Elmer Grahl’s Painting and the Story of Sandusky's Puck

In 2003 longtime Sandusky barber Elmer Grahl painted a picture of the ice cream and sandwich shop operated by the Charles Hoffman family in the 1920s and 1930s. This shop is no longer standing, but it once stood at the southeast corner of Scott and Hancock Streets.

Puck, the figure on top of the stand, was in the front window of Dietz and Mischler’s cigar store on Columbus Avenue until about 1915. After the cigar store closed, this zinc statue landed in John and Henry Weier’s scrap yard, on Hancock Street, between Neil and Scott Streets. Charles Hoffman rescued Puck and placed him on top of the family sandwich shop, just down the street. The tip of Puck’s spear was electrified, and fitted with a light bulb, showing the way to Hoffman’s shop. Hoffman descendants donated Puck to the Follett House Museum in the 1970s.

Below is a photograph of Hoffman’s shop when it was in business in Sandusky. The Hoffman family was well known in Sandusky for its business ventures, including the Hoffman Coal and Milling Company and the Hoffman Manufacturing Company.

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.

Portraits of Katie Rittman

Miss Katie Rittman was born in Sandusky in 1870 to Frank Rittman and Catherine Kuebeler Rittman, who were both natives of Germany. The portrait above was taken at the Bishop & Veitch studio in Sandusky, when Katie was about age 12 or 13. The picture below was taken at the studio of C.A. Cross when Katie was a teenager.

This lovely picture of Katie Rittman as a young woman was taken at the Pascoe studio in Sandusky.

U.S. Census records indicate that Katie lived with her parents in Sandusky 1880 and 1900. On February 4, 1902, Katie Rittman married Charles Hoffman, who was employed at the Hoffman family business, the Hoffman Coal and Milling Company. Charles and Katie were the parents of three daughters and a son.  In 1919 the Charles Hoffman family operated a store at the corner of Scott and Hancock Streets. "Puck," a zinc statue that had once been in the store window of Dietz & Mischler's cigar shop, stood on the roof of the Hoffman business for several years. Puck is now housed at the Follett House Museum. Katie Rittman Hoffman passed away in 1929, and Charles Hoffman died in1933. Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman were both buried in Oakland Cemetery.

"Take a New Year’s Smoke"

An advertisement in the December 26, 1898 issue of Sandusky Register suggested that area residents “Take a New Year’s Smoke” and make the resolution to smoke only the Imperial Cigar, sold for ten cents apiece at Dietz & Mischler, at 224 Columbus Avenue. A listing in the 1898 Sandusky City Directory lists the owners of Dietz & Mischler as Jacob Dietz and Daniel Mischler. They were manufacturers of fine cigars, and dealers in tobacco, pipes and smokers’ supplies.

Until about 1915, Puck, a cast zinc statue, stood in the front window of Dietz & Mischler’s store. After Dietz & Mischler closed, Puck landed in John and Henry Weier’s scrap yard on Hancock Street. Eventually Puck was rescued from the scrap yard by Charles Hoffman. Puck was placed atop a stand operated by the Hoffman family for many years at the corner of Scott and Hancock Streets.

Descendants of the Hoffman family donated Puck to the Follett House Museum in 1974. Puck can still be seen in the basement level of the Follett House.

Cigar making was a major business in Sandusky at the turn of the twentieth century. You can read about cigar making in Sandusky in a previous blog post.