Jack Deo: Keeper of U.P. history and caretaker of Hallifax collection
By Jennifer Champagne
Managing Editor
Jack Deo has spent nearly five decades photographing, collecting and preserving the stories of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
His collection — believed to be the largest of its kind in the region — spans generations of U.P. life, from early tintypes and glass plate negatives to prints and photographs documenting communities, industries, landscapes and everyday people. Deo has counted more than 200,000 negatives, though the full collection is considerably larger.
For Deo, photography and history have long been inseparable.
Born at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit in 1953, Deo grew up in Dearborn, surrounded by the influence of Ford Motor Co. His mother worked for Ford, while his father worked at Greenfield Village, where Deo also worked as a teenager.
“Growing up in Dearborn, you couldn’t escape the Ford influence,” Deo said. “My dad worked at Greenfield Village, so I was constantly exposed to the idea of preserving history. Those visits really shaped my view of storytelling.”
That early exposure would eventually intersect with Deo’s work documenting Ford’s history in the Upper Peninsula, including its lumber operations, the Ford sawmill at Alberta and the company’s influence in Big Bay.
His interest in photography took hold at Edsel Ford High School, where 10th-grade photography teacher Lee Bartlett encouraged him. Bartlett was also a three-time Olympic javelin thrower who competed in the 1936 Games in Berlin.
“I have a photo of him right in front of me here,” Deo said. “He’s got a camera, and he’s in front of my high school. He turned out a lot of professional photographers.”
Among them was Bill Sampson, who later lived in Marquette.
“Bill and I would talk about how high school photography changed our lives,” Deo said. “I didn’t realize until much later that [Bartlett] was in three Olympics and was at the 1936 Games with Jesse Owens, and Hitler watching. He was a remarkable guy, and his love for photography was infectious.”
Building a collection
The beginnings of Deo’s historical collection came almost by accident.
Early in their relationship, Deo’s wife, Cindy, brought home antique photographs from an auction. One contained an 1890 photograph of the Ishpeming City Band.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, this photo is amazing,’” Deo recalled. “That was kind of the first history kick for me.”
Cindy remembers his reaction: “I brought them home thinking he might use the frames, but he was more excited about the photos themselves.”
Around the same time, the historic B.F. Childs Art Gallery in Ishpeming was liquidating its collection. Auctioneer Thom Bogdan acquired its cameras and negatives, and Deo was eventually allowed into the basement of the old studio, where glass plate negatives had been discarded in piles on the floor.
Those discoveries helped launch a collection that would grow for decades.
“Jack has a knack for finding and preserving these incredible images,” said Dr. Diane D. Kordich, an art and design professor at Northern Michigan University and longtime member of the Lake Superior Art Association. “He goes to auctions, estate sales — anywhere he might uncover something new for his collection.”
Cindy has been part of that work throughout Deo’s career, assisting with art shows, organizing collections and handling logistics. Their daughter, Kelsey Deo Wales, also participated in photography projects while growing up.
“Cindy and I have always been a team,” Deo said. “She believed in what I was doing, even when times were tough. Without her, I couldn’t have done it. She’s not just my wife — she’s my partner in every sense of the word.”
A studio above Donckers
Deo opened his first studio with partners above Donckers in downtown Marquette in 1978.
“We rented the entire upstairs, and it was so empty you could roller skate up there,” he said.
Deo remained there for 25 years. In the early years, his share of the rent was $87.50 a month, an opportunity made possible by Fred Donckers, who was willing to back a young photographer.
“Fred took a chance on me,” Deo said.
One of Deo’s photographs of the Donckers storefront, with his studio sign visible upstairs, later appeared on the cover of the first issue of Marquette Monthly, selected by the magazine’s founder, Mary Kinnunen.
“It was a proud moment to see that picture on the cover,” Deo said. “It’s a piece of history, just like Donckers and the family who gave me a chance to be part of it.”
Sharing history
As Deo’s collection grew, so did its role in preserving and interpreting U.P. history.
He worked extensively with Kaye Hiebel, former executive director of the Marquette Regional History Center, beginning with the “Lost Buildings of Marquette” program and continuing through numerous exhibits and events.
“Jack’s contributions were instrumental in creating interest for local history, and his images really enhanced the exhibits,” Hiebel said. “When we had our grand opening gala for the brand-new History Center, Jack was our master of ceremonies, which shows you how much we appreciated what he had done.”
Deo also collaborated with museum curator Jo Wittler on projects including the “Exposing Photography” exhibit.
“His dedication to his craft is unparalleled,” Wittler said. “Jack’s presentations were always packed, and people walked away with a deeper appreciation for the history of our region.”
Cris Osier, the center’s current executive director, has credited Deo with helping make local history accessible through exhibits, programs and fundraisers, including “Legends and Lore.”
“His insights have been instrumental in enriching our exhibits and programs, making history accessible and engaging for everyone,” Osier said.
One of the most meaningful examples of Jack Deo’s role as a preservationist came through his friendship with longtime Munising photographer Mary Jayne Hallifax.
