Members of the Firelands Postcard Club Research at the Hayes Presidential Library

Lou Schultz joined Firelands Postcard Club members (left to right) Jeff Brown, Roger Dickman, and Jim Semon on a recent visit to the Hayes Presidential Library and Museums. Their interest in the photographs of the late Ernst Niebergall prompted their research visit. 

Niebergall, a professional photographer, settled in Sandusky sometime before WWI.  He photographed the communities along the shoreline of Lake Erie. From ice harvesting and railroads to early aviation and island leisure activities, the Niebergall photographs depict the everyday lives and activities of residents of Lake Erie's southern shoreline communities. The black and white photographs, the majority taken between 1909 and 1918, provide a record of communities in transition as old methods gave way to advances in industry and technology. 

Preserved at the Hayes Presidential Library and Museums are more than 4,000 Niebergall photographs.  Many appear online at Lake Erie's Yesterdays. The club members are researching the possibility of creating a publication featuring some of Niebergall's photographs. Members have already collected numerous postcards that Niebergall produced. Most recently, Mr. Semon has worked with Tiffany Middleton in publishing Clydesdale Motor Truck Company: An Illustrated History 1917 - 1939.

Joseph's Department Store, Fremont, Ohio

The original Joseph’s Department Store in Fremont, Ohio was established in 1864 by Jacob Joseph.  After the death of Jacob, his sons, Barney and Isaac, successfully operated the store until 1929.  The three-story brick building on the Northeast corner of Front and Garrison Streets in Fremont, Ohio was then leased to the Danziger family of Columbus, Ohio in 1931. Louis Danziger, along with his associates, managed the department store for several decades, making it a fixture of the Fremont business community.This photograph, along with other Joseph's Department Store materials was donated by Nathan Danziger.

Ballville School in Ballville Village, Ballville Twp. Sandusky County, Ohio ca. 1895 - 1898

Ballville School ca. 1895 - 1898
Ellen Hughes, Teacher

Ben Nesbitt, Hazel Smith, Blanche Smith, Eva Hite

Edd Tindall, Frank Moore, Lymon Smith, Bessie Smith

Charles Bauman, WebbWilliams,Rachel Moore, Jessie Spayde

Lydia Smith, Lottie Tarman, Laura Swisher, George Welch, 

Edna Foreman, John Bauman, Walter Grubb, Fannie Lewis, 

George Lewis, Martin Smith, Clyde Fisher, Besie Gilson, 

Elmer Smith, Della Foreman, Herman Bauman, John Moore, 

Stella Grubb, Nancy Smith, Albert Bauman, Flossie Grubb

It is always a delight to find photographs of children who attended the early rural schools. The image above is extra special because it not only tells the name of the school and approximate date, but lists the names of all the students. Unfortunately, the names were written as a vertical list rather than identified by row. (Notice the little boy in the doorway.) 

Hayes Presidential Library and Museums Will Soon Be 100 Years Old!

This Memorial Day the Hayes Presidential Library and Museums in Fremont, Ohio, the nation's first presidential library, will be 100 years old! This picture was taken during the construction in 1916.

Colonel Webb C. Hayes during World War I

Colonel Webb C. Hayes, second son of President Rutherford B. Hayes, is pictured here(fourth from the left) with Italian aviators at the airport in Italy's Padua province in December 1917. Webb served as a special agent for the State Department until the French government’s withdrawal from Paris. Commissioned a full colonel when the United States entered the war, Hayes was sent to the Italian front where he served as a regional commander of the American Expeditionary Force. 

Mt. Hood: View from St. Helen's Hall in Portland, Oregon

This small painting, titled "View from St. Helen's Hall, Portland, Oregon" is dated October 1880. The artist is unknown. It is believed that during President Rutherford B. Hayes' Western Trip, he acquired the painting as a souvenir. St. Helen's Hall was the oldest Episcopal school  founded west of the Rockies. Built in 1869, the school was initially located at 4th and Madison, the present site of Portland's city hall. 

Christmas Greetings from the Victorian Era

Merry Christmas! Below are just a few Christmas greeting cards and post cards from the late Victorian era and the turn of the 20th Century. They are part of the Hayes Presidential Library and Museums Collection. Most were sent to or received by Sandusky County, Ohio friends and family.

Best wishes for a joyous Holiday Season!