Sandusky and Vacationland in WPA Guides

 

The Federal Writers’ Project was a part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s W.P.A. - known as the Works Progress Administration from 1935 to 1939, and the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to its conclusion in 1943. Guides to each of the then 48 states in the U.S., as well as Alaska, Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., were written during these years, along with guides to smaller regions, including "Vacationland," a term used at the time for the Lake Erie Islands region (including Sandusky). 

The WPA Guide to Ohio featured three sections: general background, cities, and tours. Sandusky was one of the featured cities in the Ohio Guide. 

On page 308 of the book, the authors described Sandusky as “a magical place, when its numerous parks and old shade trees shower their colors everywhere, its limestone buildings take on a regal dignity, its bay quickens with the touch-and-go of barges, tugs, pleasure boats and freighters, and thousands of brightly dressed tourists overrun the city.”

The section of the book on Sandusky continues with historical facts about the city, along with a description of local industries. The Oran Follett House was listed as one of the “Points of Interest” in Sandusky.

The Lake Erie Vacationland in Ohio book offered descriptions of Ohio's Lake Erie islands and communities in Erie and Ottawa Counties, and some suggested tour routes.

It also included a number of photographs and a map of the region.

In November, 1941, the Sandusky Library celebrated American Guide Week, with a display of books from the American Guide Week series.

The Ohio Guide can be borrowed through the Hoopla digital service, or a print copy can be requested through Clevnet. A reprint copy of the Vacationland book can be checked out from the Sandusky Library, or you can view an original copy in the library's Archives Research Center to learn more about our region as it looked in the 1930s.

Madison School

Madison School was constructed at the intersection of West Madison and Lawrence Streets in Sandusky between 1938 and 1939 as a federal Public Works Administration Project during the Great Depression. A P.W.A. grant contributed 45 per cent of the funding of the new schooling. The new school replaced a previous Madison School building that was over 70 years old in 1938. Dr. Frank J. Prout was the superintendent of Sandusky City Schools when the Madison School project was begun, but by the time the new Madison School opened, Dr. Prout had become president of Bowling Green State University, and Karl Whinnery was the school superintendent.

Original Madison School, demolished in 1938

The new school, constructed in the English style, was designed by Sandusky architect Harold Parker. The old school was torn down by Strouse Wrecking Company of Castalia. The general contractor for the new Madison School was Petersen-Hiss. Other local contractors involved in the project included Brohl and Appell Plumbing and Heating and Diamond S Electric. There were eight classrooms in the new school as well as a stage and assembly room. Ohio artist George Dinckel painted a mural in the music room, which featured historical images of music throughout history. Gregorian monks, children in a choir, comic opera singers and a troubadour were included in the large painting.

A stage and piano were at the front of the assembly room in Madison School.

Several area businesses were sub-contractors in the construction of Madison School.

Numerous companies placed advertisements in the November 12, 1939 issue of the Sandusky Register to congratulate Sandusky City Schools on the opening of the new Madison School.

Former school superintendent Dr. Frank J. Prout and 1939 school superintendent Karl Whinnery both spoke at the dedicatory service and open house for Madison School held on November 12, 1939.

Madison School is no longer in use in the Sandusky City School system, since three new elementary schools were constructed during the “Building Better Dreams Facilities Project” undertaken in recent years. By reading about the Madison School project in the 1930s, we can see the ongoing dedication of community leaders to providing excellent educational facilities for Sandusky’s youth. The Madison School project also provided job opportunities for employees of local companies during the challenging times of the Great Depression

The Fall of the Commercial Banking and Trust Company

In late February and early March of 1933, the country stood at the edge of a precipice of a national crisis. President Herbert Hoover was in his last weeks as President, and Franklin D. Roosevelt was poised to take the oath of office. Across the nation, confidence in the banking system was falling rapidly, and there was concern that panicked citizens would rush to the bank to withdraw all of their holdings and that banks wouldn’t be able to meet the demand for cash. In late February, the governor of Michigan declared a bank holiday in order to avoid a panic, and caught the attention of the entire nation. On March 5th, 1933, one day after taking the oath of office, President Franklin Roosevelt declared a four day national bank holiday, in order to stabilize the country’s banks. All financial transactions were halted, and businesses and individuals had to work with cash on hand in the interim.

In order to reopen after the bank holiday, every bank in the country had to prove it had sufficient funds in reserve to cover all of the funds on deposit. On March 15th, ten days after the bank holiday was declared, two Sandusky banks, Third National Exchange Bank and the Citizens Banking Company reopened their doors for business. The Commercial Banking and Trust Company waited for permission to resume business as usual.
Days passed without any word on the fate of the bank until the March 25, 1933 Star Journal announced that the Commercial Banking and Trust Company was coming back bigger and better. Plans were to reorganize the bank and open branches throughout Erie County, with capital stock of $300,000. The new bank was to be known as the United Bank of Erie County.

On May 30, 1933, the disappointing news that, after weeks of effort, it was impossible to organize the Commercial Banking and Trust due to the amount of money needed to provide working capital. Thus it became more important than ever to go ahead with the planned United Bank of Erie County. Plans to liquidate the Commercial Banking and Trust were outlined in the local newspaper. On June 15th, plans for a new bank were dashed when the Glass-Steagall bank legislation was passed. The Glass bill required newly organized banks to have more than $625,000 in capital and surplus, more than double the figure that had been planned for the Erie County bank. On Saturday, July 21, the bank was taken over by the state superintendent of banks. Depositors were requested to file proofs of claim before November 30th.

Eventually, the matter of the bank liquidation ended up in court, and dragged on for years. In March, 1941, the building was finally sold. In November, 1941, it was announced that depositors would receive a final dividend of 21.65 percent. In the intervening years, the bank paid out sixty percent of the claims of depositors, totaling $1,771,377.39. It also charged off $1,336,106.30 to loss.

Depositors of the bank faced real losses. Claims under $100 were paid a flat ten dollars, a substantial loss in 1941. The money was tied up for years as the liquidation process played out. The keys to the building were handed over by the liquidator on January 2, 1942, and the final report was filed February 26, 1942.

In the meantime the Western Securities Bank moved into the building that the Commercial Banking and Trust Company had constructed in the early 1920s. The Western Security Bank was located at the corner of Columbus and East Washington Row until it relocated in 1974.