"Happy New Year to the Ladies of Sandusky"

In 1877 eight gentlemen from Sandusky wished the “Ladies of Sandusky” a Happy New Year. Possibly this was in conjunction with a party or dance that was held to celebrate the New Year. We do not know details about all the men, but some of the surnames included in the group come from families that were prominent in the early years of Sandusky’s history. In the 1870s  Fred M. Woolsey worked with his father, J.V. Woolsey in a factory that made wagon and carriage wheels. Charles L. Mills and Grayson Mills were both grandsons of Isaac Mills, who was one of the co-founders of the city of Sandusky. Fred Woolsey and C.L. Mills are two of the men in the picture below (at a "leap year party" the previous January); unfortunately we do not know which ones they were.

Edward H. Marsh was involved in the plaster business in this area.  He was a personal friend of President William Howard Taft. You can see Edward H. Marsh in a white jacket in the picture below, when future President Taft was campaigning in Sandusky in 1908.

Happy New Year!

In 1917 the first day of January occurred on a Monday, as it does in 2018. This calendar was a promotional item given away by Conrad Ebert, Jr.’s Avenue Pharmacy during the holiday season in December, 1916 and January, 1917. Mr. Ebert’s pharmacy extended from Columbus Avenue through to Hayes Avenue. Below is an interior view of the drugstore.

Wishing you a Happy New Year from the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center and Follett House Museum!

Harrison Ball, 1840

An invitation to the Harrison Ball of 1840 is on file at the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library. The ball was to be held at H. Victor’s Assembly Room on Thursday, December 31 at 5 p.m. This New Year's Eve festivity was in honor of William Henry Harrison, a fellow Ohioan, elected President earlier that year.

The managers of the ball were:

Maj. John G. Camp                 Henry D. Ward

Dr. Daniel Tilden                    Ebenezer B. Sadler

Oran Follett                             Charles Barney

Josiah W. Hollister                  Wm. Durbin, Jr.

Freeland T. Barney                 John M. Boalt

Sidney S. Hosmer                   Jno. G. Poole

Marshall Burton                      Lester S. Hubbard

Henry P Radcliff                    Theodore Hosmer

Davis Miller                            Alex. A. Camp

Dewitt C. Henderson              Jno. G. Camp, Jr.

Wm. A. Simpson                     Joseph B. Higbee

The list of names of people serving as managers of the Harrison Ball reads like a “Who’s Who” of early Sandusky. Major John G. Camp, Sr. fought in the War of 1812, and was active in the early years of Sandusky. Helen Hansen wrote in her book At Home in Early Sandusky, that Major Camp, along with Isaac Mills, Thomas Neill, and William Reese, laid out the addition known as “Southwark,” which was south of Monroe Street and west of Sycamore Line. John G. Camp, Jr. was an attorney in Sandusky, and he devoted a great deal of time negotiating plans for early railroad transportation in Ohio.

Dr. Daniel Tilden was a local physician who also was involved in the Underground Railroad:

Sidney S. Hosmer was an early Sandusky merchant, while his son Theodore Hosmer went west and became the first mayor of Tacoma Washington. 

Oran Follett was a prominent publisher in New York and Ohio, and his former home is now The Follett House Museum:

Ebenezer B. Sadler was a well liked early judge in Erie County:

Lester S.  Hubbard was a banker and prosperous businessman in Sandusky. Henry Clay Victor, whose Assembly Room was the location of the ball, was the father of Orville James Victor, author and editor.

To learn more about these and many other early residents of Sandusky and Erie County, visit the Archives Research Center. Here you will find county histories, historical journal and newspaper articles, and finding aids to the many archival resources available at the Sandusky Library.

New Year’s Pretzel

This article was originally posted on December 27, 2006

The tradition of the New Year's Pretzel appears to date from the turn of the 20th century in Sandusky. As the city of Sandusky grew, it was home to a very large German population. Sandusky had German neighborhoods and even supported a German language newspaper or two. It was the strong influence of the German community that brought about a holiday tradition known to very few communities.

The New Year’s Pretzel is different from the pretzels we know today. It is soft and made from an egg dough, and instead of being sprinkled with salt, it is washed with a glaze. The finished product is chewy. The pretzels were anywhere from 15 to 36 inches across and were made by a number of bakeries in Sandusky, including Becherer, Frank’s (pictured here, at 834 Columbus Ave.), Knoerle, Feddersen, Kanzler, Schweinfurth, Michel, Smith’s, Sandusky Baking, H & S, Park, and others.

The pretzels are usually eaten for breakfast on New Year’s Day. Wilbert Ohlemacher recalled that his father would hang the pretzel by a ribbon from the gas chandelier over the dining room table. He would cut the ribbon and then cut the pretzel into smaller pieces for everyone in the family. When the custom was practiced in early Sandusky, the pretzels were often decorated with intricate braids made from the same dough.

There are a few different theories about the origins of the German New Years Pretzel. One is that they were first baked by monks in Southern Germany as a reward for children who learned their prayers. Thus they were shaped to represent the crossed arms of a child praying.

Another story is that the circular shape of the symbolic loaf is derived from the old calendar sign for the winter solstice, which was a circle with a dot in its center. The central cross was added to represent the four seasons.

Yet another story tells of German citizens parading through the streets with pretzels piled onto long sticks, and groups of people would go calling on friends and relatives and exchange pretzels instead of greetings.

While the exact origin is unknown, the New Years Pretzel is fondly remembered by countless residents of Sandusky.

Holiday Dinner for Lake Shore Electric Railway Employees

The trainmen of the Lake Shore Electric Railway had a holiday dinner in a car barn in Fremont, Ohio on January 2, 1917. The only person identified is Joe Brownworth, the first person on the left. Elmer A. Whitney was the photographer. The Lake Shore Electric Railway was an interurban railway that ran between Cleveland and Toledo. It operated between 1901 and 1938, and was often called the streetcar.

For many years the Sandusky ticket office for the Lake Shore Electric Railway was in the Stone block at the southeast corner of Market Street and Columbus Avenue.

The Sandusky Library carries several books about the Lake Shore Electric Railway, including two authored by Harry Christiansen, and one by Herbert H. Harwood, Jr. and Robert S. Korach.

New Year’s Greetings from the Carriers of the Sandusky Register, 1858

On January 1, 1858, the carriers of the Sandusky Register distributed this New Year’s greeting to local subscribers of the newspaper.

The lengthy poem tells the story of a young newspaper carrier who falls asleep in the press room and dreams of a giant who dwelled in a heavenly realm. The giant symbolized Progress, a hero who spread truth and goodness to all. The giant’s hands were upheld by the Press and Pen..

In 1858 the proprietor of the Sandusky Register was H.D. Cooke and Company. Henry David Cooke was the younger brother of Jay Cooke, the well known Civil War financier. He went on to served as the Governor of the District of Columbia from February 28, 1871 to September 13, 1873. In 1858 the Register was published daily, tri-weekly and weekly.

New Year's Party at the Townsend House in 1855

On the evening of Monday, January 1, 1855, a New Year’s Party was held at the Townsend House in Sandusky, Ohio. Many prominent early Sandusky residents served as managers of the event, including Major John G. Camp and his son, John G. Camp, Jr. Jay Cooke’s father Eleutheros Cooke, and his brother Pitt Cooke, were also managers of the party.

Serving on the Committee of Arrangements was Orville J. Victor, who would become well known as an author and editor. R.T. Greene, who also served on the Committee of Arrangements, was a close friend of Herman Melville. The character of Toby, in Melville’s novel Typee, was based on the life of Richard Tobias Greene. In the early 1850’s, R. T. Greene was associated with the Sandusky Mirror newspaper, a competitor of the Sandusky Register. According to the book Herman Melville's Whaling Years, Mr. Greene was also instrumental in the opening of the first telegraph office in Sandusky, Ohio.

New Year's Letter by Ida Buyer

 

The German greeting on the cover of the letter below, translated into English, reads “Cordial Congratulations to New Year.”

In January of 1892, a member of the Buyer family wrote a letter in the German language. It is difficult to decipher the writing of the first name of the author of this letter, but it was written by either Ida Buyer, born in 1854, or her daughter Ora Buyer, who was born in 1882. According to the 1880 U.S. Census for Erie County, Ohio, Ida Buyer’s parents were both born in Baden, and her husband Jerome’s parents were natives of Bayern. The letter could have been intended for relatives still residing in Germany, or it could have been an exercise is preserving the German heritage of the Buyer family.

To date the body of the 1892 letter has not been translated. If anyone reads German, perhaps you could leave us a comment and inform us of what sentiments were recorded in the New Year’s season by a Sandusky resident so long ago.

Happy New Year!

A time for a party. . . .
Did you get your invitation?

Don't forget the pretzels. . . .

Happy Leap Year!

As you know, 2008 is a leap year, when we have an extra day on the calendar, February 29. Some also recognize these years as a time for certain quadrennial events, such as the Olympics and the presidential campaign season. (Although nowadays the campaigns seem to not just occur every four years, but to last for four years.)

In the nineteenth century, in particular, it was also the time for Leap Year Parties. Here is a scene from a Leap Year Party held in Sandusky 142 years ago, on Friday, January 21, 1876. Unfortunately, we do not have much detail on the party itself. The photograph was donated to the library in 1928 by Fred Woolsey, who is seated at the left in the picture. He went on to become the owner of the Woolsey Wheel Company in Sandusky. The other men are: Charles Mills, Albert Rosenbaum, Charles Johnson, Dr. Gibson, Sam Ferris, and D.W.C. Brown, Jr. Why these men are wearing ribbons and handkerchiefs fastened to their clothes is unclear, but it might have something to do with a leap year tradition. . . .

Legend holds that on leap year days (some say the entire leap year), it was socially acceptable for women to propose marriage to men; any other time of the year, etiquette and custom dictated that only men were allowed to propose marriage. Also, it became a tradition to have Leap Year parties, where the women invited the men to be their dates and dance partners, and were in charge of the festivities. (Some claim that that is where the idea for Sadie Hawkins dances came from.) We can only speculate, but perhaps the handkerchiefs and ribbons symbolize the men's position as secondary to the women on that day. Any thoughts?

Happy New Year!

Here's hoping for a pleasant 2008.

In honor of the New Year season, let's link back to one of our more popular articles, on the New Year's Pretzel in Sandusky.