Beyond the Storefronts

A web site dedicated to the history of Medina County
www.medinasquare.org

If you haven't already discovered it, I would like to introduce you to a new web site dedicated to the history of Medina County, Beyond the Storefronts. 

The site is the brain child of local historian, Robert Hyde. Bob is a life-long Medina resident and has Medina ancestors going back to the 1830's. Retired now, Bob was also the long-time president of the Medina County Genealogical Society and for many years, was the editor of their newsletter.

Bob was concerned that the history of Medina, as he knew it growing up and raising his family here, was disappearing. Wanting to preserve it and being a man of action, Bob started researching each of the buildings on Medina's Square.

He is ably assisted by Rebekah Knaggs, a student at the University of Cincinnati.

The web site is a work in progress. Not all the features are functional yet.Some of photos still need to be uploaded and some of the locations are still being researched.

Once you click on the enter button  you are taken to a new page that has some of the inspiration and history for the site. It also includes some sepia tone photos of Medina Square from around 1900.

After reading the history you will want to click on the Menu symbol in the upper right corner. Bob has broken the buildings down according to their locale in relationship to Public Square:

• Westside of the Square
• Southside of the Square
• Southwest of the Square
• Southeast of the Square
• Eastside of the Square
• Northside of the Square
• Northwest of the Square
• Northeast of the Square

The only sections with no entries yet are the Southeast and Northeast of the Square. Bob and Rebekah assure me that they are working on them!

Each occupant of a location is listed in Bold type and beneath the listing is the supporting information. If Bob has been able to find any pictures or newspaper clippings those are included.

Let's see what information is available using one of my favorite locations for an example, #2 Public Square on the Westside of the Square, 

2 Public Square is where the old Whitey's Army Navy Surplus store was and is the current location

Picture of building when Whitey's was there.
From the web site Beyond the Storefronts

of Courthouse Pizza. But the site starts with the past. The WAY past! This was the location of the first courthouse in Medina County and the reason that Court Street is so named. In 1841, a "new" courthouse was built on the opposite side of the square.  Didn't you ever wonder why none of the Medina courts are located on Court Street? Now you know!

Over the last 200 years the building has hosted these types of business:

• Six different grocery stores
• Three clothing stores
• Three Five and Dime stores
• Two Restaurants
• Two Tin Shops

It was also once the Depot for the Electric Cars that connected Medina to Cleveland and Wooster. From 1916 to 1926, it was the Post Office for Medina. But its longest resident was Whitey's Army and Navy Store which occupied the site from 1959-2014. Whitey's was a family Christmas shopping tradition in our household. Now the delicious Courthouse Pizza occupies that spot.

As I said, the site is still a work in progress. The "Contact" link isn't working yet and what I would like to see is an index by address.

Bob himself has this to add about the site:

Thank you Kathy for the excellent introduction and instructions to my historical project of the Medina Public Square and Historic District titled "Beyond the Storefronts”.

This research project was started in 1995 and is now in near completion.  The uploading of historical data to the web-site, Medinasquare.org, is a complex operation and will continue to be a "work-in-progress" for several months.  When completed it will contain over 1500 Medina Square Proprietors and Occupants in over 100 storefront locations with over 300 photos and advertisements from 1852 to 2016. Enjoy what is currently available, but be patient!

I hope interested former or present residents that access Medinasquare.org web-site will offer to contribute additional photos and data for inclusion by contacting Robert Hyde at 330-725-4467 or hydert@zoominternet.net.

Thanks again, Kathy for your interest and help in "getting the ball rolling".

In recognition of all the contributions that Bob Hyde has made to the Medina community, The Medina County Historical Society has awarded him the Northrup Heritage Award for "genealogy and historical contributions to Medina County. "

Way to go Bob and all the Honorees!

Bob Hyde, on the left, accepting his Northrup Heritage
Award with fellow honorees, Nancy Sprowls, and Mace Hallock.

