Dedication of the Supplementary Education Center at Sandusky High School

Pictured above is Sandusky High School Superintendent Mr. Wallace Glenwright giving a briefing to dignitaries prior to the dedication of the Supplementary Education Center on September 17, 1967.

The Sandusky Register of March 18, 1967 described the forthcoming Center in a feature article.  Funding of the Supplementary Education Center was from a combination of funds from the National Defense Education Act, Title III, which were matched by the Sidney Frohman Foundation, estimated at over $500,000. The five major areas on which the Center focused were: instructional materials, cultural, planetarium, a teacher’s professional library, and an educational resource center. Schools from 30 separate districts, along with students from Bowling Green State University and its Firelands Branch would all have access to the Supplementary Education Center. Several 16mm and 8mm films were available for schools to borrow, while paying only for insurance and postage to and from the Center.

Project coordinator Theodore Seaman spoke at the dedication of the Sandusky Supplementary Center:

The ribbon cutting was performed by Superintendent Glenwright and Elnora (Mrs. Sidney) Frohman.

An American flag was presented to the Supplementary Education Center on behalf of the Commodore Perry Post of the American Legion:

The dedication attracted a number of dignitaries and guests:

The Sandusky Register reported on the Dedication of the Center on September 18, 1967.

While the educational resource center and library are no longer in operation, the Sidney Frohman Planetarium and Sandusky Cultural Center are still serving the educational and cultural needs of the greater Sandusky community. 

The Sandusky High School Band was Busy in 1936

In 1936 the Sandusky High School Band gave a series of free Sunday afternoon concerts, under the direction of Byron F. Aldrich. In February, the band played for the Sandusky Auto Dealers car show held at the Sandusky Junior High School.

The Sandusky Star Journal of March 13, 1936 reported that the Sandusky High School Band played for the Style Promenade put on by the M.R. Herb store at the Junior High School. Elmer Bauer also played selections on the Frohman Memorial organ at the style show. Over three thousand were in attendance. The band also provided musical entertainment for the Postmasters Convention at Cedar Point in June as well as for the district meeting of the American Legion in November.

A large concert put on by the Sandusky High School Band took place at the Sandusky Junior High School in December 11, 1936. For this concert, the admission fee was 25 cents (about $5 today). Hundred of area businesses also sponsored the band concert, and were listed in the Sandusky Star Journal on December 10, 1936.

Byron F. Aldrich directed the Sandusky High School Band from 1923 until 1955. Many Sandusky High School alumni honored Mr. Aldrich at a dinner in the fall of 1981.

The former band director is quoted in the article, from the Sandusky Register of September 20, 1981, “Maybe I can’t remember all the names, but I can remember just where each one sat when they were in the band.”

Byron F. Aldrich passed away on October 6, 1984. He and his wife Florence are buried at Oakland Cemetery. Mr. Aldrich touched the lives of many during his long tenure at Sandusky High School.

New Athletic Field for Sandusky High School Dedicated in 1922

 

Though Sandusky High School was located on Adams Street at Washington Park in 1922, the School Board purchased property for a new athletic field on the south side of town, between Hayes Avenue and Camp Street, south of the railroad tracks. The 1915 map of Sandusky, pictured below, indicates the approximate location of the new athletic field.

 

The new field had a football field, track and grandstands. Strobel Field, now Strobel Field at Cedar Point Stadium. was dedicated in 1936. Dr. C.L. Knoble said, about Sandusky’s new field, “The local field will compare favorably with any in this part of the state and is the equal to those of many colleges.”

Coach Gosnell Layman stated in the September 10, 1922 issue of the Sandusky Register that the new field was ready. The yard lines were marked off, and the grass was in perfect condition.

The first game of the high school football season was played on September 23, when Sandusky faced Lincoln High from Cleveland, Ohio; 1100 people attended the game which ended in a tie. The new athletic field was officially dedicated on October 15, 1922, before the Fremont-Sandusky game.

The Fremont High School band opened the dedication ceremony. Sandusky High School officials and members of both football teams assembled on the new athletic field. The Star Spangled Banner was sung, followed by Sandusky High’s Victory song. Sandusky beat Fremont 32 to 0. The Sandusky Register reported, “Sandusky completely outclassed the visitors in every way.” Team captain Carl Borders scored the first touchdown of the game, after Walton threw a perfect forward pass.

A lineup and summary of the game appeared in the Sandusky Register.

If you would like to read more about the history of the Sandusky Blue Streaks football teams, visit the Sandusky Library where several titles are available for loan.

