Masquerade Parties Were Popular in Sandusky

Adolph Lange won a prize of $6.00 for his costume as a Knight of the 16^th century, which he wore to the masquerade ball held by the Social Turners in Sandusky on February 14, 1888. (Six dollars in 1888 was worth about $160 in today's money.) Masquerade balls and parties were held frequently in Sandusky in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, often sponsored by local clubs, but sometimes held by private individuals.  

In February of 1890, the Sandusky Turngemeinde held a masquerade ball at Fisher’s Hall. An advertisement in the Sandusky Register of January 25, 1890, stated that the masquerade “will be a great and glittering success.”

Just in time for the ball, masks were sold at the Bazar, a popular store in the 600 block of Market Street, to help shoppers complete their costume for the masquerade ball.

Several former Sandusky residents are pictured in this masquerade party held in the early twentieth century.

While we do not know the exact date or location of this event, the names of the individuals in attendance were: August Kuebeler, Mrs. Russell Ramsey, Mrs. John Mack, Mrs. R.M. Taylor, Mrs. Clifford King, Mr. and Mrs. Ira Krupp, Clifford King, Mr. and Mrs. Merritt Wilcox, Mr. and Mrs. Phil Beery, Mrs. August Kuebeler, Mr. and Mrs.  Watson Butler, George Beis, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Brewer, William Kerber, Mrs. Thomas Sloane, Herbert Textor, Fred Harten, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Dunn, Carey Hord, Mrs. Brown, Mr. and Mrs. George Feick, Doris Marquart, Mrs. Percy Staples, Natalie Marquart, Gladys Rife, Mrs. John Britton, and Mary Vietmeier.

The Granary Building at 149 East Water Street

Now home to the offices of Dr. James Gallagher and Dr. Susan Gallagher, the building at 149 East Water Street in Sandusky has had a long history as a commercial property. From 1860 to the late 1880s, William Robertson (and later his sons) ran a wholesale grocery store at what was once known as 611 and 613 Water Steet.  While Mr. Robertson was originally from Northumberland, England, his neighbors in 1886 were of German descent. The Active Turners met on the second floor of  Fisher’s Hall to the east of Robertson’s Grocery, and the Turner Hall Hotel was just down the street, as seen in this 1886 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map.

In the early 1890s, George and John Esch ran a store that sold draperies and carpets at 611 and 613 Water Street.  From 1898 to 1908, T.C. Adams, and later his son Robert Adams, sold flour and feed at 611 Water Street. Many  local residents will recall that the Gallagher Brothers ran a granary at this location from about 1911 until 1950. The business operated as an outlet for Gallagher’s Mill in Venice, Ohio. In 1915 the street number was changed to 149 East Water Street.  From the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s the Merrill Mank Plumbing Company was in business here. For a time, Lake Erie Rusco sold storm doors and windows at this location. 

Ellie Damm wrote in her book Treasure by the Bay that the building was built in the High Victorian style. The foundation is stone, and the main portion of the structure is limestone covered with mastic. You can learn more about many of Sandusky’s historic buildings in the Ohio Historic Inventory for Erie County, shelved behind the Reference Services desk in the Lower Level of the Sandusky Library.

Sandusky Turn-Gemeinde Christmas Festival

On December 25, 1892, the Sandusky Turn-Gemeinde held their annual festival at the Turner Hall, which had formerly been known as Norman Hall. Tickets were twenty-five cents and the music was provided by the Great Western Orchestra.

The Turn-Gemeinde was an association made up primarily of German-American individuals, and whose primary objective was to promote physical fitness. It was formed by a merger of the Active Turnverien and the Social Turnverein clubs around 1888.

The last party of the Social Turn-Verein, before merger with the Active Turn-Verien

The December 26, 1892 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that the Turn-Gemeinde Christmas festivities were largely attended. Otto Baumeister had created a piece of floral art that was quite attractive. The article went to say that “The music of the Great Western Orchestra was exceptionally fine, fully maintaining the reputation of that well known organization of musical artists.” The Great Western Band and Orchestra entertained Sandusky residents for many years. To read more about the history of German-American citizens of Sandusky, see Sandusky Then and Now, by Dr. Ernst von Schulenburg.

Sandusky Turngemeinde Concert

On Thursday evening, October 31, 1889, the Sandusky Turngemeinde sponsored a concert at Fisher’s Hall in Sandusky. There were two portions of the concert, each with six numbers. Following the concert, a dance was held. The Sandusky Turngemeinde was created from the merging of two separate groups, the Active Turners and the Social Turners. The Turners were a social organization, usually made up of individuals of German descent, who were devoted to physical fitness. Over 350 individuals were members of the Sandusky Turngemeinde. According to the book, Sandusky Then and Now, the officers of the Sandusky Turngemeinde in 1888 were: John Molter, first speaker; Otto Baumeister, second speaker; Jacob Dietz, first turner warden; Charles Guenther, second turner warden; C.A. Kuebeler, first corresponding secretary; William Dilger, second corresponding secretary; William Allendorf, financial secretary; Charles Zimmermann, treasurer; George Dolch, janitor; and George Müller, color bearer. Trustees were R. Krudwig, J. Mertz and Charles Baumann.

An article about the Sandusky Turngemeinde Concert, which appeared in the November 1, 1889 issue of the Sandusky Register, read in part:

The concert given by the Sandusky Turngemeinde at Fisher’s Hall last evening attracted a large crowd that enjoyed the affair to the utmost. The mixed, female and male choruses were excellent and showed the thorough training of Prof. Berger. The quintette by Messrs. Moos, Haecker, Engels, Baumeister, and Berger was fine, and the same can be said of the piano solo of Miss Wiedel, the duet by Mssrs. Berger and Engels, the clarinet solo by Fred Bauman and numbers rendered by the Great Western Orchestra.

John J. Molter, Civic Leader

John J. Molter was born in Sandusky on July 16, 1854 to Mr. and Mrs. John Molter, who were both natives of Baden, Germany. As a young man, Molter lived for ten years in Danville, Illinois, but he spent most of his life as a resident of Sandusky, Ohio. He was elected to the 69th and 70th General Assembly of Ohio. While serving as a legislator, he fostered a bill to make “physical education” a branch of the curriculum of the public schools of Ohio. In his youth, he had been active in the “Turners,” an athletic association whose members were primarily of German descent. In 1887, he earned the National Turn Verein swimming title during a competition in Covington, Kentucky. Walking was a favorite pastime of Mr. Molter, and he was known to hike daily, even in inclement weather.

Appointed by President Cleveland, John J. Molter served as Sandusky’s postmaster from 1894 through 1898. He was elected Mayor of Sandusky from April 1901 through January 1910. He was active in the Elks Lodge, and the Knights of Pythias, and for a time he was in the wholesale liquor business with August Guenther.

On December 19, 1934, John J. Molter passed away in Good Samaritan Hospital, after an illness of two months. His obituary, which is found in the 1934 OBITUARY NOTEBOOK at the Sandusky Library, reads in part, “No citizen was better known; none was more honored and respected….Molter was a man of unquestioned honesty and exemplary habits and enjoyed the confidence and friendship of citizens of all classes.” Mr. Molter was survived by a brother and a sister. His funeral was held at the Elks Lodge on East Adams Street, and was largely attended. Burial was at Oakland Cemetery, with the Knights of Pythias in charge of the gravesite services.

John J. Molter is pictured above in the Mayor’s Office on West Market Street in Sandusky, about 1908.

Opening of the Social Turners’ Hall, May 31, 1883

On May 31, 1883 the Sandusky Register announced the opening of the Social Turners’s Hall. The Singing Societies Harmonie and Froshinn and Company B of the 16th Regiment of the Ohio National Guard were to appear at the grand opening. Company B of the 16th O.N.G. was commonly referred to as the Sandusky Light Guard.
Roughly translated, the announcement reads:

Opening

of

Social Turn Hall

on

Thursday Evening May 31, 1883

with one

Concert

Drill, Gymnastics and Dance

under cooperation of

Singing Societies Harmonie and Froshinn

and Company B, Ohio National Guard

Floor managers for the event were: Charles Unckrich, John Holzaepfel, John Doerflinger, Henry Neumeyer, August Fettel, and A. P . Lange. These men served on the committee of arrangements: F.J. Holzaepfel, Jacob Deitz, Dan Mishler, C. Schlenk, Ph. Linder, Wm. Allendorf, and F .Beihl. The 1884-1885 Sandusky City Directory states that the “Social Turn Verein,” a variation on the name of the Social Turners Society, was organized in September, 1882. The club met at their hall at 823 Water Street. In 1884, August Fettel was the president of the organization.
The Turner movement was started in Germany in 1811 by Fredrich Ludwig Jahn, who believed in promoting both physical and mental health. The activities of the various Turner societies in Sandusky are discussed on pages 94, 165, and 171-173 of Sandusky Then and Now.