Hallifax, who died in early 2025, spent decades documenting life in and around Munising, including fishermen, lake trout and activity along the community’s docks. She and her husband, Richard Hallifax, created a photographic record of a part of U.P. life that was rapidly changing.
“Jack’s a nice fellow,” Hallifax said. “Of course, we have photography in common.”
Their relationship began when Hallifax visited Deo’s studio above Donckers in Marquette, bringing photographs and sharing stories.
During one of those conversations, Hallifax told Deo she had been burning some of her old negatives in the fireplace.
“My hair stood on end when she said that,” Deo recalled.
He urged her to stop.
“I told her, ‘You can’t just throw these away,’” Deo said. “Her work is part of our region’s history.”
What followed became an act of preservation spanning two U.P. communities. In addition to the negatives Hallifax had already passed on to Deo, her family entrusted him with a substantial portion of her remaining collection following her death in January 2025, ensuring that generations of Munising history would continue to be preserved.
In preserving Hallifax’s negatives alongside his own collection, Deo became the caretaker not simply of another photographer’s work, but of memories belonging to an entire community.
Hallifax shared many of those moments and memories in her “All About Town with Mary Jayne” feature in The Munising News and her “Down Memory Lane” column in The Mining Journal.
History in public spaces
Deo’s archive has also become part of Munising’s downtown landscape.
Katherine Reynolds, executive director of the Munising Downtown Development Authority, said the DDA has used his photographs in projects for years.
“Jack has been an incredible resource for us at the Munising DDA,” Reynolds said. “Over the past eight years, we’ve incorporated many of his historic photographs into our placemaking projects throughout the downtown area.”
Those projects have included “Horses to Hubcaps” on the Auto Value building, “Scenes from Munising’s Past” on downtown light posts and the vault project inside the Pictured Rocks Interpretive Center.
Deo’s collection has also found its way into museum exhibitions.
Emily Lanctot, director and curator of the DeVos Art Museum at Northern Michigan University, collaborated with Deo on exhibitions including “Standing Still: Studio Portraits from the Upper Peninsula.”
“Jack’s photographs are more than just images — they’re windows into the soul of the Upper Peninsula,” Lanctot said. “Each one tells a story, and his dedication to preserving these narratives is truly inspiring.”
Deo’s work has earned him the Peter White Award from the Marquette Regional History Center, three awards from the City of Marquette Arts and Culture Department and the 2022 Upper Peninsula Folklife Award from the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center.
In December 2018, the Lake Superior Art Association honored Jack and Cindy Deo by naming its gallery at Peter White Public Library the Deo Gallery, recognizing the couple’s contributions to the arts in the community.
Jack and Jim
Another important chapter in Deo’s work began in the early 1990s, when radio personality and local historian Jim Koski wandered into Deo’s photography shop and noticed a historic photograph of Marquette.
The encounter developed into a friendship and creative partnership built around Deo’s photographic collection and Koski’s historical research.
“We’re like a well-oiled machine,” Koski said. “Jack brings the boyish enthusiasm, and I bring the snark.”
Together, they have developed programs on subjects ranging from Marquette’s lost buildings to regional history, at times filling the 800-seat Louis G. Kaufman Auditorium.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, they produced virtual history videos to continue sharing local stories while in-person programs were limited.
“Every time we finish a show, we’re already thinking about the next one,” Koski said.
One program, “What’s Up, Doc?” began with little more than a phone call and a title from Deo.
“I was in,” Koski recalled. “I didn’t even know what the program was about, but I knew it would be great.”
Their partnership combines two complementary approaches to history — Deo’s enthusiasm for the images and Koski’s research into the stories behind them.
A collection for the future
Deo’s photography and historical work have reached audiences throughout the Upper Peninsula. His work has been sold through shops and cultural attractions across the region, including locations in Marquette, Munising, Manistique and Houghton.
For years, he also maintained a presence in Mackinaw City, first operating his own shop and later selling through consignment. Art of Framing in Marquette remains a primary outlet for his work.
But the larger question surrounding Deo’s work is what ultimately happens to the historical collection he has spent decades assembling. Diane D. Kordich, an art and design professor at Northern Michigan University, emphasizes the importance of finding it a permanent home.
“It’s crucial that these images are preserved and accessible for future generations,” she said. “They’re an irreplaceable resource for understanding our region’s history.”
That question reaches beyond Deo’s own photographs.
His archive contains the work of photographers who came before him, images rescued from studios and auctions, glass plates that might otherwise have been discarded and collections such as the Hallifax negatives that families placed in his care because they trusted him to preserve them.
For decades, Deo has gathered pieces of the Upper Peninsula’s visual history before they could disappear.
His legacy can be measured in photographs, negatives and glass plates. But it can also be found in what those images preserve: buildings that no longer stand, industries that have changed, faces that might otherwise be forgotten and ordinary moments that became history simply because someone had the foresight to save them.
For Deo, that has meant being behind the camera — and, just as importantly, knowing when something in front of him should never be thrown away.
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