SAHC inviting Summerfest parade entries

     The Stryker Summerfest parade will be marching down Defiance Street on Saturday, June 2, beginning at 11:00 a.m., and the Stryker Area Heritage Council has again volunteered to coordinate the event.
     Those who are interested in having an entry are encouraged  to download an entry form and turn it in. Entry forms are available by clicking here.
    The theme for this year’s parade is celebrating William Knight’s 175th birth year. Line up for the parade is at 10:00 a.m. at the Jagger Cone Company, formerly Strydel, on Ellis Street in the north end of Stryker.
     William Knight, who lived in Stryker for much of his life, was born on January 24, 1837. He was part of the group who lead Andrew’s Raid, stealing the locomotive, The General, at what is now Kennesaw, Georgia, and leading a group of tenacious Confederates on what is referred to as “The Great Locomotive Chase.”
     For their bravery in the dangerous mission, Knight and others in the group received the first Congressional Medals of Honor ever awarded. Knight’s was personally pinned on his chest by President Abraham Lincoln.

SAHC hosts Regional 1 Meeting of Ohio Local History Alliance

     Attendees at a recent regional meeting of the Ohio Local History Alliance learned about native Americans of northwest Ohio, talked about challenges and interesting programs they are doing, and toured the Stryker Heritage Center.
     Meeting at the Stryker American Legion on April 21, the group was welcomed by Randy Brown, Alliance Region 1 Representative and Curator of the Wood County Historical Society, SAHC President Terry Perkins and Stryker Mayor Dan Hughes.
     The group first heard from Pete Wilhelm, shown talking about the Nettle Lake Indian Mounds in the photo above, professor of history at Northwest State Community College.
     He gave a very interesting session about the early territory and its native settlers.
     For instance, Indian mounds are found in every Ohio county but one. Can you name that county?
     He spoke about the influences of the British and the French, particularly the missionaries who came to be with the native Americans. Some chose to stay and live with the natives and some only stayed the length of their commitment to minister to them and returned home.
     He mentioned Johnny Logan, the only Native American buried with full U.S. military honors in Ohio. His burial has a special marker by the Fort Defiance area.
     He talked about the influences of native American leaders such as Pontiac, Tecumseh and Little Turtle.
     About 30 representatives from area historical societies also heard about interesting ways to spread the word about their programs in a presentation moderated by Janet Rozick, a Region 1 representative and visiting assistant professor at the University of Toledo.
     At the afternoon business meeting, Jackie Barton, Director of Education & Outreach for the Ohio Historical Society, said information and guidelines about grants for historical groups will be available by July 1.
     Matt Strobel, Civil War 150 AmeriCorps member, reminded members of the group to let him know of events they are holding about the Civil War so they may be included in a statewide list.
     There was a roundtable led by Joy Armstrong, Alliance Trustee and Director of the Sylvania Historical Village, where each person gave a couple examples of the outstanding things their organization had done and an issue with which they struggle
     In the photo above, she holds up the proof of a map of the Maumee Valley region being considered as a way to promote the rich heritage of the area..
     At the conclusion of the program, the representatives toured the Stryker Heritage Center at the depot. In the photo to the left, SAHC President Terry Perkins explains some of the work that was done at the depot for the museum.
     A big thanks to the Stryker American Legion for having both a delicious breakfast and lunch for the people on hand and all of the Stryker area merchants who donated items for goody bags for each attendee.
     And in case you were wondering, it is Mr. Wilhelm’s home county, Henry County, that is the only one of Ohio’s counties that doesn’t have any documented Indian mounds.

Some commemorative items still available from Saturday’s fete of William Knight and 150th anniversary of Great Locomotive Chase

    There are still some souvenirs to remember the celebration of this past Saturday when the town of Stryker remembered William Knight and his comrades on the 150th anniversary of the Great Locomotive Chase.
     The Stryker Area Heritage Council commissioned several commemorative items perfect to remember the occasion.
     There are two different styles of t-shirts that are perfect keepsakes of the day.
     One style is shown on the left with a prominent picture of the General, and the other, as shown on the right, has a picture of the Medal of Honor that William Knight received along with the other members of the special unit. The final shirts are to have blue lettering and may have a blue background.
     There are also some commemorative buttons with pin or magnet backs highlighting the daring escapade of Andrews Raid, as well as sets of bookmarks.
     There are some copies of select photographs including William Knight that are great souvenirs to show to family and friends depicting the brave people who were a part of Civil War history and who were the first Medal of Honor recipients.

