Norman and Abby Hills

Norman Edwin Hills, born January 4, 1868, was the son of William Darwin Hills and his wife, the former Laura Kelley. He was also the grandson of Irad Kelley, one of the co-owners of Kelleys Island. Norman E. Hills was considered an authority on the geology and history of Kelleys Island. In 1925 he authored a book entitled A History of Kelleys Island, Ohio, which was reprinted in 1982 by the Kelleys Island Historical Association. 

This article appeared in the Sandusky Register on January 15, 1933:

Norman E. Hills passed away on December 20, 1944, and he was buried in Willoughby Village Cemetery.  The first wife of Norman E. Hills was Abby Cleaveland McEwen, whom he married about 1895. Below is a picture of Abby McEwen Hills and the first child of Norman and Abby Hills. Baby Helen Hills was age 3 months and 4 days at the time this picture was taken. These pictures are now in the Kurt Boker Collection of  Kelleys Island History, in the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.

Visit the Sandusky Library and its Archives Research Center to learn more about the history of Erie County, Ohio.

Kurt Boker and Snakes of the Lake Erie Islands

Among the numerous historical notebooks from the Kurt Boker Collection of the Sandusky Library’s Archives Research Center, is a collection of documents related to Snakes and Snake Stories of Kelleys Island and Surrounding Areas. The articles are from the Firelands Pioneer, Sandusky Register, and several other periodicals. As article from the May 17, 1911 issue of the Sandusky Weekly Register, by E. L. Moseley, urges area residents not to kill the fox snake, which were helpful to farmers by eating rodents.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers the Lake Erie water snake to be a threatened species. The non-venomous eastern fox snake is found in the northern most portion of Ohio, as well as on the Lake Erie islands. According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, rattlesnakes were once prevalent on Rattlesnake Island. The last sighting of the poisonous timber rattlesnake was in 1961. Pictured below is Mr. Boker and a rattlesnake he found on Put in Bay in 1961.

In May of 1961, Mr. Boker was hoping to transport three snakes from Ohio to the Philadelphia Zoological Garden. Roger Conant replied to Kurt Boker, with instructions on how to ship live snakes via train or air, along with instructions for shipping pickled specimens.

Mr. Boker successfully managed to ship three snakes to the Philadelphia Zoo. All were of record size: an eastern garden snake with a length of 48 ¾ inches, an eastern hognose snake which was 45 ¼ inches long, and an eastern fox snake with a total length of 78 1/8 inches. Roger Conant wrote about the three snakes in the December 31, 1965 issue of the Journal of the Ohio Herpetological Society. Mr. Conant felt that the most interesting of the three snakes was the eastern fox snake. He wrote that besides being of great size, it was eyeless, and many of its scales were fused together. During its time at the Philadelphia Zoological Garden, the eastern fox snake ate freshly killed white mice that the zookeepers placed near its head.

Visit the Archives Research Center to view the Kurt Boker Collection which contains a wealth of historical and genealogical information about the families and businesses of Kelleys Island.

Kurt E. Boker, 1920-2006

One of this region's most honorable citizens passed away this week. Kurt Boker, of Kelleys Island, died Monday evening at his home. (An obituary is published in the September 13 issue of the Sandusky Register.)

Born in Germany, Mr. Boker came to the U.S. at the age of four, and lived nearly all his life on Kelleys Island. After service with the U.S. Army in World War II and his graduation from The Ohio State University, Mr. Boker taught at Kelleys Island school for 25 years. He also was a devoted member of his community, serving in several community organizations, and was dedicated to preserving the history of Kelleys Island.

Products of Kurt Boker's lifelong historical research and service, covering a variety of subjects -- including the geology of the island, businesses, churches, family histories, and the Kelleys Island School he served for many years -- are preserved in the Kurt Boker Collection of Kelleys Island History in the Archives Research Center at the Sandusky Library. Copied of these documents are also available for study at the Kelleys Island branch of the library.

We at the library and in the community continue to be grateful for Mr. Boker's service and support.