Andrew J. Biemiller, Member of Congress

Andrew J. Biemiller in High School

Andrew J. Biemiller was the son of Andrew Frederick and Pearl (Weber) Biemiller, born in Sandusky, Ohio in 1906. (A Biemiller family member of an earlier generation founded the Biemiller Opera House in Sandusky in 1877.) Young Andrew was a member of the Sandusky High School Debating Club during his senior year at Sandusky High School, in 1921-1922.  According to the 1922 Fram, he was an outstanding orator. After graduating from Cornell University in 1926, he taught history at Syracuse University and the University of Pennsylvania. For a time he was associated with the Socialist Party, serving as a campaign manager for Norman Thomas, Socialist candidate for President in 1932. But in 1944 he was elected as a Democrat to serve as United States Representative for Wisconsin’s Fifth District. He lost the election in 1946, but was returned to Congress in 1948. After serving in the U.S. Congress, Mr. Biemiller became the chief lobbyist for the AFL-CIO. The Truman Library features an oral history in which he mentions Sandusky several times. 

Andrew J. Biemiller died on April 3, 1982. He was buried in Ellicott, Maryland.

Sandusky Register Employees in the Early Twentieth Century

In the photograph above, members of the Sandusky Register “Chapel” of the Typographical Union fill up two vintage automobiles in downtown Sandusky. The cars appear to be decorated for a parade. (Possibly the Perry's Victory Centennial Parade?) The picture was taken in front of the Pabst Cafe, between 1910 and 1913, which was located at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Water Street, not far from the Sandusky Register building, which was at 626-630 Water Street, on the south side, between Columbus Avenue and Wayne Street. (The street numbers indicate that the picture was taken before the 1915 change in the street numbering system.)  The proprietors of the Pabst Cafe and Grill Room at that time were Moe Frohman and Frank Elzenheimer. Note that the street is paved with bricks. To see this and many other historical photographs of Sandusky and Erie County, visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.

At Work in Sandusky

Celebrated in the U.S. since 1882, Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is dedicated “to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.” The men in the photograph above were employed by Lay Brothers Fisheries in the 1930s. The crew was on a fishing boat, pulling up nets from Sandusky Bay. In the historical photograph collection at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center are a wide variety of images of local residents pictured in the workplace. 

Several men and women who were employed at Hinde and Dauch can be seen in the 1905 picture below.

The ice industry provided many area residents with jobs in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

During World War II, employees at Barr Rubber made life rafts for the war effort.

In the picture below, taken sometime between 1910 and 1915, are members of the Sandusky Chapel of the Typographical Union employed by the Sandusky Register. Maybe their vehicles were decorated for a Labor Day celebration!

 

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to see many more vintage pictures of the people who called Sandusky and Erie County home.

Indoor Circuses Held at Jackson Junior High

From 1940 through 1958, the Sandusky Industrial Union Council sponsored an annual indoor circus, which was held at Jackson Junior High School. The event was sponsored by . The November 1940 performance by the Patterson Brothers included trained horses, trapeze artists, clowns, and comical dogs and monkeys. A feature of the 1940 indoor circus was a trained pony that kicked footballs into the stands. In the 1941 Indoor Circus, Buck Owens appeared with his horse Goldie.

Buck Owens was a native Sanduskian. He was born Max Geis, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Geis, who lived on Clinton Street in the 1940s. 

Below is an advertisement for the indoor circus held on March 17, 1949, which appeared in the March 12 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News. School age children could attend the event for forty cents.

The indoor circus of 1953 featured the Lehmback family from Fort Wayne, who performed balancing, juggling and acrobatics. Captain Walcott also brought trained dogs and ponies to entertain the crowds. In 1958, aerialist named “Miss Consuelo” performed. Area residents recalled her last appearance in Sandusky when she was featured during the halftime show of the Harlem Globetrotters game. 

While the indoor circus was not as large as a traditional circus, the Junior High provided a convenient location for most area residents.

Labor Day

In honor of Labor Day, we would like to share some images of workers, from the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.

Lay Brothers, 1905

Sandusky Tool Company, circa 1880

Beilsten Steam Laundry, circa 1895. Note the child laborers.

Another example of women at work: Jackson Underwear factory, 1906

The men who built the Jackson Underwear factory, 1899

A meeting of the Bartenders' Union, 1940

40th Anniversary Meeting of the International Union of Operating Engineers

On January 15, 1952 local photographer William Mound took this photograph of the members of Local 496 of the International Union of Operating Engineers. Pictured are: (top row, left to right) Joe Geise, William Schemmer, Charles Popke, Sidney White; (bottom row) Frank Converse, Ben Sprau, and Frank Merrick. Ben Sprau was a charter member of the local chapter of the International Union of Operating Engineers, which was begun on January 12, 1912. The group started with only twelve members, and later grew to a membership of almost one hundred. Mr. Sprau worked as a marine engineer for over twenty five years, and later served as an engineer for the city of Sandusky.

Cigar Making in Sandusky

Back in the days when it seemed like nearly everyone smoked (long before the Surgeon General's report), cigar manufacturing was a major industry in Sandusky. An article in the January 30, 1904 issue of the Sandusky Evening Star reported that nearly three million cigars a year were produced in Sandusky! Eighteen factories in the city produced these cigars, employing about 175 workers. The article went on to note that "Sandusky stands second to Tiffin, where there are several big factories which make stogies. Sandusky has no stogie factories."Many of the factories had their own retail stores. The Dietz & Mischler company, shown above, was at 224 Columbus Avenue. They might be best known for the statue of Puck holding a bundle of cigars in the store window. The Henry Ritter & Sons store, at 139 Columbus Avenue, had a wooden statue of Punch outside its door to entice customers. Both Punch and Puck can been seen today in the Follett House Museum.

Here is a view of activity at the Ritter factory in 1903:
Ritter's store, circa 1890:

And here are members of the Cigar Makers International Union, Sandusky Local, in 1905: