C.L. Alspach, Minister and Community Leader

Clement L. Alspach was born in 1867 in Van Wert, Ohio, to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Alspach. He attended Heidelberg University in Tiffin, graduating from the literary department in 1890 and from the theological department in 1893. After graduation, he became a Presbyterian minister. While serving at the Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh in the mid-1890s, Rev. C.L. Alspach secured a pipe organ for the church from Andrew Carnegie. Later he served in Akron and Zanesville, Ohio. During World War I, Rev. Alspach was the minister of the First Presbyterian Church in Sandusky, Ohio.

In 1919, Rev. Alspach left the ministry, and began working for the American City Bureau, to help boost memberships in a Chamber of Commerce membership drive in Steubenville, Ohio. Before he left Sandusky, Rev. Alspach was in a group photograph taken of the members of the Sandusky Chamber of Commerce. He is the man with the bow tie in the close-up view below. (See our previous blog post to view the full picture.)

By 1924, Rev. Alspach had returned to Sandusky. That year, he served on the Centennial Executive Committee for the city of Sandusky.

From 1934 to 1959, Rev. C.L. Alspach served as Jury Commissioner at the Erie County Courthouse. 

On May 15, 1959, Rev. Clement L. Alspach died at the age of 92. An obituary in the May 16, 1959 Sandusky Register said about Rev. Alspach, “An erect six-footer and immaculately dressed , the Rev. Mr. Alspach was a familiar figure as he walked about this city with a cane or umbrella, visiting the Courthouse almost daily.” 

Rev. Alspach, who had been predeceased by his wife, was survived by a daughter, Mrs. Karl Kugel; a son, Clement W. Alspach; two granddaughters, and several other relatives. The final resting place of Rev. and Mrs. Alspach is Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. Mrs. Marjorie Owings, a granddaughter of Rev. C.L. Alspach, was associated with the Sandusky Library for over fifty years. Below is a picture of Sandusky Library staff members in the 1940s. Marjorie Owings is the third person from the left.

Sandusky High School Graduating Class of 1917

The senior class of 1917 was the largest class of graduates in Sandusky High School’s history up to then. The class consisted of 68 young men and women, but Esther Hartung was ill and could not attend the commencement ceremony. Rev. C. L. Alspach had addressed the class at the High School on the evening of June 4, 1917 during the baccalaureate service.

He urged the members of the class to seek to attain the ideals of true manhood and womanhood, rather than the ever-changing measure of success as measured by the world. During the baccalaureate service one hundred high school girls sang the song “America Triumphant” which was fitting, since the United States had just entered World War I in April. Rev. J.H. Holdgraf offered a prayer for peace, and the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” was sung.  

The Sandusky High School graduation ceremony took place on June 8, 1917 in the Sandusky High School auditorium, then located on Adams Street.

The speaker at graduation was Professor Delbert G. Lean from the College of Wooster. He stated that the men and women of the class of 1917 are the “men and women of the hour in an age of speed.” Professor Lean discussed the many changes in industry and technology, and spoke of the importance of education. He reminded the graduates that the youth of today “control the destinies of tomorrow.” He urged the senior class members to have conviction of purpose. Principal W.A. Richardson presented the class to Superintendent James T. Begg as “the largest and best class” ever to graduate from Sandusky High School.  Superintendent Begg pointed out that a high school education was valued at about $1800, according to figures from U.S. Government officials. Music for the commencement was provided by the high school orchestra, under the direction of Professor G.D. Jones. Several high school students also performed solos and duets. 

To see the names and pictures of each 1917 Sandusky High School graduate more closely, see the 1917 June Fram, available at the Sandusky Library’s local history collection in the Lower Level.