Christmas Season in 1922 Sandusky

Browsing through newspapers from Sandusky in 1922, one finds a multitude of advertisements for food and gifts ideas to celebrate the holiday season. Martin’s sold candy “for everyone” ranging from 30 cents to $1.25 a pound.

An article in the December 10, 1922 issue of the Sandusky Register, “Christmas Business in Local Stores to Exceed that of 1921,” reported that stores hired extra clerks to accommodate the holiday rush. George J. Schade said that even his theater was doing well; for the first time in three years his theater was not experiencing the Christmas slump. The Commercial National Bank was already looking forward to Christmas of 1923, offering a Christmas Savings Club, in which small amounts could be contributed weekly to prepare for next year’s holiday season.

A Toyland was featured in an advertisement from the Scheuer-Frankel Company. Gifts for children included dolls, wagons, teddy bears, bicycles, scooters, and many more delights for little ones.

The Sandusky Star Journal of December 22, 1922, reported that “Santa” had gifts for people who worked at the Erie County Courthouse. The law firm of King, Ramsey, Flynn and Pyle left cigars and candy in every office, while attorney Hewson L. Peeke passed out gifts for all Erie County officials and employees from a half bushel basket.

Esmond Dairy sold several varieties of Christmas treats, including brick ice cream with a bell, Christmas tree, or star in the center.

On the Thursday before school let out for Christmas break, 400 students at Campbell School gathered in front of a brightly lit Christmas Tree and sang “Silent Night,” following a visit from Santa Claus.

You can take a look through old Sandusky newspapers, available on microfilm at Sandusky Library, or through Newspaper Archive, one of many research databases available via the Sandusky Library website.

Christmas Greetings, from Past and Present

 We hope you have a joyful holiday season.

And we hope that you get more than . . . 

. . . under your . . . 

Christmas Greetings, With a Christmas Card Inspired by Sandusky’s Washington Square

In 1966, Eileen Detlefsen created a series of Christmas cards which were inspired by scenes from old Sandusky.  Mrs. Detlefsen used the linoleum block print technique to make the scenes on each holiday card. Each handmade card was stamped “Eileen’s Originals” on the back.  The card above features Sandusky’s public square, also known as Washington Square, about 1863. Buildings featured in the print include Grace Episcopal Church, the old Academy building, the former Congregational Church building, and at the far right, the First Presbyterian Church. An undated (and unsourced) photocopy in our historical files appears to be a copy taken from the page of a nineteenth century book. While the photocopy is not identical to the print created by Eileen, both images are quite similar.

Merry Christmas!

Sandusky Residents Helped “Stamp Out” Tuberculosis

Several sheets of Christmas seals, ranging in dates from 1950 to 1993, are in the historical collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. The 1951 seals featured Santa, along with the familiar American Lung Association logo:

By 1969 a statement on top of the page of seals indicated that by purchasing the holiday seals, the purchaser was supporting the fight against tuberculosis and emphysema as well as air pollution.

Helen Hansen and Virginia Steinemann wrote an article for the December 26, 1993 issue of the Sandusky Register, “Stamping Out TB.” Tuberculosis, sometimes known as consumption or scrofula, was a common cause of death in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Oran Follett (below), a prominent Sandusky resident, lost his first wife and two daughters to the dreadful disease.

In 1907, when tuberculosis was the leading cause of death for Americans, an American Red Cross volunteer, Emily Bissell, helped to promote a fund-raising campaign in which seals were sold and funds were used to help build hospitals for tuberculosis patients. A similar campaign had been successful in Denmark. Several Sandusky women sold stamps near the Post Office. By 1920 the National Tuberculosis Association took over the sale of Christmas seals. Children could purchase the small seals in their classroom for a penny apiece. The Tuberculosis and Health Association of Erie County purchased x-ray equipment in 1932, and later a mobile x-ray truck, to help in the diagnosis of tuberculosis among local residents.   

