Early Telephone Service in Sandusky

An article by Harvey Butler from the Twin Anniversary Edition of the Sandusky Register and Star News, from November 24, 1947 reported that in 1884, there were more than four hundred telephones in operation in Sandusky, Ohio. Four operators worked to handle all the connections from those phones. From the early part of the twentieth century until about 1922, there were two telephone companies in Sandusky. The Central Union Telephone was located on Washington Row, and the Sandusky Telephone Company was on the fourth floor of the Kingsbury Block (Columbus Avenue and Washington Row). There were two exchanges at that time. Central Union Telephone customers used the Bell exchange, and the Sandusky Telephone Company used the Harrison Exchange. Dr. Henry Graefe’s listing in the 1919 Sandusky City Directory had two phone numbers, so that customers from either company could contact his office. His phone numbers were: Bell Main 75 and Harrison 57.  About 1921, the Central Union Telephone Company changed its name to the Ohio Bell Telephone Company. By 1923, there was only one telephone company in Sandusky, the Ohio Bell Telephone Company. These switchboard operators were working at Ohio Bell in 1930.

 Information posted on this picture states that in 1930 there were 75 switchboard operators who handled 45,000 calls from 9,700 Sandusky subscribers.

           

In 1984, Ohio Bell became a part of Ameritech, which later became SBC/AT&T. Of course, millions of individuals all over the world now use cell phones. On several occasions the Ohio Telephone Pioneers, a non-profit organization made up telephone employees and retirees, held their annual meeting at Cedar Point.

Tenth Annual Reunion of the Sandusky High School Alumni Association

The tenth annual reunion of the Sandusky High School Alumni Association was held on June 17, 1890 at the Sloane House.

Charles F. Selkirk, a graduate of SHS in 1884, was the President of the Sandusky High School Alumni Association in 1890. After the orchestra played, Mr. Selkirk welcomed the banquet attendees.

Emily Forster recited a poem entitled “A Dream.” Miss Katharine S. Alvord presented an essay on “Higher Education of Girls.” Miss Alvord would go on to become DePauw University's first dean of women. Jessie Wilcox paid a memorial tribute to deceased members of the organization. Mr. A. J. Peters gave the banquet’s oration, which was entitled “Facts.” Albert James Peters was one of the co-founders of the Alvord & Peters Co., which published the Star Journal newspaper for a number of years in Sandusky.

The menu at the banquet was extensive, including spring chicken, Westphalia ham, pressed veal, buffalo tongue and sardines with lemon. Desserts included several types of cake, a variety of fruit, ice cream, and French confectionery with Edam and New York cream cheese.

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view yearbooks, historical photographs, alumni publications and graduation programs.

Otto H. Schell, First Swim Coach of Sandusky High School

From 1928 to 1936, Otto H. Schell was the swimming coach at Sandusky High School. Mr. Schell can be seen the far left of the top row in the picture above of the SHS swimming team from the 1930 Fram. Besides coaching the Sandusky High School swim teams during the school year, Coach Schell supervised public playgrounds and beaches during the summer months. He sponsored swimming and diving championships at Battery Park in the 1930s.

In August of 1934, Otto H. Schell coached swimmer Florence Brushaber as she attempted to swim from Ontario, Canada to Cedar Point, Ohio, a distance of 32 miles. Florence stopped swimming after covering 14 miles, and was taken aboard a Coast Guard cutter. She had become numb and sick from the tossing waves. In July of 1934, Florence swam from Kelleys Island to Cedar Point, covering a distance of nine miles in a little over five hours. 

An article in the July 14, 1936 issue of the Sandusky Register highlighted Mr. Schell’s accomplishments while in Sandusky. The article read in part: “Coach Otto H. Schell, Sandusky High School swimming instructor, who has done much to promote public aquatic events over a period of eight years here, and recognized as one of Ohio’s foremost authorities on water sports and Red Cross Life Saving, will not return here this fall, it was announced Monday.” Coach Schell had met with almost immediate success when he became the swimming coach at Sandusky High School. During dual meets, Coach Schell’s teams won 21 of 37 contests. He was engaged in competitive swimming for many years before coming to Sandusky. Below is a medal that he earned at the Cleveland Swimming Carnival in 1922.

From 1938 until 1948, Otto H. Schell served as the superintendent of the Erie County Children’s Home in Sandusky. He retired from that position due to ill health. He died in 1952, and he was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Ashtabula County, Ohio. His descendants donated several photographs and news clippings about Mr. Schell’s many years of participation in water sports. To see these items, inquire at the Reference Services desk at the Sandusky Library.

Dr. Charles Hope Merz, Physician, Historian and Author

Dr. Charles Hope Merz was a leading physician in Sandusky, beginning his practice in Sandusky in 1899. He was the son of Karl Merz, well known music educator who taught at Oxford Female College and Wooster College. Charles Hope Merz was born in Oxford, Ohio on November 7, 1861. He graduated from the Western Reserve College of Medicine in 1885. An article in the November 26, 1900 issue of the Sandusky Daily Star reported that Dr. Merz had just placed an X-Ray machine in his office. At the time, it was the only apparatus of its kind in Sandusky. The machine was powered by six storage batteries. Sandusky residents were amazed that the doctor could see through one’s flesh to view their bones. The x-ray machine was expected to be helpful in surgical operations, and in locating foreign objects in patients.

In 1911, Dr. Merz was instrumental in arranging for Harry Atwood making a landing in his airplane in Erie County. Besides being an aviation enthusiast, he was very fond of driving his automobile. The September 16, 1936 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that Dr. Merz had purchased his first automobile on June 7, 1904, and he had been driving for 32 years. The Erie County Auto Club believed that Dr. Merz held the record for the number of years of automobile driving in Erie County, Ohio in 1936.

Dr. Merz also was an outstanding Masonic scholar who wrote several books on that and other subjects, and served as editor of the Masonic Bulletin in Sandusky for nearly 28 years. He was a charter member of the National Masonic Research Society of Iowa, and an honorary life member of the Cincinnati Masonic Library Association. In 1892 Dr. Merz wrote a book about the history, etiology, diagnosis and treatment of influenza.  He also was a member of the National Association of Railway Surgeons. Dr. Merz married Sakie Emeline Prout, a longtime member of the Board of Trustees of the Sandusky Library, in 1892. Dr. Charles H. Merz died on October 14, 1947. He was buried in Oakland Cemetery.

The son of Dr. and Mrs. Merz, also named Charles Merz, was editor of the New York Times from 1938 until 1961. His editorials against American neutrality in the years prior to World War II and in opposition to Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s affected the way many Americans viewed current events of the time. Charles Merz also authored three books: Centerville, U.S.A., The Great American Bandwagon, and The Dry Decade.  Charles Merz, the author and editor, died in New York City on August 31, 1977.

Frank Ritter: Keeper of the Cedar Point Light

Frank Ritter served as the keeper of the Cedar Point Light from 1892 until his retirement on July 1, 1929. From mid 1890s until 1903, the Ritter family lived in a small house which stood on a crib about a quarter mile off shore, surrounded by water. Mr. Ritter, his wife, and two children lived in this small home, upon which was a range light, from the months of March through December.

 During the harsh winter months, the family lived at the Cedar Point Lighthouse on the mainland.

According to an article by Karl Kurtz, in his “Elderlies” column, in the May 21, 1977 issue of the Sandusky Register, lighthouse keeping in the Cedar Point area was very time consuming. There were inner range lights, outer range lights, beacon lights, and many others. Before electricity the lights had to be filled with oil and the wicks trimmed. The lighthouse keeper had to reach each of these lights via a boat. On the boat, Frank Ritter saved the lives of over thirty individuals who found themselves in rough lake waters. He had to keep a watch for distress flares from vessels out on the Sandusky Bay, even during storms and in the dark of night. 

After Mr. Ritter’s retirement, his son in law Henry Waibel took over as the Cedar Point Lighthouse keeper.   

An excellent article about the Cedar Point Lighthouse is found in the October 7, 1990 issue of the Sandusky Register, now on microfilm. The article reported that an act of Congress for the appropriation of a beacon light near the entrance of Sandusky Bay took place in 1837. In 1862, a limestone structure was built on the mainland of Cedar Point, replacing an earlier structure. The 1862 Cedar Point lighthouse is now a part of Lighthouse Point, at the Cedar Point amusement park. It is the oldest structure on the Cedar Point peninsula.

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view several articles about Frank Ritter and the Cedar Point Lighthouse in the historical files.

Former Home of Rush R. Sloane

Now privately owned, the house at 403 East Adams Street once was home to former Sandusky Mayor and abolitionist Rush R. Sloane.

