HOTEL WAGNER: The History of Vermilion is like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle with all the pieces scattered across a table. To get the whole picture (i.e. to organize the parts) is an interesting process, but those parts have no coherent order until the entire puzzle is complete. This thought never rang truer to me than when I approached the following word sketch of Vermilion’s Hotel Wagner.
U.S. historians refer to the decade beginning in 1890 in our nation as being the Gay Nineties. There were only about 4000 millionaires in the country at the time. They had acquired their fortunes through the banking, mining, manufacturing, trade, and transportation industries. They travelled the world in great ocean liners, enjoyed the finest symphony orchestras, the opera, and sent their offspring to only the most refined colleges. They lived in manors in the winter, and spent the warmer months in spacious cottage homes by the lakes. During the Great Depression years of the 1930’s folks would look back at those times and only see those things intermingled with memories of the gallant Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt leading his Rough Riders in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, and other things like the great ferris wheel turning in the skies above the gleaming white buildings of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. But the truth was that the decade was neither gallant nor gay.
During that decade only one eighth of all the families in our nation controlled some seven-eighths of the national income. And it was in this socio-economic environment that one Nick Wagner and his son, John, began running an inn, and saloon, in the building that would come to be known far and wee as the Hotel Wagner.
In 1895 John married Lucy Holl of Amherst and with her went about the serious work of catering to the needs of those who travelled to and through the little Village of Vermilion. In a move that speaks loudly for itself the saloon was promptly relocated in one half of the corner building (now the Main Street Grill) affording the hotel additional rooms and more pleasant parlours overlooking the busy Vermilion River. Ms. Lucy immediately took charge of the culinary department and the food and homelike service became quite famous.
At the very turn of the century a young Frenchman by the name of Joe Stone came to town and took lodging at the hotel. While he was a bridge-builder by trade and a wanderer at heart he fell in love with Vermilion and the hotel. After his landlord, John, died in 1905 he decided to stay on, and took charge of the business.
For the next 40 years the hotel saw the comings and goings of passing travellers, regular summer guests, fishermen, linemen, and sundry other workers who labored to build the burgeoning Village of Vermilion. I’ve no doubt that this was once a temporary home for Vermilion’s legendary sailor Captain“Big Ed” Lampe.
But by the late 1930’s the weight of the depression years married to new legislation regarding the management and operation of hotels, not to mention minimum wage standards, began to take a toll on Hotel Wagner. In the latter part of 1939 the hotel was sold to a gentleman named Tom Conners to be used as a small apartment house. Mrs. Wagner retired to her sister’s home in Amherst, and all that was left was the building and a million memories.
During my lifetime the old hotel has been home to Doc Burley’s optician’s office, Dr. Halley’s office, Prieur’s appliance store (a predecessor of Erie Electronics), and Paul Ludlow’s photo studio. It was also an apartment facility for numerous other townsfolk. Today it provides a home for Dr. Suszko’s dental practice and the Vermilion Photojournal. And although there have been some alterations to the structure during the ensuing years it looks essentially the same as it looked over a century ago when weary travellers stopped in for a home cooked meal and cozy lodging during those not so gay Nineties.
Ref: The Vermilion News; 1-30-41; Special Thanks to Barbara A. (Hays) Ruggles; Published in the Vermilion Photojournal 10/28/04; Written 10/24/04 @ 4:16 PM.
JUST DAWN
DAWN: I acquired this pic a while back from Dawn Full. She was cleaning out her garage. I found it (for the lack of a better word) charming. Dawn has forever been a pretty woman.
I really don't know a great deal about her. Though she has told me some.
She was an only child. And I believe she came of age in the Cleveland area. Her father was a well known dentist. She met her future husband, Ray Full, at Cleveland Hopkins airport. And the rest (as they say) is history.
Dawn (some may not know) was the 2nd woman to serve as a Vermilion council representative. She was also a membere of two Vermilion Charter Committees. (i.e. The first - when Vermilion was to become a city; and the second - when the Charter was being reviewed.) But these are only a few of the things she's beein involved with in the community over the years. (She is also actively involved with the Vermilion Food Pantry.)
But, my-o-my what a great - a charming - photograph!
