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The Schade Theatre and Ohio Theatre

April 9, 2015, 8:08 am
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The Schade Theatre in Sandusky opened in the 200 block of West Market Street in 1915 as the Alhambra Theatre. An article in the December 19, 1915 issue of the Star Journal reported that the “motion picture palace” cost a total of $100,000. George J. Schade was the owner of the theatre.


H.C. Millot was the architect, and the building contractor was Feick and Company. According to the Star Journal,“It can be stated truthfully that not a city of Sandusky’s size in the country, and few of the larger ones can boast of so beautiful a movie play-house.” Seating capacity on the main floor was 700, with a balcony that seated 50 more individuals. Special attention was paid to the lighting and acoustics. By the fall of 1916, the theater was known as the Schade Theatre. Until the late 1920s, the films were all silent. Mr. Schade advertised heavily in the Star Journal. He wrote a column known as “Schad–E Tips” which promoted the films that were being shown in the theater. In the summer of 1916, a theater organ known as the Hope-Jones Unit Orchestra provided musical entertainment for the theater.


The theater organ could simulate the sounds of orchestra music with just one musician. By the fall of 1930, and continuing through the 1960s, the Schade Theatre became known as Warner’s Ohio Theatre, under the proprietorship of Warner Brothers.


The marquee of the Ohio Theatre is visible in this picture of Market Street from the 1930s.


In March of 1940, the movie Young Tom Edison, starring Mickey Rooney, played for ten days at the Ohio Theatre. This was of particular interest to area residents, since Thomas Edison was born in nearby Milan, Ohio. Love Story played in Sandusky exclusively at the Ohio Theatre in Feburary of 1971.  By the late 1970s, the Ohio Theatre was operating as an adult theatre. The Ohio Theatre closed  in 1979, and eventually the building was razed.




For more information about local theaters, see the Sandusky Registercolumn “Market Street Was Movie House Mecca” by Ron Davidson, or visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Several archival boxes are devoted to the history of arts and entertainment in Sandusky.
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In Celebration of National Library Week

April 12, 2015, 8:17 am
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The Library Association of Sandusky was incorporated in Ohio on November 4, 1895, and has provided free library service to residents of Erie County ever since.  For more history of Sandusky Library, visit the library’s website. In honor of National Library Week, here are some pictures of readers and library patrons from the collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Three young ladies are seen reading in the back of a truck in front of the library in 1926.


In the early 1950s, the Follett House was home to Home Economics classes from Sandusky High School.  These young readers were a part of the early education unit of the Home Economics class.



Long time Head Librarian Mary McCann sometimes worked on the Bookmobile.


We do not know the exact date of this picture, but notes on the back indicate that these women and girls were all members of Mrs. Emrich’s Reading Club.


Besides tradional books in hard copy, Sandusky Library now offers books for your Smart Phone, Kindle, or tablet, and eBooks for your mp3 player.  Click on the eMedia link on the Sandusky Library’s home page to get started.
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William H. Reinhart, President of the Sweet Valley Wine Company

April 15, 2015, 11:36 am
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William Homer Reinhart was born in 1865 in Huron County, Ohio to Mr. and Mrs. Carl Reinhart, who were both natives of Germany.  When William was quite young, both his parents died. He learned the cooper trade while quite young, and then he went to Kelleys Island to work for the Sweet Valley Wine Company. Reinhart first worked as a salesman for the company, and by the early 1900s he became its president, holding that position until his death in 1940.


Mr. Reinhart also served as the president of the local Chamber of Commerce, where he spearheaded a fund raising drive to help reorganize the organization after the Chamber had faced a severe financial crisis. Additionally, he was the first president of the Perry’s Victory Memorial Association. And when the United Commercial Travelers held their convention at Cedar Point in June of 1906, Reinhart addressed the group as chairman of the general executive committee of the Sandusky Council, No. 278, United Commercial Travelers. Mr. Reinhart’s picture appeared in the June, 1907 issue of the Ohio Magazine, which featured an article by John T. Mack, entitled “Industrial Sandusky”while he was the president of the local Chamber of Commerce.



