Postcards from Lakeside

In the Neighboring Communities collection at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center are several postcards that feature Lakeside, Ohio. Lakeside is a Chautauqua community which had its origins as a camp meeting site for people of the Methodist faith. 

Here is a group departing from a steamer to visit Lakeside in 1905:

A path at Lakeside, once known as “Flirtation Walk”:

The Lakeside Auditorium is now known as Hoover Auditorium. Speakers and musicians have visited Hoover Auditorium for over 90 years.

Lake Erie provides opportunity for visitors to enjoy a swim at Lakeside.

Visit Sandusky Library to learn more about Lakeside. Several titles are available for loan through the Clevnet system.

Sandusky Souvenir Letter Tablet

Around the turn of the twentieth century, the Alexander Manufacturing Company published a "Souvenir Letter Tablet," which featured scenes from Sandusky and the surrounding area. Since the Lake Erie Islands was such a popular vacation destination, it is likely that tourists bought the tablets to write letters home to their family and friends while they were on vacation. The cover of the tablet (above) had a picture of the Sandusky Yacht Club building (then between Wayne Street and Columbus Avenue) and nautical decorations. 

Another page showed the boat landing at the foot of Columbus Avenue:

This page shows the Erie County Courthouse prior to its renovation in the 1930s:

The Congregational Church was featured on this page of the Sandusky souvenir letter tablet:

In addition to the souvenir tablet, the Alexander Manufacturing Company published souvenir postcards of Sandusky, several of which are in the collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.

Postcards of Downtown Sandusky in the 1950s

 

Above is a postcard from the Rich-Holt Company created in the 1950s. The view is looking north on Columbus Avenue towards Sandusky Bay.  At that time State Route 12 was routed to the city of Sandusky, but now the eastern terminus of State Route 12 is at State Route 53 in Sandusky County. You can see the signs for the Lasalle’s store, J.C. Penney and the Manhattan Clothing Co. The State Theatre is barely visible in the distance, on the 100 block of Columbus Avenue. Note the classic red and blue mailbox on the corner of Washington Row and Columbus Avenue, next to the Western Security Bank. 

In the Rich-Holt postcard below, the bodies of several vehicles are in shades of red and teal.

When shoppers went to downtown Sandusky in the 1950s, the ladies almost always wore skirts or dresses, and sometimes even hats and gloves. Do you have fond memories of shopping in downtown Sandusky?

Here is a George Canalos postcard with the view looking to the south:

 

The marquee of the State Theatre indicates that the featured films were “Never Steal Anything Small” with James Cagney and Shirley Jones, and a second movie entitled “Silent Enemy.”  

Visitors to Cedar Point could catch a ferry at the foot of Columbus Avenue at Shoreline Drive. For many years, the Boeckling building, on the left in the image, was used as an administration building for the Cedar Point company.

And we can't leave downtown Sandusky in the 1950s without checking out the flowers in Washington Park, next to the Boy with the Boot. 

Picture Postcards by Louis Pesha

Louis Pesha was a photographer who was well known for his photographs of the Great Lakes area in the early twentieth century. The Pesha Postcard Company was located in Marine City, Michigan.

Pictured below is a Pesha postcard of Scott Park in downtown Sandusky. Scott Park was the original home of the Boy with the Boot statue, along with two maids of the mist statues.

The Erie County Courthouse can be seen in the postcard below, which features a fountain in Washington Park.

The steamer G.A. Boeckling is just one of the many Great Lakes vessels photographed by Louis Pesha. The G.A. Boeckling was christened on June 12, 1909, and transported guests to Cedar Point until 1951.

Tragically, on October 1, 1912 Mr. Pesha died in an automobile accident as he was traveling to visit his childhood home in Euphemia, Ontario.

The Hospital at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home

The postcard pictured above was created by the Alexander Manufacturing Company, and was taken of the hospital at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home in 1918. Below is a view of the hospital in 1928, with a closer view and a slightly different angle.

The original hospital at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home (now the Ohio Veterans Home) opened in January of 1899, with seven trained nurses employed to care for those veterans who needed in-hospital care. An annual report from the Home in 1902 gave this description of the hospital.

In the early 1950s, a new hospital opened at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home. It was known as the John T. Haynes Memorial Hospital, named for the former chief surgeon of the Home, Dr. J.T. Haynes.

