F.A. Riedy, Manufacturer of Fine Cigars

Frank A. Riedy was born in Baden, Germany in 1843 to John and Frances (Webber) Riedy. As a young man he came to the United States, and settled in Sandusky, Ohio. On August 12, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company L in the Third Ohio Cavalry. During his military service in the Civil War, he was promoted to Full Farrier, a specialist in equine hoof care. On August 4, 1865, he was mustered out with his company. After working briefly as a blacksmith, Mr. Riedy went on to work in the cigar business in Sandusky for thirty years. The 1880 Sandusky City Directory listed F.A. Riedy as employee of Diehl and Riedy, a cigar manufacturer located at 1025 Market Street; by 1886, he was sole proprieter of this business. He also sold cigars, pipes, and tobacco at his store. In an advertisement which appeared in the 1908 Sandusky City Directory, F.A. Riedy stated that he was “the only pipe doctor in the city.” Smokers came from miles around to have their treasured pipes repaired by Mr. Riedy.  After 1915, when Sandusky changed its street numbering system,  the address of the business became 807 West Market Street.

Frank A. Riedy died on February 20, 1922. He was a member of the McMeens Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, and St. Mary’s Church. Mr. Riedy was survived by wife, a son, Leo; two daughters, Mrs. Leo A. Sacksteder and Mrs. Leo A. Butler; and seven grandchildren. Funeral services were held at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Leo A. Butler, with Father W.C. Zierolf officiating, and burial was at St. Mary’s Cemetery. Mr. Riedy was involved in a business that has a rich history in Sandusky. To read more about the manufacturing of cigars in Sandusky, see this blog post.

"Take a New Year’s Smoke"

An advertisement in the December 26, 1898 issue of Sandusky Register suggested that area residents “Take a New Year’s Smoke” and make the resolution to smoke only the Imperial Cigar, sold for ten cents apiece at Dietz & Mischler, at 224 Columbus Avenue. A listing in the 1898 Sandusky City Directory lists the owners of Dietz & Mischler as Jacob Dietz and Daniel Mischler. They were manufacturers of fine cigars, and dealers in tobacco, pipes and smokers’ supplies.

Until about 1915, Puck, a cast zinc statue, stood in the front window of Dietz & Mischler’s store. After Dietz & Mischler closed, Puck landed in John and Henry Weier’s scrap yard on Hancock Street. Eventually Puck was rescued from the scrap yard by Charles Hoffman. Puck was placed atop a stand operated by the Hoffman family for many years at the corner of Scott and Hancock Streets.

Descendants of the Hoffman family donated Puck to the Follett House Museum in 1974. Puck can still be seen in the basement level of the Follett House.

Cigar making was a major business in Sandusky at the turn of the twentieth century. You can read about cigar making in Sandusky in a previous blog post.

Cigar Making in Sandusky

Back in the days when it seemed like nearly everyone smoked (long before the Surgeon General's report), cigar manufacturing was a major industry in Sandusky. An article in the January 30, 1904 issue of the Sandusky Evening Star reported that nearly three million cigars a year were produced in Sandusky! Eighteen factories in the city produced these cigars, employing about 175 workers. The article went on to note that "Sandusky stands second to Tiffin, where there are several big factories which make stogies. Sandusky has no stogie factories."Many of the factories had their own retail stores. The Dietz & Mischler company, shown above, was at 224 Columbus Avenue. They might be best known for the statue of Puck holding a bundle of cigars in the store window. The Henry Ritter & Sons store, at 139 Columbus Avenue, had a wooden statue of Punch outside its door to entice customers. Both Punch and Puck can been seen today in the Follett House Museum.

Here is a view of activity at the Ritter factory in 1903:
Ritter's store, circa 1890:

And here are members of the Cigar Makers International Union, Sandusky Local, in 1905: