Leisure Moments in Sandusky and Erie County

       

In the collection of historical pictures at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center are several photos of people enjoying their leisure time. Men are pictured above relaxing in a garden in Sandusky in the early twentieth century. While not all the men have been identified, some of the men in the photograph are: Charles Metzger, Harry Green, Christy Koehler, Ossi Baumeister and Gus Schoepfle. 

A freelance photographer took this picture of two unidentified children playing dress up on Reese Street in 1912:

About 1920 the Sprau family gathered at Winnebago Park, now known as Lions Park. You can see Sandusky Bay in the background:

Members of the Sandusky Daily News baseball team posed for a picture at Huron Park in May, 1937:

  

   

These men are fishing at the Rockwell Trout Stream in Castalia in 1940:

  

This candid picture was taken at  the Boy with the Boot fountain in Washington Park on July 28, 1955:

"The Grandest Pic-Nic of the Nineteenth Century"

An announcement for a steamboat excursion to the Lake Erie Islands appeared in the September, 1868 issue of the Teacher of Penmanship. Graduates and current students of the Buckeye and Great Western Business and Telegraph College, the predecessor of the Sandusky Business College, were invited to the event, held on September 9, 1868. Three steamboats were chartered, including the Evening Star, the Eighth Ohio and the General Grant. It was to be a “select intellectual and educational convention.” Guests were asked to bring baskets of food for the excursion. The trip included a “sail upon the Lake, around the vine-clad Islands, Inlets, Bays Peninsulas and Promontories, where the immortal Perry ‘met the enemy and made them ours’ under the auspices of the College at Sandusky.” An article in the September 8, 1868 issue of the Sandusky Register stated that railroads were offering half price fares for attendees of the excursion, and current students of the Buckeye and Great Western Business and Telegraph College were to be issued free tickets. 

The Buckeye and Great Western Business and Telegraph College was established in 1866. At first all students were male, though in later years many female students enrolled.  Some of the courses offered at the College were accounts training, telegraphing, and shorthand.

On the day of the Excursion, everyone who attended found it to be a “pleasant affair” according the Sandusky Register of September 10, 1868. Threatening weather kept hundreds of people at home, who would have gone on the trip had there been fair weather on September 9. 

Below is a picture of three steamboats close to Put in Bay in 1868:

The Evening Star is on the left. The center boat is the Lake Breeze. To the right is the Eighth Ohio.  In the far distance, you can see a portion of Jay Cooke’s home on Gibraltar Island.

Annual Outing of Booth Fisheries Employees

Mrs. H.C. Lehman donated this undated picture postcard of employees of the Booth Fisheries on their annual outing. The manager of Booth Fisheries, J.J. Schrank, is the fourth individual on the left in the back row. The men are all lined up at the pier, waiting for the trip to begin aboard the Major Wilcox. While we are not positive which year this picture was taken, an article in the July 2, 1917 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal provides us with a vivid description of the annual outing from 1917. The headline of the article stated that the outing was a great success.

Over fifty employees of the Booth Fisheries, and some of their friends, left aboard the company docks, in spite of threatening weather. Louis Beverick served as master of ceremonies, and “Bumps” Biehl was the chef. The group was served turtle soup and fried fish. After dinner, the group returned to Sandusky to unload equipment, and they returned to the Major Wilcox for a boat ride around the Lake Erie Island, while another round of refreshments was served. If you would like to read the article in its entirety, visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, to view the Sandusky Star Jounal of July 2, 1917, now on microfilm.

A Sandusky Team at the American Bowling Congress Championships, 1961

Though these men have not been identified, it appears that they were all on a bowling team during the American Bowling Congress Championships held in Detroit, Michigan in 1961. The same men are in the picture below.

An article on the sports page of the March 31, 1961 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that the Sandusky Bowling Association was going to be sending a squad of bowlers to the American Bowling Congress to be held in Detroit at the “glamorous Cobo Hall.”

If anyone knows who the men are in the group photograph, please leave a message in the comments field of this blog post.

The Sea Swing at Cedar Point

From about 1914 to the 1930s, the Sea Swing was a popular attraction at Cedar Point. The ride was located in the water of Lake Erie, about 100 feet from the bathhouse along the Cedar Point beach. It operated in a fashion similar to a Merry Go Round, but being shaped like hexagon, the riders dipped into the water as the swing went around, instead of going in a direct circular motion. The Sea Swing was powered by electricity.

An earlier apparatus in the water at Cedar Point, date unknown

An article which appeared in the August 6, 1914 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that with fees collected from riders the Sea Swing would “pay for itself” in just one or two seasons. As you can see in the photograph below, the Cedar Point beach was quite popular.

A member of the Andres family donated this family vacation picture to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Could the youngsters be thinking about riding the Sea Swing?