Fifty nursing home beds had become available at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home in 1950. Today’s the nursing home facility at the Ohio Veteran Home has 427 beds in three separate units: the Giffin Wing, Secrest North and Secrest South. In continuous operation since it opened in 1888, over 50,000 honorably discharged veterans have been admitted to the Ohio Veterans Home in Erie County, Ohio. 

You can see some vintage pictures of the former Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home at a previous blog post on Sandusky History.

A Photographic Postcard from the Perry Centennial

This photographic postcard was taken at the time of the Perry's Victory Centennial which commemorated the one hundredth anniversary of Oliver Hazard Perry’s victory at the Battle of Lake Erie. Sandusky’s celebration took place on September 8 and 9, 1913. Columbus Avenue was decorated with flags, lights, banners, and patriotic bunting. Visitors to the Perry Centennial arrived by the interurban electric railway and automobiles, and then boarded boats to travel Put in Bay on South Bass Island.

On the west side of Columbus Avenue, one of the shops on the street level of the West House hotel hung a banner promoting their services for the developing of Kodak camera prints.

A café and restaurant on the east side of the street were open for business to serve meals to the many visitors to Sandusky and the Lake Erie Islands region.

The Lake Shore Electric Railway Co. transported people to Sandusky from all points on the system, which included Cleveland, Lorain, Elyria, Norwalk, Bellevue, Fremont, Toledo, and many stops in between, while the steamer Arrow made two trips daily to Put in Bay, Lakeside, Kelleys Island, and Middle Bass. 

Taking a closer look at this postcard allows us to see the energy and excitement that was associated with the celebration of this historic event. To learn more about the event, view the Official Souvenir Program of the Perry’s Victory Centennial, available online at the Internet Archive.

Buoys and Gulls around Sandusky Bay

Since Sandusky is located on Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie, seagulls and buoys are sights that are quite familiar to local residents and visitors to the area. Gulls are found in location all locations of the globe, virtually always near a body of water. The photographic postcard above was created by local photographer Ernst Niebergall about 1912. In this view, the gulls are flying near a local pier.

Mr. Niebergall took a close up view of these seagulls:

        

Buoys, the anchored floats that serve as navigational aids, are a common site on the water during boating season. Several men are working on buoys near Sandusky Bay, probably for placing into winter storage, in this picture taken in the 1930s or 1940s.

   

This postcard, now in the collection of historical postcards at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, was originally sent in 1909:

Postcard to Charlie J. Grahl in 1918

This postcard, sent from Venice, Ohio, on May 31, 1918, was sent to a newly enlisted U.S. soldier named Charlie J. Grahl.

The message from Frank read: "Hello Charlie - Received your card today. Glad you got there safe. We are all well here. Anna & Lill went to the circus today. Rummy feels pretty lonesome no one to play pool with him. Best regards from all, Frank." 

Local World War I records show two soldiers named Charles Grahl, both former residents of Venice, Ohio. These service records are included in the database, Ohio Soldiers in World War I, available at Ancestry Library Edition.

Charlie returned to Venice, Ohio after military service, and according to the 1940 U.S. Census, he was a “tipple man” at the cement mill. Undoubtedly, this meant that he was employed at the Medusa Cement Company in Bay Bridge, Ohio, which employed hundreds of Erie County residents from 1893 until it closed in the early 1960s.

Charles J. Grahl died in 1957, and he was buried at the Venice Cemetery. This copy of an application for a headstone, from Ancestry Library Edition, provides us with more details about his life and military service.

Visit the Sandusky Library to access Ancestry Library Edition to learn more about the military ancestors in your own family tree.

Early Twentieth Century Postcard of Sandusky

This postcard was created by noted photographer Louis James Pesha in the early 1900s. The eastern side of Columbus Avenue is pictured in Sandusky’s busy downtown district.   The Cooke building, with a flagpole atop a decorative tower, can be seen at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Market Street. Stone’s Block, which housed the general offices of the Lake Shore Electric Railway, is at the southeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Market Street. At this time N.E. Marshall ran a bookstore at 210 Columbus Avenue. The S.H. Knox and Co. 5 and 10 Cent Store was in business at 214 and 216 Columbus Avenue. The Dietz and Mischler cigar store, at 224 Columbus Avenue, was known for selling Siesta cigars for five cents each. Puck, a cast zinc statue, stood in the front window of the store from the late 1800s until about 1915. Puck now can be seen at the Follett House Museum.