THE NEWS OFFICE c.1910
PAINTING THE TOWN: As previously mentioned this is a preview piece for a new webpage that I am currently developing. Using a new software program in conjunction with Adobe's Photoshop CS4 I am able to take some already wonderful pix of Vermilion, O. and make them (at least in my view) more "wonderfuller"
This beauty was adapted from a Pearl Roscoe photograph taken just a few years into the 20th century. Pearl and his wife, Bessie, owned and operated this business from 1898 until their deaths in 1945. The building was designed and built to be a printshop with an apartment for the Roscoe Family on the upper floor. It was built by Roscoe's father Caselton. Over ensuing years a few additions were added to the back - and a porch on the front of the upper level - of the building to accommodate both the business and a growing family. Today the building still exists - printing equipment and all - as it did when the business closed its doors in 1964.
Mar 18, 2010 6:40 AM
Beautiful.
"After a night of hunting the boys would return to Coon Hollow for a bite to eat,
a taste of some ominous potion called “stump-blower”..."
THE BOYS OF COON HOLLOW:
The common raccoon (Procyon lotor) [PRO-sie-on LO-tor] is the familiar masked bandit found throughout most of the United States. Procyon means "before dog" and lotor means "washer." They are found virtually wherever there is water, from the cold temperate regions of North America to the tropics. The Indians of North American called the raccoon -- aroughcun -- which translates, "he who scratches with his hands." Captain John Smith described the animal in his Generall Historie of Virginia (1624): "There is a beast they call aroughcun [raccoon], much like a badger, but useth to live [in] trees as squirrels do. Their squirrels some are near as great as our smallest sort of wild rabbits, some blackish or black and white, but the most are gray...”
Raccoons are hunted for their precious fur as well as their delicious meat. And although the number of animals killed each year is considerable, the species is not endangered because they breed heavily (in the winter time) and their number is kept constant so as not to disturb nature’s balance. Whether for sport or vocation Raccoon hunting has long been, and remains, a genuine part of the story of America.
In Ohio Raccoon Hunting season currently commences in early November and closes at the very end of January. It’s not so prevalent anymore, but 50 years ago when dark shadows fell across the moon overlooking the Vermilion River Valley, then seemed to pause as if in silent prayer for the affairs of days past, a mournful sound would ofttimes rise from deep inside a lonely wooded hollow somewhere along that stream, shatter the icy petition of the impending winter, and everyone in earshot knew that the chase had begun. The boys and hounds from “Coon Hollow” were afoot again.
In truth that description of both the hunt and hunters is more sinister than the reality. “Coon Hollow” was an epithet given Tony Buersken’s place. Tony lived in the brick “old school-house-type” house on the sharp curve along West River Road just south of town. It was the place where “the boys” (pictured L-R: Frank Mayer, Bill “Bud” Marks, Ed Fischer, Tony Beursken, and Art Mayer) gathered before and after (pictured) their hunting expeditions.
Dressed, as they are in the photo, in rubber boots, heavy trousers, coats, hunting caps, and armed with carbide lights, five cell flashlights, and small calibre rifles they anxiously awaited at Tony’s place for nightfall to begin each hunt. Every man had a favorite hound to accompany him be it a Bluetick, Walker, Redbone, Black-and-Tan, or just a Cur. It didn’t matter. All believed his to be the best. And all were willing to make a wager to prove it. Whoever treed the most coon and returned to Coon Hollow with their catch won.
After a night of hunting the boys would return to Coon Hollow for a bite to eat, a taste of some ominous potion called “stump-blower”, and eagerly exchange well-crafted stories that were likely best-suited for - but not limited to - publication in sports and fields, and men’s magazines. But some stories were very folksy and, in that sense, proverbial in nature.
Frank Mayer, for instance, tells the story of one fellow who once returned from a hunt boasting about having bagged three raccoons. After letting the guy brag himself out he looked him in the eye, smiled, and said, “Ha! I got four.”
The photo accompanying this essay was taken in late January or early February of 1957 when the boys gathered together for their annual trip to find a fur buyer or trader who would give them the best price for their pelts. Like the hunt this was also a real adventure. Because it wasn’t always easy to find a fair buyer. But at the end of the day they would return for a small celebration - a final toast - and look forward to another season with the boys of Coon Hollow.