OnOctober 1931, he was named the Conservation Commissioner of the state of Ohio. While in this position, he took many steps to improve game wildlife in Ohio, and he spoke to sportsman’s groups all over the state. Mr. Reinhart was one of the founders of the Ohio State Elks Association, and he served as its president twice. During this time, in the late 1930s, Mr. Reinhart also served as a city commissioner. 

William H. Reinhart died on December 31, 1940 at the Cleveland Clinic, after a lengthy illness. Funeral services were held at the Sandusky Elks Lodge, with the Rev. C.L. Alspach officiating. He was buried at Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. He was survived by a wife, one sister, one brother, a daugher, a stepson, and three grandchildren. The Sandusky city building was closed during Mr. Reinhart’s funeral, and the flag at the Post Office flew at half staff, in memory of the former city leader. George J. Doerzbach, fellow city commissioner, said about Reinhart, “No Sanduskian had the interest of this city more at heart than did Mr. Reinhart. I have worked with him for many years on civic and social affairs and always found him ready to give of his time an energy in helping to boost his home community and give a helping hand to his host of friends."
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Indoor Circuses Held at Jackson Junior High

April 18, 2015, 8:01 am
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From 1940 through 1958, the Sandusky Industrial Union Council sponsored an annual indoor circus, which was held at Jackson Junior High School. The event was sponsored by . The November 1940 performance by the Patterson Brothers included trained horses, trapeze artists, clowns, and comical dogs and monkeys. A feature of the 1940 indoor circus was a trained pony that kicked footballs into the stands. In the 1941 Indoor Circus, Buck Owens appeared with his horse Goldie.


Buck Owens was a native Sanduskian. He was born Max Geis, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Geis, who lived on Clinton Street in the 1940s. 

Below is an advertisement for the indoor circus held on March 17, 1949, which appeared in the March 12 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News. School age children could attend the event for forty cents.



The indoor circus of 1953 featured the Lehmback family from Fort Wayne, who performed balancing, juggling and acrobatics. Captain Walcott also brought trained dogs and ponies to entertain the crowds. In 1958, aerialist named “Miss Consuelo” performed. Area residents recalled her last appearance in Sandusky when she was featured during the halftime show of the Harlem Globetrotters game. 

While the indoor circus was not as large as a traditional circus, the Junior High provided a convenient location for most area residents.
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“You Never Can Tell” Performance in 1922

April 21, 2015, 6:00 am
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On April 20, 1922, the play “You Never Can Tell” was presented by the Sandusky Federation of Women’s Clubs at the Sandusky Theater on Jackson and Water Streets.


Charlotte Atwater DeVine directed the play, which was put on for the benefit of a free dental clinic for school age children in Sandusky. George Bernard Shaw wrote the play, which was about a dentist falling in love. A subplot in the play was about three children who accidentally meet their father for the first time. Below is the list of characters, and the local actors who portrayed them.


Mrs. Lilly Johnson wrote a review of the local production in the April 21, 1922 issue of the Sandusky Register. Mrs. Johnson stated that a large and distinctive audience saw the play, which featured many professional touches. Two actors who played their roles very well were George Lehrer as the semi-villainous father, and Charles Selkirk, who portrayed the suave attorney. The article concluded:

In this group of people Sandusky possesses dramatic talent of a high order and it is to be hoped that lovers of the drama have an opportunity of seeing them at frequent intervals. A total of $300 was raised for the future dental clinic.


Along the edges of the play’s program were advertisements for local businesses, which were written in rhyme. These two ads are from W.A. Bishop, photographer, and Denzer’s office supply store.


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Small Bits of History on Sandusky’s Historic Buildings

April 24, 2015, 7:00 am
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The symbols, initials, and acronyms that can be seen on Sandusky’s older buildings provide us with clues to the historic past of our community.


The Sandusky Register building was originally built for the Star Journal, as evidenced by the initials SJ seen on the top corner of the building.


A series of Rs border the upper level of the Rieger Lofts help us remember the Rieger family.


When John Rieger opened the Hotel Rieger at the southeast corner of Jackson and Market Streets in Sandusky in 1912, it was Sandusky’s first “fireproof” hotel.


The letters I.O.O.F. and globe that are seen on the corners of the Odd Fellows Temple on Washington Row remind us that the building was first built for the fraternal organization known as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.


Sandusky’s Odd Fellows building was dedicated on March 18, 1890. Several attorneys and businesses are now located in the I.O.O. F. building on Washington Row in downtown Sandusky. Through the years, several other businesses have been in operation at the street level of the Odd Fellows Temple on Washington Row.


The building now home to Calvary Temple was constructed in the 1920s for the Commercial Banking and Trust Company.


The group of layered letters above the door on the west side of Calvary Temple feature the beginning letters of the words Commercial Banking and Trust Company.  The bank did not survive the Great Depression.


On the north side of Adams Junior High School, which opened in 1869 as Sandusky High School, is a trefoil and an equilateral triangle, which is a traditional Christian symbol that represents the Trinity.




Take note of the interesting architectural details found on the historic buildings in Sandusky and Erie County. Lots of history can be learned by observing closely the fine details in the buildings you may walk by every day.
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Stadium Diner

April 27, 2015, 11:30 am
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From 1941 until the late 1980s, the Stadium Diner was in business at 1019 West Perkins Avenue in Sandusky, close to the Sandusky High School’s football field (now Strobel Field at Cedar Point Stadium.) The postcard above states that Stadium Diner was “the world’s largest diner.”  The main structure of the Stadium Diner was made from two former Lake Shore Electric interurban cars placed end to end.

        
Nat Sherrard was the proprietor of this popular restaurant for many years. In 1941, the Stadium Diner was open 24 hours a day, and specialized in steak, chicken and fish dinners. Many business luncheons, dinner meetings, and other special events were hosted there. Of course it was a popular spot for a meal before or after a high school football game as well. 

In 1952, the Stadium Diner was remodeled. This advertisement, which appeared in the August 21, 1952 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News, indicated that the new owner of the Stadium Diner was H.S. Gamber, with A. Lack working as the manager.



Many local businesses offered their congratulations on the opening of the newly remodeled restaurant. In 1952, a Lake Erie perch dinner could be purchased at Stadium Diner for one dollar. Members of the Berardi family purchased the Stadium Diner in 1989, and now operate the popular restaurant, Berardi’s Family Kitchen. 

A cloth napkin from the Stadium Diner, from the collections of the Sandusky Library
      
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John and Charles J. Krupp

April 30, 2015, 8:47 am
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Born in Bavaria, Germany in 1822, John Krupp was in the furniture and undertaking  business in Sandusky from about 1870 until he retired in 1895. Charles J. Krupp, his son, and Henry T. Goebel took over the business after John Krupp retired. Charles J. Krupp received special training in scientific embalming from Professor Auguste Renouard.  The partnership of Krupp and Goebel was dissolved in 1900, with Mr. Goebel continuing in the furniture business, and Mr. Krupp continuing in the undertaking business. By 1901 Charles J. Krupp had relocated the business to the Mahala Block on Washington Row.


An advertisement which apperared in the August 21, 1905 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal stated that Krupp was the “most complete undertaking house in Sandusky.”  Ira Krupp was assisting his father in the business at this time.


By 1911, the Mr. Krupp had moved the business  to the Masonic Temple building, where  Edward Quick was his assistant. Also in 1911, John Krupp passed away. His wife Katherine Simon Krupp had died in 1906.


Charles J. Krupp married Ida Palmerton in 1878. After the death of Oran Follett, Ida’s father purchased the former Follett residence for his daughter and her husband. After Ida Krupp passed away in 1906, Charles J. Krupp married Mary Buyer.   Below is a picture of 404 Wayne Street when Charles and Mary Krupp resided there.

               

On May 14, 1924, Charles J. Krupp died at his home on Wayne Street after he suffered a stroke. Charles J. Krupp had been an undertaker for fifty-four years, and was considered a leader in his profession. He had been the last person to look upon the face of President William McKinley, as Mr. Krupp had been a member of the state licensing board of embalmers at the time of McKinley’s death, and he was the person who closed the casket before it was placed in the tomb. Charles J. Krupp was survived by his widow Mary, his son, daughter, and one sister, Mrs. Paul Miller of Sandusky. Funeral services for Charles J. Krupp were held at both his residence, and at Sts. Peter and Paul’s Church. Burial was at St. Mary’s Cemetery. It was estimated that Charles J. Krupp had buried more than 10,000 during his many years in business in Sandusky. To read more about the Krupp family, see A Standard History of Erie County, by Hewson L. Peeke (Lewis Publishing Co., 1916.) 
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When Sandusky’s Funeral Homes Provided Ambulance Service

May 3, 2015, 6:00 am
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Before organized emergency medical services were introduced in the United States, funeral homes often provided emergency ambulance service as well as transportation for sick patients. In the souvenir booklet from Sandusky’s Centennial Celebration in 1924, Charles J. Andres’ Sons funeral directors offered 24-hour sedan ambulance service. In the same publication, the Frey Furniture and Undertaking Co. advertised an auto invalid car “used exclusively for the living.”