Circa 1940

James Ross, Educator and Author

From 1916 to 1933, James Ross was a history teacher at Sandusky High School. For several of those years, he also served as the faculty treasurer of the athletic department. Prior to moving to Sandusky, Ohio, Mr. Ross had been an educational administrator at West Chester Schools, Adams Township Schools in Champaign County, and Fort Recovery Schools in Mercer County, Ohio. An excerpt from History of Mercer County, Ohio (Biographical Publishing Co., 1907) had the following description:

Mr. Ross is not only a superintendent of marked executive ability and good judgment, but a teacher of force and power. He makes no radical change but lays a firm foundation and then progresses. Unassuming in his ways he has the ability, by his devoted, unselfish interest in his pupils, to inspire them with noble ideals and to keep them firmly as friends of the school, and through the pupils he seldom fails to reach the parent. He is an educator in the highest sense of the word.

An article in the December 21, 1940 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal stated that it was largely through the efforts of Mr. Ross that when Sandusky High played Findlay High School’s football team on Thanksgiving Day in 1925, it was the largest crowd that ever attended an SHS football game up to that point in the school’s history. 

In 1930, Mr. Ross wrote a book, The Heart of Democracy: The American Public Schools. An autographed copy of this title is now in the collections of the Follett House Museum.

The Sandusky Register of February 15, 1931 published excerpts of several positive reviews of the book, which had gained national attention. E.J. Jensen, field secretary of Adelbert College, said “It’s the first ‘meaty’ book on education that I have read with a feeling of intense enjoyment instead of from a sense of duty. Its style is so lucid and entertaining that it should have a very widespread appeal.” 

After his retirement in 1933, Mr. Ross and his wife Winnie moved to Brooklyn, New York, living with a son. Mr. Ross died on December 14, 1940. Funeral services were held at a Brooklyn crematory, and his ashes were taken to Fort Recovery, Ohio for burial.

Dr. Bartel H. Reinheimer, Episcopal Bishop

 

Sandusky High School graduation photo

Born in Sandusky in 1889, Bartel H. Reinheimer was the son of Alfred and Beatrice Reinheimer. Alfred was the son of German immigrants, and made his living by manufacturing cigars.

 

Sandusky High School Class of 1907

In his youth, Reinheimer spelled his first name Bartelle. He graduated from Sandusky High School in 1907, where he served as editor in chief of the Fram in his senior year. The verse below lists his many high school activities:

 

“Here is Reinheimer – sure you know him! Twice “of course,”

You’ve heard “rooters” yell for him ‘till they were hoarse?

A “star” in athletics, a Scrooge in the play,

Brimful of school spirit-whatever you say.

A strong voice the chorus, now head of the Fram,

He’s able to play either lion or lamb.

Though now he is aiming to be a school teacher,

Some day our Bartele may become a great preacher

Then we to his parish will speedily go

To hear and rejoice with an “I told you so!”

Bartel Reinheimer graduated from Kenyon College in 1911, and Bexley Hall Divinity School in 1914. He indeed did become a minister, serving churches in Shelby and Dayton, Ohio, before being appointed as the executive secretary of the General Episcopalian Council in New York City. Rev. Reinheimer served as Bishop of the Diocese of Rochester from 1938 through 1949. When he was consecrated as Bishop, the services were broadcast by WTAM Radio of Cleveland, Ohio. He also was a trustee of the University of Rochester, and had been a chancellor of Hobart College. He died in Rochester, New York in 1949, shortly after he retired his duties as Bishop.

While a student at Sandusky High School, he was a member of the football team, shown here in 1906. 

Miss Lelia Bittikofer, Sandusky High School Teacher

Miss Lelia Bittikofer was born in Crawford County, Ohio in 1899, to J.W. and Sarah Bittikofer. She was a 1916 graduate of Bucyrus High School, and a 1920 graduate of Heidelberg College. After teaching school in Valley City and Shelby, Ohio, she moved to Sandusky, Ohio about 1923. For over thirty years Miss Bittikofer taught general science and biology at Sandusky High School. She served as head of the Science Department for several years, and was chairman of the Scholarship Fund Committee from 1950 until her retirement in 1960. 

Besides being a well respected teacher at Sandusky High School, Lelia Bittikofer was active in her community as well. She was a member of the Garden Club, the College Women’s Club, and she led the choir at the First Reformed Church in Sandusky. Miss Bittikofer is on the right in the front row of the picture of the Sandusky High School faculty, taken about 1940.

The faculty section of the 1960 Fram was dedicated to Miss Bittikofer.

 

After her retirement from Sandusky High School, Miss Lelia Bittikofer moved to Crawford County, Ohio. She passed away on March 4, 1992, at the Heartland of Bucyrus. She was buried at Union Cemetery in Sulphur Springs, Crawford County, Ohio

Victor S. Malinovsky, Coach and Educator

Victor S. Malinovsky was born in 1917 to Mr. and Mrs. Simon Malinovsky, who were both natives of Czechoslovakia. He grew up in Lorain County, Ohio. Victor, known often as “Vic,” was a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, where he played on the football team. He earned his Master’s Degree from Western Reserve University. During World War II, he earned the Purple Heart as a result of his service with the U.S. Marines in the Solomon Islands. 

