Rosemary Schultz Riccardi, aka Xavora Pove

Rosemary Schultz became a talented pianist at a very young age. She was the daughter of Sandusky residents Frank and Mary Schultz. Her mother, the former Mary Walker, had been an opera singer. At the age of three, Rosemary studied piano with Paul Browne Patterson, who operated a music school in Sandusky and founded the Sandusky Choral Society. Later she studied under the popular Swiss musician, Rudoph Ganz. At the age of five, she appeared at the Masonic Auditorium in Cleveland before an audience of 4,000. 

Here she is (center) pictured below with local performer Bonnie Schwerer (left) and another unidentified woman:  

After graduating from St. Mary’s High School, Rosemary moved to New York, where she continued working as a pianist, and took up modeling. In the 1960s, she wrote an astrology column for Harper’s Bazaar, under the pen name Xavora Pove. The following article about Rosemary appeared in the Sandusky Register of January 14, 1967.

In 1968, she helped develop a television game show “Guess My Sign,” which aired in New York City. Through the years Rosemary entertained people throughout the Midwest., and eventually she moved back to Sandusky. She passed away on November 27, 2016, and was survived by her son David. Her husband Patsy Riccardi predeceased Rosemary and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Rene J. Zouary, A Popular Concessionaire at Cedar Point

Cincinnati Enquirer, Sept. 4, 1965

Rene J. Zouary was born in Bordeaux, France in 1886. In an article in the September 4, 1965 issue of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Rene told about his long career in show business.

My father started in the World's Fair in Paris, I wasn't born yet, and in 1878 came to the World's Fair in Philadelphia," Rene says, then rattles off dates of expositions in St. Petersburg (now Leningrad) Russia, Sweden, Norway, Hungary, Rumania, Berlin and others in which the family took part. Rene came to the United States in 1901 to operate an exhibit at the Pan American Exhibition in Buffalo, N. Y. He intended to return to France but was attracted to New York's Coney Island where he set up shop and stayed from 1902 until 1904. After the St. Louis Fair his odyssey of shows took him all over the country and back to Coney Island several times. His memory for reciting the various fairs, expositions and amusement spots and their dates in chronological order is a tribute to the clear mind of a man who will be 80 next April 28. Among the concessions that made R. J. (the nickname Rene acquired somewhere along the way) famous were his ‘Streets of Cairo,’ ‘Chinese Village,’ and ‘Tunisian Village’ (with Bedouins from North Africa merchants, artisans and others presenting their works). If there is any one of the many concessions, R. J. recalls more fondly it was the ‘Bouquet of Life,’ an embryological exhibit that traced life from the beginnings through the various stages of development. ‘This was done by photographs, dozens of them, and we had nurses and others explaining the show. It always drew thousands,’ he says. In 1941 R. J. went back to Cedar Point, Ohio, where he had two fun houses and an animal show. I also had a 'Honeymoon Express', a 'dark' ride, and the Eli Ferris wheel, but in 1960 a new management took over, and most of us concessionaires had to sell and get out," R. J. says, with a dark frown. ‘All of us took a loss.’ 

An article in the Sandusky Register Star News of June 4, 1941 lists the attractions that R.J. Zouary featured on the Midway and Concourse at Cedar Point in the summer of 1941.

 

Often Rene’s brother assisted him with various attractions. An article in the Sandusky Register Star News of June 6, 1951 indicated that Ellie Zouary was the trainer of the monkeys in Rene J. Zouary’s midget auto attraction, and that two of the monkeys had become ill.

Ellie Zouary died on September 1, 1961, and was buried in Sandusky’s Oheb Shalom Cemetery.

After new management at Cedar Point did away with the concessionaires, Rene took out an advertisement in Billboard on August 22, 1960, to sell off his performance equipment.

For a time, Rene J. Zouary worked at LeSourdesville Lake, near Middletown, Ohio. Rene’s wife Maria, who was born Countess Marie Bentivolglio of Italy, died in Ohio in 1964.  Rene eventually moved to California, where he died on November 26, 1965.

