Judge Moses H. Thompson, World War II Hero

From the 1940 Sandusky High School yearbook

Moses H. Thompson was the son of Moses C. Thompson and the former Marian Martin. During his time at Sandusky High School, Moses H. Thompson participated in both football and track for four years. After high school, Moses attended West Virginia State College, where he was on the boxing team. In 1942, he enlisted in the United States Army. While in Europe during World War II he was awarded a Bronze Star. He was discharged as a staff sergeant. 

An article in the Sandusky Register on December 26, 1944, read:

Staff Sergeant Moses H. Thompson, Signal Corps, has been decorated with the Bronze Star Medal in the European theater of operations. He is the son of Moses C. Thompson, 404 Tyler St. Sandusky. Sgt. Thompson was personally decorated by the commanding general of the Corps to which his unit is attached. The citation read: "for meritorious achievement in connection with military operations against the enemy in Germany on Dec. 1, 1944. In performance of duty as a non-commissioned officer in charge of a line survey crew. Sgt. Thompson completed a hazardous mission without loss of personnel or equipment. During this time he was under mortar and artillery fire, but with outstanding leadership and disregard for his personal safety the mission was successfully accomplished His display of initiative and ability has greatly contributed to the efficiency of his organization."

After serving in the Army, Moses H. Thompson moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1954; he earned a doctorate in 1956. He served as an administrative law judge in Montgomery, Alabama before his retirement in Atlanta, where he died in 2005 at age 83.

Memorial Day Celebrations in Sandusky in 1923

There were three Memorial Day celebrations in Sandusky in the year 1923. The first one took place at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home at 8:30 on Wednesday, May 30. At 10 a.m. a service was held on the deck of the steamer Chippewa. A third event began with members of patriotic organizations marching from the G.A.R. Hall to Oakland Cemetery. Commandant Perry Null of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home led the parade. Other parade participants included the Camp Fire Girls, a drum and bugle corps, members of the American Legion, and a group of Civil War Veterans, who rode in automobiles.

    

The Sandusky High School Band also took part in the parade.  The band played the song “Our Heroes” as the parade grew closer to Oakland Cemetery, where  members of the G.A.R. and the Women’s Relief Corps had gathered.                                  

     

Commodore R.G. Denig spoke about a renewal of honor for the nation’s flag. Rev. Charles Huffer gave the benediction. Adjutant of the G.A.R. W.P. Thompson, read General John Logan’s Memorial Day proclamation. Mrs. Nina Goodwin Braby read the Gettysburg Address, just prior to the address given by Elyria Mayor A.E. Jones. Mayor Jones in his address, called for greater devotion to the laws of the country, a more universal observance of Memorial Day, and greater appreciation for those who made sacrifices in military service. A firing squad salute was given by members of the American Legion and the Ohio National Guard, and taps were played by bugler Harold Mertz to conclude the services. Below, a group is seen gathering to talk at the cemetery on Memorial Day. A large crowd is visible in the background.

You can read more about how Sandusky celebrated Memorial Day in 1923 in the Sandusky Register of May 31, 1923, now on microfilm at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.          

St. Mary’s 1939 Basketball Team

Former newspaper reporter C. Weston Dash donated this picture of the 1938-1939 Sandusky St. Mary’s basketball team. Notes on the original picture indicate that the photograph was taken on March 19, 1939. This team was runner-up for the Class A High School state championship in 1939. Coach Lee Zierolf is on the right, in the back row. Team members were: Leroy Riedy, Howard Thompson, Art Link (team captain), Ken Smith, Wayne Stamm, Joe Riccardi, Charles Stanley and John Thompson. You can read more about this team in the March 19, 1939 issue of the Sandusky Register. Coach Lee Zierolf was a teacher and coach at St. Mary’s from 1932 to 1953. Under his leadership, the St. Mary’s basketball team won the state championship in 1936, and were state runners-up from 1937 to 1940. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to read more about your favorite local sports teams in issues of the old Sandusky newspapers, now on microfilm.

Back to School. . .

As students in our area head back to school, here is a look back at students in Sandusky and Erie County from the historical collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. In the picture below, the Sandusky High School football team can be seen on the practice field in the 1920s.

J.W. Dietz took this picture of the 1903 Sandusky High School orchestra on the steps of the old Sandusky High School.

Dr. Norbert Lange donated this class photo of the third grade class at Monroe School from about 1900. Clarence E. Thompson, who is number 38 in the picture, went on to become a doctor. He practiced medicine in Chicago for over forty years.

The students and teacher of the District 3 School in Oxford Township were photographed by commercial photographer E. H. Schlessman  in the 1910s.

The Martins and Manhattans

In Sandusky in the 1910’s, the Martins and Manhattans were two popular city baseball teams that often played each other at Sandusky’s Huron Park. Sandusky photographer N. J. Abele, who lived at 311 Huron Avenue, took the picture below. The Martins were sponsored by Martin’s Confectionery, a Sandusky business owned by Fred Martin that sold ice cream and other confections.

While not everyone in the photo postcard above have been identified, notes on the original item indicate that manager Pat Murray is in the dark suit in the back row, and the player who is the second from the right in the front row is Ed Oesterle. The first young man in the back row is Moses Thompson. A news article which appeared on the sports page of the October 7, 1912 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that Moses Thompson played “sensationally” against the Manhattans at Huron Park on October 6, 1912. He got a home run in the first inning, and later participated in a double play with a player by the name of Meyers. The final score of the game was the Martins with four runs, and the Manhattans with two runs.

The Manhattans team, sponsored by the Manhattan Clothing Emporium, is pictured below. The only person who has been identified is manager Ralph Roesch, in the dark suit in the center of the back row. Players who played for the Manhattans during the October 6, 1912 game with the Martins included: Fred Kubach, Charles “Pink” Bogert, and old Sandusky favorite ball players with last names Blancke and McConville.

On September 18, 1940 an article in the Sandusky Star Journal covered a baseball game to be held at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home between the baseball teams sponsored by the Clover Leaf Dairy and the Farrell Cheek Foundry. Carl Bloker managed the Clover Leaf Dairy ball club, while Moses Thompson managed the Farrell Cheek team. Carl Bloker and Moses Thompson had both played with the Martins in the 1910’s.

Moses Thompson was the brother of Sandusky-born physician, Dr. Clarence Thompson. Previous blog entries about baseball in Sandusky discussed Clarence Howard of the Sandusky Crescents, Olde Broderson, and Frank “Casey” Casserly, manager of the Shamrocks baseball team.

Manuscripts from 1876 Examinations at Sandusky High School: Physiology and Music

Housed in the Schools Collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center is a bound copy of student manuscripts from Sandusky High School that were written in 1876. U. T. Curran was the superintendent of Sandusky High School at that time. The first section of the bound volume contains copies of the students’ manuscripts for a Physiology Examination taken by ninth grade students. Ninth grade was also known as Grade D. The physiology examination took place on February 14, 1876. There was a total of 29 pupils in the class, with an average age of 14½.

Pictured below is the physiology examination, written by Charles Curran, age 15. Charles Curran was the son of school superintendent U.T. Curran. Later Charles Curran would become a very well known painter, and went by the name Charles Courtney Curran. The 1889 painting “Lotus Lilies” by Charles Courtney Curran, was inspired by Old Woman Creek.

The Vocal Music Examination was taken by students from several grades on February 9, 1876. Samuel A. Collins was the music teacher.

Here are the first four questions and answers to the Vocal Music examination by Jessie F. Thompson, age 13:

The Eclectic System of Penmanship by L. S. Thompson

Langdon S. Thompson was a teacher of penmanship in the Sandusky schools in 1863. The 1867 Sandusky City Directory lists Mr. Thompson’s residence as 9 Meigs Street. In 1876, L. S. Thompson wrote an elementary course in penmanship, published by Wilson, Hinkle & Company. A series of three books included examples of letters, words, and short sentences, along with blank lines for elementary students to practice their writing skills.

Mr. Thompson felt that whole letters and whole words should be taught to even the youngest of children, instead of the traditional teaching of lines as a first step in the elements of handwriting. In Freddie Bauer’s school book from the West Market Street School, the phrases “Strive to excel” and “Love the good” are meant to be an object lesson as well as to help the student practice his or her penmanship.

Later, L. S. Thompson taught in Indiana and in Jersey City, New Jersey. An article in volume 15 of the journal School Arts, reported that Dr. Langdon S. Thompson had retired after sixty years of continuous service in art education. He had served as a grade school teacher, school principal, supervisor of drawing, college professor, and director of art education. He also had a wide reputation as an author and lecturer, and was active in several professional organizations, including the National Education Association.

The young student Fred Bauer was a lifelong resident of Sandusky. He was an expert in municipal finance, and served as Erie County Auditor from 1916-1918 and 1922-1928.

Dr. Clarence E. Thompson

Pictured above is the Monroe School’s third grade class in 1900. Clarence E. Thompson is number 38, and to his right is his brother Moses Thompson. Clarence and Moses were the sons of Moses and Frances Thompson. The whole family was very active in the St. Stephen A.M.E. Church, which was close to the family home on Neil Street.
Clarence Thompson was the Athletic Editor of The Fram in 1910. He was a member of the graduating class of 1910 ½, which actually had its graduation exercises in February of 1911. During the graduating class exercises, he gave a speech entitled “The True Mission of Nations.” Graduation was held at Sidley Memorial Hall, and the central theme of the ceremony was “Peace.”
Following graduation, Clarence E. Thompson attended the University of Michigan, along with another Sandusky High School graduate, Norbert Lange. After one year of college in Michigan, he transferred to Ohio State University, where he also attended medical school. In an article in the Sandusky Register, June 12, 1919, it was said that Clarence Thompson “made strenuous efforts to accomplish his purposes in life.”

Dr. Thompson began his internship at Provident Hospital in Chicago in September of 1919. He practiced medicine in Chicago for forty seven years. After a brief illness, he passed away in Provident Hospital on April 23, 1967.