July/August 2020

MAGAZINE

JULY & AUGUST 2020 MID-CENTURY MODERN

AMERICA’S ROLLER COAST

OHIO’S TIE TO DAYTONA BEACH

V-J DAY

Ohio History Center

150 Years of Cedar Point

Putting the “Day” in Daytona

Ohio Celebrates the End of World War II

Page 32

Page 39

Page 42

Page 22

MAGA ZINE

Cover: When the Ohio History Center opened 50 years ago this summer, the magazine Architectural Record called it “no doubt the most architecturally significant public structure built in Ohio since the State Capitol.” See page 22.

Contents J U LY & A U G U S T 2020

Photo by Balthazar Korab, Ohio History Connection Archival Collections

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Modern, Monumental & Memorable— The Ohio History Center

Vol. 59, No. 4

32

Cedar Point Turns 150— America’s Roller Coast

39

Putting the “Day” in Daytona— How a Mansfield Business Tycoon Founded One of Florida’s Most Iconic Beach Communities

42

V-J Day—Ohio Celebrates the End of World War II

EDITORS

Bill Eichenberger Tom Wolf CONTRIBUTORS

Erin Esmont Bill Pickard David A . Simmons Katie Swett ADVISORY BOARD

Donna DeBlasio Youn gstown St ate Unive r sit y

Nishani Frazier Miami Unive r sit y

Rober t G enheimer Cin cinn ati Muse um Ce nte r

Stephen G eorge O hio Histor y Conne c tion

Alex Hastie O hio v. the World

G eorge Ironstrack Miami Unive r sit y

Chester Pach O hio Unive r sit y

I N E AC H I S S U E

2 4 4 6 21 46 48 50

Contents From Our Editors What’s Your Story?

In the News Historic Sites & Museums I Wish I’d Been There Young Eyes on the Past Reviews

Roger Pickenpaugh Historian an d Auth or

Daniel Rivers T he O hio St ate Unive r sit y

Erin Wingfield O hio Histor y Conne c tion

Echoes Magazine (ISSN 0012-933X) is published

THANKS TO OUR OHIO HISTORY CONNECTION STRATEGIC PARTNERS:

bimonthly and distributed by the Ohio History Connection as a benefit of Ohio History Connection membership.

Editorial Offices: Ohio History Connection, Ohio History Center, 800 E. 17th Ave., Columbus, OH 43211-2474 Phone 844.836.0012 • Email echoes@ohiohistory.org Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Echoes Magazine, Ohio History Connection, Ohio History Center, 800 E. 17th Ave., Columbus, OH 43211-2474 Entire contents © 2020 by the Ohio History Connection.

All rights reserved. Nothing may be reprinted or electronically reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. The Ohio History Connection accepts no responsibility for facts and opinions expressed by the authors.

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Moving?

Contact us at membership@ohiohistory.org or 800.686.1545 to share your new address.

The Ohio History Connection is a

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @OhioHistory

Modern, Monumental & Memorable THE OHIO HISTORY CENTER The Ohio History Center opened 50 years ago this summer, bringing the Ohio History Connection’s museum of Buckeye State history together with its research library and archival collections in one memorable landmark. Learn why the magazine Architectural Record called the new Ohio History Center “no doubt the most architecturally significant public structure built in Ohio since the State Capitol.”

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Cedar Point Turns 150 AMERICA’S ROLLER COAST

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Ohioans have been heading to Cedar Point longer than you might imagine. This year, the popular Lake Erie resort, which traces its origins to 1870, celebrates 150 years of amusing visitors. Though the official celebration has been postponed to 2021, even the pandemic can’t prevent Echoes Magazine from celebrating here and now. Join us on a trip to Cedar Point through the years!

Putting the “Day” in Daytona HOW A MANSFIELD BUSINESS TYCOON FOUNDED ONE OF FLORIDA’S MOST ICONIC BEACH COMMUNITIES

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The name Daytona conjures up images of sandy beaches, a famous speedway and spring break partiers. But 150 years ago, the area was overgrown and overrun with trees. How did a wealthy entrepreneur and former newspaper publisher from Mansfield, Ohio, come to lend his name to one of the most famous beach destinations in the world?

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Ohio Celebrates the End of World War II V-J DAY Seventy-five years ago, in August 1945, Ohioans got the best news in years: the Allied victory in Japan had brought the end of World War II. Editor Bill Eichenberger talks with some Ohioans who were on hand for V-J Day celebrations big and small.

OHIOHIS TORY.ORG

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FROM OUR EDITORS A friend and former colleague (who’s also an Echoes Magazine reader and so will probably recognize himself in this) has always said “May you live in interesting times!”

He’s finally gotten his wish.

At the Ohio History Connection, interesting times started the week of March 9 and haven’t stopped since.

The following week, we prepared to vacate our Ohio History Center office and work from home. Starting March 20, we finished the May & June issue of Echoes Magazine, which was about half done, entirely from home. Much to our amazement, we were able to do it, which is something that we probably wouldn’t have attempted without having it forced on us. We were determined to finish and send it to you according to schedule, and—also to our amazement—we did.

It’s not all wine and roses. None of us who proof each issue of Echoes Magazine likes proofing from a computer screen, although we’ve had to. As a result, we know that we overlooked some things that we probably wouldn’t have ordinarily. To those of you who found them and were kind, thank you. Consider it a reminder that behind every issue of Echoes Magazine there are still humans, all of us fallible.

This time around the whole issue’s been produced from homes except, of course, for printing and mailing. One thing that’s missing from this issue is the calendar section. We know from last fall’s reader survey that you like the calendar, so we want to reassure you that it’ll be back once we’re all on firmer ground. From mid-April to mid-May, when we were compiling this issue, Ohioans were still being encouraged to stay at home and it was hard to project with any certainty what would be happening in July, August and early September, so we’ve chosen to omit it. The calendar will return as soon as we know that the events in it are likely to take place and are safe to attend.

From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ohio History Connection has put the health and safety of staff, members and visitors first, and we continue to do that. As we gradually reopen Ohio History Connection historic sites and museums, there will be some new protocols in place designed to ensure the health and safety of all. Meanwhile, we hope that you’ll enjoy the Ohio history connections in this issue.

You won't lose value on your Ohio History Connection membership while our museums and attractions are closed to visitors.

We’re extending expiration dates!

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What’s In every issue of Echoes Magazine, we feature the stories of Ohio History Connection members and other Ohioans to stoke memories and shed light on our shared past.

For this issue, we asked,

“ What is your favorite memory of Cedar Point?”

Here are some of your responses: WEEKEND AT HOTEL BREAKERS Here is a little tale my mother-in-law used to recount: As young married couples before all their kids arrived, four couples went for a weekend at the Hotel Breakers at Cedar Point, this in the early 1950s. The couples, then in their 20s, checked in at the desk with their real names: Mr. and Mrs. Brown, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Jones and Mr. and Mrs. Doh. The savvy desk clerk looked up at the eight smiling faces and said, “Yeah, sure.”

—Patricia Wynn Brown, Columbus

DEMON DROP My wife and I were on the Demon Drop years ago. On this ride, the bottom dropped out, plunging you down at an extreme speed then shooting out horizontally at the bottom to a braking stop. Sitting in the car with us was a young couple. While sitting at the top waiting for the drop, I said loudly to my wife, “Remember the last time we rode this and the brakes failed at the end and we went sailing through the parking lot?” The look on the couple’s faces added to the ride.

—John A. Backus, Pickerington

Your Story?

MILLENNIUM FORCE OF WEDDINGS I am not sure when the idea came to me to have Cedar Point host our wedding. I thought it was a great idea, but my wifeto-be, Angie, was lukewarm, as the facility wasn’t really set up to host a wedding. But we settled on Cedar Point and a date of Sept. 8, 2012. The Sandcastle Suites was the host hotel, as many of our friends came from out of town. Our rehearsal on Friday evening was held at the Bay Harbor Inn. Our family eats there all year long, and it is one of the best restaurants in the area. The Sandcastle Beach was the location for the wedding, and the Breakwater Café, located west of the Sandcastle Suites, hosted the wedding dinner. It is normally a breakfast buffet and then a fast-food restaurant. For the wedding, we were determined to turn it into a gourmet buffet. One week before the wedding, Cedar Point sales promotion manager Bryan Edwards told us he was having “issues” with the folks who run the shuttles around Cedar Point.

I told him “issue eliminated” and hired Tom’s Cruise to move folks between the Sandcastle Suites and dinner at the Bay Harbor on Friday night. After a storm passed through early on our wedding day, we deemed the beach too wet, and moved the ceremony from the beach to

CEDAR POINT

the grass behind the Sandcastle Suites. All went better than planned, and when the ceremony was over and we had finished with the receiving line, we headed over to the Millennium Force with Bryan to get some great wedding-party pictures on the greatest steel coaster in the world. While Cedar Point is not a wedding destination, thanks to Bryan and his team at Cedar Point, ours truly was the Millennium Force of Weddings.

—Jeffrey Brashares, Dublin

HISTORY LESSON Growing up in the late 1960s in northwest Ohio, going to Cedar Point as often as you could afford it each summer was the in thing to do (much cheaper then). Then my grandmother, born in 1897, told me that she used to go to Cedar Point when she was a young woman. The only way to get there back then was by ferry, as the causeway had not been built. Since then, I’ve appreciated the historical significance of the park, which opened in 1870. They even have a museum called the Town Hall Museum, located near the back of the park, where you can view old photos and memorabilia from the park’s past. So if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the rides and attractions for a few moments, stop in the Town Hall

Museum for a history lesson on Cedar Point.

—Abby Camp, Columbus

GOOD FRIENDS My group of best friends has been just that to me for the past 15 years. One of these amazing girls bravely battled sarcoma cancer during her senior year of high school. Though the chemotherapy made her nauseous among other uncomfortable side effects, she would not let it stop her from having fun that year. We all went to Cedar Point and had a blast, though at one point, the nausea hit our brave friend just right and she had to make a beeline for the trash can after we got off one of the roller coasters. We made a human shield by standing in a tight circle around the trash can. A man walking by said “now those are good friends!” which made us smile because he had no idea how we had been leaning on each other that year as we supported our best friend. By the way, she continued to ride roller coasters for the rest of the day.

She’s that tough!

—Larissa Swonger, Ashley Find more reader memories of Cedar Point in Cedar Point Turns 150— America’s Roller Coast on page 32.

WHAT’S YOUR STORY? We want to know your stories, so in every issue of Echoes Magazine we ask you a question, then run selected answers in the following issue. Here’s the question for September & October: What is the first movie you remember seeing at a drive-in?

Describe your experience.

Jeff and Angie Brashares at Cedar Point in 2012 for their Millennium Force of Weddings.

Photos courtesy Jeff Brashares

Email your story responses (50 to 150 words) by July 20 to echoes@ohiohistory.org or, if you follow us on Facebook, send us a Facebook message.

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In the News AIDING OHIO HISTORY CONNECTION MUSEUMS & ATTRACTIONS

Hardship Relief Fund Aids Ohio History Connection Sites Statewide Where can you go to see an Apollo 11 moon rock up close, explore the nation’s first presidential library or walk in wonder among the largest geometric earthworks in the world?

Ohio’s rich historic site system has much to offer us.

At the Ohio History Connection, it’s our responsibility and joy to preserve and share Ohio’s artifacts, stories and places for future generations. More than ever, recent days have shown that you—our members and friends— make this important work possible.

For years, our historic sites have contributed to regional economies, driving local tourism dollars and providing educational programming in communities from Youngstown to Marion to Cincinnati.

To help our sites shoulder the burden, in March we established the COVID-19 Hardship Relief Fund to provide emergency aid to cover things like security and staff retention. You, our members and friends, heard our call and responded immediately.

As of June 15, we’d raised $92,000 for the Hardship Fund, and it has already been put to work retaining jobs and providing stability at our sites.

“The assistance from the Hardship Fund was invaluable in keeping our talented museum team together during the incredible uncertainty that surrounded the first few weeks of the pandemic-related closures,” writes Dante Centuori, executive director of Wapakoneta’s Armstrong Air & Space Museum.

“The timing of this support allowed

COMMUNIT Y PARTNERS FACE LOST REVENUE

Our historic site network is largely staffed and operated by a system of community partners not under the Ohio History Connection’s direct employment. They rely on essential visitor revenue to operate and provide programs and services

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HELP MEET NEEDS OF OUR SITE PARTNERS

Because of you, we’ve already made a real difference around the state. As we continue to move forward and plan for an uncertain future, we estimate that we’ll need to raise $200,000 total to meet the basic needs at our sites.

If you’re able to help, you can make a gift by visiting ohiohistory. org/hardshipfund or by mailing a check to Ohio History Connection, Development Office, 800 E. 17th Ave., Columbus, Ohio, 43211-2474.

Please note “Hardship Relief Fund” in the memo line.

“On behalf of Youngstown Historical Center of Industry & Labor, we would like to express our gratitude for the generous support received,” write Dr. Brian Bonhomme and Dr. Marcelle Wilson. “While it is largely a labor of love, our staff and volunteers work hard to collect, interpret, preserve and share the industrial and labor history of the Mahoning Valley with area residents, students and community groups.

It is very gratifying to know— through this gift—that what we do is valued. Thank you so much.”

Courtesy Rod Berry Photography

Now, like so many other businesses, nonprofit organizations and museums across the country, the Ohio History Connection has challenges ahead due to essential closures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep visitors safe.

throughout the year. This revenue loss means our sites will continue to face tough operational decisions in the months to come.

us to avoid staff reductions as the mechanisms for Federal SBA assistance were still being finalized. We thank you.”

Armstrong Air & Space Museum

AIDING HISTORY AND HERITAGE NONPROFITS ACROSS OHIO

COVID-19 Emergency Grants Aid History Nonprofits Statewide On May 1, the Ohio History Connection introduced a new program of emergency grants to aid history-related nonprofits that are facing loss of income due to COVID-19.

HELPING OHIO’S HISTORY AND HERITAGE NONPROFITS

Ohio History Fund COVID-19 Emergency Grants, a one-time short-term program, are being offered to help local historical societies and other history-related nonprofits across the Buckeye State address operational expenses they couldn’t otherwise meet due to COVID-19-related losses of revenue and increases in expenses.

The grants, ranging from $500 to $3,000, can also be used to develop online programs for audiences kept at home and required to practice social distancing. No matching amount is required. Applications, completed entirely online, were due June 1. The application form was purposely kept short, with just five questions. Organizations receiving the grants will be required to file a brief final report outlining how the emergency funds were used and describing the impact of the grant.

