Leo Wagner, Florist

Leo Wagner began as a florist in Sandusky in 1910. He opened a new shop at the corner of Columbus Avenue and East Monroe Street in 1918. Two interior views of the Wagner flower shop are found in the historical photograph collection of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.

              

A company aadvertisement in the November 12, 1927 issue of the Sandusky Register declared that flowers could be telegraphed anywhere.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Wagner hosted the October 1931 meeting of the Sandusky Garden Club. The program included viewing architect’s drawings of the garden planned on the property of the Wagner home on Monroe Street, adjacent to the flower shop. Later, Mr. Wagner showed club members an exhibit of shrubs and hardy chrysanthemums at his shop. In the photograph below, the flower shop can be seen on the left side of the picture, and the Wagner home is on the right.

  

An article in the October 10, 1941 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News reported that the Wagner flower shop was considered one of the finest shops in the country. In the fall of 1941, he sold the property to Dorothy and Edward Russell, a brother and sister who were florists. Many local residents will recall Russell’s Flower Shop which was in business at that site for fifty years.

Wedding Portraits of Leo Wagner and Clara Cable

Leo E. Wagner married Clara Cable in 1910. Their wedding portraits were a gift to the historical collections of the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library from the couples’ son Lawrence. Leo E. Wagner was the son of Michael Wagner, who was born in Germany, and settled in Sandusky in the 1870s. Michael Wagner was the president of Wagner Quarries, which began operating in 1893. Clara Cable was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Cable.

For many years, Leo E. Wagner operated a florist shop at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and East Monroe Streets. This location was later occupied by Russell’s Flowers, and since 2009 is home to Tre Sorelle Cioccolato. By the late 1940s, Mr. and Mrs. Leo Wagner moved to La Jolla, California. Leo E. Wagner passed away on June 21, 1956, and Clara passed away in 1984.

If you have vintage photos of family members or businesses from Sandusky and Erie County, consider donating them to the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library for future generations to enjoy.