A Little Bridge History

View fullsize

No, not the highway bridge. We are talking about the interurban bridge at Roche de Boeuf. Technological advances in the late 19th century showed that electricity could be used to run powerful electric motors which in turn could drive a vehicle without fuel, water and high pressure steam. It only needed to draw electricity from the overhead wire to run the motor, and so the electric railway industry was born. The electric cars could travel very fast along the rails from city to village to city, so we had rapid transit in the horse and buggy era. Many electric railway companies were formed by people hoping to cash in on this new technology and routes were surveyed, track laid and electric cars were designed and built. Stationary steam driven electric generating plants were established at strategic points along these routes.

The Lima-Toledo Traction Company was one of these companies, with plans to connect these two cities with many smaller communities along the route and to expand in time to Cincinnati. By 1907 the planned route reached the Maumee River at Waterville and a lengthy bridge was needed. The National Bridge Co. of Indianapolis, Indiana was chosen to build this bridge using another recent technology, concrete. The bridge was to be the longest re-enforced concrete railroad bridge in the world, some 1220 feet in length and of “Roman Aqueduct” design, with 12 graceful arches. The bridge was to cross the river at Roche de Boeuf, then owned by Clarence Dodd by riparian rights who deeded the traction company a right of way across his property. The citizens were told that the old landmark rock would not be harmed. Unfortunately they were lied to. The right of way crossed the rock and a portion of the east end was blasted away and used for bridge support. The people were outraged at the desecration of their famous landmark but the deed was done. They were left with a beautiful bridge and rapid transit to Toledo in 20 minutes and to other parts of Ohio. Waterville citizen and business benefited from the interurban line with trade to and from Toledo and other Ohio communities.

Today our beautiful bridge is a victim of age and neglect. The interurban railway was too soon replaced by more modern technology, the automobile. The bridge was last used as a temporary auto bridge in the 1940s after the highway bridge collapsed. Since then the earth filled concrete structure has succumbed to freeze-thaw damage causing the collapse of several spans that we see today. Historians and sentimentalists would like to see the bridge stabilized and remain in place. The Ohio Dept. of Transportation, owner of the bridge, sees it as a hazard and liability. The public will be asked to express opinions at a public meeting on November 20th from 5-7PM at the Waterville Primary School. We hope our readers will attend.

ROCHE de BOEUF BRIDGE NEEDS YOUR HELP!

View fullsize

The Roche de Boeuf bridge, sometimes known from Waterville as the Trolley Bridge, was used by the Lima Toledo Traction Company and claimed to make it from Waterville to Toledo in 20 minutes. It was built by the National Bridge Company of Indianapolis, Indiana. The company promised that they would not damage or destroy the rock known as Roche de Boeuf, sacred to the Native American. Clarence Dodd owned the Rock by riparian rights and deeded the company a right-of way across his property. As the bridge was being built it was apparent that the rock was damaged. In fact almost one third of the rock was blown away to create support for one of the bridge piers. The people were up and arms but what could they do. The deed was done. It was a beautiful bridge built with a “Roman Aqueduct” design, 1220 feet in length with 12 arches spanning the Maumee River. The arches, ranging 70-90 feet in length, were dirt filled and 45 feet above the water at lowest level. This was done with wooden forms as shown in the picture taken by John Findlay Torrence (Tory) Isham, son of John George and Sarah Cooper Isham, who lived nearby. He was an amateur photographer, farmer and former teacher at Neowash School on Neowash Road. He was also a surveyor possibly under local surveyor Charles Shoemaker. He worked as a surveyor in several northwestern states for the Great Northern Railroad Line from 1881 to 1891. He became interested in home photography around 1900, taking many photos of local scenes that interested him. These photos were taken on glass negatives, which were developed and printed in his home darkroom. Some of his photographs are of the bridge at Roche de Boeuf being built. The Wakeman Archives has on display the camera and his mounting equipment that was used in taking pictures of this bridge.

On November 20th  from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Waterville  Primary School the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is holding a public meeting in regards to the Roche de Boeuf Interurban Bridge to address safety concerns associated with the bridge, located in Wood County and Lucas County, Ohio. The bridge is the former Ohio Electric Interurban Electric Railway bridge that crosses the Maumee River near Waterville, Ohio and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The meeting is to present and discuss the alternatives currently under consideration and solicit input regarding the proposed project to stabilize or  remove the bridge to make the waterway safe for canoers and those walking under the bridge. Your attendance is needed to voice your concerns either way you wish the project to go. If you don’t want to lose your voice you need to attend this meeting or send someone to present your ideas.