In this picture from a 1924 parade, the Andres Funeral Home vehicle had the word ambulance lettered above the white cross on the front of the car.


The billboard in the undated picture  below from rural Erie County  stated that the Frey Funeral Home also offered ambulance service.




Listings in Sandusky City Directories indicate that local funeral homes provided ambulance service from the 1920s through the 1970s. An article in the June 25, 1964 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that during the 1950s and 1960s,  the Andres, Frey, Keller, Quick and Suitor Funeral Homes rotated ambulance service on a monthly basis, so that the calls were distributed fairly. David Suitor stated that he personally delivered five babies while on ambulance calls in Sandusky. 
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A Locale in Erie County Known as Union Corners

May 6, 2015, 7:00 am
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If you have ever passed by St. John’s Lutheran Church on Route 250, traveling from Sandusky to Norwalk, then you have traveled through an area of Erie County that has long been known as Union Corners. This rural area is located in the very southwestern corner of Huron Township, close to the intersection of Huron, Milan, Oxford and Perkins Townships. There was a stop at Union Corners on the old Lake Shore Electric Railway.


St. John’s Lutheran Church was founded in 1865, after Rev. J.G. Lehrer of Zion Lutheran Church in Sandusky did a survey to determine where another Lutheran church would prove beneficial. Since residents out in the countryside found it difficult to travel to Sandusky for church services, Union Corners was selected as the site of the new church. Services at St. John’s were conducted in the German language until the early 1940s. A cemetery associated with the church is found just to the south of the church. Many surnames of German descent are found on the tombstones at St. John’s Cemetery, sometimes known as Union Corners Cemetery. 

Faith and family seemed to be the cornerstone of the early twentieth century residents of Union Corners. A small column of neighborhood news appeared in the Sandusky Register.  The columnist known as “Billy Boy” told of weddings, births, church events,  and activties going on at area farms.




From the late 1800s until the 1930s, there was an elementary school in Union Corners. Local newspaper articles indicated that the Perkins Board of Education sold the former Union Corners school building in 1940. There was a ladies organization known as  Union Corners Club, formed on April 14, 1921. When the club celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, Viola Fritz Wonnell wrote a history of the organization, now preserved in the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.  The Union Corners Club was a social and literary club, which intended to promote good fellowship in the community. One of the earliest activities of the club was to join with the Erie County Federation of Women’s Clubs in protesting indecent dress of women and girls. The women asked proprietors of public dancing places to prohibit indecent dressing and suggestive dancing. The Union Corners Club, later shortened to U.C. Club,  raised money for victims of tuberculosis, for playground equipment for the local school, and refreshments served at  the U.S.O. during World War II. The group also had many social events, like card and theater parties. 

You can learn more about Union Corners by reading the neighborhood news columns in the Sandusky Register, now available on microfilm at the Sandusky Library Archives Center. St. John’s Lutheran Church records, including a hundred year history of the church are also on microfilm at the Library.
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Cedar Point Sign at the Foot of Columbus Avenue

May 9, 2015, 6:46 am
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Though we do not have the exact dates it was in use, the iconic Cedar Point sign at the foot of Columbus Avenue could be seen in downtown Sandusky from the 1930s through the 1960s, and possibly longer. (If anyone has the exact dates that this sign was in operation, please leave a message in the comments field.) At night the sign was brightly lit, and the colorful lights reminded you of Cedar Point’s bustling Midway rides. For decades you could ride a ferry from downtown Sandusky to Cedar Point, and the dock was just beyond the Cedar Point sign. For many years the large building at 103-105 W. Shoreline Drive served as the winter offices for the Cedar Point Resort Company. You can read several phrases on the sign in the picture below, taken about 1940 during a Grape Festival celebration.


