Memorial Day Celebrations in Sandusky in 1923

There were three Memorial Day celebrations in Sandusky in the year 1923. The first one took place at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home at 8:30 on Wednesday, May 30. At 10 a.m. a service was held on the deck of the steamer Chippewa. A third event began with members of patriotic organizations marching from the G.A.R. Hall to Oakland Cemetery. Commandant Perry Null of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home led the parade. Other parade participants included the Camp Fire Girls, a drum and bugle corps, members of the American Legion, and a group of Civil War Veterans, who rode in automobiles.

    

The Sandusky High School Band also took part in the parade.  The band played the song “Our Heroes” as the parade grew closer to Oakland Cemetery, where  members of the G.A.R. and the Women’s Relief Corps had gathered.                                  

     

Commodore R.G. Denig spoke about a renewal of honor for the nation’s flag. Rev. Charles Huffer gave the benediction. Adjutant of the G.A.R. W.P. Thompson, read General John Logan’s Memorial Day proclamation. Mrs. Nina Goodwin Braby read the Gettysburg Address, just prior to the address given by Elyria Mayor A.E. Jones. Mayor Jones in his address, called for greater devotion to the laws of the country, a more universal observance of Memorial Day, and greater appreciation for those who made sacrifices in military service. A firing squad salute was given by members of the American Legion and the Ohio National Guard, and taps were played by bugler Harold Mertz to conclude the services. Below, a group is seen gathering to talk at the cemetery on Memorial Day. A large crowd is visible in the background.

You can read more about how Sandusky celebrated Memorial Day in 1923 in the Sandusky Register of May 31, 1923, now on microfilm at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.          

Early Apartment Buildings in Sandusky

Though not all the apartment buildings are still in existence, many of the named apartments buildings listed in the 1941 Sandusky City Directory are still providing homes for Sandusky residents. Pictured above is the Ramsey Apartment building located at 335 Central Avenue.

The Erie Apartments at 1517 Columbus Avenue were built in 1919 for employees of the Erie Tire and Rubber Company. Though the company was only in Sandusky for a few years, the apartment building still stands.  The apartment building at 515 West Washington Street was once the home of the William T. Townsend family.

Mentions of apartment buildings often appeared in the society pages of the local newspapers. The Sandusky Star Journal of March 28, 1911 reported that Mrs. John Renner had recently been hostess to the Fortnightly Club in her apartment at the Feick Flats, and Mrs. W.H. Nolte served an elegant lunch when the L.G.A. met at her apartment at the Willdred. 

At least two of the buildings from the 1941 listing have been named to the National Register of Historic Places, the Willdred Flats and the Mertz apartments. The apartments at 310-303 East Washington Street were listed as the Converse-Mertz Apartments in the National Register.

According to the Ohio Historic Places Dictionary (Somerset Publishers Inc., 1999), the Greek Revival style apartment building was built by Charles Converse, an early dry goods merchant in Sandusky. Andrianna Van Deusen purchased the property about 1867, and ran it as a boarding house. Sandusky businessman John Mertz purchased the building in 1912 and remodeled it. The property remained in the Mertz family until the 1960s.

Of course today, there are many more choices in apartment living in Sandusky, including several high rise buildings, and the recently converted buildings such as the Cheapeake Lofts and the Rieger Loft. Visit the Sandusky Library, to view historic Sandusky City Directories, to learn more about the residents of our city in years gone by.

Jacob Mertz, Pioneer Hardware Merchant

Jacob Mertz was born in Wurttemberg, Germany in the 1830s. He came to the United States in the 1850s, and after living for at time in Norwalk, Ohio, he settled in Sandusky.  A biographical sketch about Jacob Mertz found in History of the Western Reserve (Lewis Publishing Company, 1910), opened with these sentences:  “The great empire of Germany has contributed a most valuable element to the cosmopolitan social fabric of our American republic, which has had much to gain and nothing to lose from this source. Among those of German birth and ancestry who have attained to success and precedence in connection with business activities in the city of Sandusky is Jacob Mertz, a citizen of sterling character and one honored by all who know him.” 

Mr. Mertz married Teresa Hemmerle in 1856, and they had eight children. In 1860 he opened a hardware store and tin shop on Washington Street. In 1865 he moved his business to the southeast corner of West Washington and McDonough Streets in Sandusky.  He was the sole proprietor until 1885, when his sons became partners and the business became known as J. Mertz and Sons.

In 1910, J. Mertz and Sons carried a variety of hardware, builders’ materials, stoves, ranges, and household furnishings. 

Jacob Mertz, Sr. died on December 26, 1913, after a brief illness. His sons, John, George, and Jacob, Jr. ran the business after his death. The Mertz Hardware Store stayed in operation in Sandusky until about 1935. The Braunstein Furniture Store occupied the site at the corner of West Washington and McDonough Streets from about 1941 until 1961.  Currently this location is a multi-unit apartment building.

Several members of the extended Mertz family are buried in the family lot at Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.