Madison School

Madison School was constructed at the intersection of West Madison and Lawrence Streets in Sandusky between 1938 and 1939 as a federal Public Works Administration Project during the Great Depression. A P.W.A. grant contributed 45 per cent of the funding of the new schooling. The new school replaced a previous Madison School building that was over 70 years old in 1938. Dr. Frank J. Prout was the superintendent of Sandusky City Schools when the Madison School project was begun, but by the time the new Madison School opened, Dr. Prout had become president of Bowling Green State University, and Karl Whinnery was the school superintendent.

Original Madison School, demolished in 1938

The new school, constructed in the English style, was designed by Sandusky architect Harold Parker. The old school was torn down by Strouse Wrecking Company of Castalia. The general contractor for the new Madison School was Petersen-Hiss. Other local contractors involved in the project included Brohl and Appell Plumbing and Heating and Diamond S Electric. There were eight classrooms in the new school as well as a stage and assembly room. Ohio artist George Dinckel painted a mural in the music room, which featured historical images of music throughout history. Gregorian monks, children in a choir, comic opera singers and a troubadour were included in the large painting.

A stage and piano were at the front of the assembly room in Madison School.

Several area businesses were sub-contractors in the construction of Madison School.

Numerous companies placed advertisements in the November 12, 1939 issue of the Sandusky Register to congratulate Sandusky City Schools on the opening of the new Madison School.

Former school superintendent Dr. Frank J. Prout and 1939 school superintendent Karl Whinnery both spoke at the dedicatory service and open house for Madison School held on November 12, 1939.

Madison School is no longer in use in the Sandusky City School system, since three new elementary schools were constructed during the “Building Better Dreams Facilities Project” undertaken in recent years. By reading about the Madison School project in the 1930s, we can see the ongoing dedication of community leaders to providing excellent educational facilities for Sandusky’s youth. The Madison School project also provided job opportunities for employees of local companies during the challenging times of the Great Depression

Women's History Month: Miss Emeline Baumeister, Educator and Author

Emeline Baumeister was the youngest child of Frank and Katherine Baumeister, born in Erie County, Ohio in 1895. She graduated from Sandusky High School and attended Kent State University, earning a lifetime teaching certificate. By 1919, Emeline and her sister Edna were both teachers at Campbell School, also known as the 8th Ward School. By 1927, she was the Principal of the school.

Between 1924 and 1936, Emeline Baumeister, along with school superintendent Frank J. Prout, and Nellie Mischler authored several reading textbooks that were published by the University Publishing Company. Several of the books authored by Dr. Prout, Emeline Baumeister and Nellie Mischler are still found in university libraries throughout the United States today.

An article in the March 14, 1936 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that Miss Baumeister had special lessons with a youngster who had moved to Sandusky from Italy, and who did not speak English. Two-thirds of the way through the school year, young Mariana Cinquanta was speaking and reading English very well, with a slight Italian accent, after special attention from Miss Baumeister.

At the end of the school year in 1946, Miss Baumeister was promoted from Principal of Campbell School to the position of Elementary Supervisor for the entire Sandusky City Schools district. Students and teachers paid tribute to her with gifts and a dinner party.

Miss Baumeister was a popular speaker for women’s organizations in Sandusky. In 1953 she spoke to the Mothers’ Federation along with television star Paige Palmer ("The First Lady of Fitness"), when the ladies met at Osborne School. 

Emeline Baumeister retired from her long career in 1959. She passed away on September 25, 1980. An article in the Sandusky Register of January 9, 1982 reported that she left the Sandusky City Schools over $95,000 in her will (worth about $312,000 today). Miss Baumeister cared about the children of Sandusky during her lifetime, and she made provision for Sandusky students even after her death.

Stories of Sandusky, by Hewson L. Peeke

According to the Sandusky Register of August 4, 1922, Hewson L. Peeke wrote ten stories about the early days of the city of Sandusky, calling them Stories of Sandusky. They could be best described as fictionalized versions of early events. Sandusky City Schools Superintendent Frank J. Prout had the stories mimeographed in the form of a pamphlet for use in the public schools. Dr. Prout stated, “They will teach the children to respect the historical incidents connected with the city’s existence.” In 1934 an expanded version of Stories of Sandusky was printed by the Stephens Company in Sandusky, Ohio, with forty-five stories in this edition. 

In many cases, Mr. Peeke gave fictitious names to the characters. The story “How John North Came to Sandusky and What He Did There” was actually about early Sandusky businessman William T. West. It turns out that William T. West intended to go to Cincinnati. In Buffalo, his baggage accidentally was put into a boat bound for Sandusky, so he followed the boat to Sandusky to retrieve his baggage. Then Mr. West missed his train bound for Cincinnati, and he ended up staying in Sandusky. He worked as a carpenter, ran a store, and eventually he and his brother constructed the West House hotel in Sandusky. The story indicates that Mr. West felt he was a “creature of circumstance.” 

The character of John North in Stories of Sandusky was William T. West

 In “The Story of Damask Rose,” Peeke relates that Damask Rose was the beloved daughter of attorney and abolitionist F.D. Parish. Supposedly, young Damask Rose Parish was carrying food to a runaway slave child and was seen by a U.S. official. The little girl and her mother were turned over to the slaveholder, and sent back south. Damask Rose Parish died at age 10, and she always blamed herself for the unfortunate events that transpired. 

A lawsuit was brought against F.D. Parish, and he lost the case. Though F.D. Parish did indeed have a young daughter named Damask Rose, the U.S. Census and Oakland Cemetery records indicate that she died in 1855, not in 1845, as Peeke wrote in Stories of Sandusky. Her tombstone can still be seen in Block 28 at Oakland Cemetery in the Parish family lot. 

In the story about “Old Mockabee” Peeke recalls how the town drunkard redeemed himself by digging graves for the victims of cholera in Sandusky in 1849. You can read many more stories about Sandusky and the Firelands in Stories of Sandusky. Inquire at the Reference Services desk if you would like to see this interesting book by Hewson L. Peeke.

Sandusky High School’s Centennial Reunion

The Centennial Reunion of alumni of Sandusky High School was held on May 28, 1955. Tickets to the banquet were sold for $2.00 per person.

Reunion events included a band concert on the Sandusky High School lawn at 4:00, dinner at the Junior High School at 6:15, a program at Strobel Field at 7:45, and a dance at 9 p.m. at the Junior High featuring the fourteen piece band of Jimmy Dulio. During the program at Strobel Field, several special people were introduced to the crowd.

Charles E. Frohman served as the Master of Ceremonies. Principal Wallace Glenwright and Mayor Richard Fuller both gave remarks of welcome. Former school administrators James T. Begg, Frank J. Prout, Karl E. Whinnery, and Wayne C. Blough were introduced. Retired teachers attending the reunion were Miss Lucy Carter, Miss Elsie Denham, Miss Bessie Taylor, Miss Edith Howell, Miss Berta Jackson, and Miss Marie Reiff. Superintendent Carl L. Mackey spoke to the Sandusky High School alumni, and several musical numbers were presented. Harold C. Kaufman directed the A Cappella Choir and led the choir in three songs, including “Halls of Ivy.” The combined band and choir of Sandusky High School performed the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The program ended with a musical benediction sung by the high school A Cappella Choir.

The Sandusky Register Star News of May 28, 1955 contained a special feature devoted to the Centennial Reunion.

A copy of this special edition newspaper is housed at the Sandusk y Library Archives Research Center. Included in the special feature are pictures of graduating classes, a history of the one hundred years of Sandusky High School, and brief biographical sketches of outstanding graduates of Sandusky High School. An article entitled “A Century Stream of Teaching at Sandusky High” began with this paragraph:

Tennyson’s quotation “Men may come and men may go, but I go on forever,” referred to a little flowing brook, might also be applied to the stream of education which has been flowing through Sandusky High School for the past 100 years, and which, from all indications, will flow on indefinitely.

The newspaper issue contained commemorative ads from many businesses, including this advertisement from the Ohio Bell Telephone Company.

Elementary Textbooks by Frank J. Prout and Other Sanduskians

Between 1924 and 1936, Frank J. Prout and other local authors produced several reading textbooks that were published by the University Publishing Company, which had offices in Lincoln, Chicago, Dallas and New York.

