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Hand Colored Postcards from George F. Windisch and Company

April 6, 2016, 6:00 am
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Several hand-colored postcards created by George F. Windisch and Company are housed in the collection of historical photographs at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. The postcard above features a view of the Cedar Point pier at the foot of Columbus Avenue in the first quarter of the twentieth century. George F. Windisch was a lifelong Sandusky resident, born in 1864 to parents of German descent. From 1903 to 1917, he, along with Carl F. Denzer, operated a business in the Stone’s Block on Sandusky’s Columbus Avenue.   The view in the postcard below faces north from Columbus Avenue.


Many of these postcards are scenes from Cedar Point, the popular resort which still attracts visitors to the Sandusky area every summer and fall.
 

In 1919, George F. Windisch sold his interests in the store to his partner C.F. Denzer, who continued on as the sole proprietor.



After leaving the bookstore and stationery business, Windisch worked for the Herb and Myers department store. Mr. Windisch died in September, 1953 at the age of 89. An obituary appeared in the September 24, 1953 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News.
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Books to Help the Sandusky Homemaker in the 19th Century

April 9, 2016, 6:00 am
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In 1874, Mrs. Oran Follett, the former Eliza Gill, wrote a book entitled The Young Housekeeper’s Assistant, published by the press of the Register Steam Printing Company. Mrs. Follett wrote in the introduction to the book, that the book was written from the perspective of an experienced housekeeper, who had “endeavored with patience and economy to minister to the wants of a family.” All recipes were intended to be practical, and had been tested by Mrs. Follett or by other experienced housekeepers. A recipe for graham flour gems is found on page nine:


Instructions on how to pickle tongues is included in the meat section:


       
Tips on house cleaning, laundry, and mending were included The Young Housekeeper’s Assistant, as well as information on how to care for the sick. Several recipes for cough syrup are found on page 134.  

Another book for Sandusky homemakers was published in 1888 by I.F. Mack, the publisher and editor of the Sandusky Register. The book, The Sandusky House-Keeper, was created as a fund raising project of the Ladies’ Library Association of Sandusky. Housekeepers from Sandusky and beyond contributed to the cookbook, including Mrs. Follett, the author of the Young Housekeeper’s Assistant. Salad dressings and a recipe for “cold slaw” are found on pages 162-163.


At the top of page 159, in the section of the book which featured recipes for salads and pickles, is a funny quotation by Douglas Jerrold: “My dear Mr. Pepper, how glad you must be to see all your friends mustered.” Well known banker Jay Cooke contributed to the chapter that includes additional recipes. He gave instructions on how to fry trout, a skill he probably used quite often.



In the back of The Sandusky House-Keeper is a section of lined blank pages, where the owner of each book could jot down additional recipes. As in TheYoung Housekeeper’s Assistant, there were several pages devoted to housekeeping tips and caring for the sick. These two books show us the types of meals that may have been prepared by our ancestors, and provide an indication of the way housekeepers handled daily chores in a bygone era. Both The Sandusky House-keeper and The Young Housekeeper’s Assistant were included in a bibliography entitled Preserving the History of United States Agriculture and Rural Life: State and Local Literature, 1820-1945,compiled by The Ohio State University in 2004.
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Agriculture Has Played a Key Role in the History and Development of Erie County

April 12, 2016, 7:00 am
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Before the 1800s, nearly all Ohioans earned their living through agriculture. Even as industrialization expanded in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, agriculture remained and continues to play an important role in our economy. A 2012 Census of Agriculture indicated that there were over 300 farms in Erie County, Ohio, with over 83,000 acres of farm land in the county. The market value of agricultural products sold was worth more than $88,000,000 dollars. The top crops in Erie County were listed as soybeans and corn. 

Several items in the Sandusky Library Archives Research and Sandusky Library reflect the importance of agriculture to our area. This is a ribbon from the Erie County Fair held in 1856:

             
The 1874 and 1896 historical Erie County atlases show the locations and property owners of the farms in rural Erie County. In the holdings of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center are several ribbons and premium booklets from past Erie County Fairs, primarily from the nineteenth century. 

Man local citizens have been recognized over the years for their agricultural skills and innovations. Erie County resident Wells W. Miller served as Ohio’s ninth Secretary of Agriculture, from 1894 to 1906. The medal below was presented to Charles J. Messer for his corn sheller at the 1858 Ohio State Fair, which was held in Sandusky. Mr. Messer’s threshing factory was located at the corner of Water and Warren Streets. An early annual report the Ohio State Board of Agriculture reported that Messer’s power corn sheller had no superior.



The Hero Reaper was manufactured by the Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works in the 1880s.


The well-known Hoover Potato Digger was made at the same time in Avery, just a short distance south of Sandusky. Using the wealth derived from the invention, the Hoover family became prominent investors in the Lakeside Chautauqua community in Ottawa County. 

In 1911 the National Corn Exposition was held in Columbus, Ohio from January 30 to February 11.  Milton Earle donated this ribbon from the Corn Exposition to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.


The National Corn Exposition of 1911featured exhibits from thirty five states. Scientific displays were exhibited by over twenty agricultural colleges and agricultural experimental stations. The National Corn Banquet was held on February 3, 1911, and President Taft spoke at the Exposition on February 10. 

If you would like to learn more about the history of agriculture in Ohio, there are many books available for loan through the ClevNet system on the topic of farms in Ohio.
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Bamberger’s Hat Shop

April 15, 2016, 6:00 am
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Jacob Bamberger opened his hat shop, The Avenue Store, in Sandusky in 1914 at 162 Columbus Avenue.  The Avenue Store had a big hat sale to celebrate its fifth anniversary in 1919.


You can see a portion of Bamberger's  Avenue Store in the picture below, taken in 1925. Eventually the name of the store became simply, Bamberger’s.

             
Jacob Bamberger was born in Germany in 1888, and he came to the United States in 1909. He and Alice Dreifuss were married in 1921. While on their honeymoon in Washington D.C., Mr. and Mrs. Bamberger were the guests of Congressman James T. Begg.  In 1934, the Bamberger store moved to West Market Street in the Hotel Rieger building. In the 1947 Twin Anniversary Edition of the Sandusky Register Star News, Mr. and Mrs. Bamberger  ran this advertisement.


Mrs. Alice Bamberger passed away in 1963. Jacob Bamberger operated the hat shop until the late 1960s. He died on February 22, 1972. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bamberger were members of the Oheb Shalom Temple, and were buried in the Jewish Cemetery on South Columbus Avenue. This lovely hat, once worn as an Easter bonnet, is now in the collections of the Follett House Museum. The hat was purchased at Bamberger’s store in the 1950s or 1960s.



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Who Was Grandpa Corell?

April 18, 2016, 6:47 am
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This nineteenth century cabinet card is housed in the Arts Collection of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. It pictures men in a three-piece string band. The only individual who has been identified is “Grandpa Corell” on guitar, in the center of the group. On the back of the card is the name of the photographer, C.A. Cross.


Notes with the original item indicate that the  picture was taken sometime between 1885 and 1900. To determine the identity of Grandpa Corell, we consulted print sources  in our collection, as well as online genealogical databases. The book Sandusky Then and Now indicates that Christoph. Correll, who was born in Odenbach, Bavaria, Germany in May of 1819, and moved to the Sandusky area about 1849. Christopher Correll (often spelled Corell) married Catherine Christopher. In the 1870 U.S. Census, there are several children listed to Christopher and Catherine Corell, including sons named Charles, William and Ira Corell.


It turns out that Charles Corell died relatively young, and William Corell moved to Michigan. The 1890 Sandusky City Directory listed Christopher Corell, a carpenter; and Ira J. Corell, a plane maker.



By doing some quick math, in 1890 Christopher Corell would have been about 71 years old, and Ira J. Corell would have been 31 years of age. Since the guitar player looks to be a young man, the logical conclusion is that “Grandpa Corell” is very likely named Ira J. Corell. After doing a search for Corell  in our PastPerfect Database, other Corell family items which were donated appear to have come from the Ira Corell family, giving further evidence that this cabinet card most likely came from the Ira Corell family as well. If you have family photographs, be sure to the label people in your pictures, for the benefit of future generations who may have an interest in family history.
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Sandusky Service Stations

April 21, 2016, 7:00 am
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Bob’s Marathon Station and Bill’s Sohio Station were just two of the over forty local service stations listed in the 1960 Sandusky City Directory. Bob’s Marathon was operated by Robert W. Kowalk in 1960. The station was conveniently located kitty corner to Jean’s Diner.