By the year 1940, tuberculosis dropped to being number seven in the cause of deaths of Americans. Now the funding group for Christmas seals is known as the American Lung Association, which still sells them each holiday season. You can read about the history of Christmas seals online.

Early Christmas Cards

Now in the historical collections of the Follett House Museum, these Christmas cards date back to 1880. Underneath the image of each young lady on these vintage cards are the words “A Christmas greeting with love.” Each card is decorated with fringe.

 

These Christmas cards do not feature the bright Christmas green and red so often used in modern Christmas cards, but rather have muted colors. They were donated to the Sandusky Library’s historical museum by Mrs. Arthur Crosskill, the former Millicent West Hubbard. Millicent West Hubbard was born in Sandusky on September 21, 1880 to Charles Livingston Hubbard and Jenna West Hubbard.  Her grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. Lester Hubbard and Mr. and Mrs. William T. West, all pioneer residents of Sandusky, Ohio. 

To learn more about the history of Christmas cards, see this article from Smithsonian magazine.

Victrolas Sold at the Scheuer-Frankel Store

The Scheuer-Frankel Company, in the Grafe Building on East Market Street, sold the Orthophonic Victrola in downtown Sandusky during the holiday season of 1926. 

This product was said to offer improvements in sound, compared to former models of the phonograph. Below is an advertisement which appeared in the Sandusky Star Journal of November 23, 1927.

On YouTube you can hear a recording played on a 1927 Victor Orthophonic Model 812X by Ted Weems and His Orchestra: “You’re the Cream in my Coffee.”  Click here to read more about the history of the Victor Phonograph. Many residents of Sandusky and Erie County enjoyed sound recordings played on a Victor phonograph.

Christmas Greetings from Mildred Pietschman

Several Christmas cards sent by Miss Mildred Piestschman to the Knisely family are now in the collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. In 1951, Miss Pietschman created the holiday card pictured above, which depicted singers arranged on a mobile. The next year, she sent a card that featured ornaments on a tree.

The cards were created on one piece of paper, which was folded in fourths, to create its own envelope. So Mildred was not only artistic, but she was thrifty! In 1956, she sent a full page greeting that contained the first verse of the Christmas carol The First Noel. Angels and decorative flourishes adorned the piece of sheet music.

Mildred Pietschman was an elementary music teacher in the Sandusky City Schools for 45 years. Eventually she served as music supervisor. In 1959, she married attorney John F. McCrystal. Mrs. Mildred Pietschman McCrystal died in a tragic automobile accident while she was on vacation in Mexico on October 19, 1990. The Mildred Pietschman McCrystal Scholarship is awarded annually to Erie County students, with preference given to music majors.

Plenty of Holiday Cheer at Sandusky’s Hospitals in 1923

In December of 1923, the city of Sandusky had two hospitals, Good Samaritan Hospital (top) and Providence Hospital (lower). (These images appeared in Our City Sandusky a publication printed in 1924, for the 100^th anniversary of the incorporation of the city of Sandusky.) 

Local newspaper articles provide us with interesting details about how Christmas was celebrated at each hospital in 1923. Early on Christmas morning, Betty Mound sang “Softly the Babe was Sleeping” in the room where all the newborn babies were sleeping at Good Samaritan Hospital.  All the nurses attended an early morning service, at which Lillian Gowdy read the Christmas story. C. Webb Sadler, a trustee of Good Samaritan Hospital, gave all the nurses a long-stemmed red rose, which they carried as they sang Christmas carols throughout the hospital.

A Christmas tree was placed in the children’s ward, and gifts were distributed to all the youngsters. Even a young boy named Jack, who had been critically ill, was feeling well enough to enjoy the festivities. At Providence Hospital, four youngsters were treated to presents, candy and oranges and “all the delicacies that the nurses felt were for their good.” Holiday music was played on Ed Strang’s radio. Visiting hours at both hospitals were extended, so that patients and their families could enjoy Christmas Day together.