The book, Thought Test Readers, for First Grade students, is shelved in the Woolworth Bookcase in the Quiet Reading Room of the Sandusky Library. The authors were Frank J. Prout, Emeline Baumeister, and Nellie Mischler, with illustrations by Helen Renner. In 1930, when this title was published, Mr. Prout was the Superintendent of Schools in Sandusky, Emeline Baumeister was a second grade teacher at Campbell School, and Nellie Mischler was a first grade teacher at Barker School. Dr. Prout would later serve as president of Bowling Green State University.

The King's Drum was written in 1937 by Dr. Prout, and Ms. Baumeister, who by this time was the Principal of Campbell School in Sandusky. This title, another in the Thought Test series, was designed for use with students in Grade Four. Ruth Mary Hallock illustrated the book. The illustrations were done in shades of aqua, green, and orange.

Included in this book were fictional stories, tales from other lands, stories about numbers, citizenship, and animals. Chapter 10 was entitled “Song and Story” and featured background information about familiar songs. To view this title, which is located in the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, inquire at the Reference Desk of the Sandusky Library.

Copies of books written by Frank Jay Prout, Emeline Baumeister, and Nellie Mischler are found at several colleges in Ohio, the Library of the R. B. Hayes Presidential Center, the Ohioana Library in Columbus, Ohio, and the Library of Congress. A Thought Test Reader is also housed at The Richard L. Venezky Collection of 19^th and 20^th Century American Primers and Readers at Stanford University in California.

June is a Popular Month for Weddings

             

An article appearing in the June 25, 1935 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that 41 marriage licenses had been issued in that month. The highest number of marriage licenses issued in Erie County in the month of June was in 1929, when a record of 55 marriage licenses had been issued. 

Several wedding related items are housed at the Follett House Museum and the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.  Below is an undated picture which shows the interior of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church during a wedding ceremony.

   

This bride had her picture taken at the former Sandusky Business Women’s Club. Though we do not know the name of the bride, the photograph was taken by Torow Studio.

 

         

The wedding of Arthur Moosbrugger and Lucille Holtz also took place in 1938, at St. Mary’s Church.

    

Laura Elizabeth Cooke was the daughter of Pitt Cooke and Mary Townsend Cooke. Laura is pictured below in her wedding dress on December 8, 1886. Laura’s groom, Franklin S. Barker, was a photographer in business with Mr. W. A. Bishop at the time of his wedding.

In 1891, Sakie Prout married Charles Merz. Dr. Charles Merz was a physician in Sandusky, as well as an expert on Masonic history. Dr. Merz’s best man was George Prout, and Sakie’s maid of honor was Mary Bookwalter Prout.

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view these and many more historical photographs.

Judge Elisha M. Colver

In Judge Colver’s obituary in the Sandusky Register of September 25, 1895, the headline read “Death of a Patriot, Soldier, Jurist and Orator.”  Elisha M. Colver was born in Hudson, New York in 1832, but received his early education in Monroeville, Ohio. He graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in 1859, with the highest honors of his class. After leaving college, he moved to Perrysburg, Ohio. While in Perrysburg, he enlisted in the Third Ohio Cavalry, first serving as first lieutenant of Company B; later he was promoted to Captain. 

In 1864, Elisha M. Colver came to Sandusky, Ohio to aid in the recruiting of a cavalry regiment. Having concluded his military service, he opened up a law office in Sandusky. He was elected as Sandusky’s City Solicitor in 1868, and served as Probate Judge of Erie County from 1869 through 1878. Judge Colver's first wife was Clara Prout. After her death, he married Miss Caroline T. Wood. 

Judge Colver was a charter member of the McMeens Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was very active in local Masonic organizations as well. He was known to be an excellent speaker, with his speaking services in great demand, and “his energy would put to shame many a younger man. He was in every sense of the word an American citizen and his enthusiasm in the support of American institutions was unbounded.”  Judge Colver had delivered the eulogy for John Brown, Jr. at Put in Bay, just a few months before his own death. Judge Colver was buried in Oakland Cemetery in the family plot. 

To learn more about Judge Elisha M. Colver, see Elected to Serve, by Patty Pascoe at the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library. Also, a lengthy tribute to Judge Colver appeared in the September 27, 1895 issue of the Sandusky Register.