The Northrup Heritage Award is named for Nira B. Northrup
who wrote the first comprehensive history of Medina County in 1861.
It is titled The Pioneer History of Medina County.

Donald J. Pease Federal Office Building

 Quote adapted from poem "To A Mouse" by Robert Burns

I had planned on posting about the Donald J. Pease Federal Building, because frankly, I knew next to nothing about it and was curious. So what was my first course of action??

I wandered over to 143 West Liberty, and "GASP!"

What was going on!!

I know the city is planning to build a parking garage where the old Masonic Temple used to be and that they were planning to reclaim the property that houses Porter's Shoe Repair, but surely they weren't tearing down this beautiful brick building???

Relax! No, they are not tearing it down.

But it took me awhile to find that out.

I emailed Bob Hyde to see if he knew anything and left a message with the city building department to see what they could tell me. But waiting patiently to hear back from these two prime sources is NOT my style.

So I posted the pictures on the Facebook page, Roadside History of Medina County

Many people were as concerned as I was. Many others posted their memories of going into that building, first when it was a Post Office and later when it became a Federal Office Building. To see the many uses of the building, go to Bob Hyde's Beyond the Storefronts web site: 143 West Liberty

My quest was fulfilled when I saw this post:

RS I know exactly what is going on. I work for the Federal agency GSA and we are refurbishing the fascia and cupola. The building is historical and is going nowhere soon. Project will be done early Dec weather permitting

And in response to the many questions about how it is being used now:


R B Judge Alice Batchelder's office.

Postcard of  the "Old Post Office" circa 1930's

And the many, many memories from long time Medina residents:

• LH - When I was a kid back in the 50's there was a painting or mural over the customer area. It depicted early settlers harvesting apples in an orchard. Wonder what happened to it or who has it now?  
• LH -Worked there in the 80s. USDA.  
• D N - Remember going there to sign up for the draft.  
• A M- It also had the Social Security office in it. 
• DR - My Dad ED Rice was a rural postal carrier and. he worked in this building many years before PO was moved to N. COURT. As a child during snow days at school, he would bring me here and I'd watch him sort mail then ride along with him on his route. What a memory💓 
• EL - The mural was a WPA government project to employ people during the depression. I was told it was covered up with paint . Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have that art work restored? I’m not from Medina, but I’ve heard it was beautiful. 
• LH - Yeah, walked in and signed up in the U.S.Navy. Left Medina 12 May 1969. 
• MAB - I remember it had a fallout shelter sign on it years ago 
• SM - Built 1937 by Gibbons-Grable of Canton for $55,791. 1939 12’ mural of apple orchard & bee skeps $750 by Richard Zoellmer native of Portsmouth. Life Mag 12/4/1939 says Zoellner is a muralist and watercolor painter studio in Cincinnati. 
• SM - an example of New Deal artwork: “Gathering the Apple Crop,” an oil-on-canvas mural by Richard Zoellner. Completed in 1938 
• EL - Thank you SM. When I heard it was covered up I was shocked since I had seen other WPA art work in other public places and it was an exquisite style of art. I wonder if a professional restorer could uncover it with the technology of today?

And the discussion continues...

So between Bob Hyde's information about the site on his web page and all the information uncovered on the Facebook page Roadside History of Medina County, there is no need for me to do a blog post on the building.  Sigh...

So, what are you reading?!?

A blog about the power of crowd sourcing!

Merriam Webster defines crowd sourcing as:

Definition of crowdsourcing
: the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers

Which describes what I did! I used traditional sources print and otherwise, and turned to an online resource - The FaceBook group Roadside History of Medina County.

Not only did I get the answer to my question, the discussion went much further, much faster when members of the group contributed their personal memories of the building. It would have taken me weeks to track down that many people and interview them.

I thank each and everyone of them for providing a much richer view of a piece of Medina's History!

SOURCES:

• Quote Fancy  
• Beyond the Storefronts
• Facebook Group Roadside History of Medina County
• Merriam Webster Online Dictionary.