Ref: The Legend of Coon Hollow; by John Vargo Jr. - 2008; Published in the Vermilion Photojournal 10/02/08; Written 9/28/08 @ 12:06 PM.<
nothing ever remains quite the same...
SOMETHING OLD - SOMETHING NEW: The idea for this piece began as an idea for a coffee-table book of historical photographs of Vermilion, Ohio and, hopefully, it will (someday) be realized.
Originally the concept - as previously stated - was just a picture book. But after mentioning such a project in an issue of my weekly web page - Vermilion Views - a reader by the name of Scott Dommin suggested that it might be interesting if it featured photographs of how people, places, and / or things in the City of Vermilion, Ohio appear today along with photos showing how they appeared in the past. Ergo; the title "Now & Then".
"What a great idea." I told both myself and Scott.
[NOTE: Currently I'm weighing two proposals. Nothing's easy as it seems.]
BEECKEL'S ON DIVISION STREET
Andrew Beeckel was a popular furniture dealer and funeral director. He was born in Michigan in October 1869. His mother, Catherine was married 3 times. Once to a man named Liberman; once to a man named Beeckel; and, finally, to John W. Krapp. Mr. Krapp managed - and may have owned - Vermilion's Lake House Hotel. Beeckel's half-sister, Lizzie would eventually marry Vermilion Lumber Company owner named George Fischer. And George eventually purchased the hotel, moved it down the hill to the east and named it after their two children Maude and Elton.
A. E. Beeckel's name is known by most persons familiar with local history because he was for many years Vermilion's funeral director and furniture dealer. During the last century he kept a parlor in the shop(s) situated just to the south of another shop currently known as Brummer's Candy Store on Main Street. [Note; that part of Main Street was once called "Division Street".]
A young A.E. Beeckel
"...if we could lift the curtain which hides from us the genesis
of the people who inhabited the continent before us,
the subject would lose much of its fascination....."
PREHISTORIC FIRE-LANDS: I found the following information re: the early inhabitants of our area to be extremely informative. Methinks you will also.
I am getting better at transcribing these passages so there are fewer mistakes. But I like to read as I go - and sometimes I fill in the blanks. So tread carefully this trail through yesteryear.
INDIANS OF THE FIRE-LANDS -PART 3
The Enigmatic Genesis of Pre-Historic Americans
It is a mystery, how, in this northern climate, the Indians obtained the means of living through the winter. Even those tribes who did not despise agriculture tilled the soil in a superficial way, and often had short crops. In such a season, their chief dependence was on fish and game, and even these must at times have failed them. It is easy to understand that such famines as that which drove the Wyandots south of the lake, according to their tradition, were not an infrequent occurrence. Pestilence, too, occasionally swept the country, destroying whole tribes. Ogontz has been spoken of as an Ottawa, but, in reality, according to his own statement, he was an adopted son of that tribe — his own parents having died in such a pestilence while he was a child. Samoset, the Wampunoaa, told to the New England colonists the story of a great plague, which, a few years before, had almost denuded the country of its inhabitants, and had left many tribes in a feeble and desolate condition.
The tongues and dialects spoken by the aboriginal inhabitants of our country have been a fruitful field for philologists. As the Algonquin tribes inhabited that part of the Atlantic coast first settled by the English, their language gave to the colonists several words which have almost become a part of our English vocabulary. They are such words as "wigwam," "squaw," "wampum,'" "tomahawk," "sachem," etc. The words in the Indian vocabularies were few, and it became often necessary for them to express their ideas circuitously, by metaphors and other figures, and by such combinations of words, as printed in English books, have given many people the impression that the aboriginal languages were full of unpronounceable, monosyllabic words.
Many of the Indian proper names were combinations of expressive words descriptive of the localities named. Thus the name Sandusky is a compound and corrupted word, meaning, originally, "clear water," or, more literally "water not concealing the ground," or, as another has translated it, " water in pools." Norwalk, which comes from the Connecticut town of that name, is another compound word, signifying "middle-land," or, like the Greek Mesopotamia, "between the rivers." Erie signifies "wild cat," an appropriate title for one of the fiercest of the native tribes.
Many English books have been translated into these dialects and languages; grammars and dictionaries have been written of the tongues of several of the tribes, and comparative philologists have sought, by means of various affinities, to trace the sources and beginnings of the American races.