The Sandusky Library Archives Research Center has in its collections a scrapbook containing letters and telegrams of condolence sent to the family of Judge Colver following his death. The telegram below was sent by Judge Malcolm Kelley.

Letter from Horace Greeley to Andrew W. Prout, Jr.

Apparently Andrew W. Prout, Jr. had invited Horace Greeley to a meeting of the Erie County Agricultural Society in 1871. Mr. Greeley was unable to attend, and he sent a letter of regret to Mr. Prout. The letter read:

Aug. 26, 1871

Dear Sir:            I will not be able to service west of the Ohio so long as will be required by attendance at your fair, and must respectfully decline your invitation.Yours,Horace Greeley 

Mr. A.W. Prout, Jr.Treasurer, Ag. Soc.Sandusky, Ohio

Horace Greeley was a politician and the long-time editor of the New York Tribune, which he founded in 1841. He ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic candidate for President just before his death in 1872. Mr. Andrew W. Prout, Jr. , born in Bloomingville in 1837, was a prominent Erie County businessman.

He was in the banking business for over forty years, and he served as Treasurer of several organizations, including the Erie County Agricultural Society and the Erie County Farmers’ Insurance Company.

Sandusky High School Orchestra in 1903

Pictured above is the Sandusky High School orchestra in 1903. The students are seated on the north steps of the old high school, which later became Adams Junior High School.  Another picture of the same group was taken with the musicians standing.

Notes on the back of the picture have identified the students:

Though the notes say that the year was 1904, the pictures were most likely taken in 1903, since the names of several of the members of the orchestra appeared in the 1903 Sandusky High School commencement program. Andrew Prout and Ralph Scherz both went on to become prominent doctors. Two of the students in the 1903 orchestra went into the field of education. Miss Bess Lawrence taught in the Sandusky City Schools for over thirty years, retiring in 1944. Edwin Williams became a professor of languages at the University of Nevada and the University of Redlands in California.

Oxford Township Grange Hall in Bloomingville

Now a private residence, the Oxford Township Grange Hall was the center of community life for many years from the early 1900s until the 1980s. The building is located at the intersection of Taylor Road and Mason Road in Oxford Township of Erie County, Ohio.   Farming was the main occupation of residents of Oxford Township in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  In the picture above, from the 1910s, several individuals can be seen with their horses and buggies. 

Bloomingville is an unincorporated village in northern Oxford Township of Erie County. Hewson Peeke wrote in A Standard History of Erie County, Ohio, that the earliest settlers in Bloomingville arrived in 1810. Bloomingville was one of the largest towns in northern Ohio at that time, with a church, mill, school, inn, and post office established in that first decade. The Bank of Sandusky Bay was built in the village in 1816-1817, but it was not granted a charter.  The old brick bank building is pictured below.

Eleutheros Cooke and his family lived in the former bank building in 1819, and his son Pitt Cooke was born here. Andrew W. Prout lived here in the 1830s. (The building no longer stands.)  The Bloomingville Cemetery is located adjacent to the former Grange building, with burials dating back to the early 1800s.

You can read more about the history of Oxford Township in several histories of Erie County, Ohio, at the Sandusky Library. 

The historic marker at Bloomingville Cemetery gives a brief summary of the community's history

Dr. Charles Hope Merz, Physician, Historian and Author

Dr. Charles Hope Merz was a leading physician in Sandusky, beginning his practice in Sandusky in 1899. He was the son of Karl Merz, well known music educator who taught at Oxford Female College and Wooster College. Charles Hope Merz was born in Oxford, Ohio on November 7, 1861. He graduated from the Western Reserve College of Medicine in 1885. An article in the November 26, 1900 issue of the Sandusky Daily Star reported that Dr. Merz had just placed an X-Ray machine in his office. At the time, it was the only apparatus of its kind in Sandusky. The machine was powered by six storage batteries. Sandusky residents were amazed that the doctor could see through one’s flesh to view their bones. The x-ray machine was expected to be helpful in surgical operations, and in locating foreign objects in patients.

In 1911, Dr. Merz was instrumental in arranging for Harry Atwood making a landing in his airplane in Erie County. Besides being an aviation enthusiast, he was very fond of driving his automobile. The September 16, 1936 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that Dr. Merz had purchased his first automobile on June 7, 1904, and he had been driving for 32 years. The Erie County Auto Club believed that Dr. Merz held the record for the number of years of automobile driving in Erie County, Ohio in 1936.

Dr. Merz also was an outstanding Masonic scholar who wrote several books on that and other subjects, and served as editor of the Masonic Bulletin in Sandusky for nearly 28 years. He was a charter member of the National Masonic Research Society of Iowa, and an honorary life member of the Cincinnati Masonic Library Association. In 1892 Dr. Merz wrote a book about the history, etiology, diagnosis and treatment of influenza.  He also was a member of the National Association of Railway Surgeons. Dr. Merz married Sakie Emeline Prout, a longtime member of the Board of Trustees of the Sandusky Library, in 1892. Dr. Charles H. Merz died on October 14, 1947. He was buried in Oakland Cemetery.

The son of Dr. and Mrs. Merz, also named Charles Merz, was editor of the New York Times from 1938 until 1961. His editorials against American neutrality in the years prior to World War II and in opposition to Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s affected the way many Americans viewed current events of the time. Charles Merz also authored three books: Centerville, U.S.A., The Great American Bandwagon, and The Dry Decade.  Charles Merz, the author and editor, died in New York City on August 31, 1977.

Photograph Album of Sandusky High School Graduates, Class of 1902

In 1902, C. W. Platt had a photographic studio at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Water Street in downtown Sandusky, which had been started by his father, A.C. Platt. C. W. Platt’s daughter Winifed H. Platt and her future husband Edward C. Schnaitter were both graduates of Sandusky High’s Class of 1902.

Miriam and Oliver Rinderle donated a photo album to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center which features individual portraits of each of the graduating seniors from the Sandusky High School class of 1902.

Unfortunately only four of the students’ pictures were identified in the album.  They are:

W. Leroy Slate

Alice Judson

Norma Zistel

and Frank Prout, who would later become Superintendent of Sandusky City Schools, from 1921 to 1939, and would serve as President of Bowling Green State University from 1939 to 1951.

Two African American young women graduated from Sandusky High School in 1902: Emeline Gilkeson and Iona Scott.

Other noteworthy students from Sandusky High’s class of 1902 were Dr. Walter Rieger, a physician who resided in Cleveland, and Mary Klingbiel, who became a nun and observed fifty years as a parochial educator in northern Ohio schools in 1957. After entering the Notre Dame order, Mary was known as Sister Mary Josephine. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view these and other vintage photographs of residents of Sandusky and Erie County, Ohio.

13th Annual Meeting of the League of American Wheelmen

Now known as the League of American Bicyclists, the League of American Wheelmen began in 1880. The group is credited with getting paved roads in the U.S. before the automobile became the most widely used form of transportation in America.

At the turn of the twentieth century millions of bicycles were owned in the United States. Bicycles provided an inexpensive, yet convenient mode of transportation.

From July 3 to July 5, 1893, the 13th Annual Meeting of the Ohio Division of the League of American Wheelmen was held in Sandusky, Ohio. Printed by I. F. Mack & Brother, the 78 page program from this event is housed at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. The Sloane House served as Headquarters for the event, but there were nine hotels providing lodging for the attendees. Nightly rates for the Sandusky hotels ranged from $1.00 to $3.00 per night.

George R. Prout, who was chairman of the Executive Committee of the 13th Annual Meet, also ran several advertisements on the program. Mr. Prout was the Sandusky agent for the Sunol Racer model of bicycle. Mr. Prout’s store on Water Street also sold and repaired Victor bicycles.

The first day of the annual meeting featured an excursion to Cedar Point, with a concert by the Great Western Band. There was a reception and a dance in the evening hours. The Grand Annual Parade was held on July 4, 1893, followed by races at the Erie County Fair Grounds, and a concert and fireworks that evening. On the final day of the event, there was an excursion to Kelleys Island, Put in Bay, and Middle Bass Island.

While we do not have photographs from the bicycle races held in Sandusky in 1893, the photograph below was taken at the Erie County Fairgrounds in 1914.

If you would like to view the program of the 13th Annual Meet of the League of American Wheelmen, Ohio Division, ask for assistance at the Reference Services desk. The local advertisements and listings of committee members from Sandusky provide a look into the past.