FUNDS OFFSET A VARIET Y OF COVID-19-RELATED EXPENSES

The emergency funds may be used for a variety of expenses, including—though not limited to—costs to maintain buildings, grounds and collections, such as utility bills, security systems and internet service. Also covered are payroll expenses and costs for adapting or creating online programs for K–12 or general audiences, including staff time, equipment and software.

The grants are being awarded in four categories derived from the four budget-based membership categories of the Ohio Local History Alliance, a statewide association of history-andheritage-related organizations.

“When we conceived of these emergency grants, the pandemic was unfolding, and we decided that we wanted to provide meaningful help to as many organizations as we could,” says Andy Verhoff of the Ohio History Connection’s Local History Office.

“We’re balancing the supply of funds against demand. Making grants by budget category means that most applicants will get at least some help in proportion to their size.

It also means that there’s more money to go around.”

RECIPIENTS ANNOUNCED IN JULY

As of early June, the selection process was underway. The Ohio History Connection expects to notify recipients in early July. To see a full list of Ohio History Fund COVID-19 Emergency Grant recipients, visit ohiohistory.org/ historyfund after July 15.

The Ohio History Fund COVID-19 Emergency Grants are made possible by donors to the Ohio History Connection Foundation and Conestoga, a volunteer fundraising support group for the Ohio History Connection.

“We do not anticipate making any more emergency grants after the funds for this round are exhausted—but as of mid-March we didn’t know we’d be planning this program,” Verhoff says. “We strive to be responsive to the needs of our field.”

OHIO HISTORY CENTER & OHIO VILLAGE

Many Programs and Events Move Online Our Visitor Experience Department is behind much of the programming you enjoy at the Ohio History Center & Ohio Village.

With the museum and village closed due to the pandemic, we’ve been rethinking our in-person programming so we can continue to offer you similar experiences online. Echoes Magazine talked with Hannah Brevoort and Robin Schuricht.

What have you been doing to move programs online?

F Because of the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve pivoted to having all staff working from home and all programming has gone digital.

This has involved a mix of adapting existing programs, including field trip activities, to digital offerings, as well as creating new programming tailored to the virtual experience.

Who’s been involved in doing this?

F It’s been a truly crossinstitutional effort. From our Visitor Experience and Outreach departments creating content, to curators offering talks online, to our IT team keeping everyone’s tech running smoothly, basically everyone has done their part so we can keep sharing Ohio’s stories from home and online.

What specialized equipment or expertise have you needed?

F We’ve relied heavily on those staff members who were already familiar with Zoom—for every digital program we’ve put out, there’s been someone working hard in the background to make sure it runs smoothly.

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Are there aspects that have proven challenging or required thinking outside the box?

F Many experiences we provide are site-based—whether it’s a field trip to Ohio Village or an artifact-based tour.

We’ve enjoyed creating experiences that are just as meaningful through a computer screen, especially keeping our virtual field trip experience as interactive and fun as possible.

Are volunteers still involved?

F In an effort to keep our volunteers safe yet involved, we’ve asked many of them to help with research that’ll inform upcoming programming.

Others have been hard at work turning their Echoes in Time Theatre performances into virtual options.

Are you partnering with any other organizations or outside sources?

F We were able to bring virtual programming to COSI’s Science Festival in May! Why not just cancel?

F Folks trust us and count on us to deliver interesting, relevant stories about Ohio’s history. That relationship doesn’t go away just because we’re closed. Students, teachers, members, parents and general audiences all deserve continued experiences from us.

What kinds of products have resulted?

F The most exciting project our team has worked on is to convert our spring field trip programs into activities that teachers can guide their students through online. Spring is our busiest field-trip season at the Ohio History Center & Ohio Village and it’s been a fun challenge to take our Ohio Village place-based programs and instead let students spend a day in the life of our 1890s village from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

Are there aspects of this that are even better than in-person experiences, or things you can do online that you couldn’t do in person?

F We use primary sources for research and as the core of our programs all the time, though visitors don’t always get to see the sources we use. Online, it’s easier to share those, allowing visitors to see and interact with the real historical documents and images.

Ohio History Center & Ohio Village Hours

Where can members and others connect with online programming?

F Our Learn at Home page, ohiohistory.org/learnathome, is a great starting point. There are resources for K–12 students and for adults. All programming we offer is listed there, so checking our Learn at Home page is a great way to stay up to date with us in general. We also share interesting stories from Ohio’s past through social media.

Follow us on Facebook or on Twitter @OhioHistory.

CLOSED MON.–TUES. & LABOR DAY

Is there anything coming up for July and August?

F We’re hard at work translating our summer Ohio Village programming into virtual content. Even after we reopen, we know members may be looking to connect with us online, so we’re exploring all the ways we can bring fun programs to virtual visitors as well as in person.

We’re always looking for more suggestions of topics and content that members would like to see from us. Have ideas? Reach out to membership@ohiohistory.org.

Masks are required at all indoor locations on the Ohio History Center & Ohio Village campus and are highly encouraged in outdoor locations. Please practice social distancing and proper hand washing.

Museum CLOSED THROUGH JULY 28 REOPENS JULY 29 WEDS.–SUN. 10 A.M.–5 P.M. All visitors including members must have timed tickets in advance. Get tickets at ohiohistory.org/openinfo.

Ohio Village CLOSED THROUGH JULY 10 REOPENS TO MEMBERS JULY 11 REOPENS TO ALL JULY 22 WEDS.–SUN. 10 A.M.–5 P.M. CLOSED MON.–TUES. & LABOR DAY Outdoor only. All visitors including members must have timed tickets in advance. Free July 11–July 26. Ohio History Center Museum admission applies starting July 29. Ohio Village season ends Sun., Sept. 6. Get tickets at ohiohistory.org/openinfo.

Third Floor Research Room CLOSED THROUGH JULY 28 REOPENS BY APPOINTMENT JULY 29 All visitors including members must have appointments in advance. Learn more at ohiohistory.org/openinfo.

Ohio History Store CLOSED THROUGH JULY 28 REOPENS JULY 29 OPEN DURING MUSEUM HOURS Shop online 24/7 at ohiohistorystore.com.

Plaza Cafe REOPENING TO BE ANNOUNCED

Ohio History Center Offices CLOSED THROUGH JULY 28 F OPEN BY APPOINTMENT ONLY STARTING JULY 29 Most staff will have limited in-office hours or continue working from home.

All visitors must have appointments in advance. Learn more at ohiohistory.org/ openinfo.

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Courtesy Rod Berry Photography

ONLINE RESOURCES

Learn at Home with Ohio History Connection Sites Many of the Ohio History Connection’s 50+ historic sites and museums (see page 21) offer resources for online learning.

Here’s a sampling of what you can find on some site-related web pages.

ADENA MANSION & GARDENS

Broad Topic: Settlement of Ohio and the Northwest Territory TIME PERIOD: 1800s TO 1820s F adenamansion.com In the Children’s Education Fun Center, learn about the Northwest Territory and download a Northwest Territory wordsearch puzzle.

ARMSTRONG AIR & SPACE MUSEUM

Campus Martius Museum

Broad Topic: Space Exploration TIME PERIOD: 1960s TO PRESENT F armstrongmuseum.org Under Teacher Resources, find quizzes, a space vocabulary list and scavenger hunts for grades 2–5, 4–9, 6–12 and 9–12.

BUCKEYE FURNACE

Broad Topics: Civil War, Industry TIME PERIOD: 1850s TO 1890s F buckeyefurnacefriends.com Under About Charcoal Iron Furnaces, learn how rural iron-making furnaces like this one that were scattered throughout southern Ohio operated in the 19th century, helping the Union win the Civil War. CAMPUS MARTIUS MUSEUM

Broad Topic: Settlement of Ohio and the Northwest Territory TIME PERIOD: 1780s TO 1820s F mariettamuseums.org Under Blog, find a link to Early Marietta, a blog by local historian David Baker that offers facts, photos, opinions and commentary about life in the Marietta area over the years.

FORT AMANDA MEMORIAL PARK

Broad Topic: War of 1812

FORT MEIGS

Broad Topic: War of 1812

TIME PERIOD: 1810s

TIME PERIOD: 1810s

F jampd.com/parks-facilities/

F fortmeigs.org Under Learn, explore the story of the War of 1812 and Fort Meigs, see artifacts from the museum, meet William Henry Harrison, Tecumseh and other key leaders, explore maps of the time and find printable wordsearch puzzles.

fort-amanda-park Learn about the history of Fort Amanda, which helped supply the Army during the War of 1812, and take a video tour of the site as filmed by drone.

FORT ANCIENT EARTHWORKS & NATURE PRESERVE

Broad Topic: Ancient Ohio TIME PERIOD: 200 B.C. TO A.D. 400 F fortancient.org Under Archaeology, learn about ancient Ohioans, archaeology and archaeologists, with activities for students in grades K–12. Also check out Topics and Resources at ancientohiotrail.org.

FORT ANCIENT EARTHWORKS & NATURE PRESERVE

Broad Topic: Ancient Ohio TIME PERIOD: 100 B.C. TO A.D. 500 F arcofappalachia.org/fort-hill-

FORT RECOVERY MUSEUM & MONUMENT

Broad Topic: Settlement of Ohio and the Northwest Territory TIME PERIOD: 1790s F fortrecoverymuseum.com Under History, learn about the Battle of the Wabash and the Battle of Fallen Timbers.

Click on Battle Research by Ball State University then Ball State University—Fort Recovery Research Page for resources including a video of archaeologists working at Fort Recovery and more links, among them an online virtual walking tour of the site of the 1791 Battle of the Wabash and 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers.

earthworks-2 Under Ancient Earthworks, read about this 2,000-year-old hilltop earthwork and the people who built it, American Indians of the ancient Hopewell culture.

Also check out Topics and Resources at ancientohiotrail.org.

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Johnston Farm & Indian Agency

Shaker Historical Museum

Shaker Historical Museum

HANBY HOUSE

HAYES PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY & MUSEUMS

Broad Topics: Music, Antislavery and the Civil War

Broad Topic: Ohio Presidents

TIME PERIOD: 1850s–1860s

TIME PERIOD: 1850s TO 1890s

F hanbyhouse.org Meet members of the Hanby family.

F rbhayes.org Click on Education in the bar at the top of the front page to find virtual field trips and museum tours, kids’ activities, inside looks and gallery talks about recent special exhibits, a printable coloring book, Zoom-meeting backgrounds featuring the Hayes Home and even some favorite recipes of first lady Lucy Webb Hayes.

HARRIET BEECHER STOWE HOUSE

Broad Topic: Antislavery and the Civil War TIME PERIOD: 1830s F stowehousecincy.org Under Virtual Tour, choose among nine topical tours of the Stowe House with director Christina Hartlieb. Under Discover the History, meet members of the Beecher family; take a virtual tour of historic Gilbert Avenue where the Stowe House is located; learn about Cincinnati’s Lane Theological Seminary, where events of the 1830s unfolded that affected the course of the antislavery cause; access the related Cause for Freedom website; and explore the 20th-century history of Stowe House, including its time as the Edgemont Inn, a hostelry in the Negro Motorist Green Book.

JOHN & ANNIE GLENN MUSEUM

Broad Topics: Great Depression, World War II, Space Exploration TIME PERIOD: 1930s TO 2010s F johnglennhome.org Under Education—Study Guides, find downloadable study guides for grades 2–5 about the Great Depression and World War II. Under Education—Coloring Books, find a printable John Glenn coloring book. Under Videos, see a 2016 video tribute to John Glenn.

JOHNSTON FARM & INDIAN AGENCY

Broad Topics: Settlement of Ohio and the Northwest Territory, Ohio’s Canal Era TIME PERIOD: 1810s TO 1850s F johnstonfarmohio.com Under Gift Shop, find a downloadable teacher’s guide to this site associated with Ohio’s settlement and canal era.

MUSEUM OF CERAMICS

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Johnston Farm & Indian Agency

Broad Topic: Industry TIME PERIOD: 1840s TO 1930s F themuseumofceramics.com Explore online exhibits and learn about some of the kinds of wares once made in the East Liverpool area, one of the nation’s leading pottery and ceramics centers in the 19th and early 20th centuries, under FYI and Gallery.

NATIONAL ROAD & ZANE GREY MUSEUM

Broad Topics: Settlement of Ohio, Transportation TIME PERIOD: 1810s TO 1950s F ohionationalroad.org Download the booklet A Traveler’s Guide to the Historic National Road in Ohio from the Ohio National Road Association website.

NEWARK EARTHWORKS

Broad Topic: Ancient Ohio TIME PERIOD: 100 B.C. TO A.D. 500 F ancientohiotrail.org/resources Under Topics, find dozens of short videos featuring leading archaeologists and other experts on topics including Ancient Ohio Cultures, Native American Heritage, Global Perspectives, Artistry and Architecture, Ancient Lifeways, Ancient Spiritual Practices, Archaeology and Ohio Land and History. Under Resources, find a bibliography plus resources for educators, and activities and stories for children.

Zoar Village

Quaker Yearly Meeting House

OHIO RIVER MUSEUM

SHAKER HISTORICAL MUSEUM

ZOAR VILLAGE

Broad Topics: Settlement of Ohio, Commerce, Transportation

Broad Topics: Settlement of Ohio, Religion, 20th-Century Suburbanization

Broad Topics: Immigration, Religion, Settlement of Ohio

TIME PERIOD: 1780s TO 1950s F mariettamuseums.org Under Blog, find a link to Early Marietta, a blog by local historian David Baker that offers facts, photos, opinions and commentary about life in Marietta’s early years.

QUAKER YEARLY MEETING HOUSE

F mtp1803.org/activities Find activities for kids about life in the 1700s and early 1800s.

SERPENT MOUND

Broad Topic: Ancient Ohio TIME PERIOD: A.D. 1100 OR 300 B.C. F ancientohiotrail.org/resources Under Topics, find dozens of short videos featuring leading archaeologists and other experts on topics including Ancient Ohio Cultures, Native American Heritage, Global Perspectives, Artistry and Architecture, Ancient Lifeways, Ancient Spiritual Practices, Archaeology and Ohio Land and History. Under Resources, find a bibliography plus resources for educators and activities and stories for children.

F shakerhistoricalsociety.org Under Learn, find details about the North Union Shakers who lived at the present site of Shaker Heights from the 1820s to 1890s, and an interactive timeline sharing the stories of the North Union Shaker community and the 20th-century planned suburban community of Shaker Heights.

F historiczoarvillage.com TIME PERIOD: 1819 TO 1898 Explore Zoar Village on a virtual tour with pop-ups explaining how the German religious separatists who lived communally there from 1819 to 1898 used the village’s buildings.