Medina Steak House as Stagecoach Stop?

Medina Steak House, 538 West Liberty St.,  circa 2011 from
http://www.phdelicious.com/Restaurants/Medinasteak.htm

The old Medina Steak House, now the Serenite Restaurant and Culinary Institute, has a long oral tradition, often repeated, that it started its existence as a stagecoach stop. Also home to the Medina Recovery Center, in the past the building has been used as "a restaurant, an inn, a hotel, a brothel, a bookie joint, grocery store and as a stage coach stop."(Medina Post 2015 article)

Now I don't expect to find it listed as either a brothel or a bookie joint in published records. Since both those activities are illegal, the owners or operators would have taken action to keep their businesses clandestine and out of print. But surely a stagecoach stop would be documented, wouldn't it?

Maybe not.

Where is it written that the building was a stagecoach stop?

1.  A  Medina Sun Sentinel article published on 29 October 1981 about Medina Haunts, says "The building itself is filled with history, built about 1858 as a stagecoach stop then used as a train stopover..."
2.  A 14 March 2015,  Medina Post article written by Kevin McManus says, "The building itself was reportedly built by Harrison G. Blake as a stagecoach stop in 1858."

But I could not find any documentation earlier than those two articles.

First of all, some history:

In the U.S. stagecoaches and or boats (including canals) were the main method of public transportation until the railroads came in. In most areas of Ohio, railroads were the norm by the 1850's and in 1854, Medina leaders tried to bring a railroad in. A group of investors formed the Cleveland, Medina and Tuscarawas Railroad and purchased the right-of-way from Grafton to Seville. They graded the route and then tried to raise the money to lay down the tracks. They failed. It would be almost another 20 years before a railroad came to Medina.

Colton's railroad & township map of the state of Ohio from 1854

The red outlined black tracks represent railroad tracks - all outside of Medina County's borders.

Detail from the 1857 map of Medina County. The red star is approximately the location of the old
Medina Steak House. Nothing is located there on this map. It is just part of C. Hubbard's property.
The chopped curved line from top to bottom that is to the left of the star is the railroad bed for the failed
Cleveland, Medina, Tuscarawas Railroad.

Using Bob Hyde's "Beyond the Storefronts" web site and  newspaper articles, the building can be tracked back in time through its various incarnations.

1968 picture of the old Steak House from Bob Hyde's
"Beyond the Storefronts" web site.
Neither the microfilm or the NewspaperArchive digital images were as
clear as this photo of a clipping from Bob's collection.

Medina County Gazette ad for the Medina Steak House.
23 May 1968, page 3.

An earlier incarnation of the steak house, as Roepers.
Medina Gazette 2 Nov., 1945 page 4

An ad from 14 May 1925 Medina Sentinel.
The property was known as the Miller House or the
Miller House Hotel from 1900 to the 1930's.

Undated and uncited picture of the old Steak House from when it
was the Miller House Hotel from  Bob Hyde's
"Beyond the Storefronts" web site.

From 1884 to 1900, the building was named the Germania House Hotel, John Gluntz proprieter.

Prior to that it was called the Palmer House Hotel.

Under Bob's Palmer House Hotel listing for 1873-1874 he says, "Palmer House Hotel became a stagecoach inn and stop as indicated by teeth marks on posts by wood eating horses called cribbers".  The building did not have to be a stagecoach stop for cribbing horses to gnaw at its hitching rails.

In May of 1872, H. G. Blake sold property to J.W. Palmer. Dr. Palmer and his son built the hotel.

By 1875, the hotel had changed hands and W.L. Stoaks was the new
owner. Medina Gazette 12 Nov., 1875, page 2.

Perhaps Dr. Palmer and his son should have
stayed in the patent medicine business?
Medina Gazette 3 May 1872, page 4.

What is known for certain?

• As late as 1857 (map above) there was NOT a stage coach stop there. 
• The building is one half a mile west of uptown Medina. Why build a stage stop so far from the main business area at that time?
• The building that exists now at 538 West Liberty was built around 1872 by Dr. J.W. Palmer.
• The new railroad opened in November of 1871. There would be no need of a stage coach after that.            
• Was there a stagecoach stop there 1858-1871? It is still possible...

From the land and deed records available at FamilySearch.org, we learn that H.G. Blake bought and sold numerous properties from the 1850's through the 1870's. This indicates that he viewed land as investment opportunities.

Remember who owned the land according to the 1857 map above? C. Hubbard. In 1851, H.G. Blake bought 7 acres on the west side of Medina from Charles Hubbard and his wife. This was before the attempted railroad project of 1854. More land speculation? But why is C. Hubbard still listed as the owner in 1857?  An error in the map, like the railway bed line that is marked as a railroad line? He held onto the land until the 1870's, after the railroad came in. The value of the land would have greatly increased .

The two 19th century histories of Medina County, Pioneer History of Medina County (1861) and The History of Medina County and Ohio (1881) do not mention any stagecoach stop run by H.G. Blake. The coach lines mentioned that came through Medina are the Chidester House Hotel on the south side of the square and the American House Hotel on the north end of the square are both mentioned as stops at different times.

Browsing through the early newspaper from the 1850's and 1860's many advertisement for all sorts of services are found. Some of them promoting H.G. Blake's interests:

Medina County Gazette 26 May 1859, page 2.

Medina County Gazette 19 May 1859,page 2.

Medina County Gazette, 17 May 1872, page 1.

So clearly, Blake believed in advertising to promote his businesses. Why not promote a stage stop?

The answer might lie in this 1877 article criticizing the Palmer Hotel for selling liquor:

This wording seems to indicate that only land exchanged hands.
There was no building included, and no stagecoach stop.
Medina County Gazette 23 Feb., 1877, page 5

While this does not meet the standard of proof that there was never a stagecoach stop at that location, the lack of proof that there ever was one, does cast doubt on it.

What do you think?


SOURCES:

• Colton, G. Woolworth. Colton's railroad & township map of the state of Ohio, drawn by George W. Colton, engraved by J M. Atwood. New York, 1854. Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, . 
• Geil, John F. Map of Medina Co., Ohio. Philada.: Matthews and Taintor Publishers, 1857. Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, .
• Hyde, Robert, "Beyond the Storefronts" MedinaSquare.org, accessed online September 2019.
• King, Joann, Medina County Coming of Age, 1810-1900, Angstrom Graphics, Cleveland, OH, 2016.
• Medina County Gazette
• "Blake, Booth, Tyler & Co., advertisement", 19 May 1959,page 2, Medina County Gazette microfilm at the Medina Library, accessed September 2019. 
• "Dr. Palmer & Son, advertisement, 3 May 1872, page 4, Medina County Gazette microfilm at the Medina Library, accessed September 2019. 
• "H. G. Blake, advertisement", 26 May 1859, page 2, Medina County Gazette microfilm at the Medina Library, accessed September 2019. 
• "Old Miller House Hotel", 5 July 1968, page 7, NewspaperArchive, accessed online through Akron Library, September 2019.
• 23 May 1968, page 3, NewspaperArchive, accessed online through Akron Library, September 2019.
• "Local Items", 23 February 1877, page 5, NewspaperArchive, accessed online through Akron Library, September 2019.
• "Palmer House, advertisement", 12 Nov., 1875, page 2,  NewspaperArchive, accessed online through Akron Library, September 2019.
• "Phoenix Bank, advertisement", 17 May 1872, page 1, Medina County Gazette microfilm at the Medina Library, accessed September 2019. 
• "Roepers Steak House, advertisement", 2 Nov., 1945, page 4, NewspaperArchive, accessed online through Akron Library, September 2019.
• Medina County Sentinel
• "The Miller House, advertisement" 11 June 1925, page 5, NewspaperArchive, accessed online through Akron Library, September 2019.
• Medina Post
• McManus, Kevin "Steakhouse Shuts Down", The Medina Post, 14 March 2015. http://www.thepostnewspapers.com/medina/local_news/medina-steak-seafood-shuts-down/article_6857006b-d74c-585a-8d03-1b0b5b9b9f04.html , accessed online September 2019
• "Medina Steakhouse" on PHDelicious.com circa 18 March 2011, accessed online September 2019. 
• Mershon, Peggy, "Stagecoaches Were A Familiar Sight", Mansfield News Journal, https://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/story/news/history/2016/07/22/history-stagecoaches-were-familiar-sight/87432230/  , accessed online September 2019.
• Perrin, William Henry, History of Medina County and Ohio. Containing a History of the State of Ohio, From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Baskin & Battey, Chicago, IL, 1881. Accessed on Internet Archive September 2019. https://archive.org/details/historyofmedinac00perr/page/n6 
• "Record of deeds, 1818-1871; index to deeds, 1790-1923", Medina County Recorders Office, accessed online at FamilySearch.org September 2019.
• Shapiro, Eleanor, ed., Historical Highlights of Medina, Meyers Lithographers, Medina, OH, 1966.
• "Stagecoach Routes In Northern Ohio", Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, Case Western University, https://case.edu/ech/articles/s/stagecoach-routes-northern-ohio , accessed online September 2019.

Have you seen this???

HUGE u-shaped iron embedded in the sidewalk on Smith Road

When walking around Medina, have you seen this in the sidewalk on Smith Road, right next to Castle Noel's parking lot??
Have you wondered what it was and why it was there?
Did you wonder if it was some kind of utility marking?
Or some relic from the Civil War?
Or did you wonder if it was a giant horseshoe and just HOW BIG was that horse??

Did you know there is another one in town? Do you know where this one can be found?

I have to admit, I wondered about this curiosity a lot on my lunch time walks around downtown/uptown Medina.  Until last fall when I went on the South Court Historic Neighborhood Tour. 

If you haven't ever taken any of the historic home  tours in Medina I can highly recommend them. We toured around 15 homes in the neighborhoods south of Route 42. They covered a range of architectural styles and decades. One of the last homes we toured was this one:

514 South Broadway
http://www.historicholbenhouse.com/

I have always admired the house for its cheery seasonal decorations along the picket fence.

The owners of the house are very enthusiastic keepers of the history of their home. It was built by Jabez Holben  in  1884.

Jabez lived from 1852 until 1933. He doesn't show up in the county histories, but by tracking him in the U.S. Federal Censuses from 1870 through 1930, we see that his occupation is listed as....

BLACKSMITH!!

His blacksmith shop was located on Smith Road and the horseshoe embedded in the sidewalk there marks where his shop once stood. The other one is placed in the sidewalk in front of the house he built.

Jabez' obituary states that he was "known by thousands" in Medina.

P.S. Bob Hyde grew up in the area of the Holben House and tells me that Jabez Holben built at least 5 houses in the area of South Broadway and Wadsworth Road.

UPDATE!
 During the spring and summer of 2018, the section of Smith Road between South Court and South Broadway underwent extensive renovation and the horseshoe was removed from the sidewalk.

When this was brought to the public's attention, thanks in large part to the Facebook page, Roadside History of Medina everyone wanted to know what had happened to the horseshoe and decried public officials who were seen to be insensitive to the history literally beneath their feet.

Member, Don Williams took the high road and contacted the City Engineer who was VERY aware of the situation and was working to track down the horseshoe. It was found with the contractor that the Gas Company had hired to replace the lines and it is now zooming its way back to the City Engineer.
Don further urged the City Engineer to make sure it was reinstalled.

WAY TO GO, CITIZENS OF MEDINA!

28 AUGUST 2018 UPDATE!

Originally, City Hall was planning on giving the horseshoe to one of the museums in town.  But the members of the Roadside History Of Medina Facebook page again had very definite ideas of where the horseshoe should go. The feeling was that the horseshoe in a museum loses some of its context. The horseshoe should go back to the sidewalk.

