Frohman Summer Series: "Hands on History" Features Roller Coasters

Steve Oberst Demonstrating How Coasters Use Kinetic Energy

Students Creating Their Roller Coasters

It Works!

Students Working with Sierra Lobo Sponsors

The second session of the Frohman Summer Series "Hands On History" focused on roller coasters. The Charles E. Frohman Collection housed in the Manuscripts Division at the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums contains the oldest pictures of the world famous Cedar Point Amusement Park. From 1892 to the present day, coasters have been a top attraction at Cedar Point. 

Students, age 6 to 11, used the  photos of these early coasters to gain firsthand knowledge  by connecting history to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.  Steve Oberst then demonstrated the impact of speed, kinetic energy, and gravity. Students used a variety of materials and applied the knowledge they'dd gained in this STEM project to create their own coasters.

Join us for History Roundtable with Mike Gilbert now in its Fifth Season!

Mike Gilbert 

The ever-popular History Roundtable with Mike Gilbert returns for its fifth year this fall with another fascinating series. From taverns and mile markers on Route 20 to Civil War medicine and ghost stories, master storyteller Mike Gilbert will speak Saturday mornings from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Hayes auditorium. The cost is $5 for each session. We are grateful to Mary Wonderly, M.D. for sponsoring History Roundtable once again this year. Preregister with Nan Card 419-332-2081, x239, or ncard@rbhayes.org

The schedule is as follows:

Sept. 15 – Taverns, Route 20, Mile Markers   - Travel the same path as our pioneer leaders as we explore the taverns and mile markers along Route 20.  During the early 1800s these taverns served as resting places for the trip through the Black Swamp. Learn the history and stories hidden behind their doors.

Sept. 22 – Tales of Fort Stephenson - Experience the noise and smoke of battle. You may feel you’ve heard it before, however, this presentation promises to deliver interesting and lesser known stories about those who participated. Unless you’ve studied the battle in detail you are certain to learn something new.

Sept. 29 - Did You Know ?  Bring your knowledge of Sandusky County for this topic. Find out and share the amazing connections that make our county one of the most historically rich areas in Ohio!

Oct. 13 - Trolley Tours of Oakwood Cemetery, sponsored by George Schrader, attorney at law -

This session, which covers the stories of the men and women who are buried at Oakwood Cemetery, is sold out. 

Oct. 20 - Civil War Medicine - The medical field has made tremendous advancements since the Civil War.  Listen to a discussion of medical practices certain to make you squirm in your seat.  Thankfully participants will not have to undergo treatment, just listen to stories concerning early medical procedures.

Oct. 27 - Ghost Stories -  Gilbert brings back one of his most popular Roundtable presentations and just in time for Halloween! Gilbert takes us around the world as we investigate international hauntings.                

 

Adeleta and the Boys of Company K

Company K on the Sandusky County Courthouse Steps
 

In early April of 1923, Captain Frank Buehler of Fremont, Ohio announced the death of Adeleta, the cat.  With tears in his eyes, the veteran stated that she had been buried with full military honors!

A large, pure white angora, Adeleta had been living with the Buehlers on Adams Street where she was loved and pampered by the entire neighborhood. But her beginnings were anything but quiet. As the mascot of Fremont's Company K of the 147th Infantry, Adeleta was all military.

In 1916, Company K joined General John J. Pershing's Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa.  Shortly after arriving at Fort Bliss, Texas, the Fremont soldiers encountered a fluffy little feline.  Details of just how Adeleta was "inducted" into Company K remain murky. Sources indicate that she was "drafted" as a kitten against objections from her owner.  By the time an investigation was launched, it was too late. She had been "sworn in."

With orders to capture Pancho Villa, Pershing's 10,000-man force headed for the Mexican border.  Now a member of Company K, the kitten traveled with the troops. Like most angoras, she was intelligent, curious, and bonded easily with humans. During the nine months spent patrolling the border and confronting Mexican revolutionaries, she grew into a "beautiful, powerful" creature whom the men claimed was "terrible in war."

While fighting Pancho Villa's guerrillas on the border, the Fremont soldiers heard Mexican villagers singing a romantic folk song about "Adelita," a brave female warrior who fought along side the revolutionaries. Then and there they knew they had found the perfect name for their mascot.  

When Company K returned from the border and settled in at Fort Riley, Kansas, Adeleta was front and center with her comrades. But in a matter of months, everything changed for the Fremont soldiers and their beloved Adeleta. With war brewing in Europe, Pershing was headed overseas and the 147th Infantry would go with him.

The soldiers worried about Adeleta and her future. What would become of the mascot who had touched their hearts and brought them so much enjoyment during their days on the border?  With all certainty, the men knew taking her to Europe was out of the question.  Finally, the men decided that on their return to Fremont, Adeleta would be "furloughed" so that she could live with the Buehler family. And there she remained - fat, happy, and the center of attention. At the end of World War I, she was there to welcome home her former comrades.

She lived another five years with the Buehlers until that fateful spring day when Taps were sounded to herald her passing and honor her service to the boys of Company K.