Valentines Given to Ralph Spahn

Ralph Spahn was born in Sandusky, Ohio in 1891. He was the son of Fred Spahn and his wife, the former Philipine Hinkey. In the historical collections of the Sandusky Library and the Follett House Museum are two valentines given to Ralph by his cousin Ida Bunsey and another person named Carrie.

Ralph’s father Fred Spahn, a popular Sandusky barber who also had a shop on Johnson's Island, died in 1906 at the age of 38, from an accidental drowning. Sadly, Ralph Spahn passed away less than two years later on February 16, 1908, from typhoid fever. He was buried at Oakland Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio.

Ralph’s mother, Philipine “Bena” Hinkey Spahn lived a long life. She died in 1956 at age 90, and was laid to rest in the family lot at Oakland Cemetery.