Painting by Charles H. Hubbell

The painting above was created by Charles H. Hubbell for Reinhardt N. Ausmus. (The library owns a photograph, but not the original painting.) The monoplane was designed, built, and flown by Ausmus in 1912. 

Reinhart Ausmus in 1920

Reinhardt N. Ausmus was only 16 years old when he built his first plane. Before serving in the U.S. Army as a flight instructor in World War I, Ausmus worked in Sandusky with another aviation pioneer, Thomas Benoist. Mr. Ausmus was an advocate for veterans' welfare throughout his life. He was appointed the first Erie County Veterans Service Officer in 1949, serving in that position until 1969.

Photo of Charles H. Hubbell, from the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Mr. Hubbell, who died in 1971, was one of the most well known commercial aviation artists of his time. Many of his paintings are now a part of the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum collection of the Western Reserve Historical Society.

Lawrence V. Kerber, Aeronautical Engineer

Lawrence Vincent Kerber was born in Sandusky, Ohio in 1895 to John and Christina (Knauer) Kerber. He graduated from Sandusky High School in 1913. After attending Kenyon College for a time, he graduated with high honors from the University of Michigan in 1918, with a Bachelor’s Degree in mechanical engineering. From 1927 to 1929, he was the Daniel Guggenheim Professor of Applied Aeronautics at the University of Michigan. Mr. Kerber was a pioneer in the aviation industry, and he wrote several aeronautical textbooks and flight manuals. He also published technical reports on airplane performance.  

In his work at McCook Field in Dayton, he designed three pursuit planes. In 1921 John A. Macready achieved an altitude record of 34,509 feet in an airplane designed by Kerber. Later, for several years Mr. Kerber served as president of Spartan Aircraft Corporation. 

After a lengthy illness, Lawrence V. Kerber passed away in California on August 2, 1971. An obituary appeared in the August 17, 1971 issue of the Sandusky Register.

Annual Convention of the National Association of Dyers and Cleaners at Cedar Point

During the summers of 1914 and 1915, members of the National Association of Dyers and Cleaners met at Cedar Point for several days for their annual convention. Members had committee meetings and banquets, and enjoyed free time at Cedar Point and the Lake Erie Islands.  In 1914 one of the exhibitors at the convention was from the “Re-Movo” company of Chicago, Illinois. Several different colors of Steiner’s slipper dye were available for viewing in the exhibition area. Former president of the Association, William Forger, went for an airship ride with aviator Tony Jannus during the convention of 1914.

An article in the Cleaning and Dyeing World journal told prospective attendees that each of the hundreds of rooms available at the  Hotel Breakers had windows that could be open to let in the fresh lake air, and were equipped with electric lights and running water in each room.

In 1915 one of the topics of discussion at the convention was the shortage of dye products, caused as a result of the war in Europe. About three hundred people attended the 1914 convention, and four to five hundred people attended the convention in 1915. Special entertainment was provided for the Association members during each night of the convention. The Ladies’ Auxiliary to the National Association of Dyers and Cleaners held their own meetings during the convention.  

There have businesses in Sandusky related to the care of garments for many decades. In the 1855 Sandusky City Directory, F.R. Comstock placed an ad as a dyer and clothing renovator.

Both the Pfanner and Beilstein Dry Cleaning businesses had begun as steam laundries in Sandusky in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Pictured below are some employees from the Sandusky Dyeing and Cleaning Works in Sandusky from the 1890s.

Weldon B. Cooke, Aviation Pioneer

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.

Veterans Day November 11 -- Errol "Zip" Zistel, Military Aviator

Errol Henry Zistel was born in Sandusky, Ohio on July 16, 1895, to Ottomar and Amelia Zistel. He earned the nickname “Zip” from his days of “zipping” in an iceboat on Sandusky Bay when he was a teenager. He once went from Sandusky to Kelleys Island in eight and a half minutes in his iceboat, at a speed of ninety miles per hour. 

Errol Zistel began his military career as fighter pilot in Britain’s Royal Flying Corps and later transferred to General Pershing’s American Air Service during World War I.  During the war, he was seriously injured, but after his recovery he remained active in the Reserves. In 1927 he was one of the organizers of Ohio’s first Air National Guard Unit, the 112^th Observation Squadron. During World War II, he commanded the fourth Air Support Command at Hamilton Field, California, achieving the rank of Major General. General Zistel actively flew aircraft until his retirement from active service in 1957. 