In the historical photograph collection of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, is this picture of the staff of Good Samaritan Hospital at a holiday party in December, 1923.

    

If you would like to read more about what was happening in Sandusky in years past, visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, where local newspapers dating back to 1822 are found on microfilm.

Nineteenth Century Christmas Greetings

Wishing everyone Happy Holidays with some nineteenth century Christmas cards from the collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. You can see that at this time, instead of evergreen trees, gifts, and stockings, the cards were decorated with images of flowers. Fringe is attached all around the cards. Perhaps your ancestors received holiday cards like these!

You can read about the history of Christmas cards and other greetings cards in the book Encyclopedia of Ephemera, by Maurice Rickards (Routledge, 2000), available for loan from the Sandusky Library.

Christmas Ornaments from Strickfaden’s

Several boxes of German glass ornaments purchased at Strickfaden’s are now in the historical collections of the Follett House Museum. The three ornaments pictured above were dated from 1948. An advertisement for Strickfaden’s appeared in the WLEC Special Historical Edition Cookbook which was published in 1978.

The advertisement provided historical information about the popular garden center, which is no longer in operation.

The talking Santa was just one of the many attractions enjoyed by local families who shopped at Strickfaden’s. 

Sandusky Children Gave Gifts to a Local Hospital in 1889

In December of 1889, hundreds of Sandusky schoolchildren brought in donations for the Good Samaritan Hospital, which at that time was located on Van Buren Street.

      

According to the Sandusky Register of December 23, 1889, school children all across Sandusky were asked to contribute gifts to the hospital.

Hundreds of youngsters brought in donations of food for use at the hospital. Ethel Moore brought in two cakes of chocolate. Other gifts included a pound of coffee from Joe Nolan, four pounds of rolled oats from Jessie Hornig, a pound of tapioca from Willie Banks, and a live chicken from Albert Trout. Some students brought in contributions of cash. (You can read the article above in its entirety on microfilm at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.) 

During the holiday season of 1889, the D.C. Powers and Company store promised to carry something to please every member of the family

After having opened in 1886, the Good Samaritan Hospital ran into serious financial problems and closed its doors in 1893. The hospital reopened in 1910, and was rebuilt in 1918. Later a new facility was built, next door to the old one. In 1985 Good Samaritan Hospital and Sandusky Memorial Hospital merged to form Firelands Community Hospital, now known as Firelands Regional Medical Center.

Christmas Issue of the Hourglass Newsletter

Several issues of the Hourglass newsletter from the former Apex Manufacturing Company are housed in the business collection of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. The December 1948 issue of the Hourglass promoted home cleaning products. Page 16 of the newsletter depicts Apex cleaners under a Christmas tree:

The back cover of the newsletter provides details about a display for the Apex cylinder cleaner that featured the attachments for that model. The attachments helped the 1940s homemaker clean not only the floor, but also draperies and furniture and blinds.

Other features of this newsletter include family news about employees, safety tips, and news from the various Apex departments. An interesting letter from Sandusky Plant Manager Henry A. Klingenberger discusses the social climate of the U.S. after World War II. Having faced material shortages during the war, and the loss of employees to military service, in 1946 the company was shifting back to normal peacetime production. “Good will and cheer” were in the air.

Products Sold by the Cleveland and Sandusky Brewing Company

According to this advertisement, which appeared in the December 18, 1906 issue of the Sandusky Register, several types of beer could be delivered to Sandusky homes in 1906. Two dozen pints of C & S Special beer sold for $1.25. A case of Hof-Brau beer also sold for $1.25. A case of Crystal Rock or Amber beer sold for $1.00. 

The Stang Brewery on King Street

From about 1898 until Prohibition, the Kuebeler-Stang plants of the Cleveland and Sandusky Brewing Company distributed beer locally. In the 1904-1905 Sandusky City Directory listed Jacob Kuebeler as the first vice president and general manager of the local plants, while John E. Stang served as the assistant manager. The general office of the company was on the east side of Tiffin Avenue, near the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railroad. The branch office was on the east side of King Street, north of Madison Street.

