Artist John Opie's Painting of a Lyman Boat

 

In the historical collections of the Sandusky Library and the Follett House Museum is a painting of a Lyman boat, titled Lyman Islander, by artist John Opie. Mr. Opie is a native of Sandusky, graduating from Sandusky High School in 1954. He earned Bachelors of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees from Kent State University; after several years of teaching in art schools and universities, he became a full time artist, now living in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. John Opie’s family was associated with the O.P. Craft Company in Sandusky for many years. (His father was treasurer and general manager of the business.)

The Lyman Boat Company was founded in Cleveland in 1875 and moved to Sandusky in November 1928. They made wooden boats in Sandusky until 1973; these boats are still beloved by many Great Lakes boaters.

To read more about the Lyman Boat Works, read the book Lyman Boats: Legend of the Lakes, by Tom Koroknay (T, Koroknay, 2004), available for loan through the Clevnet system.   You can see a Lyman boat on exhibit at the Maritime Museum of Sandusky.         

The O-P Craft Company

The O-P Craft Company was organized in November, 1929, with these officers: Earle F. Opie, president and general manager; Leland Spore, vice-president; Charles E. Frohman, secretary; and Albert L. Opie, treasurer. In the early years, the company was located in the 600 block of Hancock Street, and made school supplies. The company logo contained the letters O and P, and looked like a person holding up a hand.

In the 1932 Sandusky City Directory, Earle F. Opie was also listed as the educational manager of the American Crayon Company. By 1935 the O-P Craft Company had moved to 161 E. Water Street. In 1946, the company announced plans to move to a new building in the 400 block of Warren Street. 

Catalog No. 57 of the O-P Craft Company featured products that designed for consumers to decorate themselves, such as boxes, frames, buttons, relish trays, bookends and other decorative items. The basswood hinged lid boxes were a popular item. Pictured below are some hinged boxes from a 1976 O-P Craft catalog.

In this undated advertisement from The N.O.W. Scene, Strickfaden Nursery had a craft shop that carried decoupage craft items with the raw materials supplied by O-P Craft Company.

Bill Opie, the son of Albert L. Opie, eventually took over the business. He expanded the company into plastics. In the early 1980s, O-P Craft Co. became known as Laffer Industries. Laffer Industries later became FormPac. In 1996, FormPac was acquired by Tuscarora, Inc. In 2003, Tuscarora closed its Sandusky plant.

Vintage Halloween Postcards

Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Opie donated several Halloween postcards to the Follett House Museum. Mrs. Opie and her husband Albert Opie were associated with the O-P Craft Company, which made arts and crafts supplies in Sandusky for many years.

Here are four postcards produced by Raphael Tuck and Sons, who were publishers of postcards and greeting cards (as well as books, puzzles, and other items) from the mid-nineteenth century into the early twentieth century.

Check out The Encyclopedia of Antique Postcards, by Susan Brown Nicholson, available at the Sandusky Library, to learn more about vintage postcards.