         
Local residents would pass by Bob’s Marathon on their way to the Sandusky Plaza, which opened in 1956. Not far away from Bob’s Marathon Station, Bill’s Sohio Service Station was in business at 537 Huron Avenue at East Madison Street; William H. Herhold, a resident of Huron, was the proprietor.


An article in the July 18, 1961 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that Bill’s Sohio Station, which had recently been renovated, was among Standard Oil’s Most Modern Stations. The station had three gasoline pumps. When customers had their gas pumped, the employees of Bill’s Sohio Station would also clean the customer’s windshield and check the oil, water and battery. Other services included tune-ups, wheel balancing, and the installation of mufflers, tires, spark plugs and batteries. Top Value stamps were given away with every purchase at Bill’s Sohio. Of course today the gas stations formerly operated by the Standard Oil Company are now owned by British Petroleum, and most gas pumps are self-service.
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Cask Villa in Vermilion

April 25, 2016, 6:00 am
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During the 1920s, William J. O’Neill purchased over twenty wine casks from a wine wholesaler in Ohio. The casks were made from solid oak, and measured nine feet in length and twelve feet in diameter. Mr. O’Neill hired carpenters to put windows and a door in each wine cask, and to level the bottoms. Foundations were placed under each large barrel, and each was equipped with electricity, a stove and even a bathtub. The casks were painted, and a screened in porch attached to the front of the structures. Soon the “Cask Camp” served as a place for vacationing motorists to stop and spend the night along the old lake road between Vermilion and Sandusky.  Eventually the unique group of cottages became known as “Cask Villa.”


The picture above is from the Karl Kurtz Estate. On the back of the picture is the “Ohio’s Lake Erie Vacationland” stamp, once a familiar sight to most local residents.



An article in the April 26, 1951 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News stated that cottages at Cask Villa could be rented for $25 to $35 a week. These cottages were available for rent up to the 1960s. By 1978 the Cask Villa Condominiums had been built on a site near the former Cask Villa cottages. 
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Cartes de Visite of Tom Thumb and Company

April 28, 2016, 6:00 am
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Mrs. Inez Koch donated several cartes de visite of Tom Thumb, his wife, and others who appeared with him in the 1800s, to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.  The picture above was originally sold by John W. Pittock of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

Tom Thumb’s real name was Charles Sherwood Stratton. He was born to normal size parents, but as a youngster he stopped growing. In 1842, under the management of the famous theatrical promoter P.T. Barnum (a distant relative), he began a show business career as “Tom Thumb.” In 1863 Charles Sherwood Stratton married Lavinia Warren, who was also of short stature; the wedding was a major news story of the time. On their wedding trip, the couple met President Lincoln.


Between 1869 and 1872 George Washington Morrison Nutt, known as “Commodore Nutt” toured the world with Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb and Minnie Warren, the sister of “Mrs. Tom Thumb.”



Hewson Peeke wrote in his book A Standard History of Erie County that General Tom Thumb appeared at Norman Hall in Sandusky on April 27, 1869. When the General and his “troop of little folks” appeared in Cleveland in May of 1868, the Plain Dealerreported that Commodore Nutt was “the life of the whole party.” The article continued, “There is more fun and mischief in his little body than is usually allotted to a whole family.”  Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb and Commodore Nutt and Minnie Warren achieved fame and financial success in their interesting career. 

