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Wanted!
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Members wanted! If you have an
interest or a talent, let us know how we can help you help us!
Anyone with a short family
history or interesting story about Sylvania that they would
like to submit for a future newsletter. See Polly Cooper at the museum
We
are looking for political buttons, pins, any type of political
memorabilia anyone might have and would like to donate to the
Historical
Society to add to our collection. These should be from the Sylvania and Sylvania Township
area only, please.
We are looking for Burnham memorabilia for a possible
exhibit on the former Burnham
High School.
Do you have
a school sweater, photographs, or anything that might be used for a
display?
Items will be returned to you after the exhibit is over. See Polly
Cooper or
Liz Stover or any board member.
Docents are
needed for occasional Saturdays.
Bring a
dessert for meetings once or twice a year.
Help with
periodic cleaning.
Help in the
office on Tuesdays.
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Letter
found...
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This letter was found in
the water department file. There is
no date but we think it might have been during the great depression.
Dear Sir,
Due to the fact
that it was necessary for me to buy 2 pairs of golashes today and with
pay day
a week away – I am quite short – but if you will accept
this dollar to apply on
my bill I will send the balance of the old arrears ($2.15) over next
Saturday
some time and then take care of this last quarter out of my next check
on the
15th.
Trusting this will
be ok I am------
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Once upon a time...
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DID YOU KNOW?
That there was an R.H.C.
Furniture Comp
any in Sylvania
in 1928?
That there was an H.W.
Comstock Fertilizer Company? It was the
largest fertilizer distributor in Lucas County
in 1928.
The population of Sylvania in 1880 was
523.
The Sylvania School census for 1888
showed a total of 138 pupils.
Among
other Theaters were the Sylvan, run in the 1940’s by Paul Pontuis
(first cousin of Ernie Pyle, WWII journalist), and the Town
Theater which opened at 5681
Main St. on April 14, 1940.
This theater had formerly been the Princess. The Fox and Speedway
were also in Sylvania.
(The British spelling for Theater is Theatre).
AN OLD
TIME FOURTH OF JULY
At one time there
was a cavalry-artillery in-
stallation calledBattery F
just south and around the corner
from the high school on School
Drive. One fourth of July one of the
officers
dragged a cannon over to the north side of town in front of the
residence of a
well-known townsman and fired off a blank. Now that woke up the town!
And, one
of the neighbors of the well-known townsman was roused out not by the
roar but
the fact that his front window let loose and landed on his bed.
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Welcome
to our website. Please keep checking back since it will be updated
frequently!
It is the purpose
of the Sylvania Area Historical Society to work toward the preservation
and collection of materials and items concerned with the development,
history, and genealogy of Sylvania and its surrounding area.
It is the goal of
the Sylvania Area Historical Society to work toward the preservation of
the past so that present and future generations might have evidence of
their great heritage, thus making the present more meaningful to all.
The Sylvania Area Historical Society
hopes to continue to add to their collection of photographs, family
histories, and historical objects.
Meetings:
The Sylvania Area Historical Society meets at 7:00PM on the third
Wednesday of designated month. The meetings are held at the Sylvania
Heritage
Center, 5717 North Main St.
Guests
are always welcome!
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MUSEUM
NEWS
We recently
received an April 27, 1944 issue of The Sylvania Sentinel.
Donated by David Rumpf, he found the paper beneath floorboards during
remodeling. I read the newspaper and found many interesting
tidbits.
Some things never change after all these years.....in this issue, they
complained about the weather, urged reusing paper grocery bags (but for
making into containers for 75MM shells!), and discussed potlucks, Red
Cross drives, and literary clubs.
But many things HAVE changed in sixty-five years! Ads included
Feen-a-mint, 10 cents, for constipation, Lydia E. Pinkham's vegetable
compound for hot flashes, and Sewing Circle dress patterns for 20
cents. Wagonlander's Federated Stores advertised cotton dresses
for $4.98. and Gordon Hathaway's Sohio service station at 6515 Monroe
offered 25 lb bags of Victory Garden Fertilizer for $1.09.
Clarence I. Fauble was running against James M. O'Reilly for Lucas
County Sheriff, and both had display ads requesting votes.
Chandler Hardware advertised Solventol, promising that 3-cents-worth
made a gallon of finest liquid cleaner. Ohio Associated Telephone
Company explained that phone lines are the lifelines of the army, so
residential customers should expect delays in service.
Many local ads with addresses and phone numbers were interesting.
T.G.Reger, Real Estate and General Insurance at 5610 Main St.
Sylvania Auto Sales, phone 32. Dentists Dr J.A.Counter at 5702
Summit St and Dr. H.V.Currier, Reeb Bldg, both advertised.
"Jersey Joe" milk was located at Berkey and Little Roads.
The comics page was especially fun! The heading "The Sunny Side
of Life: Clean Comics That Will Amuse Both Old and Young" appeared in
this Thursday issue. How many do you remember?
SPARKY WATTS by Boody Rogers, LALA PALOOZA by Rube Goldberg, REG'LAR
FELLERS by Gene Byrnes, POP by J Millar Watt, and RAISING KANE by Frank
Webb. (Submitted by Sheila Painter)
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| Upcoming
Programs and Events* |
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There is no February Meeting
Be safe and stay warm!
March Meeting and Presentation
Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 7 p.m.
Roger Sutherland will present
"How Sweet It Is: Maple Syrup, History of Sugaring."
There is no April Monthly
meeting
Start planning your garden!
May Meeting and Presentation
Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 7 p.m.
From Comfits to Confectionaries,
the Sweet History of Candy in America: What sugary sweets did you savor
as a child? What candies still delight you? Take a look back at candies
through history and discover how your sweet tooth were shaped by
society and events.
Sylvania
Founder’s Day Celebration
June 6, 2009, 1 to 4 pm at Sylvania
Heritage Center,
5717 N. Main St.
Special exhibits, tours and refreshments. Join us as we remember
the founding of Sylvania!
No charge, and everyone is welcome. Sponsored by the
Sylvania Area Historical Society.
There is no June Monthly
meeting
Enjoy the summer evening!
July Meeting and
Presentation
Wednesday, July 15, 2009, 7 p.m.
Dr. Mary Stockwell, PhD,
Prefessor and Chairperson of History at Lourdes College will be
speaking on the forcible removal of Native Americans from Ohio during
the Westward Expansion.
Historical Neighborhood Tour
July 18 2009, 7 p.m.
Join the Sylvania Area Historical
Society for a historic neighborhood walking
tour in downtown Sylvania. Costumed interpreters will bring history to
life by sharing the history of the neighborhood and telling stories of
fascinating people who made colorful contributions to Sylvania. Meet at
the Sylvania Heritage Center
on Main Street. Free event. Heavy rain cancels.
Genealogy/Memory
Album Workshop
Saturday, August 8 2009, 1-4 p.m.
Join the Sylvania Area Historical Society for a Genealogy and Memory
Album Workshop. Learn how to create your family tree and
produce memory albums that will be cherished for generations and
help the society's ongoing preservation efforts.
Learn some of the basics about researching
your family tree. Find out how things like the census and city
directories and other sources can uncover your families' past.
Whether it's walking down memory lane or
exploring your family history, scrapbooking is one of the most powerful
ways to celebrate our lives and the lives of our loved ones. Don't let
the lack of photos keep you from putting together a family heirloom.
Join to learn some inventive ways to incorporate writing,
memorabilia, and just about anything into scrapbooks. Learn
about the importance of of acid-free papers and other archival
materials and start planning your memory album today!
Workshop will be held at the Sylvania Heritage Center, 5717
North Main St., Sylvania. Cost: $15.00 per person. There will be
several door prizes and and snacks will be provided. Each
participant will go home with a workbook. Limited space. Reservations
required. Click here for
form.
Summer
Picnic
Wednesday, August 19, 2009, 6 p.m.
Bring a dish or two to pass!
September
Meeting and Presentation
Wednesday, September 16, 2009, 7
p.m.
History of etiquette in America.
Historic Cemetery Tour
Saturday, October 3, 2009, 3 p.m.
Join us for a fascinating stroll
through Ravine Cemetery in Sylvania. Costumed interpreters will bring
local history to life by portraying citizens who are buried there.
You'll feel as if you've traveled back in time as you meet the
interesting spirits among us. Discover fascinating facts, curious
characters, and even some local graveyard lore! The cemetery is located
on Ravine Road, between Harroun Rd. and Main St. in Sylvania. Free
event. Heavy rain cancels.
October
18, is the Fall Festival and Parade.
October Meeting and Presentation
Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 6 p.m.
Meet at Camp Miakonda.
Reservations required. Reservations required. Click here for form.
December
5th. is Holiday Happenings. The museum
will be decorated for the holidays. Volunteers are welcome to help
decorate.
November:
There is no meeting In November.
December
Holiday Party
Wednesday, December 16, 2009, 6 p.m.
This is our
annual Holiday
Party. Bring a dish or 2 to pass. Everything else is furnished. There
will be
Bingo for those who wish to play.
*All programs are held at the Sylvania
Heritage Center Museum on 5717 N. Main, Sylvania, Ohio, unless
otherwise noted.
For other local events
go to these websites:
Sylvania Events (City of Sylvania website)
TOPS Pathfinder
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CARD FUNDRAISER
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These cards will make great holiday
gifts! A set of 8 cards costs $10 and includes 2 of each of the four
designs below:
Proceeds from the sale of these cards
will be donated to the Sylvania Historical Village, Inc. for the Train
Barn Project. The proposed train barn will house the former Toledo
& Western Baldwin Westinghouse Steeplecab electric locomotive
and a Chesapeake & Ohio/Toledo Angola & Western
Railroad caboose car No. 90781.
Click
here for an order form
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Join
Now!
A paid membership entitles you to the
newsletter which is published quarterly and a 10% discount for giftshop
items including the Sylvania history book
Welcome New Members!
...
We will photograph grave markers!
In order to raise money for the
Sylvania
Area Historical Society, we will take photos of grave markers in
Sylvania's Ravine and Association Cemetery during the summer months.
(We will also visit Toledo Memorial if you can identify the
lot and grave number.) For a fee of $25 we will place seasonal
flowers at the grave of your ancestor, take a photo, and email that
photo to you. We can also photograph additional grave markers in the
same cemetery for $10 each. Send the name of your ancestor and the name
of the cemetery they are in along with your check to the address on
this website. Please write "CEMETERY FUNDRAISER" on the subject line of
you check.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Sylvania
school system did not have kindergarten classes until 1955. In 1949 a
group of
young mothers belonging to the Child Conservation League started to
make plans
for a private kindergarten and in January, 1950, began classes in the
basement
of the old Methodist
Church
on North Main Street.
After
three or four
years in that location, the kindergarten was moved to a chicken coop.
(Possibly
behind a house on South
Main St.
facing Convent Blvd.)
The building was refurbished for classroom use and the mothers took
turns with
the janitorial work.
Remember when...
Henry Ruedi had a tile
kiln near Mitchaw and
Sylvania-Metamora? There was a 5 acre baseball field along Mitchaw with
a
grandstand brought from Trilby?
Sylvania
had an Apple Festival?
Sylvania
had an Apple Festival for a few years starting in 1980. It was held
during
October at Burnham
Park.
Activities in-
cluded a parade,
entertainment, games for children, apple
dessert contest, and all kinds of food.
The first two Apple
Festivals were used for improvements at Burnham Park,
including renovation of the
bandstand.
NEW
ACQUISITIONS:
Jean Janney
Burnham Reunion Goblet 50th.
reunion of the class of
1942. Burnham
Class Picture 1942,
Collection
of photographs –
Sylvania students—1940’s, Maplewood class picture 1934-35,
Sylvania band picture, 9 by 12 Class picture, Class
of 1942 book of photos, and misc. paper
memorabilia.
Bob Smith
Sylvania Tannery Booklet, Chandler’s
Chanticleer 1932
Trini Wenninger
Metal Hat Stand.
Douglas J. Seidl
Glass Block from the Community Traction Building
on Summit St.
Barbara Reed
2 photographs of Main Street
(1920’s)
Tom Barnhizer-- Book
“The Pretty Letters” by Alice Van Pelt of Sylvania, Ohio
Kathleen Vineyard Berlin—4 Autograph
Albums of Kathleen Vineyard
Thanks
to all those who donate items!
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MEDUSA
CEMENT
The Sandusky
Cement Company at Sandusky,
Ohio
was organized in 1892 using
the trade name of Medusa. In 1929 the name was officially changed from
Sandusky-Medusa Cement Company to Medusa Portland Cement Company.
The Medusa Cement
Plant was constructed in 1922 on Centennial Road.
The operation involved
both quarrying and processing.
A ride down Centennial Road
would have taken you past 85 foot high storage bins, whitened buildings
and
large quarrying pits. The plant had a capacity of 280,000 tons of
Portland
cement a year.
About 200 men were
employed.
To entice key men
to positions at the plant the company built Medusa Gardens
in 1923 on Centennial Road.
Eleven one story homes were built and others were added later. The
homes were
supplied with electricity from the plant’s generators.
Some of the long
time employees were, Leroy Schoenegge, Eddie Kroll, Frank Madore,
Albert Reed,
Walter Shanley, and Fred Ritenour.
The plant was
permanently closed on December 23, 1979.
Centennial Road
had long been the site of numerous quarries. The 1875 Atlas lists nine
families
as owning quarries on both sides of the Road.
(from April-May-June 2009 newsletter)
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BITS OF HISTORY
An arsonist
struck Sylvania
around 1912. He worked for the Cement Block Company. Among other
buildings, he
burned down Huling’s saw mill, which was on the north bank of Ten
Mile Creek,
near Burnham
High School.
He was
discovered, arrested, jailed, then eventually escaped to Canada.
In 1921 The
Franciscan Sisters at the convent began to use electricity, and had
electric
lights, instead of the kerosene lamps they had been using.
During World War
II the Jeep testing ground was in Sylvania Township.
This testing
ground lay between McCord
Road
and the Township building, north to Brint Road, and back to where McCord Junior High School
is now located.
Mr. Albert Niles
(a tester for the Overland Motor Car Company, later Jeep) drove the
first Overland car to California
before the day of improved roads.
___________________________________________
This is from a note in
which Marilyn Kuhlman Enz tells about
the death of her grandmother, Ethel Kimble Cooke. She was the wife of
Dr. Uriah
Cooke.
My Grandmother
died September 4th., 1951, at the age of 76.
Grandma and I
were doing dishes in the kitchen when she said she felt ill. She walked
into
the bedroom and she sat on the edge of the bed. As she laid her head
back on
the pillow she said “I’ll just rest here for a
minute.” Within minutes she
passed away.
Each day she and
Ada Ely, her good friend, crocheted lace for pillow cases and doilies.
On the
lamp table, next to her chair, I saw her thread, crochet hook and lace.
I
wrapped it in tissue paper and it is just the way she left it.
(The thread, crochet and
lace was given to the Historical
society and is part of our collection of Cooke memorabilia)
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| Visiting
the Museum and access to the
Archives... |
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The Sylvania Heritage Center Museum on
5717 N. Main is open Wednesdays from 3-7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday
from 1-4 p.m.*
Archivists from the Sylvania Area
Historical Society are available on most Tuesdays, 9:30 - 2 p.m.; and
Saturdays, 1-4 p.m. If you wish to do research in the archives, please
call ahead of time.
The archives include family histories,
records such as
Poll Books dating back as far as 1835, Youth Enumerations as far as
1838 (sometimes these include the parents names), Chattel Mortgages,
Tax records, church histories, cemetery records, photographs, school
records, and much more.
NOTE:
*The museum usually closes the last
week in November for holiday decorating and December's schedule will be
posted. The museum is also closed in January and August. However, if
you have research to work on, please contact us and we can arrange an
appointment.
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| Did you
know... |
| Cedar
chests, where family heirlooms are often stored, produce acids
that will discolor and damage quilts. |
The Latin word Sylvania
means the woods.
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SEV.org