Errol H. Zistel died on January 25, 1968, and was buried with full military honors at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio. Members of the Air Force served as Honor Guards. General Zistel had been a member of the Early Birds, the American Fighter Aces Association, the Order of Daedalus, the Quiet Birdmen, and the Air Force Association. He was a past president of the Cleveland Aviation Club. A lengthy obituary for Errol “Zip” Zistel appeared in the February 3, 1968 issue of the Sandusky Register.

Santa in a Plane at the Reinhardt Ausmus Residence

The unique Christmas decoration featuring Santa Claus as the pilot of an airplane once appeared on the roof of the home of Reinhardt Ausmus. While we do not know the exact date of the picture, Sandusky City Directories indicate that the Ausmus family resided at 1102 Buckingham Street in Sandusky, Ohio for over forty years, arriving in Sandusky in 1915. "Reiny" (as he was known by his friends) built and flew his first airplane at the age of 16. He went on to become a flight instructor during World War I, and he continued to teach after the war.

In 2007, Reinhardt Ausmus was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame. He was recognized for his "distinctive contribution to the progress of early aviation" as well as for his services contributing "to the well being of veterans and other citizens of the Sandusky area."

Tom Benoist, Pioneer Aviator

Tom Benoist was an aviation pioneer in the early part of the twentieth century. He and his brother started an automobile supply shop in 1907 in Missouri. As time went by, the shop became a supplier of aviation parts. In 1909 Tom Benoist began manufacturing airplanes. He established the Benoist Flying School in Kinloch Park about 1911. Benoist began making hydroplanes in 1913, using engines manufactured by the Roberts Motor Company. Benoist operated a flying school in Sandusky, as well.

Benoist founded a promising airplane factory in Sandusky, Ohio. In 1917 the factory was located on Columbus Avenue, near the Lake Shore railway tracks, and the testing grounds were at East Battery Park. In the fall of 1916, Elmer Straub flew a Benoist hydroplane over the housetops of Sandusky. An article in the June 2, 1917 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that during a huge parade, leaflets about the Liberty Loan plan were to be distributed by aviator Elmer Straub from a Benoist aircraft. A Benoist aircraft is pictured below at the Erie County Fairgrounds.

At the age of 37, Tom Benoist was killed in a streetcar accident in Sandusky. He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, but died just a few hours after he arrived. Funeral services were held at the Masonic Temple, with Rev. C. L. Alspach paying tribute to the young aviator. A large floral offering in front of the coffin were designed in the shape of an airplane as a token of esteem from members of the Aviation School and the Benoist Aeroplane Company. The remains of Mr. Benoist were taken to Missouri for burial.

A plaque was placed at Battery Park in honor of the early aviation activities of Weldon B. Cooke, Thomas W. Benoist, and Reinhardt N. Ausmus.

100th Anniversary of Glenn Curtiss Flight to Cedar Point

Tuesday, August 31 marks the 100th anniversary of the record-setting flight of aviation pioneer GlennCurtiss, who flew from Euclid Beach in Cleveland to Cedar Point beach in Sandusky, flying the entire trip over Lake Erie. It was the longest airplane flight over water at that time. Cedar Point is holding a special commemoration of the event.

For more information about the 1910 flight, see our article from 2007.

George J. Bing, Carriage Maker and Biplane Builder

George J. Bing and his friends are pictured above with a biplane that George was towing to the frozen Sandusky Bay to test. Bing’s attempts to fly this plane failed.

Bing was one of Sandusky’s most prominent businessmen. He had a carriage shop on Tiffin Avenue. He outgrew his original shop, and constructed a large brick garage at 131 Tiffin Avenue, where he also sold and repaired automobiles. This building still stands today. (Currently the address is 317 Tiffin Avenue.)

An article in the September 21, 1906 Sandusky Register reported that Bing’s shop was “modern in every respect.” Bing’s motto was “Honesty is the best policy.”

George J. Bing attained the rank of sergeant in the Spanish American War, serving in the Ohio National Guard. George and Amelia Bing were married about 1907, and they had three children, Myrtle, Arthur and Ruth.

Sadly, George J. Bing and two other men died in an automobile accident on September 23, 1914, following a trip to the Sandusky County Fair in Fremont, Ohio. You can see more photographs of George J. Bing online at Lake Erie’s Yesterdays and the Ohio Memory Online Scrapbook.