You can read the full-text of the book General Tom Thumb’s Three Years’ Tour around the World at the Internet Archive.
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When Home Economics Classes Were Held at the Follett House

May 1, 2016, 5:00 am
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From the 1940s through the mid-1950s, Sandusky High School Home Economics classes were held at the Follett House. Janet Judson wrote this introduction to the April, 1939 issue of the Fram:

“For Gracious Living”
In illustrations and in text The Fram wishes to call attention with this number to another milestone in the history of our school. As keeper of the archives we are glad to present herewith a brief history of the Follett House. The purchase of this house by the Sandusky Board of Education may be regarded as the crowning achievement of Mr. F. J. Prout, as Superintendent of our public schools, before leaving us to assume his duties as President of Bowling Green University. The Follett House will offer the opportunity to all of us for practical experience in homemaking and broader social contacts. With our academic and industrial studies we shall now have a well rounded preparation for this important matter of living. We are very happy that this hospitable home has once again become a center of fellowship and gracious living.
The April, 1939 Fram featured an article entitled “The Throng in the House,” by Lois Zank and Florence Thayer. The students reported in their article that the Follett House had been purchased by the Sandusky Board of Education on March 1, 1939. While the most recent residents of the home had been members of the Krupp family, the builder of the house was Oran Follett.


The home was constructed of stone in the 1830s. The authors of the article which appeared in the Fram stated that the Follett House had “an air of mysterious interest” with its ivied walls, high steps, and deep-set windows. Mr. Follett’s library once had books that lined the walls all the way to the ceiling. Mrs. Follett was known as “the original hostess.” It seemed most appropriate that the home again will be used as a social center for the Home Economics students.  Today the Follett House is a museum that is open to the public from April through December. Admission is free, and visitors are invited to tour the home which features hundreds of historical artifacts from Sandusky and Erie County. 

Visit the Sandusky Library Research Center to view the April, 1939 issue of the Fram,to read this article in its entirety. Pictured below are students of Home Economics sitting around a fireplace at the Follett House.

               
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Randall E. Schuck, Lumber Merchant and Banker

May 4, 2016, 6:00 am
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Randall E. Schuck, often known as R.E. Schuck, was born in Sandusky in 1843 to John and Louisa (Knerr) Shuck, who were natives of Germany. In 1863, he became the junior member of the lumber business Gilcher and Schuck.  In the picture below, you can read the name of the business on the building that once stood at the corner of Water and Jackson, which for a time had been the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad’s passenger depot.

         
For several years, Mr. Schuck served as president of the Third National Exchange Bank in Sandusky. He was married twice. His first wife, the former Rebecca Neil, died very young in 1869. She left behind a young son, John E. Schuck. In 1883, Mr. Schuck married Marie Landgraf. Mrs. Marie Schuck was on the Board of Trustees of the Sandusky Library from 1885 until 1910.

     
Randall E. Schuck was the namesake of the steamer R.E. Schuck, which was built at the Lorain plant of the American Shipbuilding Company in 1903, for the Gilchrist Transportation Company.



After having been ill for more than a year, Mr. Shuck died at his home in Sandusky on March 17, 1910. An article in the March 18, 1910 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that he had never been himself, after his only child John died in 1908. Funeral services were held at the family residence at 924 Washington Street. The offices Third National Exchange Bank and the Hinde and Dauch Company, in which R.E. Schuck had been a stock holder, were closed while the funeral took place. Burial was in the family lot at Oakland Cemetery. Sadly, Mrs. Marie Schuck passed away shortly after, in the fall of 1910. 

You can read much more about the background of the Schuck family in Sandusky Then and Now.   
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Pictures of Mothers from the Archives

May 7, 2016, 1:00 pm
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As we think about our mothers this weekend, here is a selection of images of mothers from the historical photograph collection of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Below is a picture of Helen Wagner Frohman, the mother of local historian Charles E. Frohman, taken in the late nineteenth century.

        
Anna Hauser Lange was the mother of Dr. Norbert Lange, long time chemistry professor and one of the benefactors of the Lange Trust. The photograph was taken by the Lloyd Studio in Sandusky.

     

Pictured below is a portrait of Mary Ellen Johnston and her three children, about 1898. She was a librarian and educator, a graduate of Oberlin College and Kent State University.

          
 This charming vintage photo of a mother and toddler seated on a porch is a photographic print made from a glass negative. Unfortunately, the individuals have not been identified.    

