Laura Jones, Sandusky Businesswoman

From 1935 until her retirement in 1970, Mrs. Laura Jones was the owner-operator of a dress shop located at 162 Columbus Avenue in Sandusky, Ohio. Laura Jones was the daughter of Martin and Mary (Pulch) Helget. She married Earl Jones in 1917. After only a few years of marriage, Mr. Jones was killed on February 28, 1923 in an electrical accident while he was at work at a manufacturing facility in Youngstown, Ohio. 

Mrs. Jones started out operating a dress shop at the same location as Emma Hansen’s hat shop in downtown Sandusky. An article which appeared in the August 13, 1935 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that she and Miss Hansen were on a buying trip in Detroit, Michigan. While there, they attended the fall style show at the Hotel Statler. By 1952, Mrs. Jones was the sole proprietor of the Laura Jones Dress Shop.

In the mid-1950s, Laura Jones was a member of the Retail Merchants Association of Sandusky, Ohio. This group was the successor to the merchants’ division of the Sandusky Chamber of Commerce.

In 1962, Mrs. Jones had several items on sale in honor of George Washington’s birthday.

Mrs. Laura Jones retired from her dress shop in 1970. She died in September, 1987 at the age of 92. This hat box from the Laura Jones Dress and Hat Shop is now in the historical collections of the Follett House Museum.

Black Patti Troubadours at the Grand Theater

In 1905 the Black Patti Troubadours appeared in Sandusky at the Grand Theater (on Water and Jackson Streets, originally known as the Sandusky Opera House). The Black Patti Troubadours were a group of African American performers who performed musical comedy. They traveled throughout the United States between 1896 and 1915. The group was centered around a talented performer, Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones. 

Image from the Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/images/at0155.2s.jpg

Madame Jones (as she was commonly identified) had a trained operatic voice, and the local press of her day compared her to the well known opera singer Adelina Patti. Madame Jones was the first African American performer at Wallack's Theatre in Boston in the late 1880’s, and sang at the White House for President and Mrs. Harrison in 1892. She sang in concerts in the United States, South America, and in Europe.  After facing racial discrimination, Madame Jones formed her own entertainment troupe known as the Black Patti Troubadours.

Looney Dreamland was the name of the show in 1905. Voelckel and Nolan were the managers of the Black Patti Troubadours at that time. The show, staged by Robert Cole, was advertised as “a musical visit to Dreamland.”

Madame Jones sang “My Dear Southern Home,” “At  Home,” and “Old Man Moon” in the second act. She performed the leading role in the final act of the evening, a condensed opera performance.

The Black Patti Troubadours also had appeared in Sandusky on November 1, 1898. The performance, at the same location (then called the Nielsen Opera House), featured comedy, songs, a cake walk, and operatic masterpieces. An article in the November 1, 1898 issue of the Sandusky Star reported that the Troubadours had “irresistible and fascinating charm” during their stage performance. The Black Patti Troubadours were considered “one of the marvels of the metropolis” during their 1898 run in New York City.

To learn more about Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones, you can read or listen to an NPR story from 2007.

Sandusky High School Graduating Class of 1917

The senior class of 1917 was the largest class of graduates in Sandusky High School’s history up to then. The class consisted of 68 young men and women, but Esther Hartung was ill and could not attend the commencement ceremony. Rev. C. L. Alspach had addressed the class at the High School on the evening of June 4, 1917 during the baccalaureate service.

He urged the members of the class to seek to attain the ideals of true manhood and womanhood, rather than the ever-changing measure of success as measured by the world. During the baccalaureate service one hundred high school girls sang the song “America Triumphant” which was fitting, since the United States had just entered World War I in April. Rev. J.H. Holdgraf offered a prayer for peace, and the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” was sung.  

The Sandusky High School graduation ceremony took place on June 8, 1917 in the Sandusky High School auditorium, then located on Adams Street.

The speaker at graduation was Professor Delbert G. Lean from the College of Wooster. He stated that the men and women of the class of 1917 are the “men and women of the hour in an age of speed.” Professor Lean discussed the many changes in industry and technology, and spoke of the importance of education. He reminded the graduates that the youth of today “control the destinies of tomorrow.” He urged the senior class members to have conviction of purpose. Principal W.A. Richardson presented the class to Superintendent James T. Begg as “the largest and best class” ever to graduate from Sandusky High School.  Superintendent Begg pointed out that a high school education was valued at about $1800, according to figures from U.S. Government officials. Music for the commencement was provided by the high school orchestra, under the direction of Professor G.D. Jones. Several high school students also performed solos and duets. 

To see the names and pictures of each 1917 Sandusky High School graduate more closely, see the 1917 June Fram, available at the Sandusky Library’s local history collection in the Lower Level.