Advertisements from the W.O. Stubig Shoe Store

William O. Stubig began working in his father’s shoe store on Water Street in the 1890s. Christian Stubig, a German immigrant and Civil War veteran, founded the shoe store in 1866. After the elder Mr. Stubig’s death in 1904, William took over the shoe store. Frequently identified as W.O. Stubig, he believed in the power of advertising, often running ads in the Sandusky Register and the Sandusky Star Journal. In this ad from the October 5, 1906 issue of the Register, W.O. Stubig let customers know that he carried several popular brands of shoe wear, including the B. & P. “Korrect Shape” shoe.

The Star Journal of December 30, 1911, carried an ad which implied that shoes were an important feature of a woman wanting to appear attractive. Stubig was adept at fitting shoes for Sandusky ladies (and men.)

A "price wrecking" sale, with “the most stupendous shoe sacrifice ever known” began on December 9, 1919 at Stubig’s shoe store.

In a clever advertisement in the January 20, 1909 issue of the Sandusky Register, W.O. Stubig stated he would give a free pair of shoes to the first person to solve this rebus:

The lucky winner of the contest was Fred L. Werner. The solution to the puzzle is in the article below, from the Sandusky Register of January 24, 1909.

The W.O. Stubig shoe store closed shortly after the death of Mr. Stubig in 1956. 

Here is a picture of the Stubig shoe store while still under the management of the founder, Christian Stubig:

Prior to 1915, the store was at 754 Water Street. After street numbers changed in 1915, that address became 228 West Water Street. The building which once housed the well known shoe store was razed in 1965. A parking lot is now located at the spot where Stubig’s store once stood, near the southeast corner of Jackson and Water Streets.

Research Resource: Record of Discharge of Civil War Soldiers

The Sandusky Library Archives Research Center has microfilmed copies of the discharge records of Erie County Civil War soldiers. These records were originally filed at the Erie County Recorder’s Office. An index which lists the soldiers’ names alphabetically by surname aids in locating each soldier’s information.

Thomas McFall, a private with Company B in the 145th Regiment of the Ohio National Guard was discharged on August 24, 1864 at Camp Chase, Ohio.

Alexander Hornig served as a private under Captain Harvey E. Proctor in Company D of the 41^st Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was discharged at Pulaski, Tennessee on December 2, 1864. Pvt. Hornig’s discharge record listed his place of birth as Germany. A physical description is also provided, stating that he was 20 years old and 5 feet 5 inches tall. He had a light complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair, and his occupation was marble cutter.

Christian Stubig was discharged at Johnson’s Island on February 28, 1865. He had served with the 128^th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  He was a native of Germany, and his occupation was shoemaker.

Elijah Brown was with Company I of the Massachusetts 55^th Infantry, comprised of African Americans. (At that time, Ohio did not allow African American men into military service, although the policy changed shortly after, but only for the remainder of the war. It was not until 1870 that black men were allowed to serve in Ohio state militias.) He was discharged at Charleston, South Carolina on August 29, 1865. Mr. Brown was eighteen years old, having been born in Sandusky, Ohio. His occupation was farmer. Elijah Brown’s military unit was led by Captain George T. Garrison, brother of well known abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison.

By browsing through these government records, a great deal of personal information can be learned about the men who served in the Civil War. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research to view these military discharge records. Several book sources and online databases available at Sandusky Library can also aid in the research of Civil War soldiers.

When Button Shoes Were Sold in Sandusky

In the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth century, a popular style of shoe was the button shoe. An interesting article appearing in the Sandusky Star newspaper of January 27, 1899 recommended this handy shoe button bag to keep on hand for when a button came loose from your shoe.

Below is a picture of one of the pair of high button shoes that Miss Evangeline Vinton wore when she married former Sandusky Mayor Charles Bouton in 1871. They are now housed in the historical collections of the Follett House Museum.

W.O. Stubig sold button shoes in both kid and patent leather in 1904.

Local shoe stores sold button hooks to help their customers fasten the buttons of their shoes, like this one from the Leo A. Sacksteder store on East Market Street in Sandusky in the 1910s.

Mr. Sacksteder placed an advertisement in the January 1916 issue of the Fram, stating that “Shoes for graduation must have character and style and what Sacksteder says is so.” At that time Sandusky High School had a winter graduating class as well as a June graduating class.

You can see the buttons on the shoes of young Steen L. Parker in this picture of the toddler, taken by C.W. Platt about 1911.

The two younger Ebert children in this picture are also wearing button shoes.

After World War I, the popularity of button shoes declined, as more and more people purchased ready-to-wear clothing and footwear. But the fashion was remembered in a unique way: on October 9, 1947, the show High Button Shoes opened on Broadway. It was a musical comedy set in 1913, when high button shoes were still a popular fashion item.