Crowd fills Legion Hall to hear T & I Railroad program,
First sets of T & I DVDs sell out before program starts

     There were plenty of "passengers" for the trip back in time on the electric interurban railroad during a program hosted by the Stryker Area Heritage Council on Saturday, Feb. 18.
      A crowd of about a hundred people turned out at the Stryker American Legion as Dr.  Sterling King, noted Toledo and Indiana Railroad author and historian shown on the right in the photo above, served as their conductor on a trip along the line that operated through northwest Ohio.
     Dr. King showed rare photos he has collected through the years of the train system that began operation in 1903 running from Toledo eventually expanding to Bryan.
     From the first cars that began running down Dorr Street in Toledo, he showed photos of trains going down the main streets of Swanton, Delta, Archbold and Bryan, and some of the stops at Pettisville, Wauseon, Peckham Loop and downtown Toledo. There were also shots of trains going over the bridges at Beaver Creek and the Tiffin River and running through the underpass of the line of the New York Central east of Bryan.
     The railroad provided an important route of travel through the area in the early days of the 20th century. There were no paved roads when the train system was formed. The new automobiles could only go about 20 miles per hour and the roads could prove an obstacle when they were muddy or covered with snow. The trains, however, moved much faster, able to clock up to 60 miles per hour out in the country. So they were popular with passengers and with people who wanted to get their products to market and receive supplies from outside the area.
     During the program, Dr. King remembered a number of the people who worked on the line and drove the trains along the tracks.
     Dr. King also gave interesting sidebars when he talked about the popcorn wagon in Stryker that used steam to pop the corn, the Christmas star built by T & I workers that is still displayed in the south park at Wauseon, and the two specially-made cars with filled wicker chairs and decorative curtains on the windows.
     Ridership dropped off as automobiles improved and roads were paved through the area. The train line lived off of its freight business the last years, shuttling fuel cars for Cities Service.
     The program drew to a close as Dr. King showed photos of the car that traveled the route on the last day of the line’s operation in 1939.
     A new 2-hour DVD set about the T & I went on sale that day. The DVD is being offered by the heritage council and is narrated by Dr. King showing many of the photos he included in his presentation.
     The first sets of DVDs were sold out before the program started. Orders for more copies are being taken and will be filled in a short time. Copies are $10 for SAHC members and $12 for SAHC non-members.

Huntington Bank donates original Wickey drawing

by Don Allison, Senior Editor of the Bryan Times and SAHC Trustee

     Looking for original artwork created by Stryker native Harry Wickey?
     For starters, you can visit the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Library of Congress, or the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
     Or if traveling that far isn’t to your liking, you can visit the Stryker Area Heritage Council’s museum.
     Wickey’s name may no longer be a household word, even in Stryker, but during his life he was widely known for his etchings, lithography, paintings and sculpture.
     Thanks to a donation by Huntington Bank, the Stryker Area Heritage Council has its requisite piece of Wickey artwork, an original charcoal drawing dated 1916.
     The drawing depicts an African American woman and boy.
     The drawing was presented to the Stryker Area Heritage Council in January. Shown in the photo above (from left to right) are SAHC Trustees Bill Priest, Terry Perkins, Sue Buehrer, Helen Bell, Don Allison and Huntington Bank Stryker Branch Manager Vicki Grimm. In the photo below, Vicki Grimm and Barb Marlin from the Huntington Bank Stryker Branch pose with the drawing and SAHC Trustee Helen Bell
     According to Sue Buehrer of the Heritage Council, the drawing was presented by Wickey to Harry Bruns of the former Stryker Exchange Bank. Buehrer said she discovered the drawing years ago in the attic of the former Stryker Farmer’s Exchange Bank, later purchased by the First National Bank of Northwest Ohio. The drawing changed hands with a succession of bank purchases, and ended up in Huntington’s Stryker branch.
     Now it will hang in the Stryker Area Heritage Council’s museum in the former Stryker railroad depot. The 1916 drawing is among Wickey’s earlier works.
     A quick Internet search will yield images of Wickey’s artwork and notes on his life story.
     Wickey spent time in Detroit and Chicago, and eventually moved to New York City. He studied at the Detroit School of Fine Arts and the New York School of Industrial Art, and was both a student and teacher at the Art League of New York.
     His first prints were published in 1919. Throughout his career his favorite subjects were rural scenes, based on his experiences in Stryker, as well as images of New York and its inhabitants, and landscapes.
     By 1935 the fumes of nitric acid used in his etching plates affected his eyesight, and he eventually turned to lithography and sculpture.
     He received a number of awards during his career, including recognition from the Society of American Etchers in 1934, the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1939 and the American Institute of Arts and Letters in 1949. Wickey and his sculptures were featured in the Feb. 23, 1942, edition of Life Magazine.
     A detailed account of Wickey’s life is contained in his autobiography “Thus Far,” published in 1941 as part of a series on prominent artists inaugurated by the American Artists Group. In“Thus Far” he wrote at length on his upbringing in Stryker.
     “It was on the fourteenth of October, 1892, that the stork came flapping over Stryker, Ohio, with me as a passenger, and I was deposited in a little house in the end of East Lynn Street,” Wickey wrote.
     “There was no choice in the matter, but if there had been, I know I would have given his old tail a jerk and said, ‘You may let me off here, please,’ for, as I look back over my childhood and early youth it is with memories that are warm with affection for that environment and all it had to offer.”
     He wrote about his early life in Stryker, and of his parents, Victor E. and Alice (Besancon) Wickey.
     Harry described his father as a kindly man, but with a severe bearing. “My father was a hard-working man, honest in the extreme, and reserved in temperament, with little to say to us after he had finished his day’s work. He was kindly and thoughtful of our welfare, and we were never wanting in the fundamental physical comforts ...
     “He was adamant in his purpose of raising my brother and me in the ways of self reliance, and left no stone unturned to secure that result.
     “My mother was of a temperament almost exactly opposite of that of my father,” he wrote, “and I have often thought that the only things my parents had in common were my brother and myself.
     “She was vivacious and talkative and, as she loved us more than any other living creatures, was constantly trying to do things to please us. She also desired nothing more than that we should turn out well and be a credit to ourselves and the community and, in her own way, did everything in her power to produce these results.”
     Wickey was a frequent visitor to the rural Stryker farms of his grandparents, Mary and Thomas Wickey and Clementine and Charles Besancon, and his exposure to farm life found outlet in his later work.
      The Stryker of Wickey’s youth, as he described it, “was a very busy little place ... with two saw-mills, grist-mill, hoop and tile factory, oar finishing works and harness shop, and some two dozen general stores, meat markets and saloons.”
     “Stryker was,” he explained, “at that time the trading center where farmers could sell their timber, stock or farm produce, and as the radius from which it drew was fairly large, it got to be a busy little place.”
     Wickey left Stryker after his high school graduation, moving to Detroit. With the help of his uncle he landed a job with the Lake Shore railroad as a car checker, and he began his art studies in Detroit.
     After the outbreak of World War I, Wickey — like many young men of his day — was drafted into the U.S. Army. He was detailed to the front-line trenches in France, but soon was selected for officers training school.
     He returned to Stryker briefly after his army service, then embarked on his career in art that earned him widespread acclaim. Twice married, he apparently left no direct descendants.
     Although Wickey died in 1968 at Cornwall Landing, N.Y., his work remains popular with collectors today.
used by permission of the Bryan Times

Annual Meeting features fascinating look at Williams Co. Regiment in the Civil War

     Richard Cooley and Don Allison delivered a fascinating look at the part men from Williams County played in the Civil War during the Annual Meeting of the Stryker Area Heritage Council on Jan. 12.
     More than 900 men enlisted in the 38th OVI over only a period of several weeks, responding to the nation’s call for soldiers for the war between the states. The majority of the members of the 38th OVI were from Williams County, while volunteers for its 10 companies also came from Defiance, Paulding and Fulton counties.
     Look for the upcoming story about the annual meeting to be posted soon.
     The meeting also featured  the election of 3 new trustees. Our congratulations to Rose Burkholder, Terry Perkins and Anna Marie Sprow for your election to the board of trustees.
     SAHC President Rose Burkholder reviewed the events of the past year. They included:
     Inviting people to bring items in for loan or donation for display at the depot.
     Rick Wytick refurbishing the display case that came from the school and the loan of display cases from the Williams County Historical Society.
     Opening of the Heritage Center at the depot during the Alumni weekend.
     Organizing the Summerfest Parade (complete with sunshine!).
     Don Allison gave talk about the beginning the of Civil War movement in Williams County titled “War Fever.”
     Also opened the Heritage Center during Summerfest.
     Work day at Heritage Center.
     Helped Lockport celebrate 175th anniversary with presentations, and historic driving tour.
     DVD of Evansport’s driving tour during their 175th anniversary was released.
     Wooden replica of the 1900 depot announced that it will be released.
     Continuing efforts to get a complete set of Stryker High School yearbooks at the library.
     Continuing efforts to scan photos.
     And a host of new events planned for 2012.
     Watch for an update on all of those events!

Many turn out as Lockport celebrates 175th anniversary
 
     Good crowds turned out as the Stryker Area Heritage Council and Lockport Mennonite Church hosted events to commemorate the the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Lockport, one of the area’s earliest settlements.
     On Saturday, Oct. 1, over 80 people gathered at the church for the beginning of a historic tour around the area.
     Stryker Area Heritage Council President Rose Burkholder welcomed the crowd and acted as emcee. SAHC Trustee Terry Perkins gave a presentation about the early history of Lockport and then the church served a light lunch
     Following the lunch, a driving tour began around the Lockport area. Buses were provided by the Lockport Mennonite Church and St. John Christian Church that helped to make the traveling much easier for the group.
     The first stop was at the restored Goll Barn in Goll’s Woods. Kris Jemmott and Bob Apgar from the Friends of Goll Homestead, spoke about the history of the barn and homestead built by Peter Goll, Jr. and his family during the Civil War.
     It was the second public viewing of the restored triple jettied barn by the group.
     From there, the tour participants traveled just north of Lockport to the Gish home on County Road I-50. Home owner Jeff Rutledge told about Arthur Gish who bought the Lockport mill property from Abraham Wurts and operated the gristmill.
     His wife, Stacy, offered the group the opportunity to look through the first floor of the home they have been busily restoring.
     The group traveled to the Floral Grove Cemetery, just south of West Unity, where SAHC Trustee Kent Julliard spoke about the Emanuel German Methodist Episcopal Church. He also pointed the group to several graves of prominent citizens of Lockport, including Samuel Brownewell whose grave marker is one of his millstones.
     The next stop was at the former Lockport United Brethren Church built in 1887. Nick Woodall, pastor of the Stryker United Brethren Church, gave the history of the Lockport church which still stands on the west side of what was known as Mill Street.
     Larry Radloff spoke at the next stop about his home that used to belong to S. A. Brownewell, co-owner of the Lockport grist and sawmill. The home was also a hotel, and Radloff has been busy restoring the home, which has included the addition of a second story that used to house weary travelers.
     While at the stop, Myrna Grove spoke about the Lockport school that used to be located just to the north of the Brownewell home/hotel.
     Returning to the church, presentations were given on several prominent Lockport residents and families by Tom Stuckey, Elwood Graber, and Bobbi Schlosser. Bob Hausch spoke about the bridges at Lockport, Carol Sloan gave some readings and Myrna Grove spoke about the Lockport Mennonite Church that celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2008.
     Flyers showing the gravesite locations were made available for those who wanted to walk through the Lockport Cemetery next to the church.
     An area of historic photographs and artifacts were displayed in the church foyer, while several paintings of the history of the Lockport Mennonite Church by Karen Wyse were displayed at the front of the sanctuary.
     On Sunday, October 2, the members and guests at the Lockport Mennonite Church enjoyed a service that incorporated Lockport history into it. A potluck dinner was held at noon.  
     Many thanks and congratulations to the people who served on the planning committee for the Lockport 175th anniversary celebration, which included Rose and Glen Burkholder, Sue and Ben Buehrer, Jack Hancock, Bob Hausch, Leon DeGroff, Helen Bell and Myrna Grove. Thanks also to the site interpreters, St. John Christian Church in Archbold for the use of their bus and the Lockport Mennonite Church for their hospitality, the luncheon, and the bus for the riders.
     A video is being prepared by SAHC of the tour for those who would wish to have a copy of the day’s events.

