Seele’s Restaurant, Later Hanson's Restaurant

In 1892, Charles J. Seele opened a restaurant at 724 Water Street between Columbus Avenue and Jackson Street, not far from the West House hotel in downtown Sandusky. In 1907 Seele’s sold fresh bulk oysters for thirty-five cents a quart (about $10.40 today). An advertisement from the December 17, 1909 issue of the Sandusky Register stated that Seele’s Restaurant sold pork sausage, buckwheat cakes, homemade mince and pumpkin pies, along with oysters and fish. Another listing from the June 4, 1919 Register offered a 21 meal ticket for $3.50 (about $55 today). The advertisement below appeared in the August 16, 1910 issue of the Sandusky Register:

In 1917, Adolph Stamm, who formerly worked for Mr. Seele, took over management of Seele’s restaurant. 

In the 1920s, Mr. Seele ran a grocery store on Hancock Street. In 1925, he moved to Florida, where he died in 1927. His obituary was in the Sandusky Register of September 2, 1927.

By 1927, Hanson’s Restaurant was in business at the site of the former Seele’s restaurant, at what became 140 West Water Street after 1915. Hanson's was in business at that location for about 30 years. A parking lot is now located where Seele’s and Hanson’s restaurants were in business long ago.

Woodlawn Golf Course in Sandusky in the 1930s

The Woodlawn Golf Course opened at the corner of Camp Street and Perkins Avenue on May 30, 1931. The clubhouse was built by Miller Brothers, of Venice, Ohio. The firm of Opfer and Faber ran thousands of feet of tile, to provide adequate drainage for the golf course. Green fees were $1.00 for weekdays, and $1.25 on Sundays and holidays. On opening day, there were exhibition matches between Ed Windisch and Mel Carrier, and between Miss Polly Smith and Mrs. Cecil Laird. Pictured above are Mrs. Locke, Harley Hane, and Mel Carrier, the golf pro at Woodlawn. 

Several advertisements and announcements about the opening of the Woodlawn Golf Course appeared in the Sandusky Register of May 30, 1931.

The Manhattan store in Sandusky sold clothes that would make golfers “dress well” for the sport. Holzaepfel’s ran special sales on golf balls and golf clubs. 

In the snapshot below are: Mr. John Rheinegger, owner; Boyd Hamrick; and Chester Bohn, greenskeeper.

This is the Number 4 Fairway:

In the Spring of 1936, Charles Stamm took over the Woodlawn Golf Course as the manager and golf pro. During this economically-troubled era business declined, so that by 1938 and 1939 circuses were held on the grounds of the former golf course. This ad for the Parker and Watts Circus was featured in the Sandusky Star Journal of May 22, 1939.

Eventually, with the help of the Depression-era WPA, a new municipal golf course was created on the west side of Sandusky. An article in the May 20, 1940 issue of the Sandusky Register announced the dedication of the Mills Creek Golf Course. (The name is derived from the Honorable Isaac Mills, one of the founders of Sandusky.)

St. Mary’s 1939 Basketball Team

Former newspaper reporter C. Weston Dash donated this picture of the 1938-1939 Sandusky St. Mary’s basketball team. Notes on the original picture indicate that the photograph was taken on March 19, 1939. This team was runner-up for the Class A High School state championship in 1939. Coach Lee Zierolf is on the right, in the back row. Team members were: Leroy Riedy, Howard Thompson, Art Link (team captain), Ken Smith, Wayne Stamm, Joe Riccardi, Charles Stanley and John Thompson. You can read more about this team in the March 19, 1939 issue of the Sandusky Register. Coach Lee Zierolf was a teacher and coach at St. Mary’s from 1932 to 1953. Under his leadership, the St. Mary’s basketball team won the state championship in 1936, and were state runners-up from 1937 to 1940. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to read more about your favorite local sports teams in issues of the old Sandusky newspapers, now on microfilm.