the water…..

Tom Deschaine ~www.michigandryflies.net~

A special thank you is due to Ms. Edna Sargent who provided the contact information

necessary to reach Dr. Gottwald and Mr. John Falk. To Dr. Gottwald, a special thanks

for the documentation he provided which helped to trace the lineage of fly on display at

the Kingsley Library. I am also in deepest gratitude to Mr. John Falk, Len Halladay’s

grandson, who helped with the historical information. I would also like to acknowledge

Mr. Dave Richey who shared with me the portrait of Len Halladay.

Copyright2012©Deschaine