Teacher and Students of a One Room Schoolhouse in Perkins Township

In about 1899, Miss Gertrude Taylor was the teacher at a one room schoolhouse in Perkins Township, on Columbus Avenue, south of Taylor Road. The picture was taken by Pascoe’s Gallery of Sandusky, Ohio.

Pictured in the photograph are: back row, Miss Gertrude Taylor, Mary Michel, Marie Strickfaden, John Von Eitzen, Morris Hills, Ethel House, Byron House, Henry Merriam, Vincent Morris, Ollie Merriam, Willie Michel; front row, Annabel House, Carl Oswald, Susanna Strickfaden, Edith Michel, Lloyd Hills, Beulah Taylor, August Von Eitzen, and Pauline Von Eitzen. The 1896 Erie County Atlas shows that the Taylor, House, and Hills families all lived very close to the school, so the children did not have far to walk to get to the schoolhouse.

Ethel House would go on to become very active in the Daughters of the American Revolution, serving as Regent of the organization for a time. Her first husband was former prosecuting attorney and judge, Claude J. Minor. Following his death, Ethel became the wife of Bowling Green State University president, Dr. Frank Prout. When Lloyd Hills had completed his school years, he became the owner and operator of the Hills’ Supply Company, which dealt in paints and automobile accessories. Susanna and Marie Strickfaden were the sisters of Joseph Strickfaden, who operated a garden center in Perkins Township for fifty years. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view this and hundreds of other archival photographs relating to Sandusky and Erie County, Ohio.

The Wagner Palace, at the Junction of Columbus and Hayes Avenues

The road once known as the Columbus and Sandusky Pike, now Route 4, began at the intersection of Columbus and Hayes Avenues in Sandusky, Ohio.  Michael Wagner built a structure at the junction of these two key streets in Sandusky about 1882. He and his family lived on the upper floor, and at the street level was a saloon known as the Wagner Palace. In the book Treasure by the Bay, Ellie Damm describes the architecture of the building, designed in the Second Empire style, with a front tower and arched windows.  

In 1893, Michael Wagner founded the Wagner Quarries, now a part of Lehigh Hanson. This listing for Michael Wagner from the 1902 Sandusky City Directory indicates both of his business ventures.

The Wagner Palace was considered a fine saloon. This picture shows the interior of the business. Note the large fan, ornate ceiling, and mirrored bar.

   

     

This postcard image, which was published in the Sandusky Register on February 23, 1909, shows the downed wires in front of the saloon after a severe sleet storm hit the city on February 14, 1909.

By 1910, Anthony Uhl and John Oswald were the proprietors of the business. From about 1912 to 1919, Mr. Uhl was the sole proprietor. After Prohibition, Mr. Uhl served soft drinks at the former saloon.  In the late 1930s, Edward Brindley operated a sandwich shop at the site. For several decades, the building was home to a beauty salon, first as the Vogue Beauty Salon from 1941 to 1961.  For many years in the 1960s and 1970s, the Marge Marie Beauty Salon operated here. Since the mid 1990s, an insurance company has been in business at this location. 

Through the years, many different businesses have been in operation at this prime site, including a bookstore, thrift shop, meat market, and an appliance store. The historical Sandusky City Directories provide the exact years of operation for these businesses. As you drive down Columbus Avenue or Hayes Avenue in Sandusky,  take a few moments to look at this historic building. Many of the fine architectural details remain from its early days, especially the designs above the arched windows and the tower on the northern most point of the building.

1938 Map of Sandusky created by Sandusky High School Art Students

Miss Marian Yocum's art students at Sandusky High School created a map of Sandusky in 1938. The student artists were: Warren Diebold, Velma Giusti, Mary Hazen, Anita Holland, Allen Kubach, Betty Kneisel, Martha Luscombe, Richard Morey, June Zeiher, George Neese, Richard Oswald, Jean Perry, Marilyn Renner, Yvonne Shimansky, John Shaw, Betty Till, and Joyce White.

In the Sandusky Bay portion of the map, students created drawings of fishermen, swimmers, and boats, including the G.A. Boeckling, which ferried hundreds of tourists to Cedar Point during the summer months. In 1938 the Erie County Fairgrounds and dog pound were located off Perkins Avenue, between Putnam and Camp Streets. The Catholic Cemeteries now known as St. Joseph and St. Mary's Cemeteries were called the Irish Catholic and German Catholic Cemeteries. Otto's Ice Cream was located at 2434 West Monroe Street. (In later years, Toft's sold ice cream at this location.) Businesses which employed many of our grandparents can be seen on the map, including Lyman Boats, Farrell Cheek, Esmond Dairy, Holland-Rieger (later known as Apex), Brightman Nut, Hinde and Dauch.

A drawing of a truck on which the letters CCC and an arrow appear, represented the freight business Cleveland, Columbus, & Cincinnati Highway Inc., on 1231 First Street. Maschari Brothers features a man with a fruit cart saying "Nicea de Banan" to let customers know that the bananas were fresh. The coal docks on the west side of Sandusky were associated with the Pennsylvania Railroad at this time. Bicycles, trains, trucks, cars, and campers are all found on the map. Directional signs show the way to Bay Bridge, the Blue Hole, and Cedar Point. Viewing the student map is like stepping back in time.

Allen Kubach went on to become an artist and an art instructor. Mr. Kubach taught drawing and painting at Kansas State in the 1940’s and taught and lectured at Northwestern University. Paintings by Allen Kubach can be seen at The Painting Affiliates of the Art Center of Northern New Jersey.

Visit the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library to view the map created by Miss Yocum’s art students.