Advertised were: bathing, hotels, dancing, amusements, and free attractions. In this picture from the 1950s, you can see cars from the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad which was still in operation in downtown Sandusky at the time.



The Cedar Point sign can be seen in this Colortone postcard printed by the Curt Teich Company in Chicago, Illinois. Two large passenger ferries can be seen near the pier.


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Mrs. Alice Jenkins, An Early Trustee of the Sandusky Library Association

May 12, 2015, 8:19 am
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Alice J. Johnson was the daughter of Leonard Beatty Johnson, a prominent business man who once owned Johnson’s Island. She was born in 1850 to Mr. Johnson and his wife, the former Permelia Nettleton. In 1868, Alice was a student at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. On December 28, 1875, Alice J. Johnson married Charles H. Jenkins. In 1880, U.S. Census records show that Alice and Charles Jenkins lived very close to Alice’s parents, on Columbus Avenue in Sandusky, Ohio. During the years of 1879 and 1880, Alice was a trustee of the Sandusky Library Association. This was before the construction of the Sandusky Library building on West Adams Street. Alice was part of a group of ladies who were interested in raising funds for the building of a public library in in the city. 

On January 24, 1881, Mrs. Alice Jenkins passed away at the age of 31. An obituary for Mrs. Jenkins appeared in the January 25, 1881 issue of the Sandusky Register. A transcription of the obituary reads:

Death of Mrs. Jenkins
It was with painful shock indeed that a large circle of friends yesterday learned of the death of Mrs. Alice J. Jenkins, wife of Mr. Chas. H. Jenkins, and elder daughter of one of the oldest and most respected families of our city. Mrs. Jenkins was seriously ill for several weeks. All that professional skill and the most careful nursing of a devoted family could do was done, but the time for the unseen messenger had come, and a lovely woman, beloved by family in the deepest affection of the human heart, and cherished by friends for an intelligence, grace and nobility of character whose impress was felt in all the broader circles of acquaintance, has been called to the other an better life, free from suffering and death. To a stricken family, the sympathy of many friends is extended.

Mrs. Alice Jenkins was buried in the Johnson family lot at Oakland Cemetery. 
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The Quinnebog Fishing Club

May 15, 2015, 6:00 am
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This vintage photograph from the Dr. Norbert Lange collection was taken shortly after the turn of the twentieth century. Several Sandusky residents were members of the Quinnebog Fishing Club. The group is standing in front of the clubhouse on Hen Island, which is located in the Canadian waters of Lake Erie, west of Pelee Island. A few individuals were identified in the picture:

1. Commodore Huntington
2. Frank Stang
3. Julius Wagner
4. Frank Kerber
5. Mr. Sinnerson
6. Dr. Beatty
7. Mr. Sanderson
8. John Hertlein
11.John Giedeman
12. Mr. Himmelein
14. Frank Stockdale

According to the Sandusky Register of May 15, 1903, ten members of the Quinnebog Fishing Club, and eight guests, went on a fishing party for three days, and they caught a total of 1068 bass.



The Quinnebog Fishing Club was founded in 1890 and is still active today.
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The Pelican Restaurant

May 18, 2015, 7:40 am
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Pictured above is the Pelican restaurant about 1928 in the 100 block of Columbus Avenue, next to the R.M. and C.B. Wilcox Company.  The Pelican Restaurant and Confectionery opened in March of 1928, with George Poulus and Michael Pappas as the proprietors. An article from the March 22, 1928 issue of the Sandusky Register stated that customers could purchase candy, or just a sandwich, or cold drinks, or a full dinner at the Pelican.  The soda fountain featured nickel fittings, and was located on the left side of the front section of the restaurant. The right front  window of the Pelican showcased the candies made by the confectionery. An ad in the Register lets everyone know that John C. Klee installed the plumbing for the Pelican.


In November of 1928, Michael Pappas became the sole proprietor of the Pelican. Here is a picture of the Pelican in 1931:


The Holzaepfel Brothers store and Rosino’s shoe store are just south of the Pelican, and to the north are the New Sandusky View restaurant, with dentist Dr. Edwin Butterworth upstairs; the Uthe and Hiltz drugstore; and the Interurban Office. Across the street, a group of youngsters were getting off the Lake Shore Electric railway car, and soon would head to the dock to catch the ferry to Kelleys Island. 