There is no subject connected with aboriginal America having more of the interest of unsolved mystery than this. As with most mysteries, if we could lift the curtain which hides from us the genesis of the people who inhabited the continent before us, the subject would lose much of its fascination.
We have but glanced at the Fire-lands of prehistoric times. A hundred things might still be said, and yet the darkness which hides from our conception the state of a country whose people wrote no history, would not be changed to twilight.
Author: Williams, W. W. (William W.)
Subject: Huron County (Ohio) - History; Huron County (Ohio) - Biography; Erie County (Ohio) - History; Erie County (Ohio) - Biography
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio: Press of Leader Printing Company
NOT IN COPYRIGHT
Continued Next Week...
God Bless their souls - each and every one.
"The “Great Flood of 1913” was history. It was time for some fun."
"HI! MY NAME IS CLIFF. DROP OVER SOMETIME": 1913 was a memorable year in Vermilion, O. The winter weather had been formidable, and with the Spring rains came flooding - the likes of which - no person then living or working along the banks could recall.
“Big Ed” Lampe’s Southwest Fish Company - the only fishery located on the east bank of the river - was completely destroyed by the flooding. But “Big Ed”, who was no stranger to setbacks large or small, just shook it off, took the loss, and began to rebuild.
After mopping up his place along the river lumberman George Fischer turned his efforts to moving the old hotel he had recently purchased to make way for a new brick building. It was a colossal task for the times - but it was doable. So ever slowly and carefully, workmen rolled the three-storied Lake House Hotel down the hill from the (southeast) corner of Division and Liberty Streets to its new home on the (southwest) corner of Exchange Street. They never even put a crack in the plaster walls.
By the end of summer - with a great deal of work - things had pretty much returned to normal along the river and streets of the village. The “Great Flood of 1913” was history. It was time for some fun.
In retrospect, “fun” in 1913 seems to have been (for the lack of a better, or more polite, term) slightly obtuse. Perhaps future generations will say and think the same of our notions and recreations. Whatever the case one of the amusements in the Vermilion of 1913 was the Minstrel Show: an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface.
Minstrelsy is considered to be the very first distinctive American theatrical form. Often credited with giving rise to a music industry that was purely American. it currently provides us with an idea of how white America once saw, and misunderstood, black America. Whilst it undoubtedly had strong racist aspects it, rather fortuitously, resulted in the first broad understandings by white America of aspects of black culture and history. But it was - good or bad - what it was. And in the early 20th century Village of Vermilion it was a source of entertainment.
The photo accompanying this essay is not particularly rare. Minstrel shows were both common and popular with several generations of Vermlionites - both as members of the audience and as players. And photographs of the players in blackface on the Opera House stage atop the old Vermilion Township Hall can be found in numerous scrapbooks.
That which makes this postcard photo particularly unusual is the fact that it was apparently taken on the ground floor of the Township Hall; seven of the nine men in the photo are identified by name; and the approximate date and weather conditions of the time were also recorded on the back of the document.
Those pictured (not necessarily in the order they appear) are “Duke” Showalter, “Red” Tischer, Harold Cole, Dewey Neiding, Rev. W.K. Williams (not in blackface), Charlie Squires, and William Grant (3rd from left). The photo was taken in “Early November, 1913 - the year of the big Nov. snow.”
All of these men were prominent members of the community. William Grant, for instance, was the Station Agent / Telegraph Operator at the Nickel Plate Railroad Depot near State Street. And Rev. Williams was the Pastor of the First Congregational Church (1912 - 1914) next to the Opera House. Among other things he organized Vermilion's first Boy Scout Troop (which incidentally survives to this day).
Despite the cynical nature of this form of entertainment as it might be perceived by some in retrospect; it may be that the actual shows were far less deleterious than one might expect. Although the format of these productions was, by its very nature, well defined - the dialogue was not. It was writ by local players for local people. They would have been looking at gags and quips that poked a bit of fun at themselves. As indicated at the beginning of this piece the early months of 1913 had been difficult for the citizenry. They really needed a laugh. Even if it was a bit corny; or at their own expense: "Hi! My name is Cliff. Drop over sometime”.