The Bauman Brothers sold wallpaper at 226 Columbus Avenue, and the Melville Brothers drugstore was located at 228 Columbus Avenue. Also in the 200 block of Columbus Avenue was William Seitz Sons, merchant tailor and the American Banking and Trust Company. O.S. Alcott ran a men’s furnishing store at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Washington Row. You can read a portion of the sign of the O.S. Alcott store in the close up view of the postcard below.

Thanks to Mr. Pesha, we can take a peek into our community’s past. Sadly, L.J. Pesha was killed in an automobile accident in 1912.

Hand Colored Postcards from George F. Windisch and Company

Several hand-colored postcards created by George F. Windisch and Company are housed in the collection of historical photographs at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. The postcard above features a view of the Cedar Point pier at the foot of Columbus Avenue in the first quarter of the twentieth century. George F. Windisch was a lifelong Sandusky resident, born in 1864 to parents of German descent. From 1903 to 1917, he, along with Carl F. Denzer, operated a business in the Stone’s Block on Sandusky’s Columbus Avenue.   The view in the postcard below faces south toward Columbus Avenue.

Many of these postcards are scenes from Cedar Point, the popular resort which still attracts visitors to the Sandusky area every summer and fall.

 

In 1919, George F. Windisch sold his interests in the store to his partner C.F. Denzer, who continued on as the sole proprietor.

After leaving the bookstore and stationery business, Windisch worked for the Herb and Myers department store. Mr. Windisch died in September, 1953 at the age of 89. An obituary appeared in the September 24, 1953 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News.

Postcards from Lakeside

Lakeside had its beginnings in 1873, when land was cleared for the purpose of creating an area where religious meetings could take place. Soon Lakeside became involved in the Chautauqua Movement, an adult educational movement that provided cultural and educational events for the community. Several vintage postcards from Lakeside are housed in the historical postcard collection of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. With the popularity of passenger steamers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Sandusky residents were able to visit Lakeside,  just a short distance away from Sandusky when travelling by water. As automobiles became popular, and especially after the construction of the Sandusky Bay Bridge, local residents could drive to Lakeside as well. 

Hoover Auditorium is still the site of concerts during the summer season of the Lakeside Association:

       

This vintage postcard shows the hotel, boathouse, and a portion of the dock at Lakeside:

     

The pavilion at Lakeside offers a lovely view of Lake Erie on warm summer nights:

       

Though the exact location was not provided, “Flirtation Walk” at Lakeside is the subject of this postcard:

     

Visit the SanduskyLibrary to find books on the history of Lakeside and other nearby areas. Lakeside continues the tradition of providing entertainment, lectures, and spiritual opportunities for its hundreds of visitors during the summer months.

Views of Market Street Looking East from Jackson

                 

This postcard of Market Street, looking east from Jackson Street, was created in the 1920s. E.B. Ackley’s billiard parlor is on the north side of West Market Street, adjacent to Jackson. You can see the marquee of the Schade Theatre, which later became the Ohio Theatre. In the distance, the Cooke building is visible at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Market Street. The Hotel Rieger building (which recently opened as an apartment building, the Rieger Lofts) is on the south side of West Market Street, just opposite the Star Journal building, which now is home to the Sandusky Register. Going east down Market Street, the Third National Bank is next to the Hotel Rieger. A sign advertising an auto supply store is visible, just west of the old city building, with its two towers. In the distance you can see the Feick building, a tall structure on the south side of East Market Street. A variety of offices and small businesses are found all along Market Street, on the street level as well as on upper floors. The Hotel Rieger featured some businesses which were below street level. Below is a view of Market Street in a picture that was taken between 1890 and 1910.

The Manhattan clothing store is located where Mr. Ackley later had his billiards parlor. Dr. Nicholson had his dental office above the Manhattan store. The Hotel Rieger and Star Journal buildings had not yet been constructed, but the Cooke building and former city hall can still be seen. Street cars and horse drawn vehicles were the mode of transportation at this time, instead of the autmobiles seen in the postcard above. You can see several other images of Market Street at the Sandusky History blog by clicking on this link.