M.J. Bender, Sandusky Grocer

From about 1896 to 1902, M.J. Bender, Jr. operated a grocery store at the southwest corner of Hancock and Monroe Streets. A large quantity of canned goods can be seen in the windows of the Bender grocery, and signs on the building advertised teas, spices, crockery, tobacco products, and H-O Buckwheat. Around the turn of the twentieth century, the interurban railway traveled down Hancock Street, making shopping easy for area residents.

In 1908, M.J. Bender had moved his business to the southeast corner of Hancock and Water Streets. By 1910, Mr. Bender went into business with W. W. Woodward. M.J. Bender was the president of the company, and W. W. Woodward was the Vice President. (Mr. Woodward had previously been associated with Hoover-Woodward.) The Bender-Woodward store, which operated as a wholesale grocery business, was in operation in Sandusky until 1939.

In the 1920s Benwood brand food products were canned by the Bender Woodward Grocery. In an advertisement in the January 23, 1926 issue of the Sandusky Register, Hunt’s Quality Market carried several varieties of Benwood canned vegetables that had been processed at Bender Woodward. Benwood foods carried by Hunt’s market included canned peas, corn, kidney beans, wax beans, and two different types of canned tomatoes.

Martin J. Bender, Jr. passed away on September 23, 1948. He was buried in Oakland Cemetery. Mr. Bender was survived by his wife Helen, a son, daughter, and three grandchildren. An obituary for Martin J. Bender, Jr. is in the 1948 Obituary Notebook, housed with the genealogical books of the Sandusky Library.