Frank Stang started the Stang Brewing Company in 1880. His younger brother John Stang took over as president in 1890. Pictures of John Stang and Jacob Kuebeler appear in the 1895 publication, Men of Sandusky.

Jacob and August Kuebeler founded the Kuebeler Brewing Company in 1867. Around 1885 the Kuebeler brothers both built virtually identical large brick homes on Tiffin Avenue. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Kuebeler lived at 1318 Tiffin Avenue. (This home no longer stands.) The August Kuebeler residence was built at 1319 Tiffin Avenue, and is still standing today.

The Kuebeler & Stang Breweries merged in 1896.  Two years later the Kuebeler-Stang Breweries merged with Cleveland breweries to form the Cleveland and Sandusky Brewing Company. Many breweries closed during Prohibition, but the Stang plant continued doing business as Crystal Rock Products Company, selling soft drinks. The picture below shows a float sponsored by the Kuebeler Stang Brewing Company in the late 1800s.

To read more about the Kuebeler and Stang Brewing Companies and other brewing companies, see the book, Brewing Beer in the Buckeye State, by Dr. Robert A. Musson, available for loan through the CLEVNET system.

Christmas Gifts for the 1915 Holiday Season in Sandusky

By browsing through historical issues of the Sandusky Register, we can determine some of the popular gifts that were advertised to area residents in 1915. Mr. Bamberger carried winter scarves and hats at The Avenue Store on Columbus Avenue.

C.V. Baumgardner advertised pianos, while J.H. carried a wide variety of “talking machines.”

The Manhattan store sold suits, overcoats, and other men’s clothing.

Scheurer’s advertisement pictured toys, so that children could look at the newspaper and select a gift.

The Herb and Myers suggested that local residents purchase the unexpected gift of furniture as a Christmas present.

According to the December 17, 1915 issue of the Sandusky Register, many local stores planned to close by 6:00 p.m. on December 24, to allow the employees time off to spend with their families for the holiday. Several organizations proposed the early store closings, including the Business Girls Association, officers of the Trades and Labor Assembly, and every clergyman in the immediate area. 

“Most Popular Caller of the Year”

On December 24, 1901, the Sandusky Register featured this illustration of Mr. Santa Claus, “the most popular caller of the year.”  The caption stated that he would reach Sandusky that evening, and he would appear among the poor as well as the rich.

He'll be there soon . . . . 

The Bazar Was Santa’s Home in 1898

This advertisement from the Bazar store appeared in the December 21, 1898 issue of the Sandusky Register. In the late 1890s, the Bazar was located at 516 and 617 Market Street in downtown Sandusky. According to the ad, the Bazar was “Santa Claus’ Home” during the 1898 holiday season. For twenty-five cents, customers could purchase books, dolls, china ornaments, and handkerchiefs. For fifty cents, you could buy rings, toys, and vases. Sleds, mirror sets, and carving sets sold for a dollar. The advertisements in the historical issues of the Register give us a sense of the types of gifts our ancestors may have purchased over a hundred years ago. A large sign from the Bazar can be seen in this vintage picture of the parade honoring the returning Spanish American War soldiers from Company B of the Sixth Ohio Regiment in May of 1899.

Christmas Dinner for Company G, Twelfth Ammunition Train, during the Great War

During World War I, Company G of the Twelfth Ammunition Train had a lovely Christmas dinner at Camp McClellan in Alabama. Most likely, this event took place during the holiday season of 1918.

Listed in the Roster of Company G, Twelfth Ammunition Train are two young men from Erie County. Elson W. Kent was a Sergeant, and Jay R. Platte was Private, First Class.

 

Visit the Sandusky Library to view the Erie County Honor Roll, which provides photographs, military assignments, and the many activities with took place on the home front in Sandusky and Erie County during World War One.