The City of Sandusky Has Beautiful Parks

In a 1907 article for the Ohio Magazine, the Honorable Charles S. Reed wrote, “It can fairly be said that there are few cities in the country that can boast of such beautiful and well kept parks as Sandusky. They are the admiration and envy of the thousands and thousands of people who visit the city annually…”   The Sandusky Library Archives Research Center has several historical images of Sandusky’s City Parks in the Parks Collection of photographs. 

Here an employee from the City of Sandusky’s Park Department admires a floral mound labelled “Flora.” This picture was taken before the Erie County Courthouse was renovated in the 1930s:

   

In 1950, a worker mows the grass on a mound that features the Masonic emblem:

              

In 1955, Chris Goelz, then supervisor with the Sandusky Parks and Greenhouse can be seen working on a mound that reads “Drive Slow - Save Lives.” In the 1950s, Mr. Goelz often traveled to parks throughout the United States and Canada to get new landscaping ideas.

    

In the picture below, four city workers are hard at work getting the floral lighthouse ready for the summer season at Washington Park.

                                          

This picture of the city of Sandusky’s Greenhouse employees was taken about 1980. Three of the four people are identified: Ernest Erdman is standing at the back of the group; next to him is Mary Bloker; one of the other men is Fred Bloker.

  

Jacob H. Roth, Former Superintendent of Sandusky Parks

After working as a gardener for the city of Sandusky for a few years, on September 3, 1897 Jacob H. Roth was appointed superintendent of parks, a position he held until his retirement on January 1, 1940. He was born in Germany in 1869, and studied gardening at Heidelberg University in Germany, though he did not graduate from high school. He emigrated to the United States as a young man, and on May 22, 1895, married Christine Hacker. They had two children, Helen who died in 1926, and Ferdinand, who died in 1938.  

In 1930, Jacob H. Roth achieved some local fame by crossing a lemon with a grapefruit; the result was a fruit that was larger than an ordinary lemon, but smaller than a grapefruit. The “synthetic lemon” was a big attraction at the city greenhouse’s “Mum Show” held in November of 1930.  

Mr. Roth made news in the April 27, 1933 issue of the Sandusky Register, when he caught four youngsters, all about the age of ten, trampling flower beds in Washington Park. He marched all four of the youths to the Sandusky Police Station, where Sergeant Al Tremper gave them a lecture. Since the boys promised to stay away from the flower beds in the city parks, Sergeant Tremper let them go to enjoy the rest of the day. Sergeant Tremper was impressed that Mr. Roth not only caught the boys, but none of the young men escaped on the walk to the police station. 

In 1936 a highlight of Washington Park was a fifteen foot loving cup, made from over 14,000 plants.

When it was announced that Mr. Roth would be retiring soon, Sandusky City Manager, R.L.J. Wagar said, in part, “Under Jacob Roth our parks have been one of our main attractions for drawing people to Sandusky and a constant joy for all of us to behold and we cannot afford to let the parks be neglected in any way when Jake leaves us.” Indeed, the city parks of Sandusky are still a beautiful asset to our city. 

Jacob H. Roth died on April 9, 1948. He was a member of St. Stephen’s Evangelical and Reformed Church, and the Woodmen of America. He was survived by his widow Christine, and two granddaughters. Burial was in Oakland Cemetery. 

Below is a picture postcard of Washington Park, taken during the time that Jacob H. Roth served as superintendent of the parks of the city of Sandusky.

       

Floral Mounds in Washington Park

Floral mounds have been a popular feature of the parks in downtown Sandusky for decades. The mound pictured above, which was located near the Erie County Courthouse in 1910, contained an urn and was entitled “Flora.”  

This patriotic themed floral mound, sponsored by the Perry Post, No. 83, American Legion, was in the park sometime between 1910 and 1920. In the 1920s, the Perry Post of the American Legion was re-named the Commodore DenigPost, No. 83.

In 1917, another floral mound with a patriotic theme featured an eagle atop the globe, with a floral flag of the United States on the main portion of the mound.

         

OLEIDA (Ohio Lake Erie Island District Association), which promoted tourism in the 1930s, sponsored the floral mound in this picture.

In 1960, a mound honoring the 125^th anniversary of the American Crayon Company was located in Washington Park, facing East Washington Street.

             

Local residents and tourists from all over the U.S. (and beyond) enjoy Sandusky’s beautiful parks every summer. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to see more historic photographs from Sandusky and Erie County.