       
Below is a photograph of Mrs. Louise Kuemmel at a work table in the former film department of the Sandusky Library. At one time the library had a collection of 16mm films. When patrons returned the films, Mrs. Kuemmel cleaned the film, so it would be ready for the next patron. The 16mm circulating film collection was popular with local teachers.



Mrs. Kuemmel’s daughter and granddaughter both had long careers in the Library field, following in her footsteps. The former film department was located in what now is the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.
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Treasurer’s Book of the German American Brothers of Sandusky, Ohio

May 10, 2016, 6:00 am
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Donated by a member of the Armbruster family, the Treasurer’s Book from the German American Brothers of Sandusky, Ohio covers the years 1927 to 1942. (Due to the ongoing war in Europe, the organization stopped meeting in 1942.) The book contains a yearly listing of the names of members, as well as the amounts of dues that they paid. The original organization was known as the Plattdeutsch Verein, sometimes spelled Platduetscher Vereen.


The German American Brothers of Sandusky, Ohio was a group of men that were all from the Low German speaking area of Germany and neighboring countries. Frequently they had celebrations of dancing and drinking, which were sometimes held in the upper level of the I.O.O.F. (Odd Fellows) building in Sandusky. In the membership listing seen below are the names of Adolph and Martin Brodersen,who operated a grocery store at 1506 McDonough Street in the 1920s and 1930s.


The obituary of Carl Gast, whose name is also on the page above, stated that he had been a member of the German and American Brothers of Sandusky, Ohio. He also had been a member of Zion Lutheran Church, which had many members of German descent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. You can see the name of Richard Lorenz on page 7 of the treasurer’s book, pictured below.



Eventually Richard changed his name to the Americanized version of his surname, Lawrence. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to browse through the Treasurer’s Book of the German American Brothers of Sandusky, Ohio. 
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Weldon B. Cooke, Aviation Pioneer

May 13, 2016, 6:00 am
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Weldon B. Cooke was born in California in 1884. After attending the College of Engineering at the University of California, he became interested in the automobile. He worked for a livery service in San Francisco, and eventually he became a race car driver. In 1911 amateur aviation enthusiasts L.B. Maupin and Bernard Lanteri hired Cooke to fly the airplane that they had built. He made numerous flights in California during the years 1911 and 1912 in the plane, known as the Black Diamond, and won a $7,000 prize for flight endurance  at the Los Angeles International Air Meet held at Dominguez Field in January of 1912.  In the picture below, L.B. Maupin is the fourth man on the right, and he is standing beside W.B. Cooke.



Charles E. Frohman wrote in his book Sandusky’s Yesterdays (Ohio Historical Society, 1968), that at the end of 1912, Cooke moved to Sandusky so he could build planes. Soon he formed the Weldon B. Cooke Aeroplane Company, along with E.W. Roberts, Frank Frey, James Flynn, Sr. and James Flynn, Jr. The company used space within the Roberts Motor Company. Cooke wrote a testimonial which praised the Roberts Motor Company, in a 1912 issue of the journal Aero and Hydro.



Cooke was especially interested in building hydroplanes. Perhaps his best known hydroplane was the Irene. Weldon Cooke is seen below in front of the ship Irene which was being converted into a hydroplane. The hull had been constructed at the Davis Boat Works in Sandusky.



Ernst Niebergall took this picture of Weldon Cooke and his hydroplane in Sandusky Bay.




Unfortunately the Irene was not successful. Cooke left Sandusky in 1914, and he died in a plane crash in Pueblo, Colorado on September 6, 1914. 

You can read more about the Black Diamond, the plane flown by Cooke in 1911 and 1912, at the website of the Hiller Aviation Museum, where it is now on display. Several photographs of Weldon B. Cooke are housed at Lake Erie’s Yesterdays. (Search for Weldon Cooke in the search box at the bottom of the page.) Several early Ohio aviators, including Weldon B. Cooke,  are honored on this historic marker at Sandusky’s Battery Park.


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Eagles Carnivals in Sandusky

May 16, 2016, 6:00 am
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Milton Earle donated this souvenir badge from the Eagles Carnival Sandusky. The letters F.O.E. on the badge stands for the phrase Fraternal Order of Eagles. In 1911 the Eagles Carnival was held at Central Park, where entertainment included a high diver and a balloonist. Festivities took place from May 15 to May 20.  The Sandusky Register of May 17, 1911 described the Tuesday night’s festivities:

Yesterday’s balloon ascension was much better than Monday’s. The professor had soared high into the air when three shots, the signal for him to come down, were fired by a policeman on the grounds. The reports of the revolver reaching his ears, the professor cut loose his trio of parachutes one after another, and was soon on terra firma, uninjured, somewhere over near Campbell Street and Columbus Avenue.

In 1917 the Eagles Carnival was held from July 16 to 21 1917 at the Jackson Street Pier.


The Eagles Carnival in 1917 opened with a grand parade, and concluded with a fireworks show. Three hundred people from the DeVaux Greater Shows came to Sandusky on a special train to provide entertainment. The Sandusky Registerfeatured  several front page articles about the Eagles when the Mardi Gras themed carnival was held in February of 1929.


The Eagles Carnival of 1929 was said to be “the greatest Lodge event ever staged.” Several cash prizes were to be awarded in a big contest, as well as free subscriptions to the Register. The grand prize was a Chrysler Plymouth sedan, selected from the Stroh Motor Company on Wayne Street.


To enter the contest, area residents had to take the February 10 issue of the Sandusky Register to the businesses whose ads appeared in that issue, and have the staff sign the advertisement. Papers with the completed signatures were then to be turned in to Mr. Oliver at the Bazar. Prizes were awarded to the first thirteen entries received. Below are just a few of the ads which appeared in the “Eagles Scream” edition of the Sandusky Register.


 The “Eagles Scream” edition of the Sandusky Register contained several articles which pointed out the activities of the local Eagles Lodge, including their aid to victims of floods and fires, and advocating for the enactment of an old age pension fund. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to read about the past Eagles Carnivals. Several decades of copies of local newspapers are available on microfilm. 
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Willdred Apartments

May 19, 2016, 6:00 am
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The Willdred Apartments were constructed in 1906-1907, in the classical revival style of architecture. The Willdred Apartment building can be seen below in a Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, on Columbus Avenue, between Scott and Finch Streets.


The front steps lead up to an entrance porch. On either side of the porch are two columns which support balconies on the upper two levels of the building. Several sets of triple windows on three sides of the Willdred Apartments allow for plenty of natural light.




H. Roger Grant wrote in his book Getting Around: Exploring Transportation History (Krieger Pub. Co., 2003), that the three story apartment building was conveniently located near the lines of the Lake Shore Electric Railway. Anyone who resided at the Willdred could travel in and out of Sandusky easily on the interurban. An advertisement in the May 12, 1928 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal listed the rent at the Willdred at $25.00 per month. This included five rooms and a bathroom, which was “modern with furnace.”  Local newspapers frequently mentioned the Willdred Apartments, sometimes known as the Willdred Flats, in the society pages. In January of 1908, the Art Study Club held its first meeting of the year at the apartment of Mrs. E.W. Altstaetter in the Willdred. In 1920, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs Jay Cohn held a Japanese lawn party at the Willdred. Japanese lanterns decorated the lawn as several young people enjoyed the latest dance steps. On March 11, 1993, the Willdred Apartment building was named to the National Register of Historic Places. 
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Commercial Building at the Northeast Corner of Jackson and West Water Streets

May 22, 2016, 6:00 am
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The three story brick building at the northeast corner of Jackson and West Water Streets in downtown Sandusky was built about 1870, and has been a key commercial property in Sandusky for more than a century. For several years, Freeland T. Barney and Benjamin F. Ferris operated a hardware store at this location.


After Mr. Barney died in 1875, his widow, Mary Barney took over the business, with the help of a bookkeeper named Pierre VanAlstyne. Mr. VanAlstyne took over the business after the death of Mrs. Barney in 1881. 

The building underwent a major renovation in 1892, including the addition of a Romanesque Revival facade. Arches adorn the windows of upper levels of the building, and decorative brackets trim the upper most portion of the building.  The hardware store that had started as Barney and Ferris eventually became the Donahue Hardware Store. Below is a picture of the Donahue Hardware Store about 1900. In the early twentieth century, the Donahue Hardware Store occupied 735-737-739 Water Street. 


