Elmer Grahl’s Painting and the Story of Sandusky's Puck

In 2003 longtime Sandusky barber Elmer Grahl painted a picture of the ice cream and sandwich shop operated by the Charles Hoffman family in the 1920s and 1930s. This shop is no longer standing, but it once stood at the southeast corner of Scott and Hancock Streets.

Puck, the figure on top of the stand, was in the front window of Dietz and Mischler’s cigar store on Columbus Avenue until about 1915. After the cigar store closed, this zinc statue landed in John and Henry Weier’s scrap yard, on Hancock Street, between Neil and Scott Streets. Charles Hoffman rescued Puck and placed him on top of the family sandwich shop, just down the street. The tip of Puck’s spear was electrified, and fitted with a light bulb, showing the way to Hoffman’s shop. Hoffman descendants donated Puck to the Follett House Museum in the 1970s.

Below is a photograph of Hoffman’s shop when it was in business in Sandusky. The Hoffman family was well known in Sandusky for its business ventures, including the Hoffman Coal and Milling Company and the Hoffman Manufacturing Company.