By 1941, Paul Mellio and Philip Pappas were the proprietors of the Pelican Restaurant.  On March 22, 1948, on the occasion of its twentieth anniversary, the Pelican was serving roast turkey dinners for sixty cents.



On Thanksgiving Day of 1954, Paul Mellio of the Pelican Restaurant saw to it that the prisoners at the city jail were served a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. The Pelican had the contract for daily coffee and sandwiches for the prisoners, but the dinner served at the jail on Thanksgiving was extra special. By 1960, Thomas Pappas was listed in the Sandusky city directory as the proprietor of the Pelican Restaurant. George Lenos  was listed as the proprietor of the Pelican in the 1966 and 1967  city directories By 1968, there was no longer a listing for the restaurant in Sandusky city directories.  Later  businesses which were at the location of the Pelican Restaurant, at 145 Columbus Avenue include a shoe store, a family bookstore, and most recently, the Crush Wine Bar. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the history of the people and businesses of Sandusky and Erie County.
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J.J. Hinde and J.J. Dauch, the Men behind the Hinde and Dauch Paper Company

May 21, 2015, 6:36 am
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Image of James J. Hinde courtesy of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, Fremont, Ohio
James J. Hinde was born in Huron Township, Ohio on March 31, 1855 to Mr. and Mrs. William J. Hinde, who were both natives of Ireland. Jacob J. Dauch was also born in Huron Township, on July 2, 1887, to Philip and Mary Dauch, who were of German descent. In the 1880 U.S. Census, both J.J. Hinde and J.J. Dauch were residing in Huron Township of Erie County, and they both listed their occupation as farmer. In 1888, Hinde and Dauch formed a partnership to harvest and bale straw to be used in paper making. One of their customers was the Sandusky Paper Mill, which made butcher wrapping paper from straw. The paper mill ran into financial difficulty, and after leasing it for a time, in 1892 Mr. Hinde and Mr. Dauch purchased the mill. The company eventually became known as the Hinde and Dauch PaperCompany.  In its early years, the business was not very profitable. After  developing corrugated paper, Hinde and Dauch Paper became a leading company in its field. 

An article in the March 2, 1986 issue of the Sandusky Register stated that J.J. Hinde was the inventor, and J.J. Dauch was the business man in the partnership. Below is a drawing from Patent Number 1,005,836, for a machine for making paper board, designed by James J. Hinde in 1910. The patent was issued on October 17, 1911.


 Eventually the Hinde and Dauch Company became the largest manufacturer of its kind in the United States. There were box factories in several cities of the U.S. and Canada, and paper mills as far west as Iowa. 

In 1910, J.J. Hinde left the Hinde and Dauch Company, in order to pursue other interests. Among his later business interests were the Sandusky Automobile Company, the Hinde Paper Company, and the Hinde Brick and Tile Company. Unfortunately none of these ventures proved to be successful.  Mr. Hinde died from pneumonia on February 22, 1931. In his obituary, found in the 1931 Obituary Notebook at the Sandusky Library, we learn that Henry Ford visited J.J. Hinde, where he showed Ford the first tractor that he had ever seen. Mr. Hinde was known as an ardent conversationalist, and he often spoke fondly of Ireland, the birthplace of his ancestors.

J.J. Dauch became the president of Hinde and Dauch after Mr. Hinde departed.  In the image below, J.J. Dauch with a group of Hinde and Dauch employees, who were all graduates of the Sandusky Business College; the photo was featured in a promotional booklet for the school. The picture was accompanied by a letter of endorsement for the college on stationery from another business Dauch owned, the Dauch Manufacturing Company.


Mr. Dauch had been a graduate of the college in 1876, when it was known as the Buckeye Business and Telegraph College. In 1881, he purchased the Sandusky Business College, but sold it in 1884. 

Sadly, Mr. Dauch died in an automobile accident on August 15, 1918, at the age of 61. His chauffeur, Harry Hicks, also died in the accident, and Dauch’s wife and daughter were injured. Another injured passenger in the car was J.W. Wellington, the president of the Matthews Engineering Company. 

