C.F. Denzer Office Supply Business

 

C.F. Denzer sold office supplies at his store at 210 Columbus Avenue, near East Market Street, for many years. By 1940, the business had relocated to East Market Street, and later onto Water Street. Above is the cover of a promotional item from Barker’s Greeting Cards, given away at Denzer’s. It is a clever item used to store four different types of stamps. Here is the inside:

(This item is probably from between July 1932 and December 1951, when first class postage was three cents and postcards were a penny.)

 Besides office supplies, Denzer’s also sold greeting cards and wrapping paper for gifts.

This advertising card indicates that C.F. Denzer sold “a penholder for every taste.”

Eventually C.F. Denzer changed its name to Denzer’s, Inc. The company’s final location in Sandusky was at 2111 Cleveland Road, ending around the mid-1980s.

Hand Colored Postcards from George F. Windisch and Company

Several hand-colored postcards created by George F. Windisch and Company are housed in the collection of historical photographs at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. The postcard above features a view of the Cedar Point pier at the foot of Columbus Avenue in the first quarter of the twentieth century. George F. Windisch was a lifelong Sandusky resident, born in 1864 to parents of German descent. From 1903 to 1917, he, along with Carl F. Denzer, operated a business in the Stone’s Block on Sandusky’s Columbus Avenue.   The view in the postcard below faces south toward Columbus Avenue.

Many of these postcards are scenes from Cedar Point, the popular resort which still attracts visitors to the Sandusky area every summer and fall.

 

In 1919, George F. Windisch sold his interests in the store to his partner C.F. Denzer, who continued on as the sole proprietor.

After leaving the bookstore and stationery business, Windisch worked for the Herb and Myers department store. Mr. Windisch died in September, 1953 at the age of 89. An obituary appeared in the September 24, 1953 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News.

“You Never Can Tell” Performance in 1922

On April 20, 1922, the play “You Never Can Tell” was presented by the Sandusky Federation of Women’s Clubs at the Sandusky Theater on Jackson and Water Streets.

Charlotte Atwater DeVine directed the play, which was put on for the benefit of a free dental clinic for school age children in Sandusky. George Bernard Shaw wrote the play, which was about a dentist falling in love. A subplot in the play was about three children who accidentally meet their father for the first time. Below is the list of characters, and the local actors who portrayed them.

Mrs. Lilly Johnson wrote a review of the local production in the April 21, 1922 issue of the Sandusky Register. Mrs. Johnson stated that a large and distinctive audience saw the play, which featured many professional touches. Two actors who played their roles very well were George Lehrer as the semi-villainous father, and Charles Selkirk, who portrayed the suave attorney. The article concluded:

In this group of people Sandusky possesses dramatic talent of a high order and it is to be hoped that lovers of the drama have an opportunity of seeing them at frequent intervals. A total of $300 was raised for the future dental clinic.

Along the edges of the play’s program were advertisements for local businesses, which were written in rhyme. These two ads are from W.A. Bishop, photographer, and Denzer’s office supply store.

The C.F. Denzer Company

An article in volume 85 of the American Stationer magazine reported that in 1919 Carl F. Denzer bought out the business of the George F. Windisch & Co. in Sandusky, Ohio. Mr. Denzer had been connected with Mr. Windisch for twenty-three years, and he had been a business partner since 1909. The C.F. Denzer Co. was located at 210-212 Columbus Avenue in the Stone Block. In the picture above, signs in the windows advertised safes, cabinets, filing supplies, and office furniture. Mr. Denzer also sold books, stationery, and sporting goods. Signs in the windows on the uppermost level of the building still featured the name of the previous owner George F. Windisch. A shoe store operated by George Ueberle and H. George Brengartner was just north of the C.F. Denzer Company. Right above the shoe store was the Christian Science Reading Room.

In a special “Ladies Night” sponsored by the Rotary Club in January, 1920, Carl F. Denzer was presented with a big barrel labeled Port Wine. Mr. Denzer pretended to open the wine and share with it with his friends, as the audience sang “How Dry I Am.” Since this event took place during Prohibition, there was most likely not any wine in the barrel.

During the Christmas season of 1921, the C.F. Denzer Co. advertised a wide variety of books, cards, games, and holiday decorations for Sandusky area residents. A title at the top of the list of books was A Web of Thought, by Marjorie Anderson, a native of Sandusky.

In September of 1926, Carl F. Denzer married Miss Corrinne Curtis, the sister of Worth Curtis. On August 23, 1940, members of the Ohio Stationers Club met at the new location of the C.F. Denzer Company on East Market Street. Mr. Denzer had sold the old C.F. Denzer building to the S.S. Kresge Company in March of 1940.

Carl F. Denzer passed away in California at the age of 59 on February 6, 1943. Though he had been in failing health, his death was unexpected. Carl F. Denzer was survived by his widow, two sisters and two brothers. Burial was at Oakland Cemetery.

Here is a postcard with a view of the Stone Block on Columbus Avenue, from the first quarter of the twentieth century:

Scene of Downtown Sandusky at Christmas Time

Ernst Niebergall, a well known Sandusky photographer, took this photograph of downtown Sandusky, probably in the 1930s:

 

In a closer view, the Weinberger Cut Rate Drugstore can be seen at the southwest corner of Columbus Avenue and Market Street. Adolph Weinberger owned the drugstore, which was later known as Gray Drug Store. Just south of Weinberger’s Drugstore are the Montgomery Ward and J.C. Penney stores. Later J.C. Penney would have a much larger business at this location. Rosino’s Shoe Store was located south of the J.C. Penney store.

On the east side of Columbus Avenue, the following businesses can be seen: Denzer’s Books and Gifts, Textor Jeweler’s, the S. S. Kresge Company, and the H and S Modern Bakery. In the distance, the marquee of the Seitz State Theater is visible as well.