By 1915, the Donahues had moved the hardware store to Market Street, and Schnaitter and Bechberger Plumbing and Heating took over the location of the former Donahue Hardware, which was now known as 231-233 West Water Street.  Bender & Woodward Wholesale Grocers had temporary quarters at 225-229 West Water Street at that time.  In 1932, the Elks Hall was on the upper floor of 231 West Water Street. Later businesses in the large block from 225-233 West Water Street were Hessler Plumbing and Heating, Trophy Specialists, the Yankee Clipper barber shop, an art gallery and the Sandusky Athletic Club. To learn the exact years and names of businesses at this location in downtown Sandusky, see the historical Sandusky City Directories housed in the lower level of the Sandusky Library. 

The large 20 Mule Team Borax advertisement below was painted on the former Barney & Ferris building at the time of the 1913 Perry Centennial Celebration in Sandusky.


The side of the building which faces to the east is likely where the old Borax ad was painted.


More details about the businesses that have been located on West Water Street are found in an article by Helen Hansen and Virginia Steinemann in the January 19, 1992 issue of the Sandusky Register, now available on microfilm at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.
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MacArthur Park and Fairlawn Court

May 25, 2016, 6:00 am
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In the collections of historical pictures from Sandusky and Erie County housed at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center are three photographs from MacArthur Park and Fairlawn Court, which began as federal housing projects during World War II.  The pictures were taken in 1955. The license plate of the car pictured above began with the letters YC. (Many local residents of a certain age will recall the popular YC and YE letter combinations used for autombile license plates in the 1950s and 1960s.) 

As World War II approached, the U.S. Government purchased land in Perkins Township for the construction of a munitions factory. The Trojan Powder Company operated at the Plum Brook Ordnance Works throughout the war, and provided jobs for hundreds of individuals. Sandusky faced a housing shortage as workers poured in to Erie County to supply manpower for the defense industry. MacArthur Park, located at the former site of the Erie County fairgrounds, at Camp Street and Perkins Avenue, was built to help curb the housing shortage. A local contest was held to select a name for the housing development, with Mrs. Bernice Jameson selected for her entry:“General Douglas MacArthur is the hero of the hour, and it seems appropriate to name a defense housing development in his honor as his name and accomplishments will be tomorrow’s history.” 

The Sandusky Register  featured two pages to celebrate the dedication of MacArthur Park on November 11, 1943.


The Trojan Powder Company ran this advertisement, which praised the community as well as the defense workers.


The Rev. J.A. Griffith gave the invocation at the dedication.  Public Housing officials gave remarks, as did Mayor George A. Apel. Musical selections were provided by Sandusky High School.


In 1943 another federal housing project, Fairlawn Court, was built to provide housing for African American residents of the south end of the city of Sandusky.  


Fairlawn Court had 104 family units on Buchanan Street between Carr and Shelby Streets. The development was listed as Fairlawn Park Apartments on this 1955 Sanborn Map.



Many Sandusky couples and families had their first home in MacArthur Park or Fairlawn Court, and then moved to larger accommodations as their families grew, or their economic circumstances changed. 
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Books by Hudson and Emma Tuttle

May 28, 2016, 6:00 am
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This small paperback book from the Lyceum Series was written in 1874 by Hudson and Emma Tuttle, who lived on a farm in Berlin Heights. Hudson Tuttle and his wife, the former Emma Rood, were authors who were also very active in Spiritualism. In the story “How an Acorn Becomes an Oak,” the Tuttles point out that from one small acorn, a huge tree eventually grows, and it not only withstands the winds of storms, but it provides food and shelter to birds and small animals. In “The Beautiful Lady” a young girl learns how a caterpillar transforms into a lovely butterfly. A review of the book which appeared in The Lyceum Stage stated that the book was “an elegant little volume to put into the hands of the young.” The book was nonsectarian, and sold for twenty five cents. 

An engraving of Mr. and Mrs. Tuttle is found on page 487 of The History of the Fire Lands, by W. W. Williams (Leader Printing Co., 1879.)


