J. E. Bragg’s Address on the Centralization of Township Schools

John E. Bragg served as a legislator in the Ohio General Assembly during 82^nd, 83^rd, and 85^th sessions (1917-1921; 1923-1925). He was a fifty-year member of the Margaretta Grange, a charter member of the Ohio Farm Bureau, and a lifetime member of the Woodmen of the World. John Bragg married Zella Deyo in 1893, and they were married for over sixty-three years. Both the Bragg and Deyo families have roads named for them in Erie County.  On January 24, 1947, Mr. A. B. Graham, who is considered the “father” of 4-H programs in the United States, sent a letter to the Sandusky Library. Under separate cover, Mr. Graham mailed a publication containing the address by J. E. Bragg on the topic of “Centralization of Township Schools: The Transportation Problem.” The address was given in Sandusky County on March 28, 1908.

 In his address, Mr. Bragg promotes the centralization of rural schools. He discussed the process of bidding for transportation provides and gave examples of how other Ohio school districts handled centralizing their township schools.  He went to cover discipline of the students, safety issues, and the quality of the construction of school vehicles. At the time of the publication, horse drawn vehicles were still in use. Pictured in a page below is a photograph of children arriving at school, circa 1908.

  

Mr. Bragg concluded his address with: “Friends and neighbors, study this school problem, both centralization and transportation, and I doubt not if you will let the torch of reason burn, you will soon agree with me if you do not today, when I say the little red school house has outlived its usefulness, and it is high time that were beginning to enlarge its walls.” Of course, today the one room schoolhouse in Ohio is now the exception, and many schools do have centralized transportation plans. Mr. Bragg’s address is found in the Schools Collection of the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library. You can read Mr. Bragg’s obituary in the November 12, 1956 issue of the Sandusky Register. It is interesting to read about the political thoughts regarding education from over one hundred years ago.

Sandusky Youngsters go to the Circus

While we do not know the exact date of the photograph above, the local Kiwanis Club often provided fun activities for Sandusky’s children. The June 15, 1930 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that the fifty of Sandusky’s youngsters were the guests of the Kiwanis Club at a matinee performance of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. Members of the committee for the event were: Earl Zolman, Wentworth Graham, C. A. Thornbaugh, B. T. Gagen, George J. Doerzbach and M. J. McCabe. Sandusky’s Kiwanis Club was very civic minded, as they hosted a Christmas party for forty-five children from the Erie County Children’s Home on December 21, 1926.

The Graham Drug Store

The Graham family operated a drug store in Sandusky from 1845 until 1926. John A. Graham established the drug store, and was succeeded by his son W.A. Graham. The Graham Drug Store was at what is now 102 Columbus Avenue beginning about 1868.  In the picture above, from the late 1880s, the name W.A. Graham is on a sign above the store, and the name of Dr. A.J. Gawne appears on a window in an office on the second floor of the Graham building. 

An article in the Sandusky Register of March 15, 1915 reported that W. A. Graham “was one of the best known and best prepared druggists in this part of the state.” The Graham Drug Store building is featured in the Old House Guild’s Downtown Architectural Walking Tour of Sandusky, Ohio, which lists 1868 as the date the building was constructed.  Ellie Damm wrote in her book Treasure by the Bay, (Bucknell University Press, 1989), that the Graham Drug Store building was in the Second Empire style, constructed from limestone, and faced with sandstone.  Jay Meek operated a drug store at this location in the 1930s and 1940s. From the early 1950s through the late 1980s, the Echo Tavern did business at 102 Columbus Avenue. Daly’s Pub now occupies the building.

 See a previous Sandusky History blog post to view some trading cards that were distributed by the Graham Drug Store.

Reunion of the Third Ohio Cavalry

On August 24, 1892, Veterans of the Third Ohio Cavalry met at the library building of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home in Sandusky (now the Ohio Veterans Home.) An article in the August 25, 1892 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that General Manning F. Force, commandant of the Home, gave a “short but eloquent” address.

Capt. E. J. Colver thanked General Force, and praised him “for his excellent management of so grand an institution, a noble monument of the great struggle for the perpetuity of the Union.”

Other speakers for the day were John M. Lemmon and P.F. Graham. The Home quartet sang the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” After the morning program about two hundred people, including Veterans and their wives and daughters, had dinner on the porch of the railroad depot, followed by a tour of the grounds of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home.

At 2 p.m. the Veterans met at Cedar Point for a business meeting. An election of officers was held, including Capt. J.B. Luckey as president, Conrad C. Finkbeiner as treasurer, and vice presidents from each of the twelve regiments of the Third Ohio Cavalry. After the business meeting, a camp fire was held at which more addresses were given, interspersed with songs and stories.

Reunions of the Veterans of the Third Ohio Cavalry were held in Sandusky in 1880, 1889 and 1892. Former Second Lieutenant Isaac Skillman donated two ribbons from Annual Reunions of the Third Ohio Cavalry to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Also available at the Sandusky Library Research Center is a microfilmed copy of Isaac Skillman’s personal recollections from his Civil War service with the Ohio Third Cavalry.

Several men who were with the Third Ohio Cavalry are buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery, including Darius E. Livermore, Elisha M. Colver, Isaac Skillman, Leonard Winkler, and Clark Center.

Update: I have recently been informed that there is a new book about Kelleys Island history (Kelleys Island 1862-1865-the Civil War, the Island Soldiers & the Island Queen), which has first-hand accounts from several soldiers who served in the Third Ohio Cavalry. It is not in the library's collections yet, but will be soon.

Sandusky’s Columbus Avenue

Columbus Avenue was located in the very center of the 1818 Plat Map of Sandusky. Known as the Kilbourne Plat, downtown Sandusky was laid out in the shape of the Masonic emblem.

Local historian James A. Ryan wrote in the January 20, 1932 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal that while Water Street was the location of the very earliest Sandusky businesses, Columbus Avenue saw significant growth in development between 1850 and 1880. W.T. and A.K. West operated a dry goods store on Columbus Avenue before they opened the West House hotel located at the southwest corner of Columbus Avenue and Water Street in 1858.

William A. Graham operated a drug store on the southeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Water Street.
Columbus Avenue continued to be part of the major transportation and business center of the city of Sandusky. Several modes of transportation can be seen at the foot of Columbus Avenue about 1900. (The steamers A. Wehrle, Arrow, and R.B. Hayes are visible in this image.)

Parades held in Sandusky were often routed down Columbus Avenue. A parade held by the Knights of St. John took place in 1910.

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view a variety of books, newspapers, photographs, and other archival resources relating to the history of Sandusky and Erie County.

Victorian Trade Cards from Graham Drug Store

Reaching a peak of popularity in the late nineteenth century, Trade Cards were used to advertise products and services. Often the cards were distributed by the manufacturer, and the name of the local merchant selling their product was stamped on the card.
A trade card advertising Dr. D. Jayne’s Expectorant and Vermifuge features a little girl and a dog, with the message on the back assuring customers that the remedies of Dr. D. Jayne were safe to use.
The card which pictures two hunters let area residents know that W. A. Graham was happy to supply medicines to both English and German speaking customers.
Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound was one of the best selling patent medicines in American history. Graham Drug Store carried this popular remedy.The Graham family operated a drug store in Sandusky from 1845 until 1926. An article in the Sandusky Register of March 15, 1915 reported that W. A. Graham “was one of the best known and best prepared druggists in this part of the state.” W. A. Graham had taken over his father’s drugstore in Sandusky. The Graham Drug Store building is featured in the newly published Downtown Architectural Walking Tour of Sandusky, Ohio, which lists 1868 as the date the building was constructed. (Daly’s Pub now occupies the building at 102 Columbus Avenue.)

To learn more about Victorian Trade Cards, here are three excellent online exhibits:

Victorian Trade Card Exhibit, from Miami University Libraries

The 19th Century American Trade Card, from Harvard’s Baker Library

Emergence of Advertising in America, 1850-1920, from Duke University’s Digital Collections