George T. Lehrer, Mayor of Sandusky

George T. Lehrer is seen at the far right above, in an undated photograph which shows a group of men at the back of a train car. He was born in 1863 to Rev. J.G. Lehrer, one of the earliest pastors of Zion Lutheran Church, and the former Susanna Kneb. 

For forty years, Mr. Lehrer was the owner of a drug store on Washington Street in Sandusky.

Besides being well known as a Sandusky businessman, Mr. Lehrer was prominent in Republican political circles. He was director of the Erie County Infirmary for several terms. In the fall of 1909, he was elected Mayor of Sandusky, defeating J.J. Molter, who had been mayor for four terms.

When Theodore Roosevelt was campaigning in Sandusky in 1912, as a member of the Bull Moose Party, Mayor Lehrer was seated on the platform, not far from the American flag.

During his first term as Mayor, Lehrer authorized the purchase of the first motorized fire equipment for the city of Sandusky. When Sandusky went to the Charter form of government, Mr. Lehrer was appointed City Manager. In 1918, he resigned his position, and was succeeded by George M. Zimmerman. 

On March 6, 1938, George T. Lehrer died at the age of 74, just weeks after he celebrated his Golden Anniversary with his wife, the former Elisa Schmidt. The final resting place of Mr. and Mrs. George T. Lehrer is Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.

Mr. and Mrs. John Hauser

John Hauser was born on December 4, 1826 in Wuerttemberg, Germany. He emigrated to the United States in 1847. In 1855 he married Margaret Schmidt, a native of Bosenbach, Germany; though Margaret was not yet age eighteen, her mother gave written permission for the couple to be married. Below is a portrait of Margaret Schmidt Hauser in her later years.

Henry Hauser, their first child, died in infancy.  The Hausers had five more children, three sons and two daughters. 

John Hauser was a painter by occupation. He worked as a master painter for the Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark Railway (later merged with the Baltimore and Ohio) and the Mad River Railway, which became a part of the Big Four. During the Civil War, he served with Company B of the 145^th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. When he wasn’t working, several hobbies kept him busy: he was quite fond of music and drama, and he was associated with German theatricals in Sandusky for several years. Additionally, he was an avid hunter and an enthusiastic botanist. He also was known as an expert in the repair of stringed instruments. 

On February 23, 1900, John Hauser passed away at the age of 73. Funeral services were held at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Emma Wirth, on Market Street. Burial was at Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. Mrs. Margaret Hauser died on December 22, 1901 in Sandusky. She was survived by five children. An obituary in the December 23, 1901 issue of the Sandusky Register stated about Mrs. Hauser, “The deceased was a highly respected citizen of this city and her death came as a shock to all who knew her.” 

Two of the grandchildren of John and Margaret Hauser were well known in academic circles. Dr. Norbert Lange was a chemistry professor at Western Reserve University, who is known for writing the classic text Handbook of Chemistry (now in its 17th edition). Dr. Lange and his wife were the benefactors for The Norbert A. and Marion Cleaveland Lange Trust of Sandusky Library, which has provided cultural and educational programs for Erie County residents for over twenty-five years. 

Norbert Lange’s cousin, Dr. Elmer H. Wirth, was a professor at the University of Illinois from 1922 through 1947, serving as Head of the Department of Pharmacognosy for several years. He was the author of seven books and more than 300 articles on pharmacy.

Camptown

A neighborhood on the eastern part of Sandusky was once known as Camptown. It is located east of Sycamore Line and south of Scott Street, including First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Street. Camptown was named after John G. Camp, John G. Camp, Jr. and Jacob A. Camp, who added this section of the city to the original plat of Sandusky in 1852.  In the 1800s, St. Ann’s Chapel was built in Camptown as an outreach of Grace Episcopal Church. This chapel later became Calvary Episcopal Church, which is now in use as a wedding venue. Around the turn of the twentieth century, Philip Schmidt ran the Camp Town grocery store at the corner of Monroe and Meigs Streets, on the edge of the neighborhood. In the 1870s, artist Samuel Tebbutt lived on Second Street. The neighborhood has always been primarily residential. Though no signs of the name Camptown remain today, thousands of tourists drive through the section of Sandusky formerly known as Camptown, on their way to Cedar Point each summer.

Luipold's Barber Shop

John Martin Luipold is pictured above in his barbershop at 1607 Hayes Avenue in June, 1915.  A sign above the mirror indicates that Mr. Luipold is a Union Barber. Wildroot is advertised as a remedy for dandruff or eczema. An article in the December 24, 1959 issue of the Sandusky Register stated that Mr. Luipold had retired in 1956 after having been a barber for sixty years. John Martin Luipold was born in Germany, but came to the United States as a young man. He married Anna Marie Schmidt on December 26, 1898 at the parsonage of Zion Lutheran Church. 

In another scene from Luipold’s Barber Shop, it appears that some of the regular customers left their shaving mugs at the barber shop, on a rack next to the mirror

To read more about barber shops in Sandusky, see Article 40 in volume II of From the Widow's Walk, by Helen Hansen and Virginia Steinemann.