Painting by Charles H. Hubbell

The painting above was created by Charles H. Hubbell for Reinhardt N. Ausmus. (The library owns a photograph, but not the original painting.) The monoplane was designed, built, and flown by Ausmus in 1912. 

Reinhart Ausmus in 1920

Reinhardt N. Ausmus was only 16 years old when he built his first plane. Before serving in the U.S. Army as a flight instructor in World War I, Ausmus worked in Sandusky with another aviation pioneer, Thomas Benoist. Mr. Ausmus was an advocate for veterans' welfare throughout his life. He was appointed the first Erie County Veterans Service Officer in 1949, serving in that position until 1969.

Photo of Charles H. Hubbell, from the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Mr. Hubbell, who died in 1971, was one of the most well known commercial aviation artists of his time. Many of his paintings are now a part of the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum collection of the Western Reserve Historical Society.

Air Progress Show Held in Sandusky in 1958

The Air Progress Show, sponsored by the Aviation Committee of the Sandusky Chamber of Commerce, was held in Sandusky on August 16 and 17, 1958.  Colonel Roscoe Turner was the Grand Marshal of the event.

Special events during the show included parachute jumps, a model plane contest, an F-86 military fly-by, a display of private aircraft, and an awards and recognition program. Major General Russell A. Ramsey was the Master of Ceremonies for the program held on Sunday, August 17, 1958. The first plaque awarded at the presentation program was dedicated to the memory of the “Early Birds.”  The August 18, 1958 issue of the Sandusky Register reprinted the inscription of the plaque:

Dedicated in memory of those early aviation pioneers "The Early Birds.” Between the years 1910-1917, aviators Weldon B. Cooke and Tom W. Benoist had aeroplane factories and flying schools in Sandusky which had a very important part in early aviation. Also, aeroplane engines, manufactured in Sandusky by the Roberts Aviation Motor Company, were used throughout the world. To these pioneers and others who helped produce and fly these early aircraft, we do herein give honor. Awarded by The Sandusky Chamber of Commerce, Sandusky, Ohio, August 17, 1958.

The plaque honoring the Early Birds is now located in Washington Park in downtown Sandusky. Plaques were also awarded to Reinhardt N. Ausmus and FrankP. Lahm, pictured below.

Reinhardt Ausmus built and flew airplanes in his youth, and he trained pilots for the United States Army during World War I. He was named the first Erie County Veterans Service Officer in 1949, and served in that position until 1969. Frank P. Lahm was known as the “nation’s first military aviator,” having served with the United States Army Air Corps and Army Air Forces from 1916 to 1941. The Lahm Airport in Mansfield, Ohio was named for him. Following the presentation of the special awards, Colonel Roscoe Turner and Ohio’s Attorney General William Saxbe gave remarks. Several high schools bands performed during the Air Progress Show, and it was estimated that attendance for the two-day event was approximately 15,000. More details about the Air Progress Show of 1958 can be found in the Official Program, housed in the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center,  as well as in several issues of the Sandusky Register from August 1958, now on microfilm. Inquire at the Reference Services Desk to view these items.

Santa in a Plane at the Reinhardt Ausmus Residence

The unique Christmas decoration featuring Santa Claus as the pilot of an airplane once appeared on the roof of the home of Reinhardt Ausmus. While we do not know the exact date of the picture, Sandusky City Directories indicate that the Ausmus family resided at 1102 Buckingham Street in Sandusky, Ohio for over forty years, arriving in Sandusky in 1915. "Reiny" (as he was known by his friends) built and flew his first airplane at the age of 16. He went on to become a flight instructor during World War I, and he continued to teach after the war.

In 2007, Reinhardt Ausmus was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame. He was recognized for his "distinctive contribution to the progress of early aviation" as well as for his services contributing "to the well being of veterans and other citizens of the Sandusky area."

Tom Benoist, Pioneer Aviator

Tom Benoist was an aviation pioneer in the early part of the twentieth century. He and his brother started an automobile supply shop in 1907 in Missouri. As time went by, the shop became a supplier of aviation parts. In 1909 Tom Benoist began manufacturing airplanes. He established the Benoist Flying School in Kinloch Park about 1911. Benoist began making hydroplanes in 1913, using engines manufactured by the Roberts Motor Company. Benoist operated a flying school in Sandusky, as well.

Benoist founded a promising airplane factory in Sandusky, Ohio. In 1917 the factory was located on Columbus Avenue, near the Lake Shore railway tracks, and the testing grounds were at East Battery Park. In the fall of 1916, Elmer Straub flew a Benoist hydroplane over the housetops of Sandusky. An article in the June 2, 1917 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that during a huge parade, leaflets about the Liberty Loan plan were to be distributed by aviator Elmer Straub from a Benoist aircraft. A Benoist aircraft is pictured below at the Erie County Fairgrounds.

At the age of 37, Tom Benoist was killed in a streetcar accident in Sandusky. He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, but died just a few hours after he arrived. Funeral services were held at the Masonic Temple, with Rev. C. L. Alspach paying tribute to the young aviator. A large floral offering in front of the coffin were designed in the shape of an airplane as a token of esteem from members of the Aviation School and the Benoist Aeroplane Company. The remains of Mr. Benoist were taken to Missouri for burial.

A plaque was placed at Battery Park in honor of the early aviation activities of Weldon B. Cooke, Thomas W. Benoist, and Reinhardt N. Ausmus.

Liberty Bell Replica in Sandusky

The local opening of the Independence Bond Drive was marked by the ringing of a replica of the Liberty Bell in Sandusky on May 20, 1950. The New York Times reported on March 28, 1950 that John W. Snyder, the Secretary of the Treasury announced that the replicas of the Liberty Bells, which were cast in France, would be of the same size, shape and tone as the original Liberty Bell, before it was cracked. The U.S Savings Bond campaign ran from May 15 to July 4. The replicas of the bells were mounted on trucks, and sent to each of the forty eight states, the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The first replica was poured on March 1, 1950, from detailed photographs and measurements taken by Professor Arthur Bigelow of Princeton.

Reinhardt Ausmus, local Veterans’ Service officer was in charge of local arrangements. Members of the Commodore Denig Post of the American Legion were designated as guards of honor for the Liberty Bell while in Sandusky. A parade was held on Saturday, May 20, beginning at the corner of Hayes Avenue and Perkins Avenue, and then proceeding to the Courthouse where it was to be on exhibit.

Frank Nims is pictured above, with his hand extended toward the replica of the Liberty Bell. Mr. Nims, who was blind, was the operator of the Erie County Courthouse concession stand for twenty two years.

Veterans Day, Nov. 11: Reinhardt Ausmus Inducted into Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame

In this year's class of inductees to the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame is a long-time resident of Sandusky and an aviation pioneer. Through the efforts of Sandusky resident Bob Daniel, Reinhardt Ausmus is being recognized for his "distinctive contribution to the progress of early aviation" as well as for his services contributing "to the well being of veterans and other citizens of the Sandusky area."

He was born in Cleveland in 1896, and raised in an orphanage. Interested in aviation since childhood, in 1912, at age 16, he built and flew his first airplane. By age 18, he had built and flown a second airplane, a biplane. In 1915, he moved to Sandusky to work with another Sandusky aviation pioneer, Thomas Benoist. "Reiny" (as he was known to his friends) worked as both a production assistant and flight instructor, until Benoist's tragic death in 1917.

In 1918, during the First World War, Ausmus joined the U.S. Army as a flight instructor, and taught combat pilots in Wichita Falls, Texas for the duration of the war and after. He left active duty in the Army in 1919, after a plane crash (shown below) that killed his passenger and nearly killed him; he received multiple broken bones, and suffered from the effects of the crash for many years.

He was an advocate for veterans' welfare from his early days until his death in 1970. Beginning as the Veterans Service Officer for American Legion Post 83 in 1922, he was appointed the first Erie County Veterans Service Officer in 1949, serving in that position until 1969.

Our thanks to Bob Daniel for gathering the information about "Reiny" Ausmus (seen here in his later years, with his famous checkered cap) and for sponsoring his nomination to the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.