According to the book At Home in Early Sandusky,  by Helen Hansen, the house was built for Samuel W. Torrey about 1850. Rush Sloane purchased it about 1854, and made additions to it. When the Sloane family lived there, a fountain and statues decorated the lawn, and there was a terrace on the east side of the house. It is believed that this home was once a “safe house” on the Underground Railroad.  From 1923 until 1949, the Sandusky Business College operated at 403 West Adams Street.

For several years, this structure served as a nursing home. To read more about the home at 403 East Adams, see Article Number 14 in At Home in Early Sandusky.

Postcard Image of the Sandusky High School Class of 1913

A gift from one of the members of the class, Wilford Schleicher, this postcard pictures the 1913 graduating class of Sandusky High School. A class poem written by Bianca C. Scheuer and Elmer H. Wirth was featured in the graduation issue of the Fram.

If you have ancestors who graduated from Sandusky High School, the SHS Alumni Directory has a listing of the members of each graduating class, beginning with the year 1855. This can be helpful in determining the names of friends and classmates of your ancestors. Ask at the Reference Services desk if you would like to see the copies of the historical Frams or the Sandusky High School Alumni Directory.

Portraits of Katie Rittman

Miss Katie Rittman was born in Sandusky in 1870 to Frank Rittman and Catherine Kuebeler Rittman, who were both natives of Germany. The portrait above was taken at the Bishop & Veitch studio in Sandusky, when Katie was about age 12 or 13. The picture below was taken at the studio of C.A. Cross when Katie was a teenager.

This lovely picture of Katie Rittman as a young woman was taken at the Pascoe studio in Sandusky.

U.S. Census records indicate that Katie lived with her parents in Sandusky 1880 and 1900. On February 4, 1902, Katie Rittman married Charles Hoffman, who was employed at the Hoffman family business, the Hoffman Coal and Milling Company. Charles and Katie were the parents of three daughters and a son.  In 1919 the Charles Hoffman family operated a store at the corner of Scott and Hancock Streets. "Puck," a zinc statue that had once been in the store window of Dietz & Mischler's cigar shop, stood on the roof of the Hoffman business for several years. Puck is now housed at the Follett House Museum. Katie Rittman Hoffman passed away in 1929, and Charles Hoffman died in1933. Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman were both buried in Oakland Cemetery.

Charitable Organizations in Sandusky

In the yellow pages of the current Greater Sandusky telephone book are listings for dozens of local Social Service agencies that help people who have a variety of needs. Some groups provide emergency food or shelter, others offer assistance to senior citizens, and some local organizations assist those with specific medical needs. Charitable organizations have been in operation in the Erie County area for many decades. During the Civil War, the Ladies’ Soldiers’ Aid Society of Grace Church sent food and supplies to soldiers, which were greatly appreciated. Prior to the Civil War, fugitives on the Underground Railroad often found food and shelter from hospitable individuals in Erie and Huron Counties. Pictured below are women in the surgical dressing class taught by the American Red Cross during World War I.

In the 1920s, the Salvation Army sponsored shoe drives for needy individuals in the area.

The group below was photographed in Sandusky’s American Red Cross headquarters in the 1930s or 1940s.

During World War II, local residents conducted scrap drives and planted victory gardens in support of the war effort.  Throughout history, members of area churches, clubs, and businesses have all joined together to help others in times of need. See the website of the United Way to see historical information about the many members of their organization, which started in 1923 as the Sandusky Community Fund.

Alton T. Young, Erie County Sheriff

Alton T. Young, known as “Al,” served as Erie County Sheriff for four terms, from 1948 to 1964. During Sheriff Young’s tenure, he was connected with several interesting ways to enforce the law. He formed the Erie County Sheriff’s Posse in 1962. Volunteers on horseback assisted in conducing manhunts and missing people searches. He also employed a canine “snooper,” which had been a gift from the Lorain County Sheriff. During the years that Sheriff Young was in office, his family lived in the Erie County Jail.

Featured in the book Elected to Serve  by Patty Pascoe, are several recollections of the children of Sheriff Young. His daughter recalled that the cooks who prepared meals for the prisoners also prepared meals for the Young family. When the stairs of the Sandusky Library were iced over, the Sheriff’s children would slide down the stairs on a sled. The Young children got to know the employees and the residents of the Erie County jail. They never felt they were in danger, even though they resided at the same place as those who had been incarcerated. 

In 1964, Al Young ran for a fifth term as Erie County Sheriff, but was defeated by Albert H. Hess. Mr. Young moved to Arizona, where he died at the age of 80. To read more about elected officials in Erie County, Ohio from 1838 to 2003, see Elected to Serve at the Sandusky Library.