George W. Paine, Railroad Agent

George W. Paine was the freight agent for the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, and its successor the New York Central, for almost fifty years. From the early 1880s until the family moved to California in 1922, Mr. and Mrs. George W. Paine lived in Sandusky, Ohio. Mr. Paine served as the organist for the Congregational Church, and Mrs. Paine was active in the Martha Pitkin Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. During the Civil War, he served in Company D of the 101^st Ohio Volunteer Infantry. When Fremont and other cities in northern Ohio were affected by severe flooding in March of 1913, Agent Paine worked with local officials and organizations to transport food, clothing and other supplies over the New York Central railroad lines at no cost.

       

Local citizens and community organizations gathered supplies in a room at the Hubbard building on Water Street. A special car from the New York Central Railroad took the supplies to Fremont on March 27, 1913. Sandusky’s Company B, Sixth Regiment of the Ohio National Guard was also ordered to duty to assist in providing aid to flood victims.

Friends and family met at the New York Central station in August, 1922 to see the Paine family off to their new home in California. George W. Paine died in California on March 3, 1926. He was long remembered for his many years of service and leadership during his long career with the railroad in Sandusky.

The Flood of June 1937

The June 26, 1937 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that nearly six inches of rain fell in the 24 hour period between the evenings of June 24 and June 25. Hundreds of people were without electricity and telephone service. The Erie County Engineer reported that practically every road in the area was impassable at some point, because of high water. Sandusky was isolated from the rest of the world, as the subways at Hayes Avenue (pictured above), Camp Street, Columbus Avenue, and Tiffin Avenue were flooded. Trucks were stranded in the flooded subway on Tiffin Avenue:

 Making the most of a difficult situation, some youngsters went swimming in the high waters.

 Several local factories had to cancel operations because of damage to stock and materials, including the Madison Street plant of the Hinde and Dauch Company, the Farrell-Cheek Foundry, the Holland-Rieger Company, and the G. & C Foundry. Providence Hospital incurred over $50,000 worth of damages. The Emergency Room, X-Ray Department, medical supplies room, and kitchen were all under water. Bellevue was the hardest hit community in the June flood. A young man, Emerson Zippernick, drowned while swimming in a pond during the extreme downpour of rain. National Guard troops were called in  to Bellevue to help avoid a railroad embankment from giving way.

Earlier in 1937, the OhioRiver flooded, causing the deaths of over three hundred people, and leaving thousands homeless. 

The Sandusky Register and Sandusky Star Journal provided extensive coverage of the northern Ohio flood of June, 1937. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to read about this event. The Archives Research Center has in its holdings microfilmed copies of Sandusky newspapers dating back to 1822.