State Historic Preservation Office

Broad Topic: Settlement of Ohio and the Northwest Territory

TIME PERIOD: 1820s TO 1890s AND 1905 TO PRESENT

U.S. GRANT BIRTHPLACE

Broad Topic: Civil War, Ohio Presidents TIME PERIOD: 1820s F usgrantbirthplace.org Find a biography of Ulysses S. Grant plus two videos under more….

Schantz Memorial, Woodland Cemetery, Dayton

WARREN G. HARDING HOME & MEMORIAL

GENEALOGY WEBINAR

Broad Topic: Ohio Presidents TIME PERIOD: 1890 TO 1920 F hardinghome.org Find a video about President Warren G. Harding and the Harding Home, a teacher handout Opening the Door to History and, under Harding Home on YouTube, a series of topical videos.

Cemeteries for Genealogy Research SAT., JULY 18 • 10:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M. F ohiohistory.org/genealogy Meet Ohio History Connection cemetery expert Krista Horrocks and learn how gravestones and cemetery records can offer important information about family history, how Ohio law treats cemeteries (all 14,637 of them) and how to preserve cemeteries. Free with required advance registration: ohiohistory.org/genealogy.

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Rose Melnick Medical Museum, Youngstown State University

Rose Melnick Medical Museum, Youngstown State University

Wikimedia Commons

Left: Dr. Albert Sabin Middle: A mother gives the Type II Sabin oral polio vaccine to her child during Youngstown’s February 1962 immunization program. Right: Similar polio immunization programs took place throughout Ohio.

OHIO HEROES

Cincinnati’s Dr. Albert Sabin Health care professionals are rightly being called heroes these days, and with the much-talked-about topic of vaccines in mind, we’re sharing this story of Ohio health care hero Dr. Albert Sabin (1906–1993) of Cincinnati.

Ask Ohioans age 60 and over about lining up at the local high school or other distribution point to drink the oral Sabin vaccine from a paper cup and chances are they’ll remember, even if they were too young to fully understand what it was about at the time. Sabin’s oral vaccine put an end to the spread of polio, a frightening disease that randomly crippled and paralyzed children and adults—among them Franklin D. Roosevelt—and that makes Sabin a hero in our book.

Albert Sabin was born in Poland in 1906. His family fled to the United States in 1921 to escape antiSemitism. Sabin attended New York University and graduated with a medical degree. From 1935 to 1939, he worked at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. In 1939, Sabin accepted a position at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Sabin remained at this hospital until 1969.

He remained active in the medical field for the next two decades, serving as president of the Weizmann Institute of Science, a consultant for the U.S. National Cancer 1 9 62 P o li o

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Institute, a Distinguished Research Professor of Biomedicine at the Medical University of South Carolina and a consultant at the Fogarty International Center for Advanced Studies in the Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, at various points during this period.

RESEARCHED NUMEROUS VIRUSES

Sabin conducted research into numerous viruses and diseases, including pneumonia, cancer, encephalitis and other illnesses.

His most important work involved poliomyelitis. During the late 1940s and 1950s, Sabin tried to determine how the polio virus infected its victims. He determined that the virus infected a person through his or her digestive tract. Further research led Sabin to realize that some people had resistant antibodies in their blood to polio, suggesting that they had been infected with a weak strain of the virus that had left them resistant to more powerful versions of the illness.

Sabin immediately began to seek out weaker strains of the virus, believing that he could produce a vaccine with the live virus that would protect people from stronger versions of polio.

Va ccin Rose M e R e ce Youn g elnick M e dic a ipt stown State U l Museum , niversit y

By 1957, Sabin had developed a live vaccine. Jonas Salk had produced a “killed” vaccine for polio a few years previous to

Sabin’s discovery. The problems with Salk’s vaccine were twofold. First, it did protect people from contracting polio, but it did not prevent them from infecting others with the virus.

Second, Salk’s vaccine had to be administered through shots. Sabin’s live vaccine eliminated the possibility that someone could remain immune from polio but still transmit the virus.

Patients also took the vaccine orally, since it entered the system through the digestive tract. An oral vaccine made distribution of the vaccine much easier.

ERADICATED POLIO

In 1957, the World Health Organization permitted Sabin to test his vaccine in Chile, Holland, Japan, Mexico, Russia and Sweden. It was not until 1960 that the U.S. Public Health Service allowed Sabin to distribute his vaccine to Americans. By this point in time, more than 80 million people, mostly children, had taken the vaccine.

Thanks to Sabin’s discovery, polio in the United States is virtually eradicated.

The last U.S. case contracted from the virus happened in 1979. Outbreaks continue to occur in poorer countries, where people are less likely to have access to the vaccine.

Sabin died in 1993.

This biography is from Ohio History Central, our online encyclopedia of Ohio history. Discover many more great Ohioans and many more stories of Ohio history online at ohiohistorycentral.org.

HERITAGE LIVING

Department Store Dining CLASSIC HIGBEE’S MUFFINS Silver Grille 10 tablespoons shortening 1 cup sugar 2 egg yolks 4 cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons baking powder 2 cups milk 2 egg whites, beaten stiff Cream shortening; add sugar and egg yolks; cream well.

Combine flour, salt and baking powder, and add to shortening mixture, alternating mixture with milk, enough only to moisten the batter. Add the beaten egg whites, gently folding them into the mix.

Divide the batter into wellgreased muffin tins, and bake in 400° oven for 20 minutes.

Y I E L D : 2 dozen From Favorite Recipes from Higbee's Silver Grille by Judith Karberg and Jane Hazen, courtesy Cleveland Landmarks Press.

Many Ohioans of a certain age can remember when no shopping trip to one of Ohio’s big downtown department stores seemed complete without lunch or dinner in an in-store tea room or restaurant.

ART-DECO OASIS

At Higbee’s in downtown Cleveland, shoppers took the express elevator to the 10th floor Silver Grille, an Art Deco oasis of silver and green. At tables surrounding a bubbling fountain, they chose from a menu featuring Welsh Rarebit, Chicken Pot Pie and other favorite dishes of Higbee’s shoppers. For younger ones, lunch arrived in a take-home cardboard stove or Higbee’s delivery truck. East on Euclid Avenue, in the Geranium Room at Halle Brothers near Playhouse Square, the child-size Hobo Lunch came wrapped in a real red bandana.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the fifth-floor Chintz Room at Lazarus in downtown Columbus was stylishly decorated in a palette of dark grey with sherbetcolored pastels. Shoppers waited in lines of “One,” “Two” and “Three or More” to be served specialties like Lazarus Chicken Salad, the Hidden Sandwich and the Hot Fudge Pecan Ball. Little shoppers could opt for an Ice Cream Clown.

The Chintz Room was the apex of many restaurants in the big downtown store, among them the nearby Buckeye Room (think trees and nuts, not sports), first-floor Colonial Room and, for quick counter service, the Highlander Grill.

Shoppers at Rike’s in downtown Dayton lunched in the Coin Room, where kids enjoyed chicken and noodles served in milk-glass hens. Springfielders had Wren’s Tea Room. In Akron, it was O’Neil’s Georgian Room or Polsky’s Akron Room. Toledo shoppers dined on prime rib—83 cents according to a 1943 menu—in Lasalle’s eighth-floor Art Deco-style French Room.

A DESTINATION SPOT

Cynthia Kuhn Beischel, author of Lost Tea Rooms of Downtown Cincinnati, writes, “For many, Shillito’s Tea Room was considered the ‘in’ place for luncheon and very much a destination spot for both women and businessmen.

In the 1950s and ‘60s, the Tea Room’s kitchen staff was the source of much of the food that was shown on Ruth Lyons’ 50-50 Club television program.”

Pogue’s, another Queen City store, was home to the Camargo Room and the popular Ice Cream Bridge that linked two parts of the store. Mabley & Carew on Fountain Square offered, appropriately, the Fountain Room, and McAlpin’s shoppers dined in the fifth-floor Tea Room or Gentlemen’s Grill.

MADE FROM SCRATCH

Folks in Youngstown remember Strouss-Hirschberg’s Western Reserve Room and Strouss Grille for French Onion Soup, Welsh Rarebit, Cream-Cheeseand-Bacon Sandwiches, Grilled Pecan Rolls and desserts like the Purple Calf—ice cream and grape juice. Former Strouss Grille employee Judy Khoury remembers, “The tuna salad on Fridays was very popular. The ladies in the kitchen made everything from scratch.”

Lazarus Chintz Room, downtown Columbus, 1959 Herb Topy Negative Collection, Columbus Jewish Historical Society

Home-style cooking, genteel service, moderate prices and children’s menus helped make the restaurants and tea rooms appealing and popular, as did frequent style shows and the opportunity to see and be seen. Once a fixture in Ohio’s major cities, which each had its signature store or stores, most have been lost to retail mergers and changing shopping and dining habits since the 1980s. Many have left us with good memories, and some have even left recipes, offering a taste of what we’re missing.

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Menu from the Lazarus Chintz Room, Columbus, about 1953–1966

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Courtesy Columbus Historical Society and Columbus Metropolitan Library

Special thanks to Greg Deegan of Cleveland Landmarks Press, Katie Parry of The History Press, Toby Brief of Columbus Jewish Historical Society and Aimee Briley of Columbus Historical Society for their assistance with this story.

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CHICKEN POT PIE Shillito’s Tea Room

MULLIGATAWNY SOUP Pogue’s Camargo Room

1/8 cup frozen peas

½ cup diced onion

¼ cup sliced frozen carrots

1 carrot, diced

6 cooked pearl onions

2 stalks of celery, diced

3 ounces or ½ cup diced cooked chicken (½ to ¾ inch chunks)

¼ cup butter or olive oil

¾ cup sauce (recipe below)

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 (2-ounce) prebaked pastry to cover pie

1 quart chicken stock, homemade or canned

1½ tablespoons flour

Cook frozen peas and carrots. Drain.

Place chicken chunks into small casserole and add vegetables.

½ cup diced tart apples

Pour sauce over and bake at 350° until sauce bubbles. Serve with pastry top over casserole dish.

½ cup diced cooked chicken

POT PIE SAUCE

½ cup boiled rice 1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 1/8 teaspoon thyme

Sauté the vegetables lightly in ¼ cup butter or olive oil, but do not brown. Then add the flour and curry powder; stir and cook for approximately 3 minutes. Pour in the chicken stock and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add all of the remaining ingredients except the cream and simmer 15 minutes longer. Heat the cream and add just before serving.

Y I E L D : A P P R OX I M AT E LY 4 C U P S From Lost Tea Rooms of Downtown Cincinnati, by Cynthia Kuhn Beischel, courtesy The History Press.

This recipe is compliments of Chef James Gregory, former executive chef at the Camargo Room. All rights reserved; reprinted in Lost Tea Rooms with permission of the chef/author.

½ cup hot cream

3 tablespoons margarine 1 cup chicken stock 1½ tablespoons flour 1 dash pepper Melt margarine, add flour and mix well. Add stock, cook and stir until creamy. Add pepper.

[The mixture cooks down to the required ¾ cup amount as you stir.]

Y I E L D : 1 I N D I V I D UA L P I E From Lost Tea Rooms of Downtown Cincinnati, by Cynthia Kuhn Beischel, courtesy of The History Press.

Original recipe from Cincinnati and Soup: A Second Helping: More Recipes from the Queen City. Cheri Brinkman, Mac Guffin Productions, 2011. All rights reserved; reprinted in Lost Tea Rooms with permission of the author.

8 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 teaspoon paprika 9 tablespoons flour 4 cups hot milk 10 ozs. sharp cheddar cheese, grated 1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce ¾ teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon white pepper Melt butter or margarine until hot, and then add the flour, stirring constantly about 5 minutes or until

Lazarus Buckeye Room, downtown Columbus, 1953

the mixture bubbles. Pour in the hot milk in small amounts, stirring constantly until the sauce is smooth. Add the Worcestershire sauce and seasonings. Remove from the stove, and stir in the grated cheese, mixing until cheese is melted. Keep hot. Garnish each serving with 7 whole almonds.

YIELD: 5 CUPS N O T E : In the 1933 version, beef fat was used in this recipe. The rarebit was served over triangles of thinly sliced, toasted white bread.

From Favorite Recipes from Higbee's Silver Grille by Judith Karberg and Jane Hazen, courtesy Cleveland Landmarks Press.

An employee checks pies baking at Lazarus in downtown Columbus, 1955

Herb Topy Negative Collection, Columbus Jewish Historical Society

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WELSH RAREBIT Higbee’s Silver Grille

RAISIN SLAW Lazarus

CELERY SEED DRESSING 1½ ounces onion

1½ pounds cabbage, shredded

½ cup lemon juice

1 pound Mandarin orange sections

3 pounds sugar (approximately 6½ cups)

4 ounces raisins

½ ounce dry mustard (2 tablespoons)

8 ounces celery seed dressing [see recipe at right]

½ ounce salt (scant tablespoon)

Drain orange sections. Combine ingredients. Toss with dressing.

2 cups cider vinegar

Y I E L D : 10 TO 12 S E RV I N G S

1 tablespoon celery seeds

4 cups vegetable oil Puree onion in blender with lemon juice. Set aside. Combine sugar,

MAURICE SALAD Higbee’s Silver Grille

LAZARUS HIDDEN SANDWICH Eastland Terrace

1 ½ cups diced iceberg lettuce

1 slice rye bread

1 ounce julienned cooked ham

1 ounce chicken breast

1 ounce julienned cooked turkey or chicken

1 ounce baked ham

1 ounce julienned Swiss cheese

1 egg, hard cooked (sliced)

1 teaspoon chopped sweet pickle Combine all ingredients. Mix with ¼ cup of classic Maurice dressing and place in a bowl lined with lettuce leaves.

CLASSIC MAURICE DRESSING (SERVES 4) 1 cup mayonnaise 1 hard-boiled egg, chopped 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 1 teaspoon vinegar Combine and mix.

N O T E : The original Maurice Dressing was made with a commercial base not currently available. This recipe was developed by a former Silver Grille employee.

From Favorite Recipes from Higbee's Silver Grille by Judith Karberg and Jane Hazen, courtesy Cleveland Landmarks Press.

½ ounce Swiss cheese 1 tomato slice 1 cup shredded lettuce ¼ cup Thousand Island dressing

LAZARUS PEACH CRISP 3 to 4 cups fresh sliced peaches 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup granulated sugar ½ teaspoon salt 1 egg, beaten 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted Place the sliced peaches in an 8 x 8 x 2-inch baking dish and sprinkle with lemon juice. Sift together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the beaten egg to the dry ingredients and toss with a fork until the mixture is crumbled.

Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the peaches. Drizzle with melted butter

dry mustard, salt and vinegar in a double boiler. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Cool until lukewarm, then blend on low with mixer for 5 minutes. Add oil, onion mixture and celery seeds and blend at medium speed for 10 minutes. Bottle and store in refrigerator. Serve at room temperature.

Y I E L D : A P P R OX I M AT E LY 2 Q UA R T S Raisin Slaw and Celery Seed Dressing recipes from Lost Tea Rooms of Downtown Cincinnati, by Cynthia Kuhn Beischel, courtesy The History Press. Original recipe from Selected Lazarus Restaurant Recipes, published in 1981.

Place baked ham, Swiss cheese, then breast of chicken on slice of rye bread. Mound the shredded lettuce on top of this. Cover entire sandwich with Thousand Island dressing and top with egg slices and tomato slice.

Sweet pickle and carrot sticks can be used as a garnish.

Y I E L D : S E RV E S O N E N O T E : Is it a sandwich…or a salad?

A delicious conundrum!

From A Treasury of Favorite Recipes from Lazarus, published about 1975.

or margarine. Bake at 375° for 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.

Y I E L D : 8 TO 9 S E RV I N G S C O O K ’ S N O T E : When fresh peaches are not in season, substitute frozen or well-drained canned peaches. We love this peach crisp with cinnamon ice cream. To make it at home, blend 1 tablespoon of cinnamon into 1 quart of vanilla ice cream.

AU T H O R ’ S N O T E : I used organic peaches and left the skin on them, creating a very pretty peach color when baked.

Although not mentioned, I buttered my pan.

Nonstick spray would work as well.

From Lost Tea Rooms of Downtown Cincinnati, by Cynthia Kuhn Beischel, courtesy of The History Press. Original recipe from Recipes from Our Kitchens: Café Lazarus, published about 1995.

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LAZARUS NUT BREAD Highlander Grill 1 cup sugar 1 egg 1 cup milk 3 cups cake flour 4 teaspoons baking powder ¾ cup pecans 1/3 teaspoon salt ¾ teaspoon vanilla

Cream sugar, salt and egg. Thoroughly sift flour and baking powder. Alternate dry ingredients and milk, adding pecans last. Pour into greased loaf pan. Let stand ½ hour before baking. Bake at 325° for 1 hour.

HISTORIC PRESERVATION

Recent Ohio Additions to the National Register of Historic Places ASHTABULA • ASHTABULA COUNT Y

N O T E : Cut into slices. Spread either butter or margarine on both sides. Toast in a pan until golden brown on both sides.

Serve with jam or marmalade. Perfect for breakfast or snack.

From A Treasury of Favorite Recipes from Lazarus, published by Lazarus about 1975.

CASTLE BLOCK 323–355 Center St.

LEARN MORE You can find many more recipes from Ohio department stores online, including the famous Lazarus Chicken Salad (one of the most requested Lazarus recipes, longer than we can reproduce here). For more recipes, check out these sources: A Treasury of Favorite Recipes from Lazarus, Selected Lazarus Restaurant Recipes, Recipes from Our Kitchen: Celebrating 100 Years of Fine Food and Recipes from Our Kitchens: Café Lazarus. These vintage cookbooks date from the 1970s to 1990s. You may find copies for sale or recipes from them online.

Dainty Dining: Vintage Recipes, Memories and Memorabilia from America's Department Store Tea Rooms,

by Angela Webster McRae, 2011.

Favorite Recipes from Higbee's Silver Grille, by Judith Karberg and Jane Hazen, Cleveland Landmarks Press, 2013, clevelandlandmarkspress.com.

Look to Lazarus, by David and Beverly Meyers and Elise Meyers Walker, The History Press, 2011, arcadiapublishing. com/The-History-Press.

Lost Tea Rooms of Downtown Cincinnati: Reflections & Recipes by Cynthia Kuhn Beischel, American Palate | The History Press, 2016, arcadiapublishing. com/The-History-Press. You may also enjoy the related website, losttearoomsofdowntowncincinnati.com.

For more memories of Ohio stores, visit the Department Store Museum, thedepartmentstoremuseum.org.

You may also enjoy the Mall Hall of Fame, mall-hall-of-fame.blogspot.com.

A reflection of Ashtabula’s commercial development and early20th-century commercial design practices, the Castle Block was built in 1911, with a one-story addition about 1938. Many of its early tenants were involved in the emerging automotive industry.

BELLEFONTAINE • LOGAN COUNT Y DOWNTOWN BELLEFONTAINE HISTORIC DISTRICT Roughly bounded by Elm St., Sandusky Ave., Madriver St. and Auburn Ave.

At the center of this district is the 1870 Logan County Courthouse.

Seventy-five largely commercial buildings date from 1840, approximate date of the earliest, to 1969, when the city’s days as a railroad center came to a close. The district is characterized by Victorian and early-20th-century commercial

buildings of one to three stories, along with key landmarks such as First Lutheran Church (1880), Memorial Hall (1894), First United Methodist Church (1889), the former Carnegie Library (1905), First United Presbyterian Church (1907), the former Post Office (1914) and the Holland Theatre (1931).

Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County | Courtesy The History Press

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Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati History Library & Archives | Courtesy The History Press

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS CUYAHOGA COUNT Y STADIUM SQUARE HISTORIC DISTRICT South Taylor Rd., Superior Park Dr.

Developed by Benjamin D. Roseman from 1926 to 1952, Stadium Square features large mixed-use buildings with first-floor retail, plus apartment buildings and one- and two-family homes planned to offer housing options and serve as a major commercial anchor for eastern Cleveland Heights. The name Roseman chose for his development refers to a stadium proposed for an adjacent park though never built. His vision of adhering to one architectural style, Tudor Revival, departs from the pattern elsewhere in Cleveland Heights. Many of the Tudor-style buildings were designed by leading Cleveland architects.

DEFIANCE • DEFIANCE COUNT Y DEFIANCE DOWNTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT Roughly bounded by Fort, Clinton, Arabella and Wayne streets

When Defiance was platted in 1822 at the confluence of the Maumee and Auglaize rivers, the site had already been a popular trading place among Native Americans, the French and the British. Two forts were also built there: Fort Defiance in 1794 and Fort Winchester during the War of 1812.

Downtown developed around the tradition of trade at the site. Buildings in the district illustrate popular architectural styles of the 1860s to

1960s. The Scheuermann House at 651 S. Clinton St. and Arcade Block, 301-305-307 S. Clinton St., both built in 1869, are the oldest. A major landmark is the 1873 Defiance County Courthouse. The most recent building, the 1972 State Bank & Trust Building at 401 Clinton St., was built while Defiance was gaining in population due to post-World War II industrial expansion and downtown was thriving.

LANCASTER • FAIRFIELD COUNT Y

FAIRFIELD COUNT Y INFIRMARY 1587 Granville Pike & 1651 LancasterNewark Rd. N.E.

Throughout Ohio history, care of impoverished and infirm adults and children has evolved with changing social attitudes and resulting legislation. County-sponsored infirmaries like this one trace their origins to the early 19th century and were once considered the best solution for addressing the social issue of destitute citizens. Fairfield County Infirmary’s first brick building was constructed in 1828. After farming stopped in the 1960s, most of the infirmary’s agriculture-related buildings were demolished and part of the acreage was sold. It remained an institutional residence until the 1980s.

Owners who invest in rehabbing income-producing properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places may be eligible for state and federal historic preservation tax credits provided that the work meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. To learn more, contact the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office at 614.298.2300 or visit ohiohistory.org/shpo.

Photos courtesy State Historic Preservation Office

WORLD HERITAGE

Octagon Earthworks Update On Mon., May 18, the Ohio History Connection took the next steps in its legal effort to acquire the leasehold for the Octagon Earthworks in Newark, Ohio. We presented a new appraisal of the value of the leasehold with Moundbuilders Country Club as well as an offer for the full appraisal amount. The appraisal, performed by The Robert Weiler Co. of Columbus, valued the leasehold at $1,660,000, and the Ohio History Connection immediately offered Moundbuilders Country Club that amount in exchange for it.

If the club accepts this offer, it would be a one-time payment from our Ohio History Connection Foundation funds, not from annual operating revenue. If the club does not accept this offer, then we will move to a jury trial.

“We recognize that this expenditure, in the midst of a budgetary downsizing, may trouble some people. Our obligation to secure our state’s most significant historic sites for posterity, and to make them accessible to all, requires us to concurrently consider the wellbeing of our staff in this moment and our responsibility to all Ohioans in perpetuity. We are working to balance these obligations, and did not make this decision lightly,” says Ohio History Connection Executive Director & CEO Burt Logan.

The Ohio History Connection presented its appraisal through the Ohio Attorney General in preparation for a jury trial in Licking County Common Pleas Court that will determine the value of the lease.

Both parties agreed to commission new appraisals as part of the trial discovery process. The value of the leasehold had not been appraised since 2017.

“Our guiding principles throughout this process have been to ensure full public access to Octagon Earthworks

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while also ensuring Moundbuilders Country Club is fully compensated for the value of the lease,” Logan says. “We have submitted a new offer to the club based on this value and hope the club will seriously consider our offer.”

Here’s a review of steps already taken in the leasehold acquisition effort: • In August 2018, the Ohio History Connection announced its intent to acquire the lease to make Octagon Earthworks fully accessible to the public.

• In May 2019, Licking County Common Pleas Court Judge W. David Branstool issued his decision that the Ohio History Connection has the authority to acquire the lease at the Octagon Earthworks. At that time, a jury trial was scheduled to determine the value of the lease.

• Moundbuilders Country Club appealed that decision to the Fifth District Court of Appeals, and the case was heard by a three-judge panel in November 2019.

• In January 2020, the Fifth District Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed Judge Branstool’s ruling that the Ohio History Connection has the authority to acquire the lease at the Octagon Earthworks.

• Immediately afterward, Moundbuilders Country Club filed with the Ohio Supreme Court to appeal the finding by the Fifth District Court. Citing the club’s pending appeal, Judge Branstool postponed the jury trial that will determine the value of the lease until after the Ohio Supreme Court returns the case to Licking County Common Pleas Court.

• While waiting on the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case, the Ohio History Connection and Moundbuilders Country Club agreed to continue to prepare for the jury trial, which included acquiring the new appraisals.

The Ohio History Connection has owned Octagon Earthworks since 1933. Newark’s Moundbuilders

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Country Club holds a long-term lease on the site that would not expire until 2078. The Ohio History Connection is seeking to acquire the lease to make the Octagon Earthworks—a National Historic Landmark and Ohio’s official prehistoric monument— fully accessible to the public in association with the nomination of Ohio’s ancient Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

For more information, visit ohiohistory.org/statement. Learn more about the nomination of Ohio’s Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, including Octagon Earthworks, for designation as a World Heritage Site at worldheritageohio.org.

HISTORIC SITES & MUSEUMS

See You Soon Museums in Ohio have been permitted to reopen since June 10 and our 50+ Ohio History Connection historic sites and museums (see page 21) are gradually reopening, though some remain closed.

Most Ohio History Connection historic sites and museums are managed for us by local partner organizations. To reopen, each must have an Ohio History Connectionapproved reopening plan that ensures a safe, socially distanced experience for all, with sufficient personal protective equipment on hand.

Each is one of a kind, making reopening simpler for some (say, outdoor monuments), than for others (for example, museums offering largely indoor experiences). As they reopen, you’ll find that some have new hours and special hours for vulnerable populations, some require appointments or tickets in advance even though you enjoy free admission as an Ohio History Connection member and some may require a face mask (always encouraged).

As Echoes Magazine went to press, many had already reopened. These

additional Ohio History Connection attractions will reopen in July: F Shaker Historical Museum, July 1 F Youngstown Historical Center of

Industry & Labor, July 1 F Buckeye Furnace, July 4 F John & Annie Glenn Museum, July 8 F National Road & Zane Grey Museum,

July 8 F Adena Mansion & Gardens, July 11 F Ohio Village (Outdoor, to members),

July 11 F Ohio Village (Outdoor, to all), July 22 F Ohio History Center & Ohio Village,

July 29 (See page 8) F National Afro-American Museum &

Cultural Center, July 29 More are preparing to reopen, though did not have firm dates to share at time of publication. They include: F Cooke-Dorn House F Flint Ridge Ancient Quarries

& Nature Preserve (Grounds are open.

Museum is closed.)

F Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature

Preserve (Grounds are open. Museum is closed.)

F Fort Recovery Museum F Hanby House F Indian Mill F McCook House F Newark Earthworks (Grounds are

open. Museum is closed.)

F Our House Tavern F Paul Laurence Dunbar House F Quaker Yearly Meeting House F Tallmadge Church F Wahkeena Nature Preserve F Warren G. Harding Home &

Memorial (The Harding Home is closed for restoration) Before traveling to visit any Ohio History Connection historic site or museum listed on page 21, we recommend that you first visit ohiohistory.org/sites or call 800.840.6127 to confirm what’s open, when it’s open and any special requirements.

O HI O HIS TO RY CO NNEC T I O N

Historic Sites & Museums NORTHWEST OHIO 1. Armstrong Air & Space Museum 2. Cedar Bog Nature Preserve 3. Cooke-Dorn House 4. Fallen Timbers Battlefield Memorial Park 5. Fort Amanda Memorial Park 6. Fort Jefferson Memorial Park 7. Fort Meigs 8. Fort Recovery Museum & Monument 9. Glacial Grooves Geological Preserve 10. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums 11. Indian Mill 12. Inscription Rock Petroglyphs 13. Johnston Farm & Indian Agency 14. Lockington Locks

NORTHEAST OHIO 15. Custer Monument 16. Fort Laurens 17. McCook House 18. Museum of Ceramics 19. Quaker Yearly Meeting House 20. Schoenbrunn Village 21. Shaker Historical Museum 22. Tallmadge Church 23. Youngstown Historical Center of Industry & Labor 24. Zoar Village

SOUTHWEST OHIO 33. Adena Mansion & Gardens 34. Davis Memorial Nature Preserve 35. Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve 36. Fort Hill Earthworks & Nature Preserve

CENTRAL OHIO

37. Harriet Beecher Stowe House

SOUTHEAST OHIO

38. John Rankin House 39. Miamisburg Mound

47. Big Bottom Memorial Park 48. Buckeye Furnace

26. Hanby House

40. National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center

27. Logan Elm

41. Paul Laurence Dunbar House

50. Campus Martius Museum

28. Newark Earthworks

42. Serpent Mound

51. John & Annie Glenn Museum

29. Ohio History Center & Ohio Village

43. Story Mound

52. Leo Petroglyphs & Nature Preserve

30. Shrum Mound

44. U.S. Grant Birthplace

53. National Road & Zane Grey Museum

31. Wahkeena Nature Preserve

45. U.S. Grant Boyhood Home & Schoolhouse

54. Ohio River Museum

32. Warren G. Harding Home & Memorial

46. William Henry Harrison Tomb

55. Our House Tavern

25. Flint Ridge Ancient Quarries & Nature Preserve

49. Buffington Island Battlefield Memorial Park

Some Ohio History Connection museums and attractions have reopened. Others remain closed. Before traveling, visit ohiohistory.org/sites or call 800.840.6127 to confirm what's open, hours and any special requirements.