Souvenir Flour Sack from the Balcony

Notes with the original item indicate that the flour sack pictured above was given to patrons of the Balcony, a tavern located at 301 Camp Street from 1933 to 1963. The sack advertises Wooden Shoe lager beer, and features illustrations and musical notes that accompany a German song called “The Schnitzelbank Song.” The song has several verses that teach German words to the singers. There are several videos on YouTube that will give you an idea of what “The Schnitzelbank Song” may have sounded like long ago at the Balcony. One video includes singing, while another video by Polkadelphia shows the song leader pointing to each illustration as the song is played. 

Helen Hansen and Virginia Steinemann wrote an article for the Sandusky Register of May 26, 1991 entitled “Balcony Conjures up Smiles.” The article explains that in 1933 Otto Ketterer established the tavern, which served beer and soft drinks. Otto played the piano, as patrons sang along.

The tavern known as the Balcony had previously been a saloon and boarding house operated by Leopold and Charles Wildenthaler. Later Emma Wildenthaler Ketterer and her husband Albert Ketterer continued the business. During Prohibition the business was a pool hall and served soft drinks. Otto Ketterer was the son of Emma and Albert Ketterer. To read the complete article about the Balcony, visit the Sandusky Library, where several decades of microfilm of local newspapers are housed.

Bonnie Schwerer Danced and Whistled Her Way to Fame

      

An article in the Sandusky Register of July 2, 1965 said about Bonnie Schwerer, “People who resided in Sandusky prior to 1950 probably remember the former Bonnie Schwerer as the girl who danced and whistled her way to fame with the late Ted Weems Orchestra.” Bonnie Schwerer grew up in Sandusky, Ohio, and she took dance lessons at the Kay Lutes studio, once located in the building at the intersection of Monroe, Elm, and Hancock Streets.

In the 1950 Bonnie Schwerer, who used the stage name Bonnie Ann Shaw, appeared as a featured singer and whistler with the Ted Weems Orchestra. She is pictured below as a young woman in a photo taken by the Torow Studio.

             

Bonnie married and had three daughters. Following a divorce, she moved back to Sandusky to look after her parents. Bonnie Schwerer Moran died in 2003, after a battle with lung cancer. She was fondly remembered by those who had known her so well in her hometown of Sandusky. Obituaries for Bonnie Moran appeared in the Toledo Blade on May 11, 2003, and in the Sandusky Register on May 10, 2003. 

In the picture below, a young Bonnie Schwerer is pictured with fellow musician Rosemary Schultz, and an unidentified young woman.

Black Patti Troubadours at the Grand Theater

In 1905 the Black Patti Troubadours appeared in Sandusky at the Grand Theater (on Water and Jackson Streets, originally known as the Sandusky Opera House). The Black Patti Troubadours were a group of African American performers who performed musical comedy. They traveled throughout the United States between 1896 and 1915. The group was centered around a talented performer, Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones. 

Image from the Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/images/at0155.2s.jpg

Madame Jones (as she was commonly identified) had a trained operatic voice, and the local press of her day compared her to the well known opera singer Adelina Patti. Madame Jones was the first African American performer at Wallack's Theatre in Boston in the late 1880’s, and sang at the White House for President and Mrs. Harrison in 1892. She sang in concerts in the United States, South America, and in Europe.  After facing racial discrimination, Madame Jones formed her own entertainment troupe known as the Black Patti Troubadours.

Looney Dreamland was the name of the show in 1905. Voelckel and Nolan were the managers of the Black Patti Troubadours at that time. The show, staged by Robert Cole, was advertised as “a musical visit to Dreamland.”

Madame Jones sang “My Dear Southern Home,” “At  Home,” and “Old Man Moon” in the second act. She performed the leading role in the final act of the evening, a condensed opera performance.

