1932 Map of the City of Sandusky

This map of Sandusky from 1932 was featured in an Erie County Directory.

An ad for the former Caswell Auto and Machine Co., which was located on Jackson Street, advertises service to R.C.A. radios, besides storing and repairing automobiles and selling oil, gasoline, and other supplies. Individual names of railroads are labeled on the map, including the B & O, New York Central, Lake Erie & Western, and the C.C. C. and St. Louis Railroad.

There is not yet a golf course near Mills Creek, but the Woodlawn Golf Course is shown between Old Railroad and Hayes Avenue, just south of Perkins Avenue. St. Mary’s and St. Joseph’s Cemeteries, found on opposite sides of Mills Street, are called the “German Cemetery” and the “Irish Cemetery,” though certainly people of many different ethnic backgrounds were buried in each.

There are no Perkins or Sandusky Plazas in 1932, and the map contains considerably fewer streets than a current map of the city. A few streets that still exist had different names in the 1930s, e.g., 52nd Street was called Austin Street, and Huntington Street was also known as Roosevelt Street.

Pictured below is a photograph from the Woodlawn Golf Course, which opened in 1931. The golf course only lasted about a year, due to financial difficulties. Mel Carrier was the golf pro (third person on the right). An old ad offered customers the opportunity to “play on velvet greens.”

Pictured below are: John Rheinegger, owner, Boyd Hamrick, and Chester Bohn, greenskeeper.

Opening of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Building in 1931

The Fraternal Order of Eagles was founded in 1898 by a group of Seattle theater owners, developing into a community service organization. The Sandusky Aerie of Eagles, No. 444 was organized at a meeting at Link’s Hall on July 30. 1913. For several years, the local Eagles members met at the Odd Fellows’ Hall. On April 27, 1930, ground was broken for a new Eagles building, at the northwest corner of Washington Row and Wayne Street.

Alfred Schnurr was the general contractor for the building, and Harold C. Parker was the supervising architect. The coal–fueled heating system and modern plumbing equipment were supplied by Brohl and Appell. A leading tinner in Sandusky, Jacob Wilken, did the sheet metal work for the new Eagles building, which included downspouts, a sky light, ventilators and louvers. The latest type of electric wiring was installed by Diamond S Electric, while the electrical fixtures were installed by the Ohio Public Service Company. The Herb and Myers Company furnished the lodge’s chairs, tables, and ceremonial altars. Several lodge chairs were made from tan Morocco leather. The lumber and mill work in the new Eagles home were furnished by the Sandusky Sash Door and Lumber Company. The Mack Iron and Works provided stairs, railings, grating and other iron items used in the new Eagles building.  

The new Eagles home was dedicated on Sunday, March 8, 1931. A parade commenced at 1:30 p.m., with Eagles from all over the state of Ohio in participation. Conrad H. Mann, Head of Insurance Department, was the main speaker. Ritualistic ceremonies were conducted by the Degree Team of Akron Aerie, No. 555. A public meeting was held at 8 p.m., with Deputy Grand Auditor H.J. Berrodin, acting as toastmaster. Conrad Mann spoke again at the public meeting, and entertainment was provided by the Fraternal Order of Eagles Quartette from Lorain, Ohio. 

The building at 165 East Washington Row served as home to the Sandusky Aerie of Eagles, No. 444 from 1931 until about 1951. From 1952 to 1958, the Eagles met  in Sandusky at 243 East Market Street. By September, 1958, the Sandusky Aerie of Eagles, No. 444 had another new home, this time located at 1235 West Perkins Avenue.

Pictured below are four members of the Sandusky Eagles, most likely from the 1920s. The men are: Charles Simon, Charles Sinerson, Jacob Wilken and Robert Rheinegger.

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view the dedication program from the opening of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Sandusky, Aerie NO. 444 in 1931, or to view historical newspaper articles about the event.

A Trip to Put-in-Bay

The library's historical collections contain photographs of young ladies from Sandusky visiting South Bass Island in 1919 and 1920. Pictured below are Ruth Beach, Helen Rheinegger and Verna Bornhauser, who were all in their late teens at the time. 

    

The young ladies also visited Hotel Victory during their visit in 1919. They posed for a snapshot on the ladder of the (apparently empty) hotel swimming pool. Sadly, the Hotel Victory was destroyed by fire on August 14, 1919.

  

On May 22, 1920, Verna Bornhauser and Dorothy Sturm posed on the barrel of a cannon in the park at Put-in-Bay.

                      

This picture was taken on the road to a visit to the state fish hatcheries:

Residents of Sandusky were fortunate to have easy access to steamboat transportation to the Lake Erie Islands. The Frank Kirby was just one of the steamers that ferried passengers to Put-in-Bay in 1919 and 1920.

Woodlawn Golf Course in Sandusky in the 1930s

The Woodlawn Golf Course opened at the corner of Camp Street and Perkins Avenue on May 30, 1931. The clubhouse was built by Miller Brothers, of Venice, Ohio. The firm of Opfer and Faber ran thousands of feet of tile, to provide adequate drainage for the golf course. Green fees were $1.00 for weekdays, and $1.25 on Sundays and holidays. On opening day, there were exhibition matches between Ed Windisch and Mel Carrier, and between Miss Polly Smith and Mrs. Cecil Laird. Pictured above are Mrs. Locke, Harley Hane, and Mel Carrier, the golf pro at Woodlawn. 

Several advertisements and announcements about the opening of the Woodlawn Golf Course appeared in the Sandusky Register of May 30, 1931.

The Manhattan store in Sandusky sold clothes that would make golfers “dress well” for the sport. Holzaepfel’s ran special sales on golf balls and golf clubs. 

In the snapshot below are: Mr. John Rheinegger, owner; Boyd Hamrick; and Chester Bohn, greenskeeper.

This is the Number 4 Fairway:

In the Spring of 1936, Charles Stamm took over the Woodlawn Golf Course as the manager and golf pro. During this economically-troubled era business declined, so that by 1938 and 1939 circuses were held on the grounds of the former golf course. This ad for the Parker and Watts Circus was featured in the Sandusky Star Journal of May 22, 1939.

Eventually, with the help of the Depression-era WPA, a new municipal golf course was created on the west side of Sandusky. An article in the May 20, 1940 issue of the Sandusky Register announced the dedication of the Mills Creek Golf Course. (The name is derived from the Honorable Isaac Mills, one of the founders of Sandusky.)

Summertime in Vacationland

For decades, the pleasant summer weather in the Lake Erie Islands region has provided a terrific spot for local residents and tourists to spend some leisure time. Here are just a few images from the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center that capture some of those moments. Above is a snapshot of swimmers and boaters at Marblehead in 1957. Below is a picture of Ruth Beach, Verna Bornhauser, and Helen Rheinegger, at the Hotel Victory swimming pool in the summer of 1919.

The guests at Cedar Point in 1946 were walking along the Moon Rocket ride, long before Apollo 11 landed on the moon in July of 1969. In the 1940s visitors to the amusement park dressed much less casual than today’s visitors. This attraction was only at Cedar Point for a few seasons.

             

Notes that were attached to the original picture indicate that these people were fishing at the Bay Bridge Beach in June 1923. What a catch!

    

You can see the enthusiasm of the youngsters getting off the train in downtown Sandusky about 1940. Perhaps they were getting ready to board a boat to one of Lake Erie Islands.

     

View many more historical pictures from Sandusky and Erie County at the Sandusky Library Local History Archives online.

Sandusky High Schools Girls Basketball Team of 1922

These young ladies were on the Sandusky High School girls basketball team during the academic year 1921-1922. In the back are: Hyacinth Brownworth, Ruth Thom, and Coach, Mrs. Carl Mackey. In the front are; Elsie Hofer, Betty Grulich, Ruth Laux, Vesta Dwelle, and Alyne Wiedenhaefer. All the members of the team earned a letter at an assembly held at Sandusky High School in March of 1922.

Hyacinth Brownworth, later Mrs. John Rheinegger, served as the Clerk of the Board of
Education of the Sandusky City Schools for several years. In 1957 Hyacinth Rheinegger was honored at a dinner party for “the meticulous and efficient way” she ran her office. Several school officials, past and present, attended the dinner at the Rockwell Springs Trout Club in her honor.