When Button Shoes Were Sold in Sandusky

In the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth century, a popular style of shoe was the button shoe. An interesting article appearing in the Sandusky Star newspaper of January 27, 1899 recommended this handy shoe button bag to keep on hand for when a button came loose from your shoe.

Below is a picture of one of the pair of high button shoes that Miss Evangeline Vinton wore when she married former Sandusky Mayor Charles Bouton in 1871. They are now housed in the historical collections of the Follett House Museum.

W.O. Stubig sold button shoes in both kid and patent leather in 1904.

Local shoe stores sold button hooks to help their customers fasten the buttons of their shoes, like this one from the Leo A. Sacksteder store on East Market Street in Sandusky in the 1910s.

Mr. Sacksteder placed an advertisement in the January 1916 issue of the Fram, stating that “Shoes for graduation must have character and style and what Sacksteder says is so.” At that time Sandusky High School had a winter graduating class as well as a June graduating class.

You can see the buttons on the shoes of young Steen L. Parker in this picture of the toddler, taken by C.W. Platt about 1911.

The two younger Ebert children in this picture are also wearing button shoes.

After World War I, the popularity of button shoes declined, as more and more people purchased ready-to-wear clothing and footwear. But the fashion was remembered in a unique way: on October 9, 1947, the show High Button Shoes opened on Broadway. It was a musical comedy set in 1913, when high button shoes were still a popular fashion item.

Leo A. Sacksteder Sold “Shoes that are Different”

Mrs. Norman Steinert donated the buttonhook pictured above to the historical collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. The buttonhook came from Leo A. Sacksteder’s shoe store. It was an instrument used for pulling buttons through the button holes of shoes and gloves.

From about 1915 through the 1920s, Leo A. Sacksteder sold shoes in downtown Sandusky. He had several locations through the years, including on East Market Street, West Market Street, and two different locations on Columbus Avenue. Mr. Sacksteder came from a large Catholic family who had settled in Dayton, Ohio. His mother, Mrs. Helen Burkhardt Sacksteder, was originally from Baden, and his father, Nicholas Sacksteder, was a native of Alsace Lorraine.

In 1915 and 1916, advertisements for Leo A. Sacksteder’s shoe store were featured in the Fram, the yearbook of Sandusky High School. An ad which appeared in the January 1916 Fram states that “Shoes for graduation must have Character and Style and what Sacksteder says is so.”

This advertisement, from the November 1915 Fram, hints that if you buy shoes from Leo A. Sacksteder, your team will win the big football game.

Mr. Leo A. Sacksteder passed away on March 12, 1956. In his later years, he was a salesman for the Goodman Beverage Company of Lorain. Mr. Sacksteder was survived by his wife Antoinette, four daughters, two brothers, and three sisters. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Sandusky.

Woodcut Prints in the 1930 FRAM

During the 1929-1930 school year, Miss Yocum’s art students at Sandusky High School assisted the members of the Journalism A Class in the publication of the 1930 FRAM. Several woodcut prints are found at the beginning of the various sections of the yearbook. Charles Sallee, Aloys Sacksteder, Dorothy Lonz, and Elinor Alvord, four of the young artists who contributed prints to the yearbook, appear in the FRAM photograph of the Art Club. The woodcut prints reflect the Art Deco style which was popular from 1925 through 1939.

Six woodcut prints are pictured below in the order in which they are found in the 1930 FRAM. Visit the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library to view historical yearbooks from Sandusky High School, St. Mary’s High School, and Perkins High School. While we do not have a complete set of yearbooks from these schools, there are five shelves devoted to the yearbooks. By browsing through the old yearbooks, you can learn details about the high school activities in which your ancestors may have participated. It is interesting to view the changes in hair styles and clothing throughout the years.

Charles Sallee, Jr. went on to become a mural artist for the WPA. His many achievements have been discussed in an earlier blog post. Elinor Alvord Little Sidnor studied art at Ohio Wesleyan University, and she was known as a local artist and art collector. Elinor donated a significant portion of her art collection to the Cedar Point Center of Firelands College. Elinor also gave many artifacts to the Follett House Museum.

Aloys Sacksteder was known for her work in sculpture, design, and ceramics. Her art work was on display at the National Arts Club and in Paris Salons, according to the website AskArt. Dorothy Lonz married Norbert Keeley, and she taught ceramics in Lucas County.

Louis Lombardy, who was only a freshman in 1930, enlisted in the Army Air Corps in World War Two, and moved to California. Karl Kruger’s obituary appeared on the front page of the Sandusky Register shortly after his death on May 6, 1966. Karl had been a standout athlete at Sandusky High School, and he was a Veteran of World War Two.