The Black Patti Troubadours also had appeared in Sandusky on November 1, 1898. The performance, at the same location (then called the Nielsen Opera House), featured comedy, songs, a cake walk, and operatic masterpieces. An article in the November 1, 1898 issue of the Sandusky Star reported that the Troubadours had “irresistible and fascinating charm” during their stage performance. The Black Patti Troubadours were considered “one of the marvels of the metropolis” during their 1898 run in New York City.

To learn more about Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones, you can read or listen to an NPR story from 2007.

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show Visited Sandusky

The September 15, 1885 Sandusky Daily Register carried an advertisement for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, to be held at the Sandusky Fair Grounds (in the area now known as Cable Park) for “positively only one performance,”  on Thursday, September 17 at 2:30 p.m. Admission was fifty cents for adults, and twenty five cents for children. Streetcars ran directly to the fair grounds, and railroads brought excursion groups to the show.

A grand parade was held at 10 a.m. on the day of the performance. The show advertised the appearance of Sitting Bull, White Eagle, and fifty-two braves, along with Miss Annie Oakley, Frisking Elk, and the phenomenal boy-shot Johnny Baker. The show claimed to have the largest herd of buffalo ever exhibited. 

Buffalo Bill was to shoot at clay pigeons while on foot, but he would shoot at glass balls while riding horseback at full speed. The ad continued to state that the ten cowboys who rode bucking horses were wilder than the horses themselves.  Equestrian acts, lassoing, and steer riders rounded out the program. Proprietors Cody and Salisbury promised to “fulfill every promise.”

Charles E. Frohman, in his Sandusky Potpourri, recounted Sandusky’s only buffalo chase.  After Buffalo Bill’s September 17^th show closed, a buffalo escaped near the railroad depot at North Depot and Mcdonough Streets. The buffalo ran out Hayes Avenue, as a dozen Native Americans pursued it on horseback. It ran through the yard of C. C. Keech’s residence, and kept going through neighboring fields, destroying corn stalks along the way. After an hour’s pursuit, the buffalo was caught and taken back to the depot.

(About twenty years later, the C. C. Keech home later became part of Sandusky’s Providence Hospital, now the South Campus of Firelands Regional Medical Center.)

  

While the chase was in progress, two cows belonging to Patrick Gagen were frightened, and ran away. Dairy farmer Louis Benckart and his sons found the two cows, and refused to give them back, stating that the cows damaged their fields. Mr. Gagen took legal action to recover the cows.

Do You Remember the Pony Tail?

This view of the dance floor at the Pony Tail appeared in the advertisement section of the 1967 Sandusky High School Fram.

The Pony Tail opened in the fall of 1966 as a non-alcoholic teenage night club, located at 241 Jackson Street. An article in the October 8, 1966 issue of the Sandusky Register stated that Kermit Price had the idea for a teen dance club for Sandusky. There was a strict code of conduct that included no alcoholic beverages, no extremely long hair, and a minimum age of 15 to be admitted to the Pony Tail. Dress was to be “neat casual.”  

In October of 1966, a Greyhound charter bus picked up teens at the Pony Tail on Saturday nights at 8 p.m. and took them to the Note in Ruggles Beach. The bus returned at midnight, and the fare was fifty cents. Bands usually played on Friday nights at the Pony Tail. The Choir sang their hit song “It’s Cold Outside” at the Pony Tail in the spring of 1967. A staff member of the Sandusky Library recalls hearing the band play there. She stated that the Pony Tail was a fun place to meet young people from lots of other schools in the area. 

The advertisement below listed the top hits at both the Pony Tail and the Note in the May 3, 1967 issue of the Sandusky Register.

The group known as the Music Explosion (from Galion, Ohio) played at the Pony Tail in September of 1967. They were best known for their recording of the song Little Bit of Soul, which reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in that same year. 

This advertisement ran in the Sandusky Register on November 29, 1968

By March of 1969, the First Presbyterian Church had purchased the building to be remodeled to house Christian education and fellowship facilities for the church. Care and Share of Erie County is now located at the site of the former Pony Tail Teen Club.