An article by Tom Twitchell which highlighted the life and career of industrialist J.J. Dauch appeared in the March 2, 1986 issue of the Sandusky Register, available on microfilm at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.  In the article appeared a quote by local historian Gordon Wendt, about J.J. Dauch, “He was the wealthiest man in town, and the most important.”  

In 1953, Hinde and Dauch was acquired by Westvaco. For most of the 1980s, the company operated as Displayco Midwest, which was bought out by the Chesapeake Corporation in 1989. The factory closed in 1997. The former Hinde and Dauch building at 401 West Shoreline Drive is now home to Chesapeake Lofts. An article which provides the history of the development of Hinde and Dauch is available online. Tom Jackson wrote an excellent article for the Sandusky Register covers the Paper District in Sandusky.

Though J.J. Hinde and J.J. Dauch were associated with the Hinde and Dauch Paper Company for a relatively short time, their names live on in the history of Sandusky and the paper making industry. 
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Famed Circus Performer Clyde Beatty at the M. Hommel Wine Company

May 25, 2015, 11:34 am
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On May 26, 1937, Clyde and Harriet Beatty, along with several other individuals associated with the Cole Brothers Circus, visited the M. Hommel Wine Company and signed the guest book.


Clyde Beatty, a native Ohioan, was well known as a lion tamer and circus owner. Three special trains brought the Cole Brothers Circus to Sandusky on May 25, 1937, where a performance was given at the corner of Campbell and Pierce Streets.

Several guest registers from the M. Hommel Wine Company are now in the historical collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. The oldest guest register is from the M. Hommel Wine Company exhibit at the Pan American Exposition which was held in Buffalo, New York from June to October of 1901.  There was a guest register from the company’s display at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904 -1905. The M. Hommel Wine Company also kept guest registers at its facilities in Sandusky, one dating from 1898-1917, and another from 1917 to 1967. An article which appeared in the July 1, 1963 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that Buffalo Bill and former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt had also visited the M. Hommel Wine Company and signed the guest register.


Michael Hommel was born in France in 1844. He learned how to make wine in the French town of Epernay which is known for its fine champagne wines. He came to Sandusky in 1871, where he worked for Mr. W. H. Mills, a local winemaker. In 1878 Hommel established a winery and residence at the northeast corner of Clinton and Pearl Streets. Here is a picture of the M. Hommel Wine Company, at 1422 Clinton Street, taken in March of 1955:


It soon became a thriving business. The M. Hommel Winery specialized in naturally fermented champagnes derived from grapes grown in the Lake Erie Islands region. The Hommel wine cellars were carved out of limestone, and maintained a constant temperature of fifty degrees all year round. After Michael Hommel’s deathin 1903, his son William H. Hommel took over the business. The Hommel Wine Company acquired the Diamond Wine Company in 1906. This gift package was distributed by the Hommel Wine Company in the 1930s.



The M. Hommel Company stayed in the Hommel family until 1945, when it was sold to outside interests. In 1971 a fire destroyed the Clinton Street buildings that had once housed the M. Hommel Wine Company. An apartment complex is now located at the site of the former winery. An unopened bottle of extra dry American champagne, produced and bottled by the M. Hommel Wine Company, is displayed in the Industry Room of the Follett House Museum.



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1898 Sandusky High School Graduates

May 29, 2015, 12:32 pm
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Pictured above are all the female graduates from the Sandusky High School class of 1898, except Winifred Chapman, who was not present when the photograph was taken. Most likely the male graduates’ picture was taken as well, but to date we only have a picture of the women. Below is a photograph of several faculty members from the academic year 1897-1898. The only teacher that has positively been identified is E.L. Moseley, who is the man in the center. (His name was listed incorrectly in the program as E.J. Moseley.)


The commencement program provides a list of all the graduates and faculty members.


An article which appeared on the front page of the June 24, 1898 issue of the Sandusky Register covered the commencement exercises in detail. It read in part:

Amidst the glow and shimmer of electric lights that made the wide stage of the Nielsen Opera House a most beautiful picture, twenty-nine young men and women, of the very flower of Sandusky youth, sat last night in full view of an audience that filled the entire lower floor of the theater and were scattered throughout the balcony, who for personal interest or city pride regarded them with the liveliest interest. They sang together with rare sweetness. Twelve of their number presented essays and orations sparkling with bright, keen thought, and at the close of the evening exercise the class of ‘98 of the Sandusky High School was graduated and the commencement has passed into history of the city schools.