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Three-story library and archives reading room with oak library tables, 1970 22 Echoes | JULY & AUGUST 2020

Balthazar Korab | Ohio History Connection Archival Collections

Modern, Monumental & Memorable THE OHIO HISTORY CENTER BY TOM WOLF

D

escribed in Architectural Record as “no doubt the most architecturally significant public structure built in Ohio since the State Capitol,” the Ohio History Center projects simplicity and boldness despite its complexity.

The architect, W. Byron Ireland, had worked as a senior project designer in the office of Eero Saarinen (where he worked on the St. Louis Gateway Arch) until Saarinen’s sudden death at the age of 51 in 1961.

The Ohio History Center was one of the first major commissions for the young Columbus firm of Ireland & Associates, and it epitomizes the currents of 1960s design and planning. Completed in 1970, the building occupies a highly visible site on I-71, a major north–south interstate through Columbus that is itself a product of the 1960s. On the expansive, open site, the landmark building appears as a monumental freestanding sculpture, and is especially dramatic when viewed traveling south on I-71, where a bend in the highway first reveals the north and east elevations in the distance, before approaching and passing directly in front of the east elevation.

Founded in 1885, the Ohio Historical Society, now known as the Ohio History Connection, had no building of its own until 1914 when a state museum and library was built on the Ohio State University campus. In 1927 the Ohio General Assembly authorized state agencies to transfer their old records to the Ohio Historical Society; three decades later the organization became the official state archives and the former Governor’s Residence on Broad Street near downtown Columbus became its depository.

STUDIES BEGAN IN EARLY 1960s By the early 1960s, with the organization operating out of two overcrowded facilities miles apart, the trustees authorized the director to begin studies for a new center. Their timing was fortuitous: in 1964, Gov. James A. Rhodes proposed a $290 million bond issue for many state projects, among them funds for a new historical center and improvements at other historic sites throughout Ohio. Voters approved the bond issue in May 1965 and by October plans were underway to build the new center for the Ohio Historical Society on a 58-acre site of undeveloped land near the state fairgrounds and overlooking the newly constructed interstate highway.

Usually described as Brutalist, the building is monumental in scale, featuring skillful use of board-formed concrete, or béton brut, plus a simple and artfully employed vocabulary of other materials, among

Photographer Balthazar Korab with a model of Eero Saarinen’s TWA Flight Center Library of Congress

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BALTHAZAR KORAB Many of the photos in this story that picture the Ohio History Center soon after it was finished were taken by Balthazar Korab (1926–2013), who’d worked for Eero Saarinen as his in-house photographer. “His photographs of modern architecture were nearly as important as the works themselves in spreading the modernist aesthetic,” wrote Kristin Belz in Portland Monthly in 2013. We couldn’t say it better. Korab’s photos of the Ohio History Center are now in the Library of Congress, though they are not online. Explore Korab’s Saarinen photos in the Library of Congress at loc.gov/pictures/collection/krb.

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IN THE DETAILS w Do you picture the Ohio History Center as square?

Surprise! The first-floor museum is a triangle in plan, with concave sides. The outside walls gently curve, and the wall that tops them curves out, too—a nice piece of concrete work.

w Tables in the three-story reading room were designed especially for it, crafted of the same natural dark-stained oak used for doors, handrails and trim throughout the Ohio History Center. Drawings are in the Ohio History Connection archives.

w Sure there’s a lot of concrete, though it’s not all the same. Some surfaces are smooth, though much of what’s at eye level has the grain and texture of narrow wooden boards purposely used in forming it to add texture, visual warmth and human scale.

w Doorways on floors three through five have rounded corners at the top. That looks nice, though also serves a practical purpose. Square corners would crack from the weight of all that concrete, plus the tons of books and other materials stored up there. Round corners distribute the stress and prevent cracking.

Ohio History Center, 1970 Balthazar Korab | Ohio History Connection Archival Collections

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Ireland & Associates | Ohio History Connection

Ohio History Center plaza interior drawing, 1965.

Furnishings pictured at left are now-classic “Tulip” tables and chairs designed by Eero Saarinen.

W. BYRON IRELAND

them Ohio-made silo tile, dark-stained oak, terrazzo and glass. Described colloquially as “a sandwich”

by Daniel Porter, director of the Ohio Historical Society at the time construction was completed, the project brought together two functions of the Ohio Historical Society that, until then, had been housed in separate locations: the museum and library at one location, and the state archives in another.

TWO BUILDINGS IN ONE The project is essentially two buildings stacked one above the other and linked by a square plaza in between that serves as a shared point of entry to both—hence Porter’s apt allusion. Reflecting the Modernist conviction that a structure’s plan should derive from its intended uses and that exterior form should express the various uses inside, the groundfloor museum has a wholly different plan and very different exterior expression than the library and archives that occupy the upper three stories.

In plan, the museum is an equilateral triangle with concave sides and the points squared off, perhaps expressing architecturally how the Ohio Historical Society defined its three specialties at the time: history, archaeology and natural history.

Under the original plan, roughly one-third of the

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The principal architect of the Ohio History Center was W. Byron Ireland (1930–1982), just 35 years old in 1965. Born in Detroit, Ireland grew up in Columbus.

His father was one of the founders of Big Bear Stores.

Ireland graduated from The Ohio State University and, in 1958, from Harvard Graduate School of Design, subsequently working as senior project designer in the Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, office of renowned architect Eero Saarinen. In 1962, Ireland returned to Columbus, launching his own firm, Ireland & Associates. Writing in the Ohio Architect, Cleveland architect William Morris said of him, “We need more men like him—men willing to get inside and fight for great design with people who ordinarily wouldn't approach an Architect.” In the Spring 1969 issue of The Archi, magazine of Alpha Rho Chi—a fraternity for architecture and the allied professions— Gerald Tschabold wrote “his current major project, the Ohio Historical Society Museum promises to elevate him to national prominence. In this inventive and purposeful design of a monumental building, Ireland will have achieved both uncompromising statement and a rich environmental experience—the end result an exciting prototype for the museum of the future.” Ireland served as chair of the Ohio Arts Council and president of the Columbus Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and was, according to his obituary, “the youngest person ever made a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects,” a 1972 professional recognition honoring his contributions to the field.

60,000-square-foot museum floor was devoted to each of these three subjects, with objects displayed in a system of “pits and platforms” that allowed many items to be exhibited without cases or glass, which was considered innovative at the time.

Much of this original system has since been removed to create a level floor more easily negotiated by visitors with mobility challenges. Curators’ offices, executive offices and exhibit-fabrication shops occupied the perimeter of the triangle, with large windows overlooking the site yet with easy access to the museum floor. Between the offices on the perimeter of the triangle and the museum exhibits inside the triangle were areas devoted to collections storage in proximity to their allotted display spaces on the museum floor.

PLAN REFLECTS HOW IT’S USED Outside, the triangular museum component appears as a raised podium that does not read as having a conventional roof; largely grass-covered, the roof, instead, is a “mounded” single-story, above-grade overlook west of an indoor/outdoor plaza where it also serves as the roof of the auditorium and offices, and slopes to meet the ground at the north and south points of the triangle.

As explained in Architectural Record, which featured the Ohio History Center on its July 1971 cover, circulation through the museum was fairly complex and was designed to accommodate two distinct groups of visitors. School groups—a major audience— entered from the west, at the apex of the triangle, passed through the ground floor lobby and into an auditorium for orientation, continued out of the auditorium and onto the museum floor, and finally exited via the plaza level and down outdoor steps to waiting buses.

The plan separated school groups from individual visitors, who arrived from parking lots on the east side of the center, ascended twin staircases curved around the west end of a huge oval mound in front of the building (parking is south and north of this mound), crossed an open outdoor plaza under the cantilever and stepped into the glass-enclosed indoor plaza. There, library patrons took an elevator to the third floor. Museum visitors glimpse the exhibit level through a square opening in the plaza floor, as though all of Ohio history awaits them deep inside a mound.

The biggest alteration to the building has been the relocation of the main entrance to better serve visitors with limited mobility. Otherwise, all the elements of Ireland’s carefully staged arrival experience have been preserved.

PETER KORDA The Ohio History Center’s library-and-archives spans the wide-open plaza under it without any visible support, a nice feat of structural engineering.

Peter Korda (1931–2020) and Korda Engineering of Columbus worked with Ireland & Associates in planning the Ohio History Center. During construction, the upper three stories were held up by temporary concrete supports. According to Korda, some workers feared the upper stories would collapse. (The upper stories make use of post-tensioned concrete, a system of more than 190 miles of cables inside sleeves embedded in the concrete walls, then pulled tight—or tensioned— once the building was completed. That’s what lets the library-and-archives appear to “float.”) Korda was so confident the library-and-archives wouldn’t collapse that he volunteered to stand under it while the supports were removed. Thankfully, he won.

Hear Korda share his story in a 2005 video by WOSU Public Broadcasting at ohiohistory.org/50.

INTENTIONALLY DRAMATIC From the plaza, a monumental concrete stair with a substantial oak rail descends into the museum.

Black ceilings, terrazzo floors and béton brut cruciform supports make the museum intentionally dramatic—with the modern form and space as a foil for objects from Ohio’s past. The upper three stories of the Ohio History Center are rectangular in elevation and square in plan. Indiscernible from the elevation is that the square is, in effect, a “doughnut,” with the most dramatic public space—a three-story reading room—occupying the “hole.”

This space seems like a Brutalist update to the monumental public reading rooms of libraries from an earlier era, with dark oak shelving and custommade massive oak tables that evoke their early20th-century predecessors through a contemporary lens. Three-story concrete walls meet a squarecoffered concrete ceiling with square skylights, augmented by 16 simple chandeliers with cubeshaped globes, one hanging from each of the four corners of the four square skylights. The building’s 284-seat auditorium is notable for its “pleated” walls formed by the configuration of side doors and a vaulted concrete ceiling.

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Ohio History Connection Archival Collections

Left: Gov. James A. Rhodes throws the first shovelful of dirt during groundbreaking for the new Ohio History Center on Aug. 22, 1966. Architect W. Byron Ireland is to the left of the governor. Right: Auditorium, Ohio History Center, about 2010

EARLY USE OF COMPUTERS IN ENGINEERING Use of post-tensioned concrete with a system of cables designed by Korda Engineering of Columbus, using early computer technology, provides one of the hallmarks of this building: the dramatic 40foot cantilever that gives the illusion that the upper stories levitate over the lower plaza. Four massive concrete piers act as service cores above and carry the structural load of the upper stories down to the otherwise open plaza below.

Embedded in the upper walls and beams are 193 miles of quarter-inch, high-strength wire cable (ends of two cables have been left exposed in the wall directly above the staircase on the west side of the indoor plaza for educational purposes). After the concrete cured, workers tensioned these cables to counteract stresses imposed by the weight of the building and its contents, and then removed temporary structural forms that had supported the cantilevered overhang during construction.

driveway and parking lot oval on the east side of the Ohio History Center, for example, recall the huge oval in front of the building and circular central pool of their Toronto City Hall site plan—though these are also typical of Eero Saarinen’s large-scale corporate campus work, such as Bell Labs in Holmdel, New Jersey. In its site plan, formal symmetry and monumentality, Ireland’s design for the Ohio History Center is a modern response to ideas also found in Greek and Roman classical architecture, on a scale appropriate to the interstate highway.

This piece was originally written for the Society of Architectural Historians Archipedia, an online peerreviewed encyclopedia of American architecture.

It has been republished here by permission with minor edits.

Tom Wolf is communications manager for the Ohio History Connection and a writer and editor for Echoes Magazine.

FORMAL, SYMMETRICAL, MONUMENTAL

Aspects of the Ireland team’s entry also recur in the building: the circle at the west entrance and large

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LEARN More MORE Learn

Three more modernist Ohio History Connection museums appeared in the June 1969 issue of the magazine Architectural Record: the Flint Ridge Museum in Licking County, Fort Hill Museum in Highland County and Fort Ancient Museum (since expanded) in Warren County, all designed by E.A. Glendenning. Find past issues of Architectural Record at architecturalrecord.com.

Right: Ohio History Center Elevation Drawing, 1965

Ireland & Associates | Ohio History Connection

Educated at Harvard Graduate School of Design, architect W. Byron Ireland was one of a team of four students who won second place in a 1958 competition for the design of Toronto City Hall.

Ireland’s design for the Ohio History Center may have been sparked by the memory of other entries in this competition, as several (including I.M. Pei’s scheme) featured a square block raised above a plaza with an atrium at the center.

David Barker | Ohio History Connection

OHIO MODERN

WHAT’S BRUTALISM?

The Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office is working to identify and preserve more architectural landmarks of the 1940s to 1970s across our state through the Ohio Modern program. Learn more at ohiohistory.org/ohiomodern.

Brutalism is an architectural style usually associated with monumental public buildings of the 1950s to 1970s. One of the easier ways to recognize Brutalist buildings is by the extensive use of raw, exposed concrete that’s been molded on-site in wooden forms, often preserving the grain and texture of the boards used in forming it. Other materials are similarly simple, honest and used in a direct and unadorned—though often artful—way. In the case of the Ohio History Center, the palette is concrete, glass, terrazzo, oak and Ohio-made silo tile.

MORE MODERN Learn more about these mid-century Ohio landmarks at sah-archipedia.org.

Terrace Plaza Hotel, Cincinnati, 1945 Anshe Emeth Beth Tefilo Park Synagogue, Cleveland Heights, 1945 Weltzheimer-Johnson House, Oberlin, 1947 St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church and University Center, Columbus, 1950 Rush Creek Village, Worthington, 1954 ASM Headquarters and Geodesic Dome, Materials Park, Novelty, 1958 George Gund Building, Cleveland, 1955 55 Public Square, Cleveland, 1956 Natural History Museum, Cleveland, 1958 Libbey Owens Ford Headquarters, Toledo, 1958 Cleveland Institute of Music, 1961 Cleveland Botanical Garden, 1966 Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, 1968 Kettering Government Center, 1968 Sinclair Community College, Dayton, 1969 Mansfield Art Center, 1971 East End Bridge (East Huntington Bridge), Proctorville, 1974

The term Brutalism often evokes an image that’s given some otherwise fine buildings a bad rap. Marcus Whiffen, author of American Architecture Since 1780: A Guide to the Styles, links its origin to English architect Peter Smithson (1923–2003)—one of the first practitioners in the 1950s, whose friends called him “Brutus”—though it appears to have at least some tie to the French phrase béton brut or “raw concrete,” the favored material, too.

In his 1969 book Architecture Since 1945, Jürgen Joedicke observed that architects working in the Brutalist spirit seemed to follow six principles: responsibility (a building should relate to its urban framework as well as to any local planning requirements), truth (it should reveal how it was produced), objectivity (the architect’s job isn’t to express himself or herself—it’s to express what the building is for), material honesty (use materials asfound), structural honesty (structure should be aesthetically clear) and visibility (the resulting building should have a striking “image” or memorable aspect).

One Brutalist building may look very different from another. Brutalists designed from the inside out, creating specialized spaces in response to planned uses (for example, museum, reading room, auditorium), then putting the forms together into a whole. In the Ohio History Center, the two major parts, the museum and libraryand-archives—each designed in response to how they’re used inside, and therefore very different outside—are joined to create one striking, memorable landmark.

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FOR AGES 3 TO 12

Happy Birthday, Ohio History Center!

The Ohio History Center is a special place to visit in Ohio’s capital city, Columbus. It’s a museum with exhibits about Ohio. It’s also a library where you can read and learn more about Ohio, and it’s an archives—a place where documents from Ohio’s past are kept.

This summer, the Ohio History Center celebrates a big birthday. It’s turning 50 years old! To celebrate, here are some games to try.

The Ohio History Center building opened in 1970.

Ohio’s State Capitol building is more than twice as old.

It opened in 1861. (This postcard shows how it looked about 1910.)

How do these two landmarks look different? How do they look alike?

Wikimedia Commons | Bowden Postcard Collection, Miami University Libraries

Ohio History Center, Columbus

Ohio State Capitol, Columbus

Here’s how the Ohio History Center looked from an airplane about 50 years ago. Can you find a SQUARE? RECTANGLE? TRIANGLE? HALF-CIRCLE? OVAL? How about a STRAIGHT LINE? A CURVED LINE? Ohio History Connection Archival Collections

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FOR OLDER STUDENTS

Can you find these words that describe the Ohio History Center, who built it, what it’s made of and what’s inside?

HINT: SOME WORDS MAY BE DIAGONAL, BACKWARDS OR BOTH!

M U I R O T I D U A K J K A S

L E E T S E N G I N E E R R K

H L M U E S U M X S M S S C Y

T P A R K I N G U C E E T H L

L Q E N U X J M O V G L I I I

Y I O T D Y A N I A N E B T G

D T B T E S T H O Z I V I E H

A M I R T R C C A A D A H C T

S L J O A R C A K L L T X T N

E F D C A R N N P P I O E S G

U O T M E C Y R O E U R E B I

N O G L A S S H E C B L Q O S

R G N I T H G I L D B Y O O E

S T A I R C A S E A O O H K D

S G N I W A R D C C Z M L S Z

ARCHITECT ARCHIVES AUDITORIUM BOOKS BUILDING CABLES CONCRETE CONTRACTOR DESIGN DRAWINGS ELEVATOR ENGINEER EXHIBITS GLASS

LANDSCAPE LIBRARY LIGHTING MASTODON MODERN MUSEUM OAK PARKING PLAZA SKYLIGHT STAIRCASE STEEL TILE

PUZZLED? Find an answer key at ohiohistory.org/50.

Stop by the Ohio History Center from Noon to 4 p.m. on Aug. 23 for a free birthday treat. Get required advance tickets at ohiohistory.org/openinfo.

Explore More!

My First Shapes with Frank Lloyd Wright, Mudpuppy Books (Age 3 & Under)

A Year at a Construction Site,

by Nicholas Harris, Lerner Publishing Group (Ages 5–8)

Iggy Peck, Architect and Iggy Peck’s Big Project Book for Amazing Architects, by Andrea Beaty, Abrams (Ages 5–8)

The Story of Buildings, by Patrick Dillon, Candlewick (Ages 9–12)

Rosie Revere, Engineer and Rosie Revere’s Big Project Book for Bold Engineers, by Andrea Beaty, Abrams (Ages 5–8)

Find more on builders and buildings for ages 3 to 12 courtesy of WETA Public Broadcasting, Washington, DC, at startwithabook.org/ summer-reading-learning/ builders-and-buildings.

What It Feels Like to Be a Building, by Forrest Wilson, Preservation Press (Age 9+)

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All images courtesy of Cedar Point 32 Echoes | JULY & AUGUST 2020

Cedar Point Turns 150

AMERICA’S ROLLER COAST BY BILL EICHENBERGER

J

ohn Hildebrandt worked at Cedar Point in Sandusky for 40 years from 1974 through 2014, but one of his favorite photographs of the park was taken long before he took his first job there.

“It’s a picture from 1942 of my father, Hugo, in his Army uniform, with his twin brother, Joe, and his future wife, Coletta,” Hildebrandt says. “The picture was taken by my mother and the Cyclone roller coaster is in the background. I like to think they had just come off the ride.”

In October 2018, Hildebrandt published Always Cedar Point: A Memoir of the Midway. He says his family’s love affair with Cedar Point, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, dates even further back than that World War II photograph.

“My maternal grandmother told us stories about visiting Cedar Point in the early 1900s,” he recalls. “She said she would board a Lake Erie steamship in the early morning, sail to the park, spend the day and then return on the steamship. She told us what a great experience it was and how well she remembered it.”

Though synonymous since the mid-1960s with hair-raising roller coasters such as the Blue Streak, the Wildcat and the Corkscrew, Cedar Point in its first two decades didn’t have any coasters at all.

NO FINER BATHING But that didn’t stop the Sandusky Register from recognizing the location’s potential. In an 1867 commentary, the newspaper suggested: “Somebody should erect a bathing house on the lake side of Cedar Point, about a quarter of a mile from the lighthouse. There is no finer place for bathing in the world than the spot mentioned.”

Hildebrandt says the Register was onto something back then.

“Have you seen the beach lately?” he asks. “It’s nearly a mile long and

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1906

the sand is beautiful. We don’t have to bring sand in every year, either. The breakwall holds the sand in the area, and the beach is actually getting bigger because of the littoral drift. The beach has always been gorgeous and promoted heavily, dating back to 1870.”

FIRST, A BEER GARDEN That was the year that German immigrant Louis Zistel opened a small beer garden with a small dance floor at Cedar Point and constructed a primitive bathhouse. He ferried the citizens of Sandusky out to the point in the steamship Young Reindeer.

But Zistel’s venture was short-lived and the property remained inactive until 1878, when fisherman James West opened a group of bathhouses near the beach to augment his income between the spring and fall fishing seasons.

“For the first few decades, the primary appeal was the beach,” says Ron Davidson, the special collections librarian at the Sandusky Library. “Hotels were built primarily with that in mind. Additionally, musical entertainment played an important role in the early decades, from traditional brass bands in the early years to swing bands in the 1930s and 1940s.”

IMPROVEMENTS AT THE POINT In 1882, Sandusky investors Benjamin F. Dwelle and MORE MEMORIES: FIVE GENERATIONS The tradition for visiting Cedar Point has now been passed to five generations of our family. It is still the best amusement park in the world to us, and I know it will be for many more generations to come! —Susan Greenway

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William Slackford entered into an informal lease agreement with the owners of Cedar Point, installing portable wooden walkways and making other small improvements to attract sunbathers.

The park did not get its first ride until 1890, when a water toboggan was constructed on the beach to launch riders into Lake Erie. The first roller coaster, the Switchback Railway, was built two years later. It had a top speed of between 12 and 18 miles per hour.

Ken Miller is the author of Rolling Through The Years: A Cedar Point Atlas & Chronology, a massive 18-by12-inch atlas and chronology of the park that was released this spring by the 1870 Publishing Group.

“The Switchback Railway didn’t have a chain lift, so riders walked up two flights of stairs and got on the ride at the top of the hill,” Miller says. “At the end of the ride the operators pushed the car back up the hill by muscle power.”

THE DAWN OF A GOLDEN AGE Despite its popularity for most of the 1890s, the owners of Cedar Point found themselves on the edge of insolvency when another German immigrant, George A. Boeckling, arrived on the scene in 1897.

The resort made a small profit and grossed $55,000 in his first season. As he made one improvement after another, Boeckling saw his resort’s grosses rise to $110,000 in 1903, $400,000 in 1908 and more than $1 million in 1920.

Boeckling was responsible for what historians consider Cedar Point’s first Golden Age. In 1899, he built the Bay Shore Hotel. Its 20 rooms proved

1927

immediately inadequate, and he quickly built the 55-room White House hotel. Two years later the White House was expanded to 125 rooms.

By the early 1900s, Cedar Point boasted a 600room bathhouse and a new, two-floor dancing pavilion with a German “Rathskeller” on the ground floor. Construction of the Breakers grand hotel began in 1905.

MORE MEMORIES: FIRST ROLLER COASTER RIDE We grew up in Millersburg, Ohio, without vacations or trips. Yet one day around 1955, my dad loaded us in the car and took us to Cedar Point. We could not believe it. My recollection is that we took a steam ferry from Sandusky. It was a wonderful day where I only had eyes for the steam railroad. The place was and is special to my family lore, since it was my dad’s first summer job off the farm. He was a soda jerk in the Hotel Breakers lobby. A year later, in early 1944, he enlisted in the Army and was off to World War II.

—Donna Vogelpohl, Columbus

EXPANDING ITS FOOTPRINT For its first three decades, Cedar Point was mostly a local attraction. But under Boeckling’s leadership—he was particularly good at marketing and advertising— the resort became a regional and even a national draw.

It was serviced by several train routes, interurban lines and Lake Erie steamships.

By 1922, the Register argued, “Mr. Boeckling, by his accomplishments, has achieved a reputation as one of the country’s half-dozen great directors of public amusements and recreation.”

Cedar Point “put Sandusky on the map,” says Hildebrandt, “making it different from all the other cities in Ohio its size. Everyone has a Cedar Point story.”

The Depression was a difficult time for the resort and, by the end of World War II, the resort was “in deplorable condition, and recovery seemed hopeless,” according to the late David W. Francis and his wife, Diane DeMali Francis, authors of Cedar Point: The Queen of American Watering Places.

1894

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MORE MEMORIES: SUMMER WAS COMPLETE Growing up in Zanesville, Ohio, my family would drive the back roads to our annual vacation destination, Cedar Point.

My parents and my brother and sister and I would spend the day waiting in lines for the old-fashioned cars, the convertible cars, the Space Spiral and our very favorite, the log ride. By late afternoon we would make it to the Upside-Down House and eat at the Silver Dollar Cafe. By nightfall, when the park was closing, we would call it a day and check in at the Hotel Breakers. I remember waking up at night and seeing my dad asleep on the balcony, as air conditioning had not yet become a hotel accommodation. The next day we would spend playing in the sand and waves of Lake Erie before driving back home. Now my summer was complete!

—Beth Schultheis D'Antonio, Columbus

ROOSE TO THE RESCUE The park languished for the better part of a decade before Toledo bond dealer and real estate developer George A. Roose and a group of investors including

1961

1917

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Emile Legros of the First Cleveland Corp. put in a successful bid to purchase the property in 1957.

Roose had planned to raze the park and build a residential development. But enough folks like Hildebrandt’s grandmother raised a ruckus about those plans.

“Thousands of Ohioans had sentimental feelings for the resort, and their influence extended as far as the State Capital in Columbus,” the Francises write.

In any case, Roose and Legros backed away from razing the park and instead promised the public to turn Cedar Point into the “Disneyland of the Midwest.”

The pair immediately went to work improving the resort and increasing Cedar Point’s marina capacity from 250 to 750 boats. Customer service was emphasized, and modern business practices were put into place. The park’s popularity soared.

AMERICA’S ROLLER COAST But it wasn’t until the 1970s that Cedar Point was transformed into the park most folks know today, the park often referred to as America’s Roller Coast. The Wildcat, the Jumbo Jet and the Corkscrew were all built in the ‘70s. When the Gemini was built in 1978 it was the tallest and fastest coaster in the world.

“Our twin boys rode the Gemini two days after Cedar Point opened the ride,” Hildebrandt says. “When my son Tom took his daughter on the Gemini, it was a huge deal. So, three generations have all grown up on it.

“Our family’s story is replicated throughout the park every day.”

Dick Kinzel became the CEO of Cedar Fair— which owned Cedar Point and the company’s first acquisition, Valleyfair, an amusement park in Shakopee, Minnesota—in 1986. By the time he retired at the end of 2012, the company owned 11

1963

MORE MEMORIES: MISS OHIO PAGEANT Cedar Point seems like a permanent piece of family history, having grown up in Clyde, nearby. I think my earliest memory was the fun of the monorail that went around the parking lot and the kiddie park area. I enjoyed the merry-go-round and the antique cars you could drive yourself. And we enjoyed the adventures on the boat ride through the water and the beautiful views from the Sky Ride to see the colorfully planned flower gardens. My mom always said her favorite thing was to get some french fries from Berardi’s. A special memory was attending the Miss Ohio Pageant in 1970, when Grace Bird crowned the next Miss Ohio, Laurel Lea Schaefer, who went on to become Miss America that September.

—Janice Rader Noethlich, Columbus

amusement parks with revenues of more than $1 billion.

“The changes at Cedar Point in the last 35 years have been remarkable,” Hildebrandt says. “It has gone beyond a regional park to having national and international appeal. It’s a bucket list park for

1966

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1964

coaster fans from Germany and Mexico City and Spokane, Washington.

“When I was still at the park I received a telephone call from an ad agency in Portugal,” Hildebrandt says. “The gentleman said he wanted permission to use a picture of the Mean Streak in an ad for one of their clients.”

For Sanduskians, the park may have more prosaic meaning, says Davidson: “There is a frequent joking comment among residents that almost every Sandusky old-timer has worked at Cedar Point at least once.”

LEARN MORE LEARN MORE Rolling Through the Years: A Cedar Point Atlas & Chronology began as a necessity for Ken Miller and turned into a labor of love. “The book started as a reference book for Cedar Point’s Town Hall Museum, where I worked. I was getting questions about the park and would have to dig through several sources to find the complete answers. I started the major research, hitting the area museums, archives and newspapers. com and newspaperarchives.com.” Though he calls it an atlas and chronology, Rolling Through the Years is a lavish, detailed, illustrated history of the park clocking in at 392 pages that are a foot-and-a-half tall and a foot wide. It’s available at 1870publishinggroup.com.

Three Cedar Point carousels are listed in the National Register of Historic Places, a designation obtained in 1982 through the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office: the Midway Carousel, a Daniel Muller carousel built in 1912, at Cedar Point since 1946; the Kiddie Kingdom Carousel, built about 1921

by William Dentzel, featuring a menagerie of animals; and Cedar Downs, built in 1921 by Prior & Church for Cleveland’s Euclid Beach Park and at Cedar Point since 1967, one of two historic racing carousels in the U.S.— horses “gallop” forward and drop back. You can also find a familiar brown-and-gold Ohio Historical Marker recognizing the history of Cedar Point on the midway.

Published in 1988, Cedar Point: The Queen of American Watering Places by David W. Francis and Diane DeMali Francis was the first definitive history of the park. Meticulously researched and well-written, it is an invaluable source of information about Cedar Point.

Cedar Point begins a phased reopening starting July 9. Reservations are required. Visit cedarpoint.com for details.

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Putting the “Day” in Daytona HOW A MANSFIELD BUSINESS TYCOON FOUNDED ONE OF FLORIDA’S MOST ICONIC BEACH COMMUNITIES BY ERIN ESMONT

T

he name Daytona conjures up images of sandy beaches, a famous speedway and spring break partiers.

But 150 years ago, the area was overgrown and overrun with trees.

That’s how Matthias Day Jr. of Mansfield, Ohio, found it in 1870. The expansive acreage, formerly plantation land, overlooked the Halifax River.

He envisioned a hotel, streets and a thriving waterfront community.

He quickly bought up 3,000 acres and set out to create a town.

He’s the “Day“ in the name Daytona.

His time in Florida would last only a few years, and he’d leave with his project partially done and his vast fortune gone. But he laid the groundwork for one of three towns—Daytona, Daytona Beach and Seabreeze—now collectively known as Daytona Beach.

So how did a wealthy entrepreneur and former newspaper publisher from Ohio find himself in Florida?

A KNACK FOR MAKING THINGS HAPPEN It helps to know a bit about Day. He was a man who had a knack for making things happen—whether in Mansfield or Florida.

He ran with the movers and shakers in his hometown and wasn’t afraid to finance ideas and inventions that others considered crazy.

He took risks in business and made a fortune.

His alliance with Daniel McFarland Cook, a farmer and inventor in Mansfield, would prove exceptionally profitable. Cook was one of many experimenting with ways to produce sugar in the North.

His invention, Cook’s Sugar Evaporator, was a table-like contraption that enabled sorghum—and later maple sap—to move back and forth over a flame to reach a boil without burning, vastly speeding up a time-consuming process.

Day was one of the initial investors, along with the Blymyer brothers.

They paid Cook $75,000 for his designs in 1858 and manufactured a prototype they took to county fairs around the state and beyond to drum up sales. It worked.

“For a very brief period of time, they all were sort of superstars in

Images courtesy of Halifax Historical Society Museum, Daytona Beach.

Top: Matthias Day Jr. Bottom: Matthias Day's son, Loomis Day OHIOHIS TORY.ORG

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Matthias Day's Palmetto House Hotel, Daytona Beach

America because they had figured out this problem that everyone had been trying to figure out for a long time,” says Timothy Brian McKee, an author and historian in Mansfield.

TOOK RISKS The Blymyers and Day formed a company to manufacture the evaporators and went on to make more than $130,000 ($4 million in today's currency) from them, according to McKee. Day took risks in his personal life, too.

He favored temperance and opposed slavery as did other members of the First Congregational Church.

(Day’s father, Matthias Sr., was among those active in forming the church after leaving the Presbyterian Church in 1833 over its support of slavery, according to the church’s history page, mansfieldfcc.com.)

The church arranged for Frederick Douglass to speak in town—a dangerous proposition in divided times.

Day was also a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Farmers in the area hid fugitives from slavery on their rural properties. Day lived in town near the Mansfield Herald newspaper he owned, but kept a barn north of town where they stayed.

As a stockholder in the railroad, Day would arrange passage on the night train north with slaves

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concealed in barrels or coffins, says McKee, who made a brief film about it.

“All of these Underground Railroad conductors were heroes because they were in danger doing that here,” he says. “When the Civil War happened, there were all kinds of people here who were for the South.”

Day’s story begins in 1824, the year he was born to Sophia Loomis and Matthias Day, a master carpenter, in Mansfield.

After attending school in Mansfield, Day headed to Oberlin College, where he earned his degree before traveling to New York to attend theological college. He soon realized the ministry wasn’t for him and left.

In his late 20s, Day would marry Mary Blymyer and have several children. (Son Matthias W. Day would graduate from West Point and earn the country’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for valor in the Indian Wars.)

Business opportunities prompted Day to uproot his entire family and head south.

That’s where Fayn LeVeille, director at the Halifax Historical Museum in Daytona Beach, picks up Day’s story.

WANTED TO BUILD A TOWN

AN ENDURING MONUMENT

Getting to Florida was an arduous trip, she says. The family, their belongings and their horses would endure different modes of transportation—rail car, boat, barge and wagon—for the nearly 1,000-mile journey.

“He got no financial reward from founding one of the most beautiful places on the American continent but the name of Daytona will be the most enduring monument he could have had,” the newspaper said.

“What he wanted to do was to build a town, a really lovely community,” she says.

By 1876, Day had left Florida and wasn’t around when 26 residents, including two black men, came together to vote to incorporate the town, according to the website daytonabeach.com.

He started by buying up land, more than 3,000 acres at a cost of $8,000, according to the website floridahistorynetwork.com. His plan was to create individual lots for sale to entice his wealthy northern friends to buy property along the Halifax River.

A trio—all women, LeVeille says—were asked to come up with a name. Several names were considered, but they decided to honor Day’s efforts to create the town.

He created a grid that showed where a hotel should go, along with homes and streets. Beach Street, where the museum is located, was the first street Day plotted, LeVeille says. Today, it’s a street bursting with retail shops and hotels.

At LeVeille’s museum, located inside a bank building that dates to 1910, several Day mementos are on permanent display: a family Bible, his pipe stand, a family quilt, his and his mother’s hair—which people kept in those days—and his gold pocket watch.

Day built the first hotel, a two-story structure he called the Colony House, later renamed the Palmetto House.

Son Loomis Day’s letters are there too. He would return to Florida and stay in touch with people there.

A street bears Loomis’s name, she says.

MANSFIELDERS WORKED ON PROJECT

Matthias Day Jr., who referred to Florida as a “wonderland,” ended up in Columbia, Tennessee, where he died at age 80. The year was 1904.

He brought men from Mansfield to work on the project. One of them, construction worker John Fox, told the Daytona Daily News in 1913 how the Halifax riverfront was so tangled with brush and trees that he had to cut his way along the ridge with an ax and knife to carry the surveyor’s chain.

During the project, Day ran into serious financial troubles. Details are sketchy: Son Loomis Day indicated in letters that his dad let people stay at the hotel for free while their homes were under construction, LeVeille says.

A 1912 Mansfield Daily Shield article mentioned a lawsuit filed over Day’s ownership of the land. He lost the court battle, and the land reverted to the original owners. “Mr. Day kept up his fight but in vain,” the article read.

A picture of Daytona Beach from that time shows dozens of men, women and children strolling on the beach—on foot, in horse-drawn wagons and on bicycles. In the background, several sizable homes are visible.

LEARN MORE

LEARN MORE

For a brief and interesting history of early Daytona, visit ohiohistory.org/Daytona and read “Early Bridges Over the Halifax River and Why They Were Built.”

Although the piece is centered on bridges, it provides excellent background on the growth of the city from the 1870s through the 1880s.

The Daytona Beach Blog features a post titled “Sunshine, Sugar Cane and Stock Cars: A Brief History of Daytona Beach” at ohiohistory.org/Daytona2.

Palmetto House in Daytona Beach as seen from the Halifax River.

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Courtesy Wright State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives

The front page of The Dayton Herald on Sept. 1, 1945.

Though Japan announced its intention to surrender on Aug. 14, the official signing on the USS Missouri wasn’t held until two weeks later.

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V-J Day

OHIO CELEBRATES THE END OF WORLD WAR II BY BILL EICHENBERGER

A

rmy veteran Alan Fothergill remembers the precise moment that he found out Japan had surrendered and World War II was over.

“I was in a truck full of soldiers in Salzburg, Austria,” the 94-year-old recalls, “when someone handed us a copy of Stars and Stripes, the soldiers’ newspaper, with the headline ‘Japan Surrenders.’

“We just cheered to beat the band on the back of that truck.”

This year marks the 75th anniversary of V-J Day. (Victory in Japan Day— Germany had already surrendered on May 7, ending the war in Europe.)

Fothergill, 19 at the time, says, “I spent my 18th birthday on a troop ship in the Atlantic and served on the border between France and Germany guarding German prisoners of war.”

He learned firsthand the scale of destruction and inhumanity caused by the war in Europe.

“I was taking as many trips around Europe—to the Dachau concentration camp, to Hitler’s mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden, to the Maginot Line—to see what the war had done to Europe, to see what Hitler had done to Europe.”

EUROPE IN RUINS The devastation was sobering. So was the thought of being redeployed to the Pacific, and with good reason. Soldiers in Europe kept tabs on the war in the Pacific and knew that from April 1 through June 22, 1945, the United States fought for possession of Okinawa, an island in the Pacific Ocean 340 miles south of Japan.

The fierce fighting cost the U.S. 82,000 casualties, the Japanese 110,000.

Gilson P. Wright, Smith Library of Regional History

Courtesy Dennison Railroad Depot Museum

Left: An ad in New Philadelphia’s The Daily Times reminded workers to show up the day after the town celebrated V-J Day. Right: News of Japan’s surrender arrived in the states on Tuesday, Aug. 14, 1945.

The next day, a parade on High Street in Oxford, Ohio, ended at the public square, where a large crowd gathered to hear speeches by village leaders, university representatives and military personnel.

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Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University

U.S. National Archives Left: Japanese military leaders on board the USS Missouri during the surrender ceremony on Sept. 2, 1945.

Right: Clevelanders waited in line outside Hough Home Bakery to buy cakes and pies to celebrate the victory over Japan.

The impending U.S. invasion of Japan—Operation Downfall—would, in some estimations, cost as many as 1 million more lives. Fothergill had already lost an older brother, Frank, in the war. And though he was stationed in Europe at the time, he knew he could be called at any moment back to the States to train for redeployment in the Pacific Theatre in advance of Operation Downfall, scheduled for the fall.

“My brother-in-law, who earned three battle stars fighting in Europe, had already been deployed to California and I was to eventually be redeployed, too, if we’d ended up invading Japan.”

CAPTURED AT THE BULGE Rupert Starr of Columbus had fought with the 106th Infantry Division in the Battle of the Bulge and was captured by the Germans in December 1944.

“By the time the summer rolled around, I was already back in the States,” Starr says, “recovering from dysentery at a military hospital in Macon, Georgia.

I was headed for training for the invasion of Japan when word came of the surrender.

“I was very happy that I was going to live after all.”

Anne Powers, who lived in Columbus at the time, was 15 the day Japan’s surrender was announced, getting ready to go to North High School. She remembers hearing what she describes as a “steam whistle being blown full blast from the Panhandle Building downtown near the Fourth Street viaduct. We could hear it all the way up on 17th Avenue.”

44 Echoes | JULY & AUGUST 2020

She remembers hearing about the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima a week earlier on Aug. 6, “maybe from the newspaper, maybe from the radio.” Three days later the U.S. dropped another atomic bomb, this time on Nagasaki.

“That’s the first I’d ever heard of the atomic bomb, after they dropped the first one,” she says. “We had celebrated victory in Europe back in May, but it wasn’t a very big celebration because everyone knew we still had to defeat Japan.”

SPONTANEOUS CELEBRATIONS Communities large and small all over Ohio celebrated V-J Day with spontaneous gatherings and parades.

Both the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Cleveland Press sent reporters out to cover the V-J Day celebrations. The Plain Dealer noted that “Whistles blew until Downtown Cleveland resembled a madhouse.”

The Press reported that celebration went well into the night, leaving “streets and sidewalks tattered with scrap paper and festooned with streamers; sidewalks that were rough in places with the broken glass of beer, wine and whiskey bottles.”

Arlene Stier Jantz remembers a slightly less raucous celebration in Dennison.

“It was a small town and almost everyone gathered downtown, marching with a man playing a bass drum.

When he sang, we all joined in,” she says. “If my memory serves me, there was a grocery store called Pafundos and the owner played the big drum. What a memory for me.”

Special Collections & Archives, Wright State University

The then-teenage Powers says she’ll never forget traveling to downtown Columbus with her parents to a celebration at Broad and High.

“We drove down in the early evening and parked on Fourth Street near Long Street,” she says. “You could hardly walk on the sidewalks. The Statehouse yard was full of people. We stood on the sidewalk across from the Neil House and watched all the commotion and all the people yelling and cheering. Everybody was happy.”

AN AMERICAN HERO In 2006, the Michael Schwartz Library at Cleveland State University mounted an exhibit, Memories of Cleveland, at the Cuyahoga County Fair. Tracy Kemp, who still works for the library, recorded several passersby at the fair, asking them for stories about Cleveland.

One gentleman told her, “I was walking down the street and I heard sirens and bells and whistles, and I got scared and went home and asked my mother what all the noise was.

She told me, ‘The war is over.’ It was victory over Japan.”

He said he’d been at the fair every year for half a century, and talked about a vendor of fruits and vegetables who was a regular at the fair since 1945.

“He was a jovial, happy-go-lucky guy,” he said.

“In 1996 I finally went over and talked to him, told him ‘You’ve been here a long time.’ He said, ‘This is my 49th year at the fair. Next year is my 50th and then I’m going to retire.

“I told him about being at the fair during V-J Day, and he said, “Do you know where I was on V-J Day? I was in Tokyo. And I asked him, ‘How did you wind up in Tokyo?’ It turned out that he’d survived the Bataan Death March, survived two-and-a-half years of slave labor in Tokyo, survived the bombing of Tokyo by the U.S. “He came back to the States and for 49 years he’d been an American hero and nobody knew it.”

