Local Heroes: The Carnegie Medal Awarded to Sandusky Residents

Between 1904 and 1969, nine Sandusky area residents were awarded the Carnegie Medal for acts of extraordinary civilian heroism. The medal pictured above was awarded to Earl Thomas, who saved Rolland Smith, age 16, from drowning, after Rolland fell into deep water off the railroad bridge at Mills Creek. Though Thomas was not a good swimmer, he swam over thirty feet to bring Smith to safety, where both men were pulled out of the water by another young man. Though young Smith was unconscious, and Thomas suffered from exposure, both recovered. 

By performing a search for Sandusky, Ohio at the website of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, you can read a brief summary of all the awardees who were from Sandusky. In 1904, William C. Brune saved George P. Pfanner from drowning. Another water rescue took place in 1905 when baker Henry Schiller saved Wendell B. Tussing from drowning while at Lakeside, Ohio. When the Mahala Block burned on November 18, 1909, George B. Knopf made his way to the top of the fourth floor building to rescue Emma Keyes from the fire.

  

On October 29, 1920, Harry May saved Martin Maier from being killed by a train. The locomotive was only two feet from the men when Harry pushed Martin to safety. Hilda Hertlein was only twelve years old when she lifted four year old Viola Poock off the track as a streetcar was approaching. In addition to the Carnegie Medal,  Hilda received $1,600.00, which she used towards her studies at Ohio State University. Henry Sherman Potter, Jr., was also quite young when he earned a Carnegie Medal. Henry was age thirteen, when he saved  ten year old Omar E. Meyer, Jr. from drowning, after Omar fell through the ice while skating on Sandusky Bay. Henry broke through the ice, and finally threw his sweater to Omar to help pull him to safety. An article about the heroic act of Henry Sherman Potter, Jr. appeared in the July, 1929 issue of Boys’ Life magazine. Omar E. Meyer, Jr. eventually became the owner and president of the local company O.E. Meyer & Sons. 

While in Lorain in 1932, William G. Lang saved twenty-two month old Leila Smith from being struck by a streetcar. While at the helm of the streetcar, Lang quickly applied the brakes and drastically reduced the speed, after which he grasped the toddler to safety. During a severe rainstorm on July 5, 1969, Larry E. Smith rescued LoRene Limbard from drowning, after she was trapped in a fruit cellar in her home after a basement wall collapsed. Two men outside the home helped Mrs. Limbard out a small basement window, after Smith helped her find her way to the window. As Larry Smith himself exited through the window, the water had risen to the ceiling light of the basement. Sandusky can be proud of the many heroic actions undertaken by these nine ordinary citizens who helped save others’ lives while risking their own life.

The Woman's Endeavor

(March is Women's History Month.)

A gift from Charles E. Frohman, the newspaper entitled The Woman’s Endeavor was published on Saturday, March 21, 1908, selling for ten cents. The proceeds from the sale of The Woman’s Endeavor were designated to be used for the equipping and maintaining of a Women’s Rest Room and its associated activities.
Featured in the newspaper were articles about pioneers of Sandusky, the Underground Railroad, and histories of several area organizations, including the first Children’s Home, the Erie County Humane Society, and the first ladies literary society. Poems and jokes, as well as articles about fashion, cooking, and household hints, were also included.

Several local business owners purchased advertisements in The Woman’s Endeavor. Besides the many male doctors, dentists, and other businessmen who purchased ads, there were two advertisements placed by women business owners. Jessie Meenan ran a millinery shop in the Sloane block of Washington Row, and Marie Bruckner had a corset shop at 204 Columbus Avenue.

Three members of the editorial staff of The Woman’s Endeavor, Mrs. J. F. Hertlein, Mrs. J. T. Mack, and Mrs. T. M. Sloane, went on to serve on the first female jury in Erie County in 1920. Two female physicians were associated with this newspaper: Dr. Emily Blakeslee had an advertisement, and Dr. Carrie Chase Davis wrote a feature article in this publication.

Many women of Sandusky were active in the Women’s Suffrage movement. In 1903, a state suffrage convention was held in Sandusky. Marie C. Brehm, born in Sandusky in 1859, was a suffragette, and also the first legally qualified female candidate to run for the vice-presidency of the United States. She ran on the Prohibition ticket in 1924, with Herman P. Faris.

The First Female Jury in Erie County

On August 26, 1920, an important ‘first’ quietly took place at the Erie County Courthouse in Sandusky. Early that morning, the ratification of the nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was certified. That Amendment read in part “The right of citizens in the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. “ On August 18, 1920, Tennessee was the thirty-sixth state to ratify the nineteenth amendment. Ohio had ratified the amendment on June 16, 1919.

On the morning of August 26, 1920, at the Erie County Courthouse, Judge Roy Williams was to conduct the trial of Pennok Jeffries vs. the Pennsylvania Railroad, for an automobile accident that occurred in 1919, when a train car struck Jeffries’ automobile.

Ten men were summoned to serve on the jury, but nine offered excuses as to why they couldn’t serve. Having heard that the 19th amendment had been ratified, Judge Williams said “I decided to impanel a woman jury. Twelve women were summoned. Twelve women responded and twelve women served.”

The women were sworn in, the cases were stated, and cross examinations were made. When the statements were concluded, the judge gave the women of the jury their instructions and they retired to the jury room. They made their decision in four minutes and shortly returned to their seats in the jury box. They decided for the plaintiff, who was awarded $1500.

After the trial was over, the judge congratulated the women for their service on the jury. Each of the twelve women were paid two dollars for serving on the jury. This was the first all female jury in Erie County, and one of the earliest in the United States.

The women of the jury included Katherine H. Biller, Mary R. Boehmer, Sarah Cooke Sloane, Alice K. Hertlein, Alice D. Mack, Anna Sutton, Emma Broadbent, Sallie W.D. Neill, Mabel. L. Magill, Sarah C. Scott, Henrietta Zerbe, Bertrha Mitchell. The three men in the photo are Roy Williams, George Beis and Claude Minor.

This historic event was commemorated with an Ohio historical marker erected during Ohio’s 2003 Bicentennial. The marker is located near the north entrance of the Erie County Courthouse where the photograph of the women of the jury was taken.