Sandusky High School’s Centennial Reunion

The Centennial Reunion of alumni of Sandusky High School was held on May 28, 1955. Tickets to the banquet were sold for $2.00 per person.

Reunion events included a band concert on the Sandusky High School lawn at 4:00, dinner at the Junior High School at 6:15, a program at Strobel Field at 7:45, and a dance at 9 p.m. at the Junior High featuring the fourteen piece band of Jimmy Dulio. During the program at Strobel Field, several special people were introduced to the crowd.

Charles E. Frohman served as the Master of Ceremonies. Principal Wallace Glenwright and Mayor Richard Fuller both gave remarks of welcome. Former school administrators James T. Begg, Frank J. Prout, Karl E. Whinnery, and Wayne C. Blough were introduced. Retired teachers attending the reunion were Miss Lucy Carter, Miss Elsie Denham, Miss Bessie Taylor, Miss Edith Howell, Miss Berta Jackson, and Miss Marie Reiff. Superintendent Carl L. Mackey spoke to the Sandusky High School alumni, and several musical numbers were presented. Harold C. Kaufman directed the A Cappella Choir and led the choir in three songs, including “Halls of Ivy.” The combined band and choir of Sandusky High School performed the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The program ended with a musical benediction sung by the high school A Cappella Choir.

The Sandusky Register Star News of May 28, 1955 contained a special feature devoted to the Centennial Reunion.

A copy of this special edition newspaper is housed at the Sandusk y Library Archives Research Center. Included in the special feature are pictures of graduating classes, a history of the one hundred years of Sandusky High School, and brief biographical sketches of outstanding graduates of Sandusky High School. An article entitled “A Century Stream of Teaching at Sandusky High” began with this paragraph:

Tennyson’s quotation “Men may come and men may go, but I go on forever,” referred to a little flowing brook, might also be applied to the stream of education which has been flowing through Sandusky High School for the past 100 years, and which, from all indications, will flow on indefinitely.

The newspaper issue contained commemorative ads from many businesses, including this advertisement from the Ohio Bell Telephone Company.

“Midsummer Eve” at Monroe School in 1916

An article in the January 28, 1916 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that every student in Monroe School was assigned to play a part in the musical, Midsummer Eve, to be performed at the auditorium of the Sandusky High School auditorium. In the play, the main character Dorothy, played by Dorothy Wiegel, visits the toy department of a large department store, and then has a dream about an imaginary land of dolls. Dorothy gets lost, and is rescued by elves. In the dream she becomes a fairy, and is involved in the Fairy Court.

A nine piece orchestra provided music for the play, under the direction of Harold Foster. George F. Anderson did the orchestration for Act Two. Many children of local Sandusky residents took part in Midsummer Eve, including the two children of James Begg, James T. Begg, Jr. and Eleanor Begg.  James T. Begg was the superintendent of Sandusky City Schools from 1913 – 1917, and served as a Representative in the United States Congress from 1919 to 1929. Elmer Frank, who played an elf in the school play, later studied music in Europe and founded the Sandusky Choral Society. The son of prominent Sandusky businessman, J.J. Dauch, Wade Dauch, also played an elf in “Midsummer Eve.”

According to Ellie Damm’s book, Treasure by the Bay, Monroe School, also known as the Ninth Ward School, was built in 1894 by George Feick, and served students in the north central section of Sandusky. Until Jackson Junior High was built, grades one through eight attended Monroe School.

Midsummer Eve was so popular at its first performance on February 29, 1916, that another performance was given on March 6. Later in the month, Monroe School students performed scenes from the play at the assembly hall of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home in Sandusky, along with several patriotic musical numbers.

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.

Sandusky’s Former Post Office

Seen here in the 1930s or 1940s, this building was opened as Sandusky’s Federal Building in March of 1927.  In 1923, Congressman James T. Begg introduced a bill in the U.S. House which requested an increase in the appropriation for the proposed Federal Building at Sandusky, making a total of $215,00 in funds to be used for the project. Congressman Begg pointed out that the current Post Office and Customs House had been built before the Civil War, and was very congested.  Ground was broken for the new Post Office on November 1, 1925.  T.M. Samford was the superintendent of the project, under the leadership of contractor Algernon Blair. M.J. Callan and Sons, of Sandusky, did the excavation work at the building site, beginning November 6, 1925. The building site was located at the intersection of Central Avenue, Jackson Street, and Washington Street. Formerly Bernard Lodick’s carriage shop and Trinity Methodist Church were at this location.

You can see the layout of the Post Office in 1939 in the portion of the Sanborn Map below.

The new Federal Building was built in the Neo-Classical style. It features a very large portico with fluted columns. Besides housing the Post Office in 1927, this building held offices for U.S. Customs, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Weather Bureau. During war years, the U.S. Armed Forces had recruiting offices here as well. The men in this picture are the first draftees from Erie County in January of 1941, standing on the steps of the Post Office:

           

Of course the former Sandusky Post Office and Federal Building is now home to the Merry-Go-Round Museum. When you walk into the lobby of the Museum, you can still see one of the windows where stamps were sold.

James T. Begg, U.S. Congressman

James T. Begg was born near Lima, Ohio in 1877. After graduating from Wooster University in 1903, he became a school teacher. Mr. Begg served as superintendent of schools at Columbus Grove from 1905-1910, and at Ironton, Ohio from 1910-1913. On January 14, 1913, James T. Begg accepted the position of superintendent of Sandusky Schools, where he stayed until 1917. After working for two years for the American City Bureau, James T. Begg was elected to 66^th United States Congress. He served as Representative from the 13^th District of Ohio from 1919 to 1929. In the 1919-1920 Sandusky City Directory, Mr. Begg and his family are listed as residing on Columbus Avenue. James and Grace Begg were the parents of a daughter Eleanor, and a son named James Begg, Jr.  Sadly, James T. Begg, Jr. was killed in an automobile accident on April 26, 1929. Young Mr. Begg was only 19 at the time of his death, a student at Kenyon College.

The front page of the February 25, 1928 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that Congressman Begg was the principal speaker of the dedication of the new Junior High School in Sandusky, which had an auditorium and gymnasium, and also served as a civic building for the community.

He also spoke at the dedication of the Sandusky Bay Bridge, after having been influential in supporting the bridge project. 

Mr. Begg was unsuccessful in his attempt to become Governor of Ohio in 1942.  After his political career, he was associated with Cyrus Eaton Industries, of Cleveland. In 1956, he moved to Oklahoma City, where he died on March 26, 1963. He body was returned to Ohio and was buried in Cleveland’s Lake View Cemetery. 

Sandusky High School Football Team of 1914

Pictured above are some of the members of the 1914 Sandusky High School football team. Notes on the original item, part of the Norbert A. Lange Collection, have identified the team players. In front from left to right, are: Bill Meese, Carl Kerber, Clarence Homberger, Herb Taylor, Amandus Smith, Bill Busch, and Joe Page. In the back from left to right are: Eugene Close, Hans Slackford, Bill Boehm, and Bill Smith. At the far right, Coach Bill Kinder is standing. In Northern Ohio League play in 1914 Sandusky won three out of four league games, including a win of 35 to 0 over the Fremont Little Giants. 

In 1914 Sandusky High School was still located on Adams Street, and future congressman James T. Begg was the school superintendent.

Coach Kinder went on to serve as an ambulance driver for the American Field Service during World War I. He then went back to seminary in order to become a clergyman. Rev. William Kinder became a well-known rector in the Episcopal Church in Detroit, Michigan and Youngstown, Ohio.