Protection for the Bank!

View fullsize

Bank robbery has been a problem as long as we have had banks because “that’s where the money is.” The prohibition era gave rise to many gangsters and subsequent Great Depression created many desperate people, so it should be no surprise that bank robberies increased in those times. Small town banks were an easy target as there was less staff in the bank and a quick get-away assured. January 2, 1932 the Waterville bank was robbed of $4000 by two pistol-wielding men with a third robber in the get-away car. This was the first time the bank had ever experienced a robbery. November 28, 1933 robbers struck again. Two men, one dressed as a woman, entered the bank on a Saturday morning, produced guns and grabbed all the cash they could find. This time an alarm was sounded to Graf’s Garage down the street and armed men came running. The women’s clothing caused the posse to hesitate long enough for the robbers to back their car up the hill to Fourth Street and get away amid a hail of bullets from the Waterville men. This time the loss was only about $600 due to precautions taken after the first robbery. 

The bank, after two robberies in less than two years, was forced to consider ways to protect bank assets and personnel. Other banks in the area including Whitehouse had experienced the same problem so many were installing steel cages and bullet proof glass between bank tellers and the public. An article in the Toledo Sunday Times, dated December 5, 1937 shows photos of not only such cages installed but also “booby trap” devices such as high voltage electric barriers, steel spikes, improved alarm systems and even a gas mask for tellers in case tear gas was deployed by would-be robbers. Was this over-kill or what? In any event this idea apparently didn’t last too long. Ernest Ferrell became the bank manager in 1938 and put the bank on sound financial footing in short order. His autobiographical book “Stories I Want my Grandchildren to Know” makes no mention of the above mentioned cages and booby traps but he did “modernize” the building as bank profits allowed and eventually had the building completely remodeled in a Colonial or “Williamsburg” style. I am sure he probably had these medieval protections removed but the bank was not robbed again until 1955, when it was a more modern bank.

A Vista Volunteer at age 75

View fullsize

Mrs. Verda Heckler of Waterville at close to 75 years of age, decided that sitting around knitting and sitting in her rocking chair was not what she want to do. Her husband had died a few years earlier. She lived in the upstairs apartment in the house we call the Coffin House at 127 ½ River road. They had bought the house in 1942 while she was working at the Rossford Ordinance Depot. Without telling her family she decided to look into the VISTA program. Where she found out about the program no one knows. Vista was the Federal Government program “Volunteers in Service to America.” She was a mother of seven, grandmother of 24 and great grandmother of eleven. She had to have six letters of recommendation from important people. The Waterville mayor and police chief sent letters and she also had to pass a physical exam.

On January 18, 1968 she received word that she was accepted in to the program and would be leaving. On February 5th she was to fly Denver, Colorado to begin her six-week training in the Vista program at the north-central regional training center of the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity for her new life as a volunteer in in the war on poverty. Verda graduated from that program late March 1969.  She was hoping she would be assigned to Alaska but instead she was assigned to Poplar Bluff, Mo., Job Corps. She made it to the Poplar Bluff but found that the terrain was more than she could handle. You see she had Spinal Meningitis earlier when working at the ordinance depot and her balance was bad. She was one of the first persons to get Penicillin (this was first made available to the public in 1945) and when she came home after her rehab she enlarged two of the upstairs rooms so she could practice walking by pushing her kitchen chairs for support. Verda was always helping out, previously had passed her LPN and worked as a nurse, read to the school children and had grandchildren living downstairs that kept her busy. She never wanted to be a burden on her family. She was able to walk on sidewalks with no problems but when she got to Popular Bluff the ground was very uneven making it difficult for her to get around and had to come back home. What a wonderful thing this woman was trying to do to help others and not be a burden on family and friends.

Note the diorama of the Coffin House was made by granddaughter Elaine, as a school project circa 1970.

Tourist Cabins in Waterville by Randy Studer

View fullsize

Lytle Cabins on River Road

A while back at the Waterville Historical Archives we received some film negatives from a donor. One of them showed an image of early tourist cabins on River Road.  After some discussion we realized that we needed to find out more about the tourist cabins on River Road.

The times were changing in Waterville from the mid 1920’s and into 1940’s, with more people starting to drive automobiles and trucks.  Transportation as everyone knew it to be was nearing an end. The Miami and Erie Canal was abandoned and finally drained on July 4th, 1929. The “Pumpkin Vine” line was gone in May of 1910. The Ohio Electric Railway went bankrupt in 1921 and was reorganized as the Cincinnati & Lake Erie Electric Railway which lasted until 1939. The Toledo, St Louis & Western Railroad (Clover Leaf) later became a part of New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad. (Nickel Plate) quit hauling passengers. Then after that the Nickel Plate line from Toledo to Fort Wayne was abandoned ca. 1964.

Lastly, River Road (aka Toledo-Napoleon Road) was the main route going north and south by automobile and trucks. When long distance traveling motorists using River Road needed to stop for the night, they could not stop into the Holiday Inn Express in Waterville, Ohio, get a room for the night and have a free breakfast the next morning. At that time most overnight accommodations were limited to big city hotels, tourist homes, and family-owned tourist cabins located beside the road. In Waterville we had one such place, Lytle’s Modern Cabins on North River Road. From the information we have, Florence Lytle, had four modern cabins built, 2 one bedroom and 2 two bedroom cabins.  This became Lytle’s Modern Cabins. They advertised a private shower and bath and innerspring mattresses. We believe they were built in 1940.

In 1944, Gayle and Kathleen Griffith bought the cabins and property from Florence Lytle. It made a nice extra income for them renting the cabins out. The old Miami and Erie Canal bed was being filled in for the new Route 24. In 1951, the final portion of the canal bed starting at Mechanic Street was filled in and a new road was built up to the River Road intersection going south.  This became known as Anthony Wayne Trail (Route 24) going though Waterville. Through this progression the River Road was no longer the main highway and the cabin rental business dwindled. Kathleen would rent them out by the week to people who worked in the area and needed a temporary place to stay.  As far as we know they were still in operation in 1956. In looking at an aerial photo the cabins were still there in 1963. From what we understand three of the cabins were torn down and one of them was made into a garage, but we don’t know when. When traveling around the area you can still see some roadside tourist cabins still standing. Some were located and operated by gas stations and Mom & Pop grocery stores.  In 2019, you can still find tourist cabins for rent from the 1930’s-1940’s, along with new tourist cabins that were built for the weary traveler across America. 

A Tale of Chicken Thieves & Automobiles

View fullsize

The Archives recently acquired the poster shown in our photo, thanks to a generous donor. It seems that the local farmers needed to band together in something of a vigilante group to combat a rash of chicken stealing and other barnyard fowl.

 In the 1920s the automobile came into its own as a swift and reliable means of transportation. Now people could easily leave their local communities and travel widely  for good and evil. Evidently there were folks in the city who loved a chicken dinner but did not like to pay for it. These people knew that chicken, ducks and geese lived in the country. They also knew that barnyard fowl sleep at night as do the hard working farmers who raise these delectable creatures. So, a little drive in the country in the refreshing night air might yield a sack full of Sunday dinners. In 1926 this practice became common enough that the farmers were forced to consider some means to stop these losses to their livelihood and their own food supply. The Waterville Township Protective Association was formed, a sort of rural block watch group. We have a newspaper article describing how Lester Barnes discovered an automobile on Neapolis Road at 1 AM on a Saturday night. The driver apparently had just abandoned the car which was found to contain several chickens and a turkey. Deputy Sheriff’s Clarence Mast and J. Saddoris were called along with other association members to search for the thief. The vehicle license plates led to the arrest of a Toledo man.

We are not aware of how effective the association was at deterring chicken thieves but we were interested in discovering its existence. We would be grateful for any information about this group that anyone of our readers may know

"A Man Named Granger"

View fullsize

He is the most well-known yet anonymous person of our local history. All the local histories that are available to this writer refer to him as “a man named Granger’ We know that John Pray came to this place along the Maumee River because of the potential water power to run a mill. He knew that to attract farmers and village residents to buy his land, a local mill to grind their grain was crucial. Therefor one of his first acts, once he was firmly established, was to build a dam from the shore to the nearby island creating Pray’s Falls. The problem was that the island was occupied by “a man named Granger.” Granger obligingly sold the island to John Pray for an unreported sum and he completed the dam and built his mill on the island. When Pray made his next trip to the distant land office to register his purchase, imagine his surprise to find that Granger was a squatter who never owned that island. Of course he had to pay the government for that piece of land to be the true owner. So it was that John Pray paid twice for one piece of land. History does not say where that rascal Granger went after that, but his name lives on.  The island has been known through many years of history as Granger’s Island even though he never owned it.

Author’s Note: We are aware that some maps from the late 1800s call it Dodd’s island as he was a longtime owner, but we think the local people knew it as Granger’s. Early maps like 1840 Waterville and maps from 1960 to present call it Granger Island. Granger Island is now part of the Lucas County Metro Park.

Scalawags and Scoundrels

View fullsize

The frontier brought good people looking for a fresh start, to seek their fortune or looking for fresh fertile (and cheap) farmland. There were also a few folks who came because there was no established law and order. Some of these were always looking for ways to make a quick easy buck as we shall see in this series on Scalawags and Scoundrels.

Scoundrel Isaac Richardson was perhaps the earliest white settler in this area. The British and allied hostile Indians during the War of 1812 drove any white settlers in the Maumee River Valley out of the area and new settlers were slow to return. Isaac, however, is reported have been in this area by the spring of 1814. Why he came here is unknown but by 1816 he built a double log cabin on the Fort Defiance to Fort Detroit road along the Maumee River opposite the Roche de Boeuf rock as a tavern and trading post. It is reported that besides entertaining travelers on the road, he sold whiskey to the Indians, made a business of catching fugitive slaves for the bounty money and cheated anyone he thought he could. He prospered as more settlers moved into the area in spite of his known character flaws. These “character flaws” finally led to his downfall. In July of 1830 a simple half-breed named George Porter who worked as handyman for Isaac became so enraged at being constantly cheated that he shot him in the head on the porch of the tavern. Porter was hanged for his crime at Perrysburg, the Wood County seat at that time, in spite of much public sympathy for him. Isaac’s widow Jane Richardson then became the first woman to own property in this area, River tract 39, which she sold and had a house built in town. This house on River Road stands and is included in the WHS walking tour as the “Jane Richardson House.”

Note: Some of the information for this article is taken from Midge Campbell’s book “Watervillore.”

Mother's Day Sunday May 12, 2019

View fullsize

The beginning of celebrating Mothers goes back to the 17th Century in Britain to take gifts to their earthly mothers but then died out in the 18th Century. 1858 in West Virginia was the earliest Mother’s Day celebrated. Then a few other celebrations appeared such as Mother’s Work Day to improve sanitary condition during the Civil War. Later, Mother’s Day for Peace to honor peace and womanhood was celebrated. Most of these celebrations died out in a few years.

In 1908 Anna Jarvis wanted to honor mothers after her own mother died, so at the St. Andrew’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia, her own mother’s church, they celebrated a Sunday service honoring all mothers. This idea was sent to the United States Senate proposing the day but did not pass even though it was held in 46 states the next year. Seven years later it finally passed in the Senate and designated the 2nd Sunday in May as Mother’s Day and President Wilson proclaimed it as a national holiday. Ann Jarvis was against commercialization and had many court battles with the Florist Industry. She died penniless and her nursing home bill was paid for by the Florist Exchange which she never knew.

The Rupp Canal Store Safe

View fullsize

The historical society received a large safe from Thad and Barbara Jones that was originally in the Rupp Canal Store on the Miami and Erie Canal which was located just east of the Wakeman Hall. The Canal Store was known as Rupp’s Store since he was the last owner of the store. There were previous owners of the store as it opened in 1854 under the ownership of Orin Gillett and Wm. Dyer. Later in 1868 it was owned by Haskins and Christman, then the Haskins Brothers. Finally, in 1883 Jacob W. and David Rupp bought the store with David later selling out to open his own store in Haskins. The Canal Store closed in 1904 when Jacob built his new store at 20 N. 3rd Street. The safe was used in the old Canal Store and then moved to his store on 3rd Street.   When Herman decided to sell the 3rd Street Rupp Canal Store Thad asked Mr. Rupp what he was going to do with the safe. He asked him if he would like to buy it. Thad asked how much do you want for it? He answered “forty dollars.”  Thad went back on February 7, 1970 with the forty dollars in cash and the sale was done. Herman Rupp’s diary (now at the Wakeman Archives) shows the receipt of the sale to Thad. Mr. Rupp at that time told him that years ago robbers had attempted to open the safe by drilling a hole in the door, but they were unsuccessful. To fill the hole, Mr. Rupp (or his father) put a rat-tail file in the hole and broke it off. At that time, the safe could have been in the store at it original location on the canal. The safe is a 19th century floor safe measuring 37” high x 28” wide and 27” deep. It is on rolling wheels and has six compartments and decorated surface on the inside of the door.  It is still in working condition.

In time the safe will be on display, but at present to see other items from the Rupp Canal Store visit the Wakeman Hall and check out the replica Canal Store front with many items from the Rupp Canal Store on display.

Myths, Lies ---- and History #4

The Legend of Smedlap Effinglass

View fullsize

This Don Buckhout story is more tongue-in-cheek and amusing that the previous story reported in this space. The story was printed on the menu of his Smedlap’s Smithy restaurant in Waterville to justify the name of the establishment. The story relates how a distant ancestor of Mr. Buckhout named Smedlap Effinglass was chased out of the state of Georgia by an “angry mob,” made his way to the vicinity of the mouth of the Maumee River, set up a still and was supplying “Hooch” to the Indians and even to General Anthony Wayne after the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. The story relates that Smedap made a lot of money and in 1836 built a commercial building in Maumee which many years later housed the Old Plantation Inn (Don’s original restaurant.) Our hero Smedlap, on April 1, 1849, encountered a lovely young lady aboard a canal boat bound for Waterville so he stowed away among a flock of sheep aboard. (Is it lost on anyone, dear reader, that April 1 is April Fool’s Day.) The object of his affection was one Quindora Metzberger, daughter of Waterville’s only blacksmith Throck Metzberger. It seems that she was hurrying home because old Throck had abandoned his family to pursue a dancer from the local dance hall. So it was that Quindora and Smedlap came together, Smedlap became the blacksmith and soon a son named Quincy was born. Much later then Mr. Buckhout decided to follow the steps of his great, great, granduncle from Maumee to Waterville and set up a new restaurant in the old blacksmith shop and of course named it Smedlap’s Smithy.

I really like this story. It is clever, humorous and brings in some area history including being Indian Territory, the Battle of Fallen Timbers, the city of Maumee, the canal connecting to Waterville and beyond, plus the fact that the building was indeed originally a blacksmith shop. Watervillians must remember, however, that the history of this building is fairly well documented and there is no one named Metzberger or Effinglass among the known blacksmiths using this building. We generally remember the last blacksmith owner from around 1888, Charles Graf. The shop morphed into wagon makers shop, then auto service and repair as the automobile replaced horses. A thoughtful person might even question the timeline of the Smedlap Effinglass story. See our past article titled “The Saga of Peddlers’ Alley” for more about this building and the blacksmiths that were there. Still, Smedlap’s Smithy has a nice ring to it doesn’t it?

Note: If you can’t find an old menu or copy of The Smedlap story, visit us at the Wakeman Archives.

Myths, Lies and History—Myth No. 3 The Historic Flagpole

View fullsize

Prominently displayed on the wall, framed and under glass, in the hall of Peddler’s Alley just outside the restaurant that originally was Don Buckhout’s Smedlap’s Smithy is the tale of the historic flagpole. The story is that several young former employees at his Maumee restaurant The Plantation Inn, were at the site of the old British Fort Miami watching a huge ice jam on the river force huge blocks of ice seventeen inches thick up the hill above the river. One such block gouged a six inch deep furrow in the top soil and pushed aside an old millstone. Under the stone they discovered a deep, old dry well and peering into the well they saw an old moss-covered rounded pole. They covered up their find and told their former employer. Later, under the cover of night the boys and Buckhout pulled the thirty foot flagpole from the well, loaded onto a boat trailer and hauled it back to Waterville. The pole was stored several months, cleaned up, and varnished and fitted with pulleys and cable. The pole was erected with a concrete base on Thursday May 26, 1977 and Saturday morning a beautiful new 5’ x 8’ flag was raised. The story then suggests that when the British abandoned Fort Miami about 1814 they thought they might return so they hid the garrison’s pole in the well. The story notes, to make it more realistic, that there is (was) a hole near the top made by a small cannonball.

Great story! A piece of American history prominently displayed in front of a Waterville restaurant. Could this be true? Let’s check a few facts. The river at Fort Miami is deep, wide and well beyond the rapids above Maumee. Does anyone recall an ice jam pushing cakes of ice ashore at that location? Would even Don Buckhout steal a historic artifact from a historic site and brag about it? Would the British dig a well 30 feet deep in front of the river? Would a well that deep be dry? Would a wooden pole last 150 years in a damp if not wet hole? As for the cannon ball hole, I don’t recall in the history of Fort Miami that it was ever fired on. Fort Meigs is a couple of miles upriver and fired at the British cannon just across the river in present day Maumee. Could it be that Mr. Buckhout may have been pulling our leg to promote his restaurant?

Author’s note: Does anyone remember this flagpole? When was it taken out and where did it go?

Myths, Lies and History----Myth No. 2: The Great Chief Turkey Foot

View fullsize

During the Battle of Fallen Timbers, next to the Old Indian trail along the river, the great Indian Chief Turkey Foot stood upon a large rock to rally his troops to stand against General Anthony Wayne’s Legion. He was shot dead and the discouraged Indian warriors fled across the river to escape. The legend of the brave chief is widely published in many books and articles about the 1794 battle. It makes a great story and the origin is unknown. Again it was so often repeated that it became “history.” 

Checking facts then, we know, as pointed out in our last article, that the Battle of Fallen Timbers was not fought in the river flood plain but on the high ground north and west of the flood plain. The historical literature about the Indian Confederation does not mention a chief named Turkey Foot and finally, folks who are expert in Indian affairs say that Indians did not name their sons after body parts but only after an admired animal. In other words there never would have been an Indian chief named Turkey Foot and the whole story is a fabrication. Oh dear! We have the famous Turkey Foot Rock on which the fictitious chief never stood, Turkey Foot Creek and Turkey Foot Recreation area that are named after our imaginary hero. What do we do now? There is no harm in a name I suppose and we have a great, often repeated story---so long as we don’t mistake it for history. It always helps to check and re-check the facts when searching for the truth in history or any other endeavor.

Myths, Lies and History

There are times when misconceptions, erroneous stories and sometimes deliberate untruths are accepted by the public as fact. Some of these are harmless, amusing stories but some can distort our understanding of our history. We will present a series on some of these stories affecting our local history in the next few months.

Myth No. 1: The Battle of Fallen Timbers: 

This one is the longest held, widely accepted story of our local history and appears in most of the journals and books of the history of Toledo and Lucas County. The story holds that the battle was fought on the hill and flood plain above the river where the monument now stands, and gave rise to the legend of Chief Turkey Foot. (We will pursue that myth next.) The story says the Indians were routed and retreated across the river. This story arose because the locals in the mid-1800s found many downed trees in that location and assumed these were the fallen timbers of the 1794 battle and then created their own story. Fact check! The Indian Confederation fighters were not stupid. No army would take a defensive position in lowlands where the enemy could fire down on them and with a physical barrier like the river blocking their retreat. Unfortunately no one questioned the story until recently when learned professors of history looked into the existing journals of the men who were actually there in 1794 and calculated a logical pathway for General Wayne’s army to march down river from his Fort Deposit at Waterville to the actual battlefield where the Fallen Timbers Battlefield Park is today. Archaeological researches unearthed many artifacts proving this area was the actual battlefield. We must now rewrite over a hundred years of commonly accepted but incorrect history.

WONDERLAND

This story comes to us via Midge Campbell in her book “Watervillore” and also appeared in the Anthony Wayne Standard newspaper February 4, 1971. We think it fits with our recent articles about the prohibition era.

View fullsize

There was a roadhouse along the River Road and the canal just south of the Village of Waterville, a large three story structure. In the early 1900s it was owned by one Henry Shearer who had a penchant for building. The local folks called it “Wonderland” because they wondered what Henry was going to do to it next. During the prohibition years the roadhouse was run by an older lady the locals called “Aunt Mary” assisted by one of Waterville’s “characters” known as Big Ed. Aunt Mary served dinners and bootleg liquor to those that traveled here from Toledo wishing to partake of her hospitality. She also rented rooms to overnight guest and the establishment was very popular. The end of prohibition however put old Aunt Mary out of business. The old building began to decline but sometime after WW II it was purchased by Bill Kurtz for his residence. Mr. Kurtz removed the Third floor and made it into a comfortable home. Many years later while pursuing a water leak he removed a laundry cupboard and found a door he did not know existed. Behind the door there was a secret room and the remains of an old still including some unused mash. This apparently was one that Waterville’s Miss Hattersley did not find.

Waterville's Miss Fisher

View fullsize

If you ever followed the “Miss Fisher” detective series on P.B.S. you may be interested to know that Waterville had its own real life pretty young female sleuth in the 1920s. This young lady, Dorothy Hattersley, was living in Waterville with her parents Charles Edward and Edith Hattersley and at age 20 was sworn in as a constable by Waterville Justice of the Peace Clifford Ballou. Unlike most of her peers this young lady was seeking excitement, adventure and a little danger to spice up her life. Her mission was to seek out and arrest boot-leggers selling illegal liquor and to find illegal “stills” making the same. Those men tending the stills were arrested and the equipment destroyed. She seemed to be very good at her job according to the newspaper reports we have found. Her most famous escapade just a month or two after her appointment was reported in several Toledo newspapers.

It seems that on Friday November 24, 1922 Miss Hattersley and a male deputy entered a house at 426 Twelfth Street in Toledo which was known to be a distributer of illegal whiskey. They purchased a pint of whiskey from three male occupants of the house and immediately produced a warrant for their arrest. In spite of our heroine being armed with two guns, a struggle ensued for possession of the evidence in which Miss Hattersley was roughed up a bit but she made it out of the house, hid the bottle and called the Toledo police. The three were arrested and charged with illegal sales. Some adventure for a 20 year old female who told reporters, ”this is the most fun I have had since becoming a deputy marshal.” A few months later the February 24, 1923 edition of the Sandusky Star Journal ran a large (and likely glamorized) photo and article about Dorothy Hattersley proclaiming her “Ohio’s Prettiest Booze Sleuth,” describing her as a nemesis of “hooch” makers. The article talks of many stills that were seized as a result of her operations.

Dorothy’s later life was just a turbulent as her young beginning, but that would be another story. All of the Hattersley papers are stored in the Wakeman Archives and may be viewed by the public.

A Waterville Boy—Historian and Author

View fullsize

Robert Ferrell

Robert H. Ferrell, a 1939 graduate of Waterville High School came to live in this town when his father Ernest H. Ferrell, Sr., a WW I Veteran took a job with the Waterville Bank. The bank was located at the corner of Farnsworth and Third Street. In 1938 Robert and his brother Ernie, Jr were members of a Boy Scouts troop in Lakewood, Ohio before moving here. Robert got his Eagle Scout from Troop 67 in Lakewood, Ohio.  Ernie Ferrell, Jr. became the Third Eagle Scout of Waterville Troop 101 on September 14, 1939 and graduated in 1941 from Waterville High School. Robert was a talented pianist and it has been said he played piano at the Waterville Methodist Church. Robert served in WW II and later as an intelligence analyst in the U.S Air Force during the Korean War. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Music Education at B.G.S.U. in 1946 and a Bachelor in history a year later. He probably went back and forth between Waterville and Bowling Green frequently, instilling in him the small town atmosphere of life in Waterville.

Robert went on to receive his PhD from Yale University in 1951. He began as a lecturer in history at Michigan State College (now University) in the fall of 1952. Robert was hired as an Assistant Professor of History at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, in the fall 1953, where he could teach his specialty, diplomatic history. He taught many years starting as Assistant Professor and then advancing to Distinguished Professor in History in 1974, retiring in 1988 with Emeritus status there. He taught American diplomatic history there. After his retirement he moved closer to his daughter in Chelsea, Michigan. He was a prolific author writing and editing 60 books. He authored 12 books on President Harry S. Truman and a best-selling collection of the president’s letters to his wife. Dr. Ferrell was the first scholar to examine the letters after Bess Truman died. The book is called “Dear Bess: The Letters From Harry to Bess Truman 1910-1959” published in 1983. He wrote a biography of George C. Marshall, the World War II general and 1959 published “American Diplomacy.”  He wrote books about other presidents including Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt.  His students were required to read a book a week, then required to turn in a review of the book. He read all of the papers that were turned in. He was able to help many PhD students get their degrees. The Waterville school system most likely instilled and encouraged the love of books and history to him. What an honor to know that here was a Waterville student that made the most of his education. Robert passed away on August 8, 2018.

Robert’s father Ernest Ferrell Sr. remained in Waterville until 1978, took up photography in retirement and was part of the group that founded the Waterville Historical Society.

An Automobile Factory in Waterville?

View fullsize

We have recently discovered an article written in the Perrysburg Journal dated March 11, 1910 indicating a corporation had recently been formed in Waterville to manufacture motor trucks and might eventually employ 200 men. At this dawn of the automotive age, the Waterville investors were W.W Farnsworth, D. Sheldon, A.E. Zook, Charles L. Graf, W.H. Ostrander and J.P. Fowler. The plan was to place on the market both heavy and light “auto trucks” that they claimed had several new features not found on any other trucks; “now being manufactured.” The article states that the company will install its plant in the Graf blacksmith and wagon shop in Waterville. This is not surprising as documents suggest that Charles Graf had been building wagons in his shop for several years. The article also states that the Graf building had been remodeled and enlarged for the new company and that the planned first year’s production had already been sold.

This information raises many questions and we hope perhaps some of our readers might provide some answers. Did the company ever produce any of the motorized trucks mentioned and if so what ever became of them? Who bought them? What name did they use for the trucks? Are there any advertisements or literature anywhere regarding this company or their products? Is this the time and the reason the Graf building was extended? Obviously this enterprise failed and we know very little about it, which is a shame. This would have been a very big deal for 1910 Waterville. Later we know the school bus or buses were garaged in the expanded Graf building. Ironically, much later in the 1950s motor vehicles were made in this space when the Shop of Siebert leased the building to make extended automobiles for hearses, police and ambulance use and stretch limousines.

Herb Mericle's Granger Island Chili

View fullsize

Herb Mericle acquired the Granger Island in the 1950s. He built a one bedroom cottage on the highest point of the island to prevent flooding and his whole family enjoyed spending time there. In a 2006 interview Herb said, “We had great times over there. You know, what was so nice about it – some people got a cottage up on some lake and would drive 40 or 50 miles, but I could either drive or cross in a boat. No traffic, no sidewalks, no roads, coal oil lights. It was just perfect. It was just another world.”

Herb had a large a large vegetable garden on the island, which he learned to share with the wildlife like deer and foxes. He would find Indian artifacts; a skinning stone and ‘a real good tomahawk.” Herb had a great recipe that was printed in a newspaper at one time for Granger Island Chili

Granger Island Chili

4 pounds hamburger

Canola oil to coat the pan

2 cups onions diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes, cut into small pieces

1 can (46 Ounces) tomato juice

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Cook’s notes: “I like for there to be a good bite, a chunk, of hamburger in every spoonful of chilie. So you shouldn’t mix it up too much,” says Herb Mericle, explaining his approach to an old favorite. That’s why he mixes the seasonings with some of the liquid ingredients before combining all the solid ingredients. “Instead of just dumping a lot of dry powder into the chili pot and stirring, I put all my seasonings into the tomato juice,” Mr. Mericle stated.

Procedure: Brown the hamburger in large, heavy pan coated with canola oil. Don’t break the meat up’ you want a bit of meat in every bite of chili. Drain fat from the meat thoroughly.

In a stew pot, gently combine the onion, bell pepper, and tomatoes along with the browned beef; set aside. Stir salt, pepper, chili powder, hot pepper flakes and garlic powder into the tomato juice, then stir the seasoned juice into the onion-meat mixture. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and let it cook about ¾ hour, over low heat, covered. Stir it every so often. 

Unfortunately, the cottage was burned in 1984, probably by vandals. Herb sold the island in 1980 to Joseph Braden of Maumee, Ohio. Granger Island was acquired by Metroparks of the Toledo Area on December 20, 2011. This summer the Metroparks will offer camping experiences at Granger Island. The Island now has a cabin, outhouse and several tent platforms that the Penta Career Center helped construct. Canoers will be able to camp overnight on the island.

The Blade photo is by Herral Long 1998

World War I Ends!

Armistice Day, the day the agreement to end the war was signed on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918. It was called the “great war” and the “war to end all wars” because the warfare was so terrible and the death toll so great from machine gun fire, heavy artillery, poison gas, submarine attacks, etc. that surely mankind could never sustain such a conflict again. How naive we were! The next generation would have to live through it all again.

It is hard to believe that only 100 years ago the world was such a different place. The copy of the Toledo Blade shown in our photo, dated November 11, 1918, talks of kings, princes, czars and other forms of royalty ruling much of Europe and mid-east at that time. Air warfare was in its infancy and played a minor role in that war. German submarines, on the other hand, took a terrible toll on shipping and led to shortages of food, fuel and some strategic materials. This, plus the need to supply our armed forces, led to rationing of food, fuel, rubber, etc. which the public supported with patriotic fervor. War bonds and saving stamps were sold to support the enormous cost of the war and women entered the labor force in large numbers for the first time in history. The end of the war under terms dictated by the U.S. and allied forces changed the world map and many systems of government. The holiday known as Armistice Day has morphed into Veterans Day since World War II and subsequent conflicts.

Note: This year marks 100 years since World War I ended. The Waterville Historical Society has illustrated this significant event with displays of WW I artifacts, including this newspaper, at the Robbins House Museum, throughout the year. We hope many of you have visited and appreciate the sacrifice of so many American men and women, including our own Watervillians whose artifacts were included in this display. Your Waterville Historical Society is dedicated to preserving and presenting our local history and public support is vital to our mission. The Toledo Lucas County Library Local History Department has scanned all of our WW I letters from Alfred Graf and they now can be seen on the “Ohio Memory, A Collaborative Project of the Ohio History Connection and the State Library of Ohio.” Of course you are always welcome to come to the Wakeman Archival Research Center to read the letters.