Veterans Day, Nov. 11: Reinhardt Ausmus Inducted into Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame

In this year's class of inductees to the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame is a long-time resident of Sandusky and an aviation pioneer. Through the efforts of Sandusky resident Bob Daniel, Reinhardt Ausmus is being recognized for his "distinctive contribution to the progress of early aviation" as well as for his services contributing "to the well being of veterans and other citizens of the Sandusky area."

He was born in Cleveland in 1896, and raised in an orphanage. Interested in aviation since childhood, in 1912, at age 16, he built and flew his first airplane. By age 18, he had built and flown a second airplane, a biplane. In 1915, he moved to Sandusky to work with another Sandusky aviation pioneer, Thomas Benoist. "Reiny" (as he was known to his friends) worked as both a production assistant and flight instructor, until Benoist's tragic death in 1917.

In 1918, during the First World War, Ausmus joined the U.S. Army as a flight instructor, and taught combat pilots in Wichita Falls, Texas for the duration of the war and after. He left active duty in the Army in 1919, after a plane crash (shown below) that killed his passenger and nearly killed him; he received multiple broken bones, and suffered from the effects of the crash for many years.

He was an advocate for veterans' welfare from his early days until his death in 1970. Beginning as the Veterans Service Officer for American Legion Post 83 in 1922, he was appointed the first Erie County Veterans Service Officer in 1949, serving in that position until 1969.

Our thanks to Bob Daniel for gathering the information about "Reiny" Ausmus (seen here in his later years, with his famous checkered cap) and for sponsoring his nomination to the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.

Glenn Curtiss' Record-Setting Flight to Cedar Point

On the afternoon of August 31, 1910, aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss established a record for flying over water when he landed his biplane on the beach at Cedar Point. He had taken off from Euclid Beach in Cleveland about an hour and fifteen minutes earlier, flying over Lake Erie, parallel to the shore. His return trip to Cleveland the next day added to his record. The event surely was the highlight of the summer for Sanduskians in 1910. Thousands flocked to see the flight at its take-off and landing points, with many more -- in Vermilion, Lorain, and elsewhere along the route -- positioning themselves on the shore, hoping to spot Curtiss and his flying machine in the air.

The Sandusky Register offered regular preview reports in the days before the flight. Pictures of Curtiss and diagrams of his proposed flight were featured on the front pages. In one report, the paper noted that part of Curtiss' inspiration for attempting the flight to Cedar Point was a prize of $15,000 (an equivalent value of more than $300,000 today) offered by Cedar Point Manager George Boeckling, with a $5,000 bonus if the flight was completed in less than one hour. He was portrayed as enthusiastic, but not overly excited over his prospects, exuding an air of quiet confidence, with a businesslike demeanor.

The people of Sandusky (and Cleveland), it seems, were much more excited about the flight than the aviator himself was. The Register reported in detail about the preparations made in anticipation of Curtiss' arrival: Spotters were assigned along the route to telephone information about the airplane's progress; boats to Cedar Point were to run as frequently as possible, to bring people from downtown Sandusky to the beach; the Eastland brought passengers from Cleveland, the Kirby, from Detroit; many businesses in Sandusky planned to close for the day, so that their employees may watch the arrival; men with megaphones were assigned to broadcast updates to the spectators on the beach.

Unfortunately for those who gathered to witness the flight on Tuesday, August 30, there was disappointment, as the winds in Cleveland were too strong for Curtiss to fly. The Register reported that, upon the announcement of the delay, "[t]here were cries of 'Oh!' and 'Ah' and 'Fake!' and 'Stung!' with poo-poos and hisses." Some out-of-town spectators, of course, had to go back home, missing their opportunity to witness history.

Success finally arrived the next day, Wednesday August 31. In Sandusky, it was arranged that the fire whistle, at the Meigs Street Water Works, was to sound three times upon news of Curtiss' departure from Cleveland (where it was said that 100,000 people watched his flight). It did so at around 1:15 that afternoon. The Register reported that "[t]he effect of the first toot was magical. Men grabbed their hats and started for the boat landing at the foot of Columbus avenue. Women fell into line with them . . . They had but one idea in mind and that was to see Curtiss." He was greeted on the beach by thousands of local spectators, and by Boeckling, who later that day gave a banquet in his honor.

On the following afternoon, Glenn Curtiss returned to Cleveland the same way he came.

(Copies of the photographs included in this article were donated to the Sandusky Library by Reinhardt Ausmus, one of Sandusky's own aviation pioneers.)