A Dayton couple stopped at church to pray on Aug. 14, 1945, the day the Japanese announced their plans to surrender.

LEARN MORE LEARN MORE Alan Fothergill was interviewed for the Library of Congress Oral History Program.

For an hour, he discusses his military service during World War II at ohiohistory.org/ VJDay. Kevin Telfer’s The Summer of ‘45: Stories and Voices from VE Day to VJ Day combines archival material and original interviews with eyewitnesses to tell “the story of civilians, soldiers, victors and vanquished across the globe during a fateful summer.”

See how Life magazine covered V-J Day at ohiohistory.org/VJDay2.

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I Wish I’d Been There MILLER’S CHARGE AT THE SIEGE OF FORT MEIGS

BY BILL PICK ARD

In February 1813, following a number of regional military setbacks, Gen. William Henry Harrison began to collect men and material at the foot of the Maumee rapids as a departure point for future military action. This location would become Fort Meigs, a massive fortification of log walls and earthen embankments enclosing about 10 acres.

THE ENEMY ARRIVES ON THE MAUMEE RIVER When finished in April 1813, it housed an American force of around 1,200 regulars and militia. By that time a force of about 2,100 British regulars, Canadian militia and American Indians under Tecumseh had arrived on the Maumee to dislodge the Americans from their stronghold.

The British bombardment of Fort Meigs began in earnest on May 1 from batteries constructed near present-day downtown Maumee. As many as 240 large projectiles were sent toward Fort Meigs that day, with the count exceeding 2,000 by May 5. The American artillery response was consistent, but it could not match the British for raw firepower. To shield his troops, Harrison constructed two great earthen walls or traverses inside the fort. In a countermove, the British deployed an additional gun battery 400 meters east of the fort to create an enfilade or cross-fire situation within the fort.

46 Echoes | JULY & AUGUST 2020

Things did not look good for the Americans.

REINFORCEMENTS On May 3, Harrison received word that Gen. Green Clay was descending the Maumee with a force of about 1,200 and quickly sent Clay these orders for deployment: A mile above the fort, Clay was to split his forces.

Eight hundred of them under Col. Dudley would go overland to destroy the main batteries and immediately withdraw to the fort.

Clay’s remaining force would land on the south bank and crush any enemy resistance encountered along the way.

As a diversion, a sortie from within the fort would attack and destroy the gun emplacement east of the fort. As was once said, to make God laugh, announce that you have a plan.

On the morning of May 5, Dudley’s 800 attacked the main batteries. They not only failed to destroy them as ordered, but allowed themselves to be drawn into an ambush. Of the 800, barely 100 ever made it to the fort. Meanwhile, Clay was meeting stiff resistance. After finally reaching the fort, they mounted a charge to disperse enemy forces gathering west of the fort. A second charge at the enemy came within a hair’s breadth of being surrounded and trapped. They were only saved from certain disaster

by Harrison’s frantic order to retreat.

“NO TIME FOR WAY-SIDE CHIT-CHAT” Col. John Miller was tasked with destroying the battery east of the fort. With a force of 350, he made his way from the fort through a

Library of Congress

In the spring of 1813, the United States and the British Empire engaged in an extended artillery duel across the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio, fighting ultimately for control of the Northwest.

deep ravine toward the battery and waited. When orders came, his men deployed onto a broad plain opposite the distant battery. Alfred Loraine of the Petersburg (Virginia) Volunteers would later provide a vivid description of what became known as Miller’s Charge: “At last the word was given—the charge made. As we cleared the ravine the whole forest was in a blaze. The continuous roar of the rifle was like the long roll of the drum—no intermission. The balls flew like hailstones—pish—pish— pish; now and then rap—rap! In our passage to the woods we became exposed to the British battery on the other side of the river. They were not slow in playing their artillery on us;

Ohio University Press

but we heard it not—we felt it not— we saw it not. With a blazing line before us and a crowd of anxious witnesses in the fort behind, we had no time for way-side chit-chat and lateral sallies. Those who were in the fort said it was amazing to see how the balls plowed up the earth about our heels and with what little effect.”

Not quite Lord Tennyson, but a unique and exciting description nonetheless. Through particularly hard fighting aided by reinforcements from the fort, Miller’s objectives were achieved, but not without significant American casualties.

In spite of all their efforts, the British were unable to evict the Americans from Fort Meigs. Frustrated with European-style siege warfare,

Tecumseh and his confederates left the field. The British withdrew a couple days later with the Americans still in place.

Do I really wish I’d been there?

It certainly would have been fascinating to witness the events from afar, but perhaps I’m just as glad that I wasn’t there.

Bill Pickard is an archaeologist and was a curator of archaeology for the Ohio History Connection for many years. He wrote I’ ll Never Be Noticed on a Galloping Horse: The Occurrence of a War of 1812 Double Horse Burial at Fort Meigs for Northwest Ohio History, Vol. 83, No. 1, Autumn 2015.

Above: A hand-drawn color plan of “Fort Meigs and its environs, comprising the operations of the American forces under Gen. W.H. Harrison and the British Army and their allies, under Gen. Proctor and Tecumseh.”

LEARN MORE LEARN MORE

If you’re interested in more information about the Siege of Fort Meigs, Pickard recommends the following four titles: The Petersburg Volunteers in the War of 1812 by Lee A. Wallace Jr.; The Helm, the Sword and the Cross: A Life Narrative by Alfred M. Lorrain; Men of Patriotism, Courage & Enterprise! Fort Meigs in the War of 1812 by Larry L. Nelson; and Captain Cushing in the War of 1812 by Daniel Lewis Cushing.

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S AV I N G T H E CO M P E T I T I O N I N 2 0 2 0 BY BILL EICHENBERGER

The Ohio History Connection has been a state sponsor for National History Day since 1995, though the program’s 25th anniversary in Ohio was nearly spoiled this year by COVID-19.

Rubino says it’s fitting that the road to this year’s competition—which featured the work of more than 1,700 Ohio students—was littered with obstacles and challenges.

But the organizers of Ohio History Day never got the memo.

BREAKING BARRIERS IN HISTORY

“Not holding the contest this year was never an option,” says Samantha Rubino, unit manager for the Ohio History Connection’s Ohio History Day. “The students worked so hard all year round and we owed it to them to hold the contest, albeit virtually.”

Ohio History Day gives students in grades 4–12 the chance to become historians. Using their own research, kids create exhibits, documentaries, performances, websites and academic papers based on a specific theme.

The students then bring their projects before a panel of volunteer judges at regional and state

competitions, ordinarily held in person. State winners move on to the national competition.

“This year’s contest theme was Breaking Barriers in History, and by holding the contest virtually for the first time in Ohio History Connection history, we did just that,” she says.

Mischa Sella attends Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati. He performed David Hume and Human Nature: A New Way of Thinking, an “original opera for two voices, sung by one singer.”

Sella performed his opera—an extended conversation between Hume and fellow philosopher René Descartes—at Walnut Hills. Then COVID hit, and he was unable to perform his opera in front of judges at the regional competition.

“But at least I was able to turn in a video of my performance for regionals,” says Sella, who won and moved on to the state competition.

DETERMINED TO HOLD OHIO HISTORY DAY The organizers of Ohio History Day were determined to hold the competition virtually, but they had to make hard choices. One such choice: to preclude the submission of videos.

“We felt it was important to even the playing field,” Rubino says, “for students without access to computers, cellphones, the Internet.”

The move was potentially bad news for Sella.

“When I heard I couldn’t submit a video, I thought, ‘Well, it’s over. No way I’m moving forward.’”

Instead, he turned in his script and his score for the opera and won first place, moving on to National History Day. A BENEFIT TO THE VIRTUAL COMPETITION Another winner at the state competition, Felicia Xiao—who submitted a senior paper titled Not Your Model Minority: Breaking Barriers in the Asian-American Movement—says there was a benefit to finishing the competition virtually.

Amy Uyematsu

David Hume

René Descartes

Gidra

Courtesy of the author

Painting by Allan Ramsay, Public Domain

Public Domain

Densho Digital Repository

48 Echoes | JULY & AUGUST 2020

Mischa Sella

Ohio History Day

Above: Walnut Hills High School student Mischa Sella was an Ohio History Day winner for his opera and a libretto that imagined a conversation between philosophers René Descartes and David Hume.

Left (from left to right): Japanese American poet Amy Uyematsu wrote an influential essay, “The Emergence of Yellow Power,” in 1969. In it, she argued for a distinct Asian American identity influenced by the Black Power movement and rejecting stereotypes.

David Hume (1711–1776) was a Scottish historian and philosopher of the Enlightenment.

René Descartes (1596–1650) was a French philosopher, mathematician and scientist.

In Ohio History Day student Mischa Sella’s winning project, he imagined a conversation between Descartes and David Hume presented as an opera.

Gidra, the self-proclaimed “voice of the Asian American experience,” was published monthly from 1969 to 1974.

“I did my regional contest in person this year, in late February,” she says. “Comparing that to the virtual state contest, I have to say that the online event was more relaxed, since all we had to do was join a Zoom call.

“The in-person setting is different.

There’s excitement, dressing up and sharing your project with others, that we didn’t get for Ohio History Day, but I appreciate the organizers’ willingness to bring the event to us.

“I’m glad that we get to continue online instead of losing the event completely.”

Stacy Williams had judged Ohio History Day projects at the local level in the past, but this was the first year she was a judge for the regional and state competitions.

there was frustration involved in the transfer of the exhibits to a virtual format, but from my end, they looked extraordinary.”

Williams was also impressed with the competition organizers.

“History Day found a way to press on, even during a pandemic, when everything else was closed,” she says. “And for that, I am sure students were grateful. I know I am thankful to have been part of the experience!”

History Day found a way to press on, even during a pandemic.

STUDENTS ADJUSTED WELL “I feel it was astonishing how well the kids adjusted to the virtual competition,” Williams says. “All of the exhibits were displayed perfectly in the new online format.

Of course, I did not get to see if

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Reviews BOOK

Sketches of Intriguing People and the Curious Events They Suffered While Living in the Wilderness of the Northwest Territory by Frank E. Kuron The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 significantly expanded settlement into the newly established Northwest Territory. Kuron’s engaging project is here to share the neglected stories of some of those settlers and illustrate the agency of ordinary people in a pivotal time and place in our nation’s history.

Some of the individuals we meet contributed to the great events of their day, but all, he contends, are of interest in their own right.

While most of the “intriguing people” are men of European descent (there’s a brief nod to the experience of women and American Indians), their adventurous lives indeed hold our attention. Relying heavily on printed primary sources such as family histories and newspapers, Kuron’s short, informal narratives are varied and laced with humor, with whimsical chapter titles and a distinctly lighthearted tone for a book so replete with battles and massacres.

Through the travails of a young commissar, we witness the urgent need for salt in frontier forts. Instead of the familiar Battle of Lake Erie, we watch the

ingenious, determined men who built and transported the American ships that fought in it. One chapter examines the spiritual beliefs of Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa sympathetically, while another surveys the extraordinary life of William Oliver, doctor, sutler, courier for General Harrison, soldier, land speculator and legislator. The different experiences of two American farmers in Upper (southern) Canada, whose peaceful prosperity ended with the conflicting demands for their loyalty created by the War of 1812, are particularly thought-provoking. A portrait of Jane Trimble, drawn mostly from a biography by her grandson, describes such a paragon of faith and fortitude that we chuckle at one of her long-suffering children’s comments: “Mother, you talk to us too much about religion.”

We see pioneers take a number of different life paths to reach the Northwest Territory. James and Jane Trimble, for example, originally migrated to Kentucky from Virginia, but later in life came to see slavery as wrong. They freed their slaves and moved to Ohio. Three

young men from New Jersey involved in the founding of Cincinnati came there from western Pennsylvania, already accustomed to fighting American Indians.

Kuron’s admiration for his subjects is somewhat uncritical but, on the whole, persuasive. Impressively brave, resourceful and hardy, with an astonishing range of innate and acquired skills, many later succeeded as entrepreneurs. Their zest for life, undimmed by hardship and narrow escapes, is also appealing. Less so is their sense of entitlement to the lands they settled and their expectation of defending them with violence.

But those who enjoy combining entertainment with learning about Ohio’s early history will find much to appreciate here.

—Katie Swett, Ohio History Connection

BOOK

No Home for You Here: A Memoir of Class and Culture by Adam Theron-Lee Rensch Rensch’s very personal account of searching for a meaningful “home” is thought-provoking, at times painful, but always engaging. Born into a stereotypical working-poor family early in the Reagan administration, his journey began in Hancock County, Ohio, first in a rural trailer park and then in Findlay. Both parents worked multiple jobs and lived paycheckto-paycheck, quietly struggling to climb out of their income bracket.

Looking back, he can see his vision of education as a way out was flawed, but hoping to escape, Rensch 50 Echoes | JULY & AUGUST 2020

adopted the intellectual life of academia as a graduate student in New York City. Taking on the veneer of the privileged class, he recognized that he symbolized the elitism and snobbery that appalled many of his Ohio friends.

While his university was prestigious and extremely expensive, the implied promise of obtaining connections through it proved illusory. He had no real appreciation of the future impact of a cumulative student loan of $135,000 taken out at 6.5% interest. His world fell apart in the Great Recession of 2008, and he was forced to return to Ohio as an “unemployed, idealistic writer.”

Hardin County placed among the highest numbers of subprime mortgage foreclosures in the entire nation—left him feeling like “an archaeologist of despair.”

Rensch shares his story to point out the fallacy of cultural-war stereotypes that pit uneducated and backward communities against out-of-touch and arrogant intellectuals. He suggests that those in power—and he includes both sides of the major political divide—persist in making a dignified life for the “have-nots” far more difficult by encouraging them to ignore what they have in common. It is a trip worth taking with him.

Accompanying his real-estate-agent mother —David A. Simmons, Echoes Magazine in visiting abandoned homes—neighboring

Kinley Shogren | Cedar Point

The steamer G.A. Boeckling, named for Cedar Point’s president at the time it was christened in 1909, ferried passengers from downtown Sandusky across Sandusky Bay to Cedar Point and back until 1951. This 1988 watercolor is by Ohio artist Kinley Shogren (1924–1991).

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OHIO HISTORY CONNECTION 800 E. 17th Ave. Columbus, OH 43211-2474 ohiohistor y.org

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Starting Sat., Aug. 29, at Noon Online—Attend from anywhere!

Afternoon panel discussion requires online registration in advance

ohiohistory.org/womensactivism

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID COLUMBUS, OH PERMIT No. 1157

Join us for this special online event commemorating ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, when many women gained the right to vote. Learn about women’s activism from Ohio’s earliest days to now.