During the academic year of 1945-1946, Vic Malinovsky was the head basketball coach of Sandusky High School. In his first year of coaching the basketball team, their record was 17 wins and 5 losses. Below is a picture of Coach Malinovsky and the varsity basketball team from the 1945-46 school year.

An article in the Toledo Blade of April 14, 1947 reported that Victor Malinovsky became the head coach of both Sandusky High School’s football and basketball teams, but in March of 1948, he resigned as head football coach to devote his time to coaching the basketball team. He coached basketball through the 1951-1952 school year. In 1952, Mr. Malinovsky taught Social Studies and was Sandusky High’s Athletic Director. By his last year with Sandusky, he was Assistant Principal and Athletic Director. 

At the age of 42, Vic Malinovsky died on July 1, 1959, following a lengthy battle with cancer. Sandusky High School’s Victor Malinovsky Award is presented annually to a senior boy who has demonstrated academic excellence, athletic prowess, citizenship sensitivity, leadership, and character. The 1960 Sandusky High School, the Fram, was dedicated to the memory of Victor S. Malinovsky.

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.

The Sophomore Literary Class, 1894-1897

Longtime Sandusky High School teacher Jean Beis donated the secretary’s book of the Sophomore Literary Class. The ledger contains the club’s constitution, by-laws, and minutes, from September 10, 1894 to May 3, 1897. Members of the club wrote essays which they shared with members at the club’s meetings. In the fall of 1894, Horton Force was the president of the organization. Horton was the son of Manning Force, the first commandant of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home.

In the fall of 1895 Arthur B. Court served as secretary of the Sophomore Literary Class. His signature was distinctive.

A thought provoking essay by Miss MacAaron was entitled “The Use of Bad Language” at the meeting of the Sophomore Literary Class of October 28, 1895.

Several essays were presented at the May 25, 1896 meeting, including A Trip to the Sun on a Bicycle, A Row to Cedar Point, and 1921 or the New Women.  It is interesting to see how young people spent their leisure time in an era long ago. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view this unique ledger book from Sandusky High School students of the 1890s.

Graduation '79

 

Jessie Martha Wilcox, the daughter of Rollin M. Wilcox and his first wife, the former Martha Newton, graduated from Sandusky High School in June of 1879. At this time, U.T. Curran was the superintendent of Sandusky Public Schools and Emily Patterson was the Principal of Sandusky High School. 

Here is the cover of the program from the annual commencement exercises, held on Friday, June 27, 1879:

During the ceremony, several students gave essays and orations. Jessie Wilcox spoke about “Friendship of Books.”  Charles Courtney Curran, the son of the Superintendent U.T. Curran, gave an oration on American Inventions; he would go on to become a well-known artist. The Great Western Orchestra began and ended the program with musical selections.

The Sandusky Library Archives Research Center has in its Schools Collections many primary sources related to Sandusky High School, including several commencement programs, class photographs, graduation pictures, and many decades of the Fram.

Dramatic Entertainment, May 29, 1874

On May 29, 1874, a program of Dramatic Entertainment was given at the Sandusky High School, now known as Adams Junior High School in Sandusky. It was considered “A Very Serious Drama in Two Acts.” The first act was “Among the Breakers,” and the second act was “The Day After the Wedding.”

An article in the May 29, 1874 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that the dramatic entertainment was put on by the Sandusky Dramatic Association, and was a most enjoyable affair. Many familiar names were part of the cast. George P. Barker, cast in the leading role, was later a Major during the Spanish American War. Oran Follett Foster, who portrayed Larry Divine, was the grandson of Oran Follett, a well known publisher. Jessie and Allie Stem were the daughters of former Indian agent Jesse Stem, who was killed in Texas in 1854 when his wagon was ambushed. Miss Emma Marsh later married C. Webb Sadler, and they were the parents of C. Webb Sadler, Jr., once the City Manager of Sandusky, Ohio. Charles Livingston Hubbard married Jennie M. West, the daughter of early Sandusky businessman William T. West.

Major George P. Barker, during the war with Spain

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view this program, and many other primary sources from Sandusky and Erie County, Ohio.

Clarabelle Cayhoe’s Memory Book

Scrapbooking is now a billion dollar a year business, but it has been done in a variety of forms for centuries. Throughout history people have kept scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, funeral cards, photographs, and greeting cards to keep a record of special memories. Thomas Jefferson kept a scrapbook of poetry and prose. The Hayes Presidential Center has both diaries and scrapbooks of former President Rutherford B. Hayes. Often a grandmother’s clipping book is a prized family heirloom.

