Visiting Nurses & Hospice Care

Skilled Nursing Hospice for terminally ill Private Duty - Personal Care/Assistance

for

Insert 2008 Photo Here

Community Health Professionals

of Paulding
250 Dooley Dr., Suite A, 419-399-4708
www.ComHealthPro.org

Proud of making quality cement since 1956

Call (419) 399-4861 for a plant tour.

2013 Edition

Visions of Paulding County

1st Place Winner!

2011 & 20 Ohio New 09 spap Associatio er n

From the Historical Archives of the Paulding County Progress

Fourteenth in a Series h July 31, 2013 h Edited by Melinda Krick
117 West Perry Street, Paulding 419-399-5099

Features
2 3 Paulding County Then and Now Then and Now Photo Gallery - Part 2

Lunch & Dinner Menu w/ Daily Specials 8 Beers on Tap: Full Line of Domestic & Imports Game Room: Space Available for Parties Internet Juke Box, Wi-Fi Available & Keno

Dining Hours: Bar Hours: Mon. - Sat. 11 am - 11 pm Mon. - Sat. 11 am - 2:30 am Closed Sunday

Copyright 2013 by the Paulding County Progress.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. Visions of Paulding County: From the Historical Archives of the Paulding County Progress, Volume 14 is published by the Paulding County Progress, P .O. Box 180, Paulding OH 45879; email progress@progressnewspaper.org Web site: www.progressnewspaper.org

PAULDING COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF JOB AND FAMILY SERVICES

303 West Harrison Street Paulding, Ohio 45879 419-399-3756 OFFICE HOURS: Monday - Thursday 7:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Friday 7:00 a.m.-11 a.m.

Please see Page 4 for details about this years cover.

About the cover

To view these and more Then and Now photographs, please visit our web site at www.progressnewspaper.org and search for Paulding County Then and Now - Part 2.

More photos online

Visions of Paulding County: From the Historical Archives of the Paulding County Progress, Volume 14 is published by the Paulding County Progress newspaper. A copy of this publication is included free in the July 31, 2013 edition of the Progress for the enjoyment of our readers. We have a limited supply of additional copies, which may be purchased for $2 each at the Progress office, 113 S. Williams St., Paulding. Copies can be obtained by mail for $4 ($2 plus $2 shipping and handling) by writing to: Paulding County Progress, P.O. Box 180, Paulding OH 45879. Or, phone us at 419-399-4015. Inquire about back issues of our Visions Volumes 1-13 published every year from 2000-2012. July 2013

To purchase extra copies

Please call the Paulding County Job Center at 419-399-3345 for Employment and Training Services
Visions of Paulding County 1

Child, Adult and Family Services are provided to Protect, Strengthen and Maintain Family Units, Promote Self-Sufficiency, Personal Responsibility and Financial Independence

Paulding County Then and Now

By MELINDA KRICK Visions Editor Ill never forget.... Do you remember.... How many conversations begin with those words? It wasnt so very long ago that families were lucky to have one car. Homes, schools and businesses didnt have electricity and indoor plumbing. A trip to Fort Wayne or Toledo and back involved an overnight stay. Childhood diseases were often fatal. Women didnt have the right to vote. You kept in touch with out-of-town friends and relatives by letter or penny postcard. Delivery men brought ice, coal and milk to your doorstep. No one had air conditioning. Roads were dirt or stone. Air and space travel was only dreamed of in novels. Many everyday conveniences we take for granted today were unheard of or rare and expensive 50 or even 25 years ago. How many of us recall when it was a novelty for a household to own just one black-and-white television that could receive perhaps two or three channels? Or when cars didnt have safety belts, let alone baby seats? When little girls wore dresses to school? Using carbon paper to make copies, and slide rules to make calculations? Party lines on the telephone? The one-room school buildings, huge red barns and log cabins are slowly vanishing from our landscape. Businesses constantly open, change hands, and close down. Highways move. Schools consolidate. Our constant desire for the more modern and convenient has meant that too many yesterdays have been abandoned and forgotten. Once in awhile, we benefit from taking a brief glance backward to see what has changed, and how much, and how much weve changed as a result. To that end, we present a continuation of last years Then and Now examination of people, events and places that have shaped our lives. Do you remember....

Paulding County
This poem was originally published in the Paulding County Fair Centennial Book 1872-1972: m glad I was born in Paulding County In the good Old Buckeye State, For it is one of the finest Of all of the eighty-eight. For more than seventy years I have watched our country grow, And the progress it has made Really has not been slow. Woodlands have all been cleared away And the land all filled with tile, And the farmers now all live In regular city style. We were called hayseeds Back in the early days, But things have reversed now Id say We all wish we had a farm or two So we could retire and have an income too. I taught school in my early days And walked county roads of sticky clay, Now would you believe it today That old road of yellow clay Has been transformed into a good highway! The good housewife in the early day Really worked hard in the old fashioned way She pumped the water and carried it in Rubbed her clothes on the board And carried water out again. She baked her own bread And made the familys clothes She really worked hard goodness knows. She had no time for bridge to play Way back in that early day. She swept with a broom To keep her house clean And away from home She was seldom seen. She worked from dawn Till set of the sun And really her work Was never all done. The farmer too, worked different then than now, He used to work with horse and plow Today he rides big machines to do everything, So he can go to Florida and stay till Spring.

Then and Now

Some farmers keep no stock at all And a horse is a thing of the past, Some still have cows, but they press a button So as to milk them fast. Do you remember way back when They had no lights to turn on the old hen. So that she more eggs would lay And the farmer would make more profit that way! But it does seem in times past People really did not live so fast They spent more time with family at home And didnt care so much to roam. Fond memories now still linger on Though the good old days are past and gone. Im sure wed be lost if wed change back for one day So Ill take the conveniences that are

See THEN AND NOW, page 11

A
July 2013

2 Visions of Paulding County

East Perry Street in Paulding during the big flood of March 1913. This view is looking southeast toward Charloe Trail, where a group of people, two people on horseback and a car are stopped at waters edge. It appears a woman and child are standing on the front porch of the house at left. Many communities were impacted by the record flooding; Oakwood and Melrose were among the hardest hit.

The same view today. Its interesting to note that at one time, East Perry Street didnt follow the same route as it does now. In earlier years, the road curved to the east at Charloe Trail. The first intersection (now East Wayne Street and Klingler Road) was Junction Pike to the north and Van Wert Pike to the south. In the 1913 photo, the large house in the center right is where U.S. 127 runs today. Several businesses now line this section of road. The sheriffs office and jail is located on the east side of the street closest to the bridge. July 2013 Visions of Paulding County 3

FROM THE COVER This photo of the Blue Creek General Store was taken in September 1949. On the front porch of their grandparents store were children Gerald, Sue and David Riggenbach. Note the old gas pump, the sign near the door that reads gas 22 cents and the advertising signs. General stores began to appear in the 1850s in rural areas. Before modern supermarkets came in, the general store was the primary means of trade. The Blue Creek General Store, located on Ohio 637 at Road 108 in eastern Jackson Township, was owned and operated by Charley and Hazel Smith. Charley and Hazel purchased the general store May 30, 1909. Charley had a twin brother, Harley, who operated another general store, located in what is now a ghost town called Molasses Gap, three miles north.

The general store today. No old signs or gas pumps anymore. Charley Smith died in 1953, and his wife Hazel continued to operate the store until her death in 1968. The store is weathered with age, and stories of its past creak from the boards. They are whispering to us about days when men could do business with a handshake, and the cash could be kept in a box under the counter. When automobiles and paved roads began to cover the landscape, country stores started falling into decline. Now, cars whiz by the sagging facade on their way to big box stores that carry everything from hardware to clothing to food, just like these mom and pop crossroads stores that were once commonplace in rural areas. 4 Visions of Paulding County July 2013

In early 1953, area residents were making plans to replace the Fort Brown monument as part of Ohios sesquicentennial celebration. The three men on the left are Charles Estle, superintendent of Oakwood School; Walter May, president of Oakwood Deposit Bank; and Oakwood Mayor Harry Shisler. One of the three men on the right in front of the old wooden monument is Grover Hipp. The woman on the right is Mrs. Dale Davis of the Paulding Library.

Several thousand people attended the dedication ceremonies for the granite Fort Brown monument on Aug. 16, 1953. The site, on the banks of the Auglaize River in Brown Township, marks where a stockade was built by soldiers during the War of 1812. On June 29, 2013, members of the Jacob Stemple Chapter Daughters War of 1812 organized a celebration for the forts bicentennial. They dedicated a granite bench they donated for the memorial site. Members who participated in the program were Charlene Hawk, Jean Henze, Gloria Fast, Gladys Donson, Miriam Fetters, Carla Smith, Joan Stripe, Kathleen Foust and Jackie Lynch. July 2013 Visions of Paulding County 5

Payne PAULDING COUNTYS SOURCE FOR INDUSM araM art TRIAL, COMMERCIAL 202 N. Main St. AND RESIDENTIAL Payne, Ohio MARATHON PRODUCTS. OWNING AND 419-263-2684 OPERATING THREE Store Hours: Mon.-Sat. CONVENIENT 6 a.m.-10 p.m. MARATHON LOCATIONS: Sun. 7a.m.-10 p.m. 127 MaraMart
17745 US127 Cecil, Ohio 1001 N. Williams St. Paulding, Ohio

C & Y OIL COMPANY, INC.

Paulding M araM art

INVENTORY I N V E N T O R Y REDUCTION R E D U C T I O N SALE SALE

Buy Now and Save $$
Stoves Inserts Fireplaces Furnaces Boilers

CORN, PELLET, GAS, COAL, WOOD

Store Hours: Mon.-Sun. Store Hours: Mon.-Sun. 6 a.m.-9 p.m. 6 a.m.-11 p.m.

419-399-4455

419-399-3247

We sell bagged corn, wood pellets & coal; stove boards, venting chimney liners too!

Rural Energy Products, LLC

9296 Van Wert - Willshire Rd. Van Wert, Ohio

Your Alternative H eating Specialis ts 1-800-546-3319 ~ 419-238-4580

Den Herder Funeral Home Inc.

1000 West Wayne Street P.O. Box 27 Paulding, OH 45879 419-399-2866 1-800-399-3522 www.denherderfh.com

www.ruralenergyproducts.com ~ E-mail: staywarm@earthlink.net

www.als-cpa.net www.als-cpa.net

~Since 1912~

Providing tax, accounting, pa Providing tax, accounting, payroll advisory services to enable and advisory services
to enable success 685 Fox Rd., Van Wert 117 N. Main, Paulding
685 Fox Rd., Van Wert 117 N. Main, Paulding

419-238-0658 419-399-3686

41 4

Families First, Service Always

6 Visions of Paulding County July 2013

Visions
of Paulding County

Courtesy of John Paulding Historical Society

A view of the abandoned sugar beet factory, prior to demolition in the mid1970s. The view was taken from Fairground Drive looking north. The mammoth factory, built and opened in 1910, provided employment opportunities for workers as well as giving farmers a steady market for sugar beets. The main building was 607 feet long and up to four stories high; the smokestack towered 200 feet above Paulding. The factory ceased production in the late 1940s. Virginia L. Smith donated the photo to the historical society.

Today, much of the sugar beet factory property is owned by the county. Portions are used for parking for the fairgrounds, located across the street. The driveway remains in use and the stately oak tree is probably the same as in the photo from 40 years ago. Where the factory smokestack and water tower once graced the skyline, now cell phone and radio towers dot the landscape. July 2013 Visions of Paulding County 7

The Grange, formally known as the Patrons of Husbandry, was an organization created to assist farmers with the various obstacles they faced. By the early 1870s, the group boasted more than 1.5 million members. Paulding Grange No. 332 was established Jan. 2, 1874, according to a history published in 1970. The hall, located at the corner of Ohio 500 and Road 95 in Paulding Township southwest of Paulding, was constructed about 1894. The chapter at that time operated a country store on the first floor, and held its meetings and social gatherings on the second floor. This Grange was dormant from 1920-32, then reactivated. In 1970, the chapter had 118 members.