Sandusky Boosters: 100,000 in 1920

In 1912 two men from Cleveland spoke to a group of fourteen Sandusky businessmen. Charles F. Laughlin and Stanley L. McMichael, president and secretary of the Cleveland Real Estate Board, were in Sandusky on the evening of September 19, 1912. They encouraged the local men to consider the possibility of trying to increase the population of Sandusky to 100,000 by the time of the next U.S. Census, in 1920. According to a Sandusky Register article, Mr. Laughlin stated in part, “You people in Sandusky must anticipate the time when you will have 100,000 or 200,000 population. You will not always remain a small town. You are too geographically well located. You have the greatest prospects of any town in the state.”  The speakers felt that by Sandusky men becoming affiliated with the Ohio Association of Real Estate Exchanges that the community could experience significant growth.

The men who committed to starting a new organization to promote growth in Sandusky were:

Philip Buerkle, A. C. Lermann, A. C. Close, C. C. Bittner, T. E. Risk, D. E. Weichel, James Flynn, Jr., C. W. Sadler, H. J. Schiller, Lawrence Frandsen, C. H. Stubig, and J. C. Hauser.

While Sandusky’s population did not achieve the goal of the population reaching 100,000 by 1920, at the celebration of the 100^th Anniversary of the Incorporation of the City of Sandusky, Ohio, held in the August of 1924, a poem entitled “Boost” appeared on the title page of the Official Souvenir Program. (Figures from the U.S. Census indicate that the population of Sandusky in 1920 was 22, 897.)

Stubig’s Shoes

According to History of Erie County, Ohio, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich, Christian Stubig began manufacturing and selling shoes and boots in Sandusky, Ohio in 1866. Born in Nassau, Germany, Christian Stubig came to the United States in 1861. During the Civil War, Christian Stubig served with the Hoffman Battalion, where he guarded prisoners at Johnson’s Island. Stubig’s shoe store was located at 228 West Washington Street in downtown Sandusky.

In the 1890s Christian’s son, William O. Stubig, began working with his father at the Stubig’s shoe store, and William took over the business after his father’s death in 1904. Several employees of Stubig’s shoes can be seen in the 1910 picture below.

William O. Stubig died on November 15, 1956. An obituary for Mr. Stubig, which appeared in the November 17, 1956 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News stated that William O. Stubig had been one of Sandusky’s oldest and best known businessmen. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to see more documents, photographs, and other primary resources related to the Stubig family.

Carl H. Stubig, Local Politician and Newspaper Man

Carl H. Stubig was born on October 5, 1886 in Sandusky, Ohio, to Christian and Catherine (Lanz) Stubig, who were both natives of Germany. After working for several years in newspapers in New York and Canada, Carl returned to Sandusky and worked briefly for the Sandusky Star Journal. Carl H. Stubig published a weekly newspaper in Sandusky entitled Stubig’s Weekly between 1915 and 1918. Stubig's editorials and his approach when describing political foes caused a great deal of controversy and agitation throughout the city's political circles.

In 1914 Carl Stubig lost the Republican nomination for mayor to Charles F. Mischler. Stubig's defeat and his support against a campaign to change the city's charter put him as a leading figure in Sandusky politics. Following the adoption of a new city charter, Stubig was one of twenty-seven candidates running to fill the five positions on the first City Commission, established by the new city charter. Despite the number of candidates and the ferocious nature of the campaign, Stubig won a seat and took office as a City Commissioner on January 1, 1916.

His service on the commission was often controversial. At one point during his term, the local Congregational minister assailed Stubig from the pulpit, referring to him as a demagogue and a reactionary. And on March 20, 1916, Stubig took it upon himself to have a “test run” of the city’s fire department. He pulled the fire alarm at city hall during a blinding snow storm. City streets were dangerously slippery, and Henry Rudolph, a veteran Sandusky fireman, fell from the No. 3 hook and ladder truck while answering the false alarm. Mr. Rudolph survived the accident for several months, but he died on February 23, 1917 as a result of the injuries he sustained.

An article in the December 22, 1917 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that Carl H. Stubig was tired of the town of Sandusky. Stubig moved to Akron, where he was the courthouse reporter for the Akron Times. Then he worked at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company as a member of the publicity department. Later, Carl H. Stubig was secretary to C.L. Knight of the Akron Beacon Journal. On May 2, 1930, Carl H. Stubig died suddenly of heart disease at his home in Akron, Ohio, at the age of 48. An obituary found in the 1930 Obituary Notebook stated that Mr. Stubig was to be buried at Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. However, the Oakland Cemetery interment card for Carl H. Stubig has a note indicating that in July on 1930, the remains of Carl H. Stubig had been transferred to Marion, Ohio.

Carl H. Stubig was a dynamic individual, and he was passionate in his beliefs and goals. Though his life was brief, he made an impact on many people in several different communities. The picture of Carl H. Stubig below was taken in Albany, New York on April 14, 1912, when Mr. Stubig was with the Knickerbocker Press.

"Die Gartenlaube"

Though the entire issue is not found, the cover of Die Gartenlaube (The Arbor, in English) is located in the Stubig Family Collection of the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library. The issue is dated January 1, 1870, and features a cartoon by X. A. W. Aarland. Die Gartenlaube was the most widely read magazine in Germany in the late 1800’s. It was first published in Leipzig in 1853, and later moved to Berlin, continuing publication until 1944. The weekly magazine featured many illustrations, serialized novels, and travel narratives.

The New York Times carried an article about Kurt Aram’s visit to the United States. The editors of Die Gartenlaube pondered how German immigrants could manage to live in the United States of America without knowing the language and having very little money. They decided to fund a project in which Kurt Aram, a German writer, would go to America with only twenty five dollars, and then report to the editors about his experiences in the new land. Mr. Aram told how he found food and lodging, obtained employment, and even managed to find a German restaurant that served authentic German beer and sauerbraten. For a book which gives a thorough look at Die Gartenlaube from 1853 – 1900, read Kirsten Belgum’s Popularizing the Nation, available for loan through ClevNet.
Christian Stubig was born in Nassau, Germany in 1835, and came to the U.S. in 1861, settling in Sandusky. (He is probably the man standing at the back of the group of men in this photo; the photo was taken in Nauheim, Germany, at a reunion of schoolmates in 1900.) He had a shoe business which was later carried on by his son William. Another son, Carl Stubig, had a local newspaper in Sandusky from 1914 through 1918, and was active in local politics. Christian Stubig served as a guard at Johnson’s Island during the Civil War and later re-enlisted in the 5th Regiment, U.S. Veteran Volunteer Infantry. An obituary honoring Christian Stubig in the Sandusky Register, July 20, 1904 stated that “Sandusky loses a prominent citizen.” Christian Stubig became fully involved in every aspect of American life, but he also remained in touch with his family members who remained in Germany. The Stubig Family Collection contains several letters to the Stubig family, as well as financial documents, postcards, and business and legal papers.

Here is a photograph of the Stubig Shoe Store located at 754 Water Street around 1904.

New Finding Aids for Old Collections

I know this is coming a little late (the work was finished in August), but I would like to recognize and publicize some new resources produced by our summer intern this year. He created several new finding aids for materials that had been "buried" in the archives, because they had not been fully described as distinct collections. We're hopeful that these new information sources will bring increased attention to some interesting historical items, and provide more information of value to researchers. Although none of these collections is very big, there will certainly be some bits of information useful to genealogists, local historians, and others with an interest in history and culture.

Many of these new finding aids describe collections of papers and artifacts produced and gathered by local families and individuals. The Stubig Family Collection (1852-1926) contains materials relating to the life and times of Christian Stubig, a German immigrant to Sandusky, and his son Carl Stubig, a newspaper reporter and local political figure. Among the items in this collection are letters written in German between family members and Stubig's Weekly, a political newspaper published by Carl Stubig, 1915-1918.

The Wilbor & Wilcox Family Collections (bulk 1848-1873) provide insight into business and personal activities in 19th-century Sandusky. The collection contains records of dry goods business transactions and personal correspondence among family members.

The Cable Family Collection (bulk 1895-1916) offers a description of the business activities of Laurence Cable and his sons Edward and Frank, including legal documents and correspondence, some relating to the Cable Park residential development in Sandusky.

The John F. McCrystal, Sr. Papers (bulk 1893-1925) include approximately 175 items relating to Mr. McCrystal's participation in legal and civic issues, particularly during his time as chairman of Sandusky's Legal Advisory Board in the World War I period.

The Frohman Family Collection (1891-1990) is a small collection of memorabilia relating to the Sandusky family, beginning with brothers David and Henry, who arrived in the 1850s, to Charles Frohman, the businessman and local historian who died in 1976.

The Chapman and Pendleton Family Correspondence consists of 120 letters sent between family members between 1843 and 1870. They offer a rich description of life of that time, including reports of travel and migration, diseases, death and other hardships, as well as other personal matters that help to describe the era.

Also, the library holds several small collections relating to local businesses. Although none of these collections represent the complete records of a company (or even a significant portion), they offer perpectives of various local industries. Included are: the Hinde and Dauch Company Collection (1894-1995), consisting primarily of advertisements and other business ephemera; the American Crayon - Prang Collection (1878-1980), containing advertising, some correspondence, catalogs, and secondary articles relating to the company's activities; and the M. Hommel Winery Collection (bulk 1897-1915), including records of the company relating to competitions at international expositions and fairs, some business records, and advertising materials.

For more information about these collections, or any other collections in the Archives Research Center, please contact the Sandusky Library, via phone (419-625-3834) or email, or come in and visit the library.

October is Archives Month

October is Archives Month, a time when we recognize the importance of the role of archives and historical collections in society. Archives serve to preserve the past, to teach us in the present, and inspire us for the future. (The poster above was produced by the Society of Ohio Archivists, and includes artifacts from the collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.)

This year's theme for Archives Month in Ohio is "Reunions" -- occasions where people get together to remember their past, and to experience the present together. The photo below shows a group of men in Nauheim, Germany, reunited from their days as schoolmates. One of the men (perhaps the one standing in the back) is probably Christian Stubig, a resident of Sandusky at the time of this photo, and a veteran of the U.S. Civil War (Co. B, 128th O.V.I.). He was the father of Carl Stubig, a journalist active in Sandusky city politics in the early 1900s.

To learn more about archives and our collections, visit the Sandusky Library.