Edward Altstaetter gave an oration entitled “The Sun of Spain is Setting,” which referred to the conflict between Spain and the U.S. that was ongoing in 1898.  The commencement program gave a list of all the student presentations that were given during the ceremony.



Visit the Sandusky Library to see historic graduation programs, yearbooks from several area schools, and to learn more about the rich history of Sandusky and Erie County. 
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Manhattan Clothing Store

June 1, 2015, 6:46 am
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Around the turn of the twentieth century Samuel Kaplan and Henry Isaacs were the proprietors of the Manhattan Clothing Emporium at the northeast corner of Market and Jackson Streets in downtown Sandusky. An article in the July 31, 1901 issue of the Sandusky Star, stated that the store was having a red tag sale. Both the original price and the sale price were on the tag, so that shoppers could see exactly how much they would be saving if they purchased the item. The proprietors of the Manhattan, which sold apparel for men and boys, brought out new stock every time the seasons changed. 

This baseball team was sponsored by the Manhattan store in the 1910s. They were known as the Manhattans, of course.



Here is an ad for the Manhattan store which appeared in the September 15, 1916 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal.


Samuel Kaplan was born in Lithuania and emigrated to the U.S. as a young man. He had no formal education, but he taught  himself how to read, and write, to speak English, and became familiar with American business practices. After Henry Isaacs retired in 1930, Kaplan ran the Manhattan Clothing Store on his own until his death in 1937, when the store was run by Alston V. Erckman and Leonard Sauer. You can see the sign for the Manhattan store in the picture below, taken during the Northwest Territory Celebration in April of 1938.


In 1953, Mr. Sauer retired and Alston V. Erckman became the sole proprietor of the Manhattan Clothing Store. Mr. Erckman was honored in 1955 for his fifty years of service with the Manhattan store. He had started as an errand boy around 1905. Eventually he learned all aspects of the business and became president of the company. After Mr. Erckman’s death in 1962, Ray Barman and Bud Dodge bought the business. Ray Barman became the sole owner in 1976. 

By 1983 the Manhattan store ceased operations in Sandusky, though it kept a branch store in Tiffin for a time. Below is a picture of the Manhattan store taken shortly after its going out of business sale.  The Manhattan was located at 238 Columbus Avenue in Sandusky during its last twenty years of operation.

      

The Manhattan store served men and boys in the Sandusky area for over 80 years. Do you have any memories of shopping at the Manhattan?
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Holzaepfel Kodaks Baseball Team

June 4, 2015, 7:31 am
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In the 1910s, the Holzaepfel store sponsored a baseball team known as the Kodaks. When you look closely at the players, the name Kodaks is printed on the center of their uniform tops, and the large H on their uniform stands for Holzaepfel.


In another team picture of the Holzaepfel Kodaks, the name of the teams appears in cursive writing on the players’ uniforms.



 The Holzaepfel Brothers store was an official processor of pictures taken with Kodak film.


From 1908 through the 1950s, the Holzaepfel Brothers store was at 157 Columbus Avenue. In the early years, the store was listed as a business that sold novelties, but by the 1920s the store was known for selling sporting goods, and of course for processing Kodak film. Though you cannot read the name Holzaepfel Brothers, the business was in the building where the words Sporting Goods appear, on the west side of Columbus Avenue in this picture taken in 1955.


From the 1960s through the 1980s, the Holzaepfel Brothers store was at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Market Street. Many area athletes bought their letter sweaters at the Holzaepfel Brothers store.



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Aerial View of Dutch Lane and Cove

June 7, 2015, 10:52 am
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Photographer and pilot Thomas Root took this aerial view of Dutch Lane and the surrounding area on June 7, 1959.  You can still see the railroad bridge in the upper right hand portion of the photo. The 1896 Erie County Atlas also shows the bridge on the map, as they lead to the B and O Railroad docks on Sandusky’s waterfront. The same tracks and bridge were in use by a number of different railways leading into downtown Sandusky since 1853, and remained in use until the late 1970s or early 1980s.



Click hereto see this area as it appears on Google maps. The Sandusky Library Archives Research Center’s Tom Root Aerial Photograph Collection features several area photographs taken by Tom Root between 1949 and 2000.
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