City Hall was listening and when Don Williams and Doug McClure of the Facebook page, attended the City Council meeting last night, City Officials were prepared!

The horseshoe is going to be installed near the sidewalk where it originally had been placed.

The Medina Gazette account can be read HERE.

CITIZEN ACTIVISM AT ITS BEST!

ANOTHER HORSESHOE REVEALED!
3rd Ward Councilman, Eric Heffinger, revealed that there is also a horseshoe on his property on Wadsworth Road in a post on the Facebook Roadside History of Medina page and included this picture!

According to Bob Hyde, local historian, and owner of the web site, Beyond the StoreFronts, there could be several more in the neighborhood.

Councilman's Eric Heffinger's Holben's Horseshoe!
(I love alliteration, don't you?!?)

2019 UPDATE!

The horseshoe on Smith Road has been returned to its location! 

Today, 7 May, the Gazette ran this articleon the front page: http://www.medina-gazette.com/Medina-County/2019/05/07/Horseshoe-landmark-steps-into-new-spot-in-Medina.html

and this picture:

Bob Finnan's photo from the article about replacing the horseshoe.

Picture of the horseshoe in its new home on Smith Road.
Photo taken 12 June 2019.

Main Street U.S.A.

Last week, the Gazette ran an article on the upcoming Medina Bicentennial that talks about a movie made in Medina during World War II.  Bicentennial Article

Every couple of years, the Medina Library receives a request for "Hometown U.S.A., you know, the movie that was made back in the 40's."

The movie depicts a fictional lawyer writing a letter to a nephew serving overseas in World War II. The lawyer describes a typical day in Medina and manages to cover all the local industries, shops and some well-known Medina characters, all to encourage the unnamed nephew to settle in Medina when he returns from the war. Pathfinder Magazine  sponsored the movie and it was produced by Pathe Studios.

And yes, the Medina Library has that movie. But the DVD case, and the movie title, as seen below, is Main St. U.S.A.

Main St. U.S.A.  or is it Hometown, U.S.A.

It premiered in Medina on April 10-11, 1945 at the old Medina Theater that was just recently demolished.

And here is were the confusion comes in.

Because the newspaper ads printed at that time and even the actor/lawyer in the film refers to "Hometown, U.S.A."

This promo appeared in the April 6, 1945 Medina Gazette.

This article appeared in the April 10th Medina Gazette, 
the day of the opening. It also refers to the movie as
"Hometown, U.S.A."

Even the marque at the theater entrance calls it "Hometown, U.S.A."

Photo taken from Bob Hyde's web site: www.medinasquare.org

BUT, the opening credits from the movie itself, as shown in the first image above, was "Main St. U.S.A."

Did the movie going public of Medina feel confused or deceived by the title switch? Certainly such a momentous event would be chronicled in the local papers!  Except....

President Roosevelt died the very next day. The Gazette has always been a newspaper with
strong Republican leanings, so this graphic was all that appeared in their pages.

The very next day, President Roosevelt died.

So a big follow up to the premiere did not show up in either The Gazette or The Sentinel.

Bob Hyde, a Medina native, avid historian, and creator of the Medina History web site Medina Square, was just a youngster and remembers everyone was very excited by the movie. And he remembers it was called "Hometown, U.S.A.".

But why the confusion? Why did everyone call it, and remember it as "Hometown, U.S.A" when it is titled and labeled, "Main Street USA"?

World War II, though winding down in Europe, was still very much in the local papers.

The Army was still recruiting women for the
Women's Army Corps

So there wasn't a lot of local coverage after the movie premiered.

A June 5th Medina Gazette article reported that 500 booklets of "familiar" Medina scenes titled "Hometown, U.S.A."  were printed and available from the Medina Chamber of Commerce. Has anyone ever seen a copy of that brochure?