Ref: Special Thanks To: Kathalee (Grant) Hodge, Rochester NY; and Fred Wakefield, Illinois; Published in the Vermilion Photojournal 6/30/08; Written 6/29/08 @ 12:43 PM.
THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS
[Thanks to William Marten]
1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.
2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.
3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.
4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don't really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts.
5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country -- if they could find the time -- and if they didn't have to leave Southern California to do it.
6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run thecountry and did a poor job of it, thank you very much.
7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who*s running the country and don't really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.
8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who is running the country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.
9. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.
10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure if there is a country or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who also happen to be illegal aliens from any other country, or galaxy, provided of course, that they are not Republicans.
11. The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in line at the grocery store.
12. The Minneapolis Star Tribune is read by people who have recently caught a fish and need something in which to wrap it.
Podcasts - "forever under construction..."
PODCAST #172: This week the Vermilion Views Podcast #172 travels to Columbus, Ohio for a look at the Central Ohio Fire Museum. (No Smoking.)
Also note that I've mucked-upthe numbering of these podcasts. Don't ask how I accomplished that task - but I did. I will try to correct that by next time.
Persons interested in the history of the Lake Shore Electric Railway (which was the subject of a recent past podcast series) - "the greatest electaric railway system on the planet" may want to go to Amazon.com and purchase a book called "Images of Rail - Lake Shore Electric Railway". It was put together by Thomas J. Patton with the help of my friends Dennis Lamont and Albert Doane. It'd make a nice gift.
Also, please note that all the video (MP4) podcasts (when used) are done in the "Quicktime MP4" format. If you don't have "Quicktime" it's easy to find and free to download.
NOTE NOTE:Past podcasts are not available in the on-line archive. They just take up too much disk space. But if one really, really, really wants to acquire a copy of a past cast it can be had by contacting me and I will place it on a disc and send it to ye for a minimal fee.
LOCAL ANNOUNCEMENTS: After giving it much thought this link has been "put-down". During the last year most of the folks who used to use this page as a bulletin board have acquired their own and, consequently, no longer need this forum from "Views". I have, however, kept links (in the links section) to Larry Hohler's "Hope Homes" in Kenya - and to Bette Lou Higgins' Eden Valley Enterprises sites. They are historically and socially relevant projects. I suggest that you visit these sites on a regular basis to see "what's shakin'".
Pay particular note to the "Hope Homes" page during the next few months. They've recently received a significant grant from the Dolan Foundation and are constructing a Manual Training Center for their children and for other young people in that community. This is an exciting project.
Although this years Vermilion High School Class of 1959 reunion is over classmates may want to stay connected with each other through organizer Roger Boughton. Ye can connect by mailing him @ 2205 SW 10th Ave. Austin, MN. 55912 or you can just emailRoger.
Where's Alice? I found this link interesting. You just never know what Vermilion expatriots are up to - or where their up to doing it. Alice Wakefield is one of those people. So check out his link. Methinks you'll be surprised: Talking Turkey.
The Beat Goes On: The page is generated by the dreaded Macintosh Computer and is written and designed by (me) Rich Tarrant. It will change weekly ~ usually on Saturday. Bookmark the URL (Universal Resource Locater) and come back at your own leisure. Send the page to your friends (and enemies if you wish). If you have something to share with those who visit this page, pass it on. And if you see something that
is in need of correction do the same. My sister, Nancy, is a great help in that respect. It only takes me a week to get things right. And follow the links. You might find something you like. If you experience a problem with them let me know. Also, if you want to see past editions of this eZine check the new archives links below.
If you're looking for my old links section (pictured) I've replaced it with a pull-down menu (visible in the small box next to the word "Go"). If you're looking for links to more Vermilion history check that menu.
How the old links menu looked
For Persons who would like to donate to the cause (to keep these "Views" on-line you can send whatever you would like to me at the following address. And THANKS to everybody who has already donated to the cause. I doth certainly appreciate it):
Rich Tarrant
1041 Oakwood Drive
Vermilion, Ohio
44089
Telephone: 440-967-0988 - Cell: 440-522-4459
or you can use PayPal: (NOTE: IT WORKS NOW)
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice;
it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
-William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925)
Vol.8, Issue 1, March 20, 2010
Archive Issue #366
Vermilion Views Search Engine
© 2009 Rich Tarrant