Community gets a look at the Heritage Center

     The doors were opened on the afternoon of the Stryker Summerfest June 4 for anyone interested to take a peak at the new Stryker Area Historical Center lodged in the former Stryker train depot.
     From 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. people from the area walked through the displays of local historical artifacts that have been given or loaned for display in the center.
     Displays featuring the local depot itself and items from one-time local businesses such as the mineral springs bathhouse or Werum Novelty Works were shown. Frank Middleton (left) and Duane Jolly are shown in the photo above looking over some of those pieces.
     There is a case that came from the Stryker school that was full of memorabilia of the school, class pictures, old uniforms and some annuals.
     A section on music was shown that included a violin that was played by famous artist and Stryker native Harry Wickey.
     Another case showed pieces that belonged to the Evansport Masonic Lodge that began in Evansport and moved to Stryker, where it ran for many years.
     A typewriter that belonged to Stryker native Ralph Goll was shown and those who walked by could perhaps conjure up an image of him sitting at a desk typing one of the manuscripts he wrote for The Lone Ranger or a story about a murder case he was covering for a newspaper or magazine.
     The walls are covered with large old-time photos of Stryker including some trains that have been a large part of the village’s history.
     In the photo to the right, Stryker Area Heritage Council President Rose Burkholder (right) and SAHC Trustee Helen Bell (left) give Village Reporter reporter Alexis Stamm (second from left) and her friend April Short some of the significance of the items in the school case display in the center.
     An interview on TV-26 was also done that day and will be airing soon on the Defiance station that is also carried by area cable TV systems.
     The center was also recently opened for a group that attended the annual Stryker Alumni gathering at the end of May
     Mrs. Burkholder says while the center does not yet have any regular hours it is open, it can be opened for any groups that are interested in a tour if they contact the Heritage Council.
     Donations of items or items that could be loaned for display are still being accepted by the SAHC. Anyone interested may contact the SAHC through this website or one of the Trustees.
     A big round of thanks to all of those who have helped through the last several years to get the depot ready for the visitors, those who worked to prepare the center for guests during the Summerfest and those who helped meet people during the opening!

The Stryker Area Heritage Council

     The Stryker Area Heritage Council was formed to record and preserve the rich history of the Stryker area. Located in the very northwestern corner of Ohio, Stryker, Evansport and Lockport have all had interesting histories surrounding their development. Some of the early growth was due to their location along the Tiffin River.
     Stryker has had a significant part in the development and operation of several railroad lines. From 1905 to 1939, Stryker was the home to the car storage, maintenance facility, and electric generating station for the Toledo & Indiana (T & I) interurban electric train line.
     For more than 50 years, long pans of water were placed in the track for some of the steam locomotives going through the town. It saved trains a stop if they could pickup water to replenish their boilers along the way. During the winter, men were hired to break up the ice in the pans so the trains could continue to scoop up the precious liquid as they made their way along the route.
     Several people of significance have come from the area. William J. Knight was among the first group of men honored with the Congressional Medal of Honor for his part in the great train robbery during the Civil War. Harry Wickey was a famous illustrator, sculptor and author. Ralph Goll was a writer on the famous Lone Ranger radio series and had several of his episodes turned into TV shows. Sam Hornish, the winner of the 2006 Indianapolis 500, lived in Stryker when he was a young boy.
     We hope you find this website of interest and if you have questions or would like to join the group in collecting and preserving this rich history of the Stryker area, please contact us at the Stryker Area Heritage Council.