Clarabelle Cayhoe’s memory book is one of the many scrapbooks housed at the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library.

Clarabelle was the daughter of Charles G. Cayhoe, who taught writing and drawing in the Sandusky Schools from 1909 through 1919; he was also one the organizers of Sandusky’s First Christian Church.

Clarabelle graduated from Sandusky High School in 1922.  Some of the items which Clarabelle kept in her memory book are: grade cards, candid photos of her classmates, notes and photographs from trips, newspaper articles, mementos from parties, and several poems and autographs.

Charles E. Frohman, who later became noted as a local historian and author, signed Clarabelle’s memory book on page 42.

On June 29, 1921, Clarabelle and several family and friends went to Put in Bay.

Though she had many friends, Clarabelle Cayhoe never married. She worked as a bookkeeper for the Citizen’s Banking Company. She died the same year as her mother, Eliza, in 1947. Clarabelle Cayhoe is buried in Oakland Cemetery with her parents and brother.

If your ancestors lived in Sandusky, you can learn interesting details about their lives by looking through old yearbooks, city directories, and several histories of Sandusky and Erie County.

Miss Jennie Lewis, Latin Teacher

A graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, Jennie Lewis taught Latin classes at Sandusky High School from 1907 to 1923. In 1911, Miss Lewis was also an adviser to a girls’ Bible study group in Sandusky.

In the 1930s and 40s, Miss Lewis taught Latin at Toledo Scott High School. By 1958, she had retired from teaching and was residing at Lakeside, Ohio. According to an article in the October 6, 1959 issue of the Sandusky Register, she was the speaker at a monthly meeting of the Women’s Fellowship of the First Congregational Church. She spoke about her recent trip to Africa, where she participated in two safaris. 

Miss Jennie Lewis never lost her passion for learning. While in Africa, she met and talked with Dr. Albert Schweitzer. She died on January 10, 1961, at the age of eighty, and she was buried in the family lot at the Cheshire Cemetery in Delaware County, Ohio.

Elementary School Photos in Front of the Old High School

Two group pictures, taken by the Pascoe Gallery in the 1880s, are housed in the Schools Collection of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Students are posed in a group in front of the old Sandusky High School on Adams Street, before it was expanded in 1910. Notes on the photographs indicate that the students in each picture were taught by Miss Horn. Unfortunately, we do not know which Miss Horn was the teacher of these youngsters. There were three different teachers named Miss Horn, who were employed at different times by the Sandusky City School system. In 1886, Augusta and Clara Horn were both listed as teachers in the Sandusky City Directory. The 1908 Sandusky City Directory lists Augusta Horn and Stella Horn as school teachers. In this close up, in the middle of the front row, one young lady has her arm around her classmate.

Many of the students have quite serious facial expressions.

The students in this group picture appear to be from an early elementary grade level.

Miss Augusta Horn was associated with the Sandusky City Schools from 1881 to 1928. She taught at Osborne School, serving as the school’s principal for the last eight years of her lengthy career. After her death the Sandusky Star Journal featured a tribute to her in the November 22, 1938 issue. It read in part:

In giving 47 years to the teaching profession in our city, Miss Horn taught in the day when the teacher molded the life of her pupils and many men prominent in the civic life of our town have repeatedly said that they owe to her unfailing interest in them much of the success they now have achieved. 

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the history of Sandusky City Schools, and its many teachers, administrators and students.

Miss Ellen Lehman, Teacher

Ellen M. Lehman was born in 1907, the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Franklin Lehman. Miss Lehman graduated from Sandusky High School in 1924. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College, and her Master of Arts degree from Columbia University. Miss Lehman also studied at Western Reserve University, the University of Paris, the University of Lausanne, the National University of Mexico and Middlebury College.

At Sandusky High School, Miss Lehman taught French classes, and she also was head of the foreign language department. In 1938, she was the faculty sponsor for the Girls Photography Club, and later served as a guidance counselor. In a 1926 Sandusky Register column, “Teen Talk,” Miss Lehman gave advice to students who intended to go to college. She stated that younger students should research their prospective fields of study, while older students should concentrate on the reality of financing their education.

On July 19, 1985, Miss Ellen Lehman passed away after a lengthy illness. She had no known survivors. An obituary appeared in the July 21, 1985 issue of the Sandusky Register, and listed many of Miss Lehman’s accomplishments. She had been a Jennings Scholar in 1967-1968, and won a Register Community Service Award in 1970. She was a member of Christ Episcopal Church, member and past president of the College Women’s Club, a member of the American Association of University Women, Zonta International, the Art Study Club, the Erie County Board of Mental Health, and the Huron Library Board. She was also a charter member of the Sandusky Cultural Center board and life member of the Ohio Association of College Admission Advisers.

Here is Ellen Lehman (third from right) with a group of people at a French Club picnic: