Ohio History Journal

HISTORICAL NEWS

 

Historical Organizations

 

CRESTLINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY, Crestline

Ernest G. Hesser, President

The guest speaker for the April 28 meeting was Edward S. Thomas,

curator of natural history of the Ohio Historical Society. He spoke on the

subject, "Outdoor Ohio in Natural Color," and illustrated the talk with

his own colored slides of landscapes, birds, wild flowers, insects, and other

wild life.

The society plans a historical pilgrimage to Schoenbrunn and also a

garden party at the museum during June. J. L. Morrow, vice president

of the society, will be in charge of the pilgrimage.

The Odd Fellows Lodge (I. 0. O. F.), the first lodge to be organized

in Crestline (1854), plans a centennial celebration in June. The Crestline

Shunk Museum is arranging an Odd Fellow Exhibit at the museum, and

Dr. Hesser is preparing a history of the lodge which he will present at the

centennial dinner.

 

FIRELANDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Norwalk

James E. Dixon, Curator

The following officers were elected at a meeting on April 1: Don J.

Young, Jr., president; Charles Frohman, Erie County vice president; Earl

H. Lowe, Huron County vice president; Harriet G. Lawton, secretary and

editor of the Firelands Pioneer; James L. Wood, treasurer; James E. Dixon,

curator. Trustees include Herbert Freeman, C. B. Gardiner, Harry Bennett,

and Earl H. Lowe.

The transaction for the purchase of the old Wickham home for a Fire-

lands museum has been completed.

 

FIRESTONE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES, Akron

William D. Overman, Director

The director, William D. Overman, was elected president of the Ohio

Academy of History at its meeting in Columbus, April 3.

 

GATES MILLS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Gates Mills

W. Powell Jones, President

A circular letter was sent to members of the society in March summariz-

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Historical News                         289

 

ing the past year's activities and urging increased support of the society.

The organization is responsible for maintaining and operating the South-

wick House, which houses the village library and is used as a meeting place

by the society and other organizations.

Secretary Alfred Mewett supplied historical information on two local

houses included in the combined tour of the National Trust for Historic

Preservation and the Cleveland Chapter of the American Institute of

Decorators on May 8.

 

HAYES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM, Fremont

Watt P. Marchman, Director

Several hundred books pertaining to Abraham Lincoln and men of his

times were given to the Hayes Memorial Library by Mrs. E. M. Ickes of

Fremont, early in March 1954.

The director spoke before the Erie County Historical Society at Sandusky

on the evening of February 18. His subject was "Interesting Personalities

from the Sandusky River Region." An exhibition of original manuscripts

illustrated his talk.

The director participated in the annual meeting of the Ohio Academy

of History on April 3, as one of the discussants. He also contributed the

sketch of Rutherford B. Hayes which appears in the New Century Cyclopedia

of Names, recently published.

 

HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF OHIO, Cincinnati

Virginius C. Hall, Director

The librarian, Alice P. Hook, was elected president of the Cincinnati

Chapter of the Special Libraries Association for the year 1954-55.

The director was made an honorary life member of the Ohio Historical

Society at its annual meeting in April.

 

HUDSON LIBRARY AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Hudson

Lois A. Reed, Librarian and Curator

A new addition to the library and historical museum was opened on

May 9, 1954. In connection with the opening an exhibition of old books

and furnishings of the early nineteenth century was arranged. Also featured

was a Washington hand press upon which copies of an attractive broadside

describing the exhibition were printed for distribution on the occasion.

The exhibition continued through June.

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290     Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly

 

LAKEWOOD HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Lakewood

Mrs. Clyde H. Butler, President

Recent projects of the society include the installation of an old fashion(

fireplace in the kitchen of the Stone House in Lakewood Park and the pr

paration and planting of an authentic old-fashioned herb and flower garden

 

LOGAN COUNTY ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Zanesfield

Elmer O. Heath, President

At the March meeting Mr. Heath and Guy W. Furbay were reelecte

president and secretary respectively, and E. L. Pennock was named vi?

president.

Two more roadside markers for the Princess Myeerah Trail, which con

nected Blue Jacket Town (now Bellefontaine) with Tarhee's Village (th

present Zanesfield), were purchased.

 

LORAIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Elyria

George P. Metcalf, President

The society's annual guest dinner was held at the Oberlin Inn on April 12

At the business session on the same date George P. Metcalf was electec

president; R. C. Vietzen, first vice president; and Winifred L. Fay, secre.

tary. All other incumbent officers were reelected for another term. Mrs.

James B. Thomas, the retiring president, was named president emeritus.

Mrs. Thomas announced an offer from the Ely Trust to give a part or all

of the rental for housing the society's collections. A gavel which had

belonged to Arthur L. Garford (father of Mrs. Thomas) was presented to

the society. The gavel, which was made of maple and black walnut woods

from the counter and bench in General Grant's store at Galena, Illinois,

had been presented to Governor McKinley by the Rev. G. R. Vanhorne

of Rockford, Illinois.

 

NEWCOMERSTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Newcomerstown

W. Frank Schlupp, President

The president of the society, W. Frank Schlupp, was instrumental in

securing the erection of a handsome metal plaque marking the site of the

old Delaware Indian town Gekelemukpechunk. The marker was placed

on the Greyhound Post House on Pilling Street in Newcomerstown by Grey-

hound Post Houses, Inc. An article by Mr. Schlupp concerning the plaque

and the history of the Indian town once at the site was published in the

Newcomerstown News, April 15, 1954.

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Historical News                        291

 

)TTAWA COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM, Port Clinton

May Hesselbart, Curator

The rooms of the museum were redecorated this spring, and are now an

Attractive delicate coral rose, which makes a decided improvement in the

appearance of the museum.

The curator, Miss Hesselbart, has recently supplied Joseph R. Prentiss,

superintendent of the Perry Memorial Monument at Put-in-Bay, with histori-

cal data pertaining to Old Fort Sandoski, Harrison military roads, and other

subjects connected with the history of the vicinity.

 

PORTAGE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Ravenna

M. Herbert Heighton, President

The February meeting of the society was held at the University School

auditorium at Kent on February 26. Hostesses were Mrs. Martin L. Davey,

Mrs. H. G. Taylor, Mrs. Mason Jones, Mrs. Glenn Reed, Dorothy Parsons,

and Margaret Getz. After a program of music, Dudley S. Weaver, chair-

man of research, gave an illustrated talk showing fifty pictures relating

to Lincoln and eighty pictures of Kent and Franklin Township from

earliest times.

The March meeting of the society was held at the school auditorium

in Shalersville on March 26. Hazel Pennell and Mrs. Otto Ahrens served

as township chairmen. Edith Cook Roosa gave an interesting talk on

"Shalersville of Yester Year." Sherman B. Barnes, professor of history

at Kent State University, presented a continuation of his original work

on church history, with specific reference to a "Religious Liberal at Edin-

burg in 1855."

The April meeting was held at the United Church parlors in Edinburg

on April 30, with Mrs. Wesley H. Ensinger serving as township chairman.

A vocal trio sang "Beautiful Isle of Somewhere," composed by Jessie

Brown Pounds, a native of Hiram in Portage County. Orral Frank spoke

on little known facts of Portage County, and John Lowrie of Ravenna

spoke on early Edinburg history.

 

SALEM HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Salem

George H. Bowman, Jr., President

George H. Bowman, Jr., was reelected president of the Salem Historical

Society at the March 11, 1954, meeting in the public library. New officers

include: Harold Harman, vice president; and Pearl Walker, secretary.

Bernice Burkle, who was named treasurer late in 1953, was retained in that

office. Officers serve for a one-year term.

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292      Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly

 

The society has had the bell which hung in the old town hall mounte

on a pedestal and placed in Centennial Park. Appropriate ceremonies wil

be held around this memorial sometime this summer.

Work is going forward toward the raising of a fund for the purchas

of a museum for the society's collections.

 

SHAKER HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Cleveland

Caroline B. Piercy, Secretary

New officers elected at the January 27 meeting are Cary Album, president

and William Slade, Jr., vice president.

Two hundred members were entertained at the meeting on April 4, with

William Ganson Rose showing pictures of early Cleveland.

The secretary, Caroline B. Piercy, is assembling a small Shaker museum

for the school children of Shaker Heights.

The Shaker Savings Association opened a new bank on March 31, which

is a fitting memorial to the Shaker community of North Union. The build-

ing is authentic Shaker architecture, and the interior is decorated with

fine Shaker furnishings. Seventy feet of murals by Glenn Shaw tell the

story of these unique communities in an admirable fashion. Alexander

Mintz, a member of the board of trustees of the society, is president

of the bank.

 

STARK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Canton

Joseph M. Markley, President

E. T. Heald retired as secretary-treasurer of the society on July 1, 1954,

and was succeeded by H. T. O. Blue. Mr. Heald, who had served as

secretary-treasurer since the organization of the society eight years ago, will

continue on the staff as historian.

Up to May 1, 1954, Mr. Heald had prepared 322 radio scripts relating

to Stark County history and broadcast them over WHBC-WHBC-FM,

Canton, on the Good Neighbor Hour. The first 231 broadcasts are in-

cluded in the first three volumes of The Stark County Story. The remaining

91 broadcasts are in manuscript form ready to be edited for Volume IV,

which is tentatively scheduled for publication in 1955.

 

STOW HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Stow

Mrs. Albert Hubbard, President

Present officers of the society are Mrs. Albert Hubbard, Hudson, presi-

dent; Mrs. Joe Miller, Stow, vice president; and Mrs. J. F. Harth, Cuyahoga

Falls, secretary. Their term extends to November 1954.

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Historical News                       293

 

VAN WERT COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Van Wert

Martin W. Feigert, President

On January 17, twelve persons were appointed trustees for one-year terms,

one from each of the twelve townships in Van Wert County. They are as

follows: Mrs. Theodore Hertz, Mrs. Thomas Myers, J. Artie Keysor,

Donald Neubrecht, Homer Pollock, Russell B. Price, Mrs. Gus O. Ickes,

Mrs. Paul Lichtensteiger, Glenn G. Goodwin, George Gardner, W. D.

Alspaugh, and Zelma Doring.

A research committee of five, with Eugene C. Feigert as chairman, has

also been appointed. C. E. Drury has been named parliamentarian and

Marguerite Pennell, secretary.

A membership drive is in progress, and efforts are being made to secure

exhibit space, display cases, and additions to the collections.

 

WARREN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Lebanon

Hazel S. Phillips, President

The annual dinner of the society was held on Monday evening, May 3,

at the Golden Lamb. Honorable Clarence J. Brown, member of congress

from the Seventh District, gave the principal address.

The president of the society, Hazel S. Phillips, was recently honored by

receiving the first award as Woman of the Year to be given by the Lebanon

Business and Professional Women's Club.   The citation reads: "This

Certificate is awarded to Hazel Spencer Phillips in recognition of her

outstanding service to the community, and her unselfish interest in all things

pertaining to the betterment of her State, and Nation."

 

WYANDOT COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Upper Sandusky

Ira Sterner, President

New officers of the society elected at the meeting on April 3 are Ira

Sterner, president; and Florence Wetzel, treasurer.

The society sponsored a program for the dedication ceremonies at the

Crawford Memorial Park on Sunday, June 13.

 

About Historians

Robert W. Twyman of the department of history at Bowling Green

State University is the author of the History of Marshall Field and Company,

1852-1906, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press this spring.

 

Warren Beck, assistant professor of history at Capital University, re-

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294      Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly

 

ceived the Ph. D. degree in history from the Ohio State University on

March 19, 1954. His dissertation is on American policy in Guatemala.

 

Two members of the history department at Kenyon College have recent

publications to their credit: Charles R. Ritcheson is the author of British

Politics and the American Revolution, published this year by the University

of Oklahoma Press; and Richard G. Salomon wrote an article, "A Newly

Discovered Manuscript of Opicinus de Canistris," which appeared in the

Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, XVI, Nos. 1-2 (1953),

45-57.

 

Berry McGill has been reappointed for two years as an instructor in

European history at Oberlin College.

 

Wilfred E. Binkley, chairman of the department of history and political

science at Ohio Northern University, has recently been appointed by Presi-

dent Eisenhower as a member of the National Historical Documents Com-

mission. The president appoints two of the twelve members. The others

are appointed by the vice president of the United States, the speaker of the

house of representatives, the chief justice of the United States, the secre-

tary of state, the secretary of defense, and the executive council of the

American Historical Association.

 

Harold Grimm has resigned from the department of history at Ohio

State University to accept the chairmanship of the department of history

at Indiana University.

Professors Dulles, Bremner, Coles, Hill, and Weisenburger attended

the annual meeting of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association in

Madison, Wisconsin, April 22-24. Dr. Dulles was chairman of a session

on "Ideas and Foreign Policy."

Harvey Goldberg has an article, "The Growth of Early Socialism," in

the Monthly Review for April 1954; and James M. Smith's article, "The

Sedition Law of 1798 and the Right of Petition: The Attempted Persecu-

tion of Jedidiah Peck," appeared in New York History, XXXV (1954),

64-72.

 

A chapter of Phi Alpha Theta was established at Ohio University on

May 14, 1954.

John F. Cady presented a paper, "Government and Politics in Old

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Historical News                        295

 

Burma," at the annual meeting of the Far Eastern Association in New York

City in April.

Frederick D. Kershner's study of "Livingston Hopkins, an Ohio Artist

in Australia," appeared in the preceding issue of this Quarterly.

The New Century Cyclopedia of Names lists A. T. Volwiler among its

special consultants and contributors.

 

In March of this year the department of history at Wilberforce Univer-

sity organized "The Week of Negro History and Cultural Achievements."

The official opening was held in Jones Auditorium with the entire student

body and faculty in attendance. Karol Marcinkowski, chairman of the

department, delivered an address on the contributions of American Negroes

to civilization. During the week students of the department read seven

papers on pertinent topics and organized an exhibition of books, pictures,

and diagrams illustrating Negro achievements in various fields.

Dr. Marcinkowski read a paper on the "Conquest of Moscow by Poland

and the Union between Poland and Russia in the 17th Century." He also

wrote a treatise, "The Historical and Cultural Significance of the African

Methodist Episcopal Church," which was published in the Christian Rec-

order for March 25, 1954.

 

W. Eugene Shiels, S. J., chairman of the department of history at Xavier

University, has had an article on the function of the history teacher in a

university accepted for publication in the September 1954 issue of the

Jesuit Educational Quarterly. His appreciation of the first issue of the new

Journal of World History received wide press notice.

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