Historical Pageant of Sandusky

The Historical Pageant of Sandusky was presented in Central Park, From July 26 to 29 in 1916. The production was staged by the John B. Rogers Producing Company, and was presented locally under the auspices of the City Federation of Women’s Clubs. George F. Anderson was the musical director, and Gladys Pusch and Ruth Lerman performed on piano. An advertisement in the July 24, 1916 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal stated that the Pageant of Sandusky would be the “greatest spectacle ever seen here.”

Tickets sold for twenty-five cents and fifty cents. There were six different committees that worked on the organization of the pageant.

Besides the cast of principal characters, over one thousand young people took part in the pageant. Several scenes portrayed various times throughout history, beginning with creation. “Father Time” was the first character to appear in the pageant. The first scenes included Native Americans, the War of 1812, and the laying out of the plat of Sandusky. Next were scenes that portrayed the Underground Railroad and the visit of General Harrison to Sandusky. Two ballets were performed with the themes of Civil War and Industries. The various industries represented were paper, quarries, fisheries, farming, wine and the crayon industry.

Throughout the Pageant of Sandusky,  James Ryan (pictured below at Cedar Point) played the role of the Pioneer Man, while the Pioneer Woman was played by Mrs. W.C. Scott.

The grand finale of the pageant included hundreds of youngsters dressed in red, white and blue, as the “Goddess of Liberty,” portrayed by Miss Lillian Wahnke made an entrance on a chariot, while holding the United States flag. An article in the July 27, 1916 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that the grand finale was beautiful and dramatic. 

In August, several reels of film of the Pageant of Sandusky were shown at the Schade Theatre in downtown Sandusky. To our knowledge, these films were not preserved locally. How interesting it would be to see the filmed version of the Pageant of Sandusky from over one hundred years ago.

“Fi-Fi of the Toy Shop” at the Sandusky Theatre

On April 21 and April 22, 1915, the play “Fi-Fi of the Toy Shop” was performed at the Sandusky Theatre in downtown Sandusky, then at the southwest corner of Jackson and Water Streets.

The cast was made up of all local residents, primarily young women and girls. (Unfortunately, some of the characterizations reflected prejudices that were acceptable at the time.)  The production was directed by H.S. Munsey. The theme of the play involved the daughter of a toy maker who is cast into a magic sleep by the sandman. Miss Ada Gundlach played the role of a retired fairy. Miss Catherine Winters played “Bo Peep” and sang several musical numbers. A chorus of over one hundred singers joined in the chorus of the song “The Honey Bee’s Honey Moon.” 

An article in the April 23, 1915 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that both performances of “Fi-Fi of the Toy Shop” were quite successful. After expenses were paid, one half of the proceeds were to go to the Sandusky High School choir. The advertisement below appeared in the April 19, 1915 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal.

Hugo Engels' Scrapbook of Performances

From 1882 through the 1890s, Hugo Engels kept a scrapbook containing programs and newspaper articles from local concerts, recitals, and plays. Many of the newspaper articles are in German. 

Hugo Engels was born in Germany on February 9, 1863. He came to the United States with his family in 1876, when his father Herman came to Sandusky to take over the wine business of his uncle Jacob Engels, who had died in 1875. Herman and Louisa Engels had five children, Hermine, Otto, Hugo, and Paul. Hugo and his brothers worked with their father in the winery, which became the Engels and Krudwig Wine Company when R. P. Krudwig joined the company in 1878. Hugo’s brother Carl L. Engels was also associated with the “Big Store,” a Sandusky department store.  

On June 4 1885, Hugo Engels performed Das Bild der Rose in Harmony Hall. Gesang Vereins is the German phrase for Singing Association.

On May 28, 1890, Mrs. A. P. Lange and Hugo Engels played a duet entitled Kucken in a Musicale.

Hugo Engels died on November 7, 1912. His wife Charlotte Engels donated the scrapbook to the historical collections of the Sandusky Library after his death. By looking through the scrapbook, one can learn more about the musical entertainment of Sandusky area residents in the late nineteenth century. It is interesting to note that many of the pioneer residents of Sandusky shared the love of music with residents of German descent who came to Sandusky as immigrants. 

The obituary of Hugo Engels, in the November 9, 1912 Sandusky Register stated that he participated in all of the Elks entertainments, particularly the musical performances.

At the funeral, Mayor John J. Molter delivered an address in German. Music was performed by a string quartet, under the organization of George F. Anderson. Hugo Engels was buried at Oakland Cemetery, with the Elks Lodge conducting the graveyard services.

Musical Entertainment at Norman Hall on December 18, 1863

On Friday evening, December 18, 1863, musical entertainment by the pupils of the Sandusky High School was presented at Norman Hall under the direction of Prof. William C. Webster. The venue was the same location where noted abolitionist Frederick Douglass would present a speech in Sandusky in 1864.

Martha A. Webster played the piano for the evening’s program. Several musical numbers were performed during the first part on the program, which concluded with the chorus singing “Prepare We for the Festive Scene.”  During the second part of the night’s entertainment, the “Coronation of the Queen” was enacted.

The queen was played by Mary Whitney, with Mary Dewey and Julia W. Webster serving as attendants. Twelve young ladies presented the queen with a basket of flowers. Speeches were given by Emma Cowdery, Julia Pool, and Maud Youngs. Several musical performances by the Webster family were included during the course of the evening.  

Tickets to the program were sold at the C.V. Olds Bookstore at the West House for twenty five cents, with tickets for children under 12 years old selling for fifteen cents.  William C. Webster and his wife, Mary Cushing Webster, were pioneer music teachers in the states of Ohio and New York. A biographical sketch about William C. Webster in the book History and Genealogy of the Gov. John Webster Family of Connecticut states that Mr. Webster was a teacher of vocal music for thirty years.

Prof. Richard Wallace, Prince of Clairvoyants

While we do not know the exact date that “Professor Richard Wallace” appeared at 930 Adams Street in Sandusky, his poster proclaimed that he was a professor of occult science. He claimed to be able to foretell future spouses, locate hidden treasure, and help customers have success in business, love, and lawsuits.

According to an advertisement in the Sandusky Register, Madame and Elfrida Jarbeau, Oracles of Prophecy, gave advice on love, courtship, marriage and divorce. They offered reasonable prices, for a short time only, at 930 Adams Street. The address was a popular location for traveling clairvoyants in Sandusky. Scientific Palmists Edwin M. Goodspeed and Queenie Romaine read cards and told fortunes for a 25 cent fee there in September of 1901. 

The building's days as the center of occult science in Sandusky may have been short-lived: in the November 28, 1911 issue of the Sandusky Register, J.M. French advertised a two story house for rent at 930 Adams Street, “with conveniences for rooming and board.”

Cartes de Visite of Tom Thumb and Company

Mrs. Inez Koch donated several cartes de visite of Tom Thumb, his wife, and others who appeared with him in the 1800s, to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.  The picture above was originally sold by John W. Pittock of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

Tom Thumb’s real name was Charles Sherwood Stratton. He was born to normal size parents, but as a youngster he stopped growing. In 1842, under the management of the famous theatrical promoter P.T. Barnum (a distant relative), he began a show business career as “Tom Thumb.” In 1863 Charles Sherwood Stratton married Lavinia Warren, who was also of short stature; the wedding was a major news story of the time. On their wedding trip, the couple met President Lincoln.

Between 1869 and 1872 George Washington Morrison Nutt, known as “Commodore Nutt” toured the world with Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb and Minnie Warren, the sister of “Mrs. Tom Thumb.”

Hewson Peeke wrote in his book A Standard History of Erie County that General Tom Thumb appeared at Norman Hall in Sandusky on April 27, 1869. When the General and his “troop of little folks” appeared in Cleveland in May of 1868, the Plain Dealer reported that Commodore Nutt was “the life of the whole party.” The article continued, “There is more fun and mischief in his little body than is usually allotted to a whole family.”  Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb and Commodore Nutt and Minnie Warren achieved fame and financial success in their interesting career. 

You can read the full-text of the book General Tom Thumb’s Three Years’ Tour around the World at the Internet Archive.

Warner Brothers Movie News

The movie Tarzan the Ape Man, starring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan, was playing at the State Theater in Sandusky, Ohio during the week of May 7, 1932. The Warner Brothers Movie News for that week listed several upcoming attractions for both the State and the Plaza Theaters. Local advertisements also appeared on the inside pages of the small newsletter.

It appears that Warner Brothers were the proprietors of both the State and Plaza Theaters in Sandusky in 1932. (Before a Supreme Court antitrust case in 1948 outlawed the practice, it was common for Hollywood movie studios to own theaters around the country, where only their own movies were shown.) The Plaza Theater, which opened in 1914 as the Ivonhoe, was located at 221-223 Jackson Street, adjacent to the Star-Journal building, now home of the Sandusky Register. (The theater was razed in the 1960s.) 

You can read the word Warner’s on the State Theater sign in this 1931 view of Columbus Avenue.

 Visit the Sandusky Library to learn more about the history of the residents and businesses of Sandusky and Erie County. The Archives Research Center has in its holdings thousands of vintage photographs, city directories, and many local history and family history books.

Frank Shepherd Trapeze Artist

In the biographical files of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center is an undated promotional item for Frank Shepherd, who was listed as “America’s Premier Single Trapeze Artist.” An article in the April 8, 1937 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that Shepherd began his circus career when he was only fourteen years of age. He performed with the Cole Brothers Circus, Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus, and several smaller circuses. Mr. Shepherd was born in 1893 in Huron, Ohio, and his family lived in Sandusky, Ohio for several years. The Sandusky Register of June 5, 1938 reported that he was known for his appearances as the guest artist at the popular gym circuses held by Sandusky City Schools.

In 1936, Mr. Shepherd was seriously injured in an accident in Des Moines, Iowa. He missed a connection on a double flip with heel catch, and was hospitalized with two broken legs and two broken arms. He returned to the circus, but in 1943, he again was injured in a fall during a circus performance in Akron, Ohio. That injury also was serious, and kept him in a wheelchair for several years. 

When Sandusky was a Stop on the Vaudeville Circuit

Before motion pictures dominated our culture and everyone had a record player in the house, Vaudeville was the main source of entertainment, particularly for the working classes. Performers of many types traveled together on "the circuit" from city to city, presenting their acts as part of a variety program in local theaters. For as little as ten cents, people could spend an afternoon or an evening (sometimes there were two shows a day) watching singers, dancers, jugglers, magicians, comedians, and who knows what other type of performers -- and perhaps even get to see a movie with the price of admission. Sandusky had the good fortune of being along the railroad lines between major cities such as Chicago, Cleveland, and Buffalo, so many big stars of the time stopped in Sandusky for a performance.

The Sandusky Theater, built as an opera house in 1877, was the major venue for vaudeville performance in Sandusky, but many smaller theaters in towns offered vaudeville shows -- including, in the early days (19th century, after the Civil War), Norman Hall, Fisher's Hall, and Link's Hall; and in the 20th century, the Majestic Theater and the State Theater.

As mentioned above, many famous performers stopped in Sandusky to do their acts; many are forgotten today (like John Bunny), but were huge stars at the time; others are remembered to this day, at least by fans of show business history.

But by the 1930s, with the advent of the "talkies" (sound motion pictures), the poverty of the Great Depression, and, later, World War II and television, Vaudeville faded in popularity until it was just a memory. Its spirit lived on in television, on programs like the Ed Sullivan show, and even to this day with Leno and Letterman, and other variety shows.

To view original vaudeville programs from Sandusky theaters and to learn more about entertainment in early Sandusky, visit the Archives Research Center at the Sandusky Library.