To confuse matters even further, in 1990, the Medina Area Chamber of Commerce produced an 11 minute video that contained a lot of boosterisms for Medina. If you want a laugh, view it just to see the fluffy hairstyles and fashions of the time. And it was called "America's Home Town, Medina, Ohio".

1990's "America's Home Town" movie produced by the Medina Area Chamber of Commerce

If anyone has any answers to this puzzle, please share your information, because ---

ENQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW

UPDATE!!

Tom Hilberg of the Medina County Historical Society brought in a copy of the brochure that was released after the movie. And look what it is titled!!

  

Also, on Facebook, Jay Summers had this comment to add:
Jay Summers I'd surmise the confusion comes from the Marketing Campaign and Editorial Choices didn't match up. Which is fairly typical in Film Production. The Marketing and Advertising folks don't talk w/ the Producers & Editors. Quite often titles are changed prior to release. I'd guess, the Producers in California and Marketers in Ohio, didn't talk. Had planned on "Hometown USA", marketed it as such, then the Producers changed the title to utilize it elsewhere. Most films go through several title changes before release.

LikeShow more reactions · Reply · 2 · August 23 at 11:47am

Thanks for the insight into film marketing, Jay!

Diane Ganyard 1949-2008

First female police officer in the city of Medina.

Diane Lynn Ganyard was a tiny dynamo!





She was born to Calvin and Arleen Ganyard and lived most of her life here in Medina County.

She was very active in school and graduated Medina High School in 1967








 And here is the list of activities she participated in:

1967 Medina High School Yearbook

CAA stands for Contemporary Affairs Association and was a current events club. She was also a member of the National Honor Society.

After high school Diane attended Eastern Kentucky University as a music major but after a semester, realizing it wasn't for her, quit and went to work as a cold-type setter for a printing company.

She knew she wanted to get into law enforcement and decided to join the United State Army as an MP (Military Police). However, the Army didn't have any slots open for MPs and wouldn't for a couple of years. She took an aptitude test and scored well enough in the languages area to be offered a position in the Army Security Agency.

Medina Gazette- 22 Mar 1973_p. 8

She enlisted for four years in the  Women's Army Corp (WAC) During her enlistment, the WACs were disbanded and women were incorporated into the regular United States Army. She trained as a German translator in Monterrey California. After completing her training, she was assigned to Teufelsberg near Berlin. Her unit listened to and transcribed tapes in German. She quickly moved into the Quality Control section.

Medina County Women
of the Military, Vol. II

Diane was stationed in Germany for 2 1/2 years and treasured her memories of being there. Because the Cold War was still on and Germany was still divided, East vs. West, soldier's movements were restricted and monitored to make sure they weren't intercepted. She rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant. Her time in Germany made her appreciate the freedoms we take for granted in the U.S. Diane was discharged from the Army in February 1977.


In December of 1979, Diane realized her ambition and became the first female police officer on the Medina Police Department.

Diane made "headlines" in the Medina Gazette. The article was buried on page 12

She was joined a few months later by Nancy Labadie.

Nancy Labadie, Chief Davis and Diane Ganyard.
Photo courtesy MedinaSquare.org

In 1984, Diane became a police sergeant.

In 1997, when Julia Hach was forming the Medina County Women of the Military, Diane was one of the first members and she would march with them in the Medina Memorial Day Parade whenever her duties on the police force allowed.

From the Waite & Son online obituary

Diane served on the police force for 30 years before her death in 2008.

An incredible woman who was a  pioneer at the Medina Police Force.


SOURCES:

• 1967 Medina High School Yearbook
• Medina County Women of the Military Volume 11, pp.67-74, Sharon Nicholson, Editor, 2005. 
• "Medina Police Hire First Woman Officer", Medina Gazette, 5 Dec 1979, page 12.
• Photo from the Waite & Son Funeral Home online obituary https://www.waitefuneralhome.com/obituary/284810 
• Photo of Diane Ganