The Sandusky High School Orchestra in 1904

 

Mr. George Johnston donated this photograph of the 1904 Sandusky High School Orchestra to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.  Pictured are: Bottom row: Verna Murphy and Edna Becker; Middle row: George Lehrer, Bess Lawrence, Theresa Winkler, and Mr. Cornelius Schnaitter, director; Top row: Maude Claus, Ralph Scherz, and Marguerite Andrews.

Edna Becker and Bess Lawrence went on to become longtime teachers with the Sandusky Public School system. Dr. Ralph Scherz was a leading physician on Cleveland’s west side for over fifty years. George J. Lehrer, who was son of a Mayor of Sandusky with the same name, was a charter member of the Actors Equity Association, and was nationally known as an actor and director.  Locally, Mr. Lehrer was associated with the Lloyd-George Studios for the production of stage scenery and costumes. A biographical sketch of Cornelius Schnaitter is found in volume two of Hewson L. Peeke’s A Standard History of Erie County; Mr. Schnaitter was a prosperous merchant tailor in Sandusky for many years, in addition to being a noted musician. Theresa Winkler, who later became Mrs. Norman Jessen, donated several historical items from the Winkler family to the Follett House Museum and the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.

Treasurer’s Book of the German American Brothers of Sandusky, Ohio

Donated by a member of the Armbruster family, the Treasurer’s Book from the German American Brothers of Sandusky, Ohio covers the years 1927 to 1942. (Due to the ongoing war in Europe, the organization stopped meeting in 1942.) The book contains a yearly listing of the names of members, as well as the amounts of dues that they paid. The original organization was known as the Plattdeutsch Verein, sometimes spelled Platduetscher Vereen.

The German American Brothers of Sandusky, Ohio was a group of men that were all from the Low German speaking area of Germany and neighboring countries. Frequently they had celebrations of dancing and drinking, which were sometimes held in the upper level of the I.O.O.F. (Odd Fellows) building in Sandusky. In the membership listing seen below are the names of Adolph and Martin Brodersen, who operated a grocery store at 1506 McDonough Street in the 1920s and 1930s.

The obituary of Carl Gast, whose name is also on the page above, stated that he had been a member of the German and American Brothers of Sandusky, Ohio. He also had been a member of Zion Lutheran Church, which had many members of German descent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. You can see the name of Richard Lorenz on page 7 of the treasurer’s book, pictured below.

Eventually Richard changed his name to the Americanized version of his surname, Lawrence. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to browse through the Treasurer’s Book of the German American Brothers of Sandusky, Ohio. 

Sandusky High School Orchestra in 1903

Pictured above is the Sandusky High School orchestra in 1903. The students are seated on the north steps of the old high school, which later became Adams Junior High School.  Another picture of the same group was taken with the musicians standing.

Notes on the back of the picture have identified the students:

Though the notes say that the year was 1904, the pictures were most likely taken in 1903, since the names of several of the members of the orchestra appeared in the 1903 Sandusky High School commencement program. Andrew Prout and Ralph Scherz both went on to become prominent doctors. Two of the students in the 1903 orchestra went into the field of education. Miss Bess Lawrence taught in the Sandusky City Schools for over thirty years, retiring in 1944. Edwin Williams became a professor of languages at the University of Nevada and the University of Redlands in California.

Sandusky High School Orchestra in 1904

The group of students with Mr. Cornelius Schnaitter made up an early orchestra at Sandusky High School in 1904. Pictured are: Front row, Verna Murphy and Edna Becker; middle row, George Lehrer, Bess Lawrence, Theresa Winkler, Mr. Schnaitter; top row, Maude Claus, Ralph Scherz, and Margeruite Andrews. Edna Becker went on to teach at Sandusky City Schools for twenty five years. George Lehrer became involved in theatrical productions, and was known nationally for his Lincoln impersonation. Ralph Scherz got his medical degree and practiced medicine in Cleveland for over fifty years.

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view this and hundreds of other vintage photographs from Erie County and Sandusky.