August 26 is National Dog Day

Captain Payne, dog of Judge Jay Payne

Dogs have been a trusted human companion for centuries, and this fact is certainly reflected in the collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. We have dozens of photographs of dogs with friends and family. Here are a few, in commemoration of National Dog Day.

  We don't know the identity of this woman or her dog, but we can perceive the loyalty between them.

Emma Marie Yeager is with her dog in Huron Township, around 1907.

This good dog is at Green and Pascoe Grocers on Huron Street

A dog and his boys, Errol, Otto, and Elmer Matern.

The Photographer Ernst Niebergall with his dog and cat.

It seems that a photographer liked to include his dog with the baseball teams he photographed. Here are a few examples.

A very good dog!

Emma Matern Weaver, Artist

 

On January 1, 1897, Emma Matern, daughter of Henry and Lena Matern, was baptized at Grace Church in Sandusky, Ohio. Most baptisms in the Episcopal Church at that time were for infants, but she was in her thirties at the time of her baptism. Her baptismal sponsors were her sister Augusta Harrison  and Elizabeth Hudson, an artist and art teacher in Sandusky, and an early mentor to Emma Matern. Emma later studied at Adelphi College, the Art Students League, the Cincinnati Art Academy, and in Europe. She was known for painting flowers and portraits in oils and watercolor. In 1895, Emma Matern began teaching Art at DePauw University in Indiana, and in 1897, she married James Riley Weaver, a political science professor and a retired colonel in the U.S. Army.

In 1920, Colonel Weaver, who fought in the Battle of Gettysburg and was a prisoner of war during the Civil War, died in Indiana. He was a frequent visitor to Sandusky, Ohio, especially during the summer months, and he was buried at Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. Mrs. Emma Matern Weaver died at her sister Augusta’s home in Detroit, Michigan on March 29, 1932. She was buried beside her husband, Col. James Riley at Oakland Cemetery.

An example of Emma Matern's work from AskArt.com

Matern Stove and Furnace Company

Henry Matern was born in Germany in 1827. He came to the United States in 1849, and settled in Sandusky in 1850, opening a stove and tinware business in town in 1856. His store was on the south side of Water Street between Jackson Street and Columbus Avenue. By 1869, his brother Phillip had joined the business with him. In 1889 Henry Matern organized the Matern Stove and Furnace Company. 

The “Jewel Grand” model was considered the grandest stove in America, according to a newspaper ad that appeared in the Sandusky Register in 1889.

Mr. Matern also had a floral shop on Washington Street. Henry Matern, Sr. passed away on April 10, 1898, survived by his widow, and seven children. Following his death, his son, Henry Matern, Jr., took over the stove business, and his widow, the former Lena Linkenbach, ran the flower shop.

The stoves carried by the Matern Stove and Furnace Company had impressive names such as Jewel, Sterling, and Garnet. In the ad below, which was featured in the October 4, 1901 issue of the Sandusky Daily Star, it was stated that a barrel of flour was baked into bread using only ten cents of hard coal. This stove was once demonstrated at the Erie County Fair.

A brochure published by the Detroit Stove Works, with story problems and puzzlers was given away by the Matern Company. It was entitled “Mental Nuts: Can You Crack ‘em?”

Puzzler number 3 read:

The Beggar

A beggar had a brother, the brother died and the man who died had no brother.

The answer to the puzzler is:

The beggar was a woman

The name of the business eventually was shortened to the Matern Stove Company. It went out of business in the fall of 1917. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to find information about the historical businesses and residents of Sandusky and Erie County.

Henry Matern and the Matern Brothers Store

In 1860 (possibly even earlier) Henry Matern operated a business on Water Street in Sandusky, where he sold stoves and tinware. By 1869 Henry brought his brother Philip Matern into the business, and the store was known as H. Matern and Brother. By 1882 the business became known as Matern Brothers. 

Henry Matern was born in Weilburg, Nassau, Germany in 1827. He came to the U.S. in 1849. Philip Matern was born in Wiesbaden, Nassau, Germany, and came to the U.S. in 1852. By 1890, Henry Matern, Jr. was also working with his father and uncle at the Matern Brothers store. Eventually Henry Matern, Jr. took over the business, and it was in operation in Sandusky until 1917. This advertisement appeared in the May 14, 1904 issue of the Sandusky Star.

According to the 1904 ad, the Thatcher furnace had been used in public schools and churches for the past twenty years.

Henry Matern, Sr. died on April 10, 1898, and his brother Philip died in 1903. They were buried in the family lot at Oakland Cemetery. A brief excerpt from Henry Matern’s obituary, which was in the April 11, 1898 issue of the Sandusky Register, said about him, in part, “When he came here this city was scarcely more than a village, and he has therefore been closely connected with the development of Sandusky commercially and in every other way.”

Several photographs from the Matern family were donated to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. This picture was taken by Henry Matern,Sr.’s grandson Elmer Matern. Unfortunately, the individuals in the picture have not been identified.

    

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the former businesses of Sandusky and Erie County.

Charles Baetz, Bandmaster

Charles Baetz was born in Renghausen, Germany on November 27, 1836. A musician by training, he learned to play the violin, and later, the cornet. He came to the United States in 1854. According to the U.S. Civil War Soldiers database, Baetz was the principal musician for Company A of the 128th Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. He directed the military band at the federal prison at Johnson’s Island during the Civil War.

In 1862, Charles Baetz married Mary Graul. They had a family of four children: Sophia, Eugene, Meta, and Gertrude. The first Mrs. Charles Baetz died in 1894. By 1900, Charles Baetz had remarried. The second Mrs. Charles Baetz was Dorothy Matern, the daughter of a local stove merchant. (Dorothy’s sister Emma Matern Weaver was a talented artist.)

When the Cedar Point Pleasure Resort Company was formed in 1887, the partnership consisted of Charles Baetz, Louis Adolph, Adam Stoll, Jacob Kuebeler and Benjamin Dwelle. The group chose Baetz to be the General Manager of Cedar Point for the 1888 season. Mr. Baetz continued to be connected with Cedar Point until 1897.

In 1867, Charles Baetz had founded the Great Western Band. The Great Western Band played for concerts and dances at Cedar Point. This band became well known, and won several competitions. Baetz had also been involved in the insurance business in Sandusky, and for a time was the manager of the Biemiller's Opera House.

Charles Baetz died in Battle Creek Michigan, on September 26, 1907. His funeral was held at the family residence on Washington Street. He was buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. A lovely tribute to Mr. Baetz appeared in the October 11, 1907 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal. The article read in part, “A story of the life of Charles Baetz must necessarily embrace much of the history of band music and entertainment in Sandusky….”

To read more about the history of the Great Western Band and Cedar Point, check out the book Cedar Point: The Queen of American Watering Places, by David W. and Diane Demali Francis, available at the Sandusky Library.