Today, the Grange hall is shaded by large trees that partially obscure the view from a similar vantage point. Homes now occupy the land to the east of the building. Altogether, a total of 2,773 chapters were chartered in Ohio. The peak was in 1957, when 903 chapters were active in the state. Paulding County had about 26 different chapters at various times. Nine were chartered here in 1874 Paulding #332, Flat Rock #592, Washington #619, Latty #621, Oakwood #627, Emerald #737, Blue Creek #765, Enterprise #777 and Carryall #896. The last to be organized was Cecil Community #2735 in 1948. The only surviving chapter in the county is Fairview #1666, located north of Antwerp. Paulding Grange closed about 1992. The building was later used as a country-themed gift shop but is now vacant. 8 Visions of Paulding County July 2013

Payne built a new high school, which was dedicated on Nov. 23, 1923. It was completed at a cost of $200,000 by contractors Baker & Shindler. The old school was then used for primary grades. Hundreds of students, parents and guests attended the dedication program and basket dinner, followed by a football game between Payne and Edon and an evening musical program. According to a report in The Payne Reflector, The wonderful new high school building of brick and terra cotta, with its imposing exterior and beautiful architecture, is constructed of the most durable material obtainable. It had an estimated life expectancy of 250 years.

The Payne School has changed little in the past 90 years. An auditorium was added in 1938 as a WPA project. The old school was razed in 1972 and an elementary addition added. Seventy graduating classes received diplomas from Payne High School with the final graduation in 1971. The school district consolidated with Blue Creek and Grover Hill districts to form the Wayne Trace Local School District. Today, the building is home to Wayne Trace Payne Elementary for primary grades July 2013 Visions of Paulding County 9

Memorial Sunday in Paulding, 1910. At the time, Decoration Day was a two-day event, with services held at a church on Sunday, and memorial services and grave decorating on Monday. Here, the Knights of Pythias (K of P) Paulding Lodge #270 marches in a parade of veterans (Civil War and Spanish-American War), G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) and others from the G.A.R. Hall to the Disciple church. Note the procession of women, with their long dresses and parasols, rounding the corner from Main Street to Jackson Street. The image was taken from the three-story Straw Block at the southwest corner of Williams and Jackson streets, looking east on Jackson along the north side of the courthouse square. The store with what looks like a giant pocket watch in front was Lynns drug and jewelry store, and next door was a bank.

The same view of Jackson Street today, taken from the third floor of the Straw Block, now home of Don & Perrys Furniture. Where the pavement in 1910 was brick, today its asphalt. The old sidewalks were brick or stone; today they are concrete. In the old photo, the one-story millinery store to the left most recently has been a law office. To its left, the fence covered with advertising was a vacant lot where a two-story stone building was constructed in 1912. 10 Visions of Paulding County July 2013

Commercial Printing
Since 1922
Vehicle Graphics Wedding Packages Business Cards Banners Books Apparel Design/Print Marketing Mailers

W. Perry St., Paulding 419-399-2720 Hours: M-F 6am-3pm; Sat. 6am-2pm

P a st T i m e C a fe
Where old friends gather and new friends are made.

310 W. Perry St., Paulding www.bruneprinting.com 419-399-2756

Try our New Charbroiled Burgers Daily Homemade Soups Fresh Salads Famous Sausage Sandwich

Expressions Making Faces

PERMANENT COSMETICS

Call today for your FREE CONSULTATION & MAKEOVER Specializing in Tattoo Removal
Rebecca Stuart, RN
By Appointment Only

10433 Rd. 206 Cecil, OH 419-399-3223

WIRE FORMING PAINTING (E-COAT) FORGING WRENCHES UPSETS

HERBERT E. ORR COMPANY

335 West Wall Street Paulding, Ohio 45879 419-399-4866 FAX 419-399-3862 email: heorr@bright.net

CALL 811 BEFORE YOU DIG 1-800-362-2764 or 811

ITS THE LAW!!

Suspect a natural gas leak? First, move your feet! Then call when youre down the street.

SERVING NORTHWEST OHIO

July 2013

Visions of Paulding County 11

Forders Bridge, on Road 73 over the Maumee River, was built in 1889 and named for local resident George Forder, who built the abutments and pier. They were constructed of laid stone without mortar. The bridge was a Pratt Through Truss, one of the first of its kind in Ohio. At the north end of the bridge is Bethel United Methodist Church, which was built in the 1890s.