Several books by Hudson Tuttle are available full-text online at the Internet Archive. In 1907, the Tuttles published A Golden Sheaf, which was a souvenir of their golden wedding anniversary.



Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view the book written by Hudson and Emma Rood Tuttle. Hewson L. Peeke provides biographical information about Mr. and Mrs. Hudson Tuttle on pages 1048-1051 in his book A Standard History of Erie County, Ohio.

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Memorial Day 1911 with the Boy Scouts

May 30, 2016, 9:00 am
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This postcard from the 1911 Memorial Day parade in Sandusky was sent from Lea Marsh to R. Edward Goodwin shortly after the Memorial Day holiday. Sandusky area Boy Scouts are marching in a group near railway tracks.


The message on the post card reads:

Sandusky Boy Scouts, Memorial Day. About 85 boys in line. First time we have had them together for tramp. About 75% of them turned out. Lea


The Boy Scouts in Sandusky were busy that season. On June 17, 1911, the Boy Scouts, newspaper carriers, and Children of the Republic were in a Flag Day parade in Sandusky. Though the day of the parade took place during a downpour of rain, the public praised the participants of the parade.
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Early Transportation in Sandusky had Horse Power

June 2, 2016, 6:00 am
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In the 1820s  mail was delivered to Sandusky by the mail stage. Passengers, as well as the U.S. mail, were transported from Sandusky to Norwalk, Mansfield, Mount Vernon and on to Columbus and then back again. Of course, since Ohio was known as the Gateway State, many families traveled by horse and covered wagons through Ohio as they made their way to the west. People who traveled to Sandusky could board a steamer to several different port cities along the Great Lakes. 

Pioneer Sandusky residents recognized the importance of railroad transportation, and showed interest in railway lines being developed in Sandusky as early as 1826. Ground was broken for the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad in 1835; it began running from Sandusky to Bellevue in 1838, with trains pulled by the Sandusky Locomotive, the first locomotive with a steam whistle. Rail transportation made it easier for people to travel longer distances, and enabled the shipping of products, which in turn boosted local economies. 


In 1882 the first intra-city transportation route was begun by Charles and William H. Gilcher. It was known as the "herdic lines." Horse drawn passenger vehicles took people along three different local routes. The first route operated from the West House downtown to the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway depot on the south side of town. The second route traveled from the West House to Oakland Cemetery. The third route was an east-west route from the city’s waterworks to Tiffin and Mills Streets. The Sandusky Railway was  the first street railway in Sandusky. It was begun in 1883 by L.D. Alcott, and featured fourteen-passenger side-seat cars that were pulled by two-horse teams. The route was double tracked, and went from the West House to the depot on North Depot Street, and back to the West House. You can see several people gathered around Sandusky’s first streetcar in the picture below, taken in 1883 by W.A. Bishop.


    
J.O. Moss purchased the Sandusky Railway in 1885, and organized more lines across the city.  An article in the November 27, 1947 Twin Anniversary Edition of the Sandusky Register Star News,  reported that the first electric streetcar operated in Sandusky in 1889 from Scott Street to the Soldiers’ Home, and linked with a spur track from Hayes Avenue. The Peoples Electric Railway Line was built in 1890, with financial support mainly from Sandusky residents. The charter of the Sandusky, Milan and Huron Electric Railway, later the Sandusky, Milan and Norwalk Electric Railway, was applied for in 1892. The line began operating in May of 1893 and connected with the local Sandusky lines.


Eventually all the local streetcar lines were absorbed by the Lake Shore Electric Railway, which was replaced by bus service in the late 1930s. 

As automobiles became more popular, more area residents began to drive their own vehicles instead of relying on public transportation.


However, public transportation is once again available to Sandusky residents as well as visitors to the area aboard the Sandusky Transit System, which operates three lines in the immediate Sandusky area. Sandusky’s Amtrak station operates out of the depot originally built for the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad. Several area boat lines also provide service to Cedar Point and the Lake Erie Islands. You can read more about the history of transportation in Sandusky, Ohio in the book Sandusky’s Yesterdays, by Charles E. Frohman.
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