The current Forders Bridge was built in 1995, replacing the old structure that served the traveling public for 106 years. The tree-lined riverbanks give a scenic view of the Maumee as one drives across. Bethel UMC (inset) still overlooks the bridge. 12 Visions of Paulding County July 2013

Paulding Countys last one room school closes its doors permanently
Emerald Center School consolidates with Paulding Exempted Village
From the Paulding Progress of June 4, 1959: aulding Countys last one room school closed May 26 for good, when Emerald Township elementary school held its traditional closing day picnic. The county board of education has officially authorized a vote in November by township citizens on whether their school district should join with Pauldings. Meanwhile, pupils from the six grades will attend Paulding schools on a tuition basis next fall. The supper six grades have already been attending in Paulding for some time. Emerald school has had two teachers this year, with three grades each. Two one-room school buildings side by side have stood at the crossroads, about eight miles northeast of Paulding. Sixty-one pupils have been enrolled in the six grades this year. For as far back as local folks can remember school has closed with a midday picnic of the neighborhood. This years closing, though more final than ever before, followed the neighborhood custom. Fathers and mothers, preschool youngsters, and older brothers and sisters began to arrive about 11 oclock, and began the ball games, the food arrangements and the visiting. Local rains made it possible for most fathers to attend, since fields were too wet to work in. Many cameras were in evidence, for this day had a finality about it that, while not being marked by any special speeches or program, was nevertheless in the minds of everyone. One man kept trying to get a picture of boys running over from the ball game to get a drink at the old pump in the traditional method of holding the hand under the spout while water spurted out the same hole in the top. And general confusion resulted when teachers tried to line up their two grades between the buildings for the last songs of the year. A sudden spell of rain did not help much, either. But hardly anyone minded, since it was closing day for school 1959, and the final day for one room neighborhood schools in Paulding County.

A large crowd of neighbors and parents turned out for the closing day picnic at the Emerald Center School May 26, 1959. This represented the last one of the one-room schools in Paulding County. Students were divided with three grades in one building and three grades in the other. At one time, three township buildings stood in a row on Road 133 at the intersection of Road 218 in the center of Emerald Township. Emerald School (left) was the larger of the two one-room schoolhouses and remains standing today. According to a historical inventory from 1979, the structure was moved from Emmett to the site before 1940. After the school closed, it was used as a community center. It has been converted into a garage. The smaller schoolhouse had a central chimney and an added covered entrance. Both were built around 1890. The township hall, which is closest to the corner, originally was located north across the road and was later moved next to the schools. It is still used for township meetings and as a polling location. July 2013 Visions of Paulding County 13

The Paulding Progress published this photo on June 8, 1977 with the headline Can you identify? This picture was supposedly taken around the community of Emmett, 6 miles northeast of Paulding. The following week, the paper printed a response from Helen G. Minck, Route 1, Cecil: It is the general store built in 1913 or 1914 by Eldridge and Frances Gowdy selling groceries, meats, mens work clothing, yard goods and footwear for all the family. They also sold some hardware and ice cream in the summer. The building at the right was the home. The front room was a grocery store before the larger building was built. There were three children Ruth, Ted and Allen. The van on the left was a huckster wagon. Mr. Gowdy sold groceries all around the community. It was a great convenience in those days. Ive known the place since February 1911. The couple of the left of the picture are Mr. and Mrs. Gowdy. Mr. Gowdy was also a ticket agent of the depot of the Wabash Railroad just right of the house.

Emmett, located northwestern Emerald Township at the intersection of Roads 115 and 228, was originally named Emerald or Emerald Station. Emerald was established as a station of the Wabash Railroad in the 1850s. Emmett Post Office opened in 1858. For many years, Emerald was one of the nearest rail stations serving Paulding, until a railroad was built through Paulding in the early 1880s. The once-thriving community once had telegraph and express office, hotel, two general stores and a post office. The Gowdys moved from Antwerp to Emmett in 1902 and opened their store. Eldridge E.E. Gowdy died in 1935; his widow continued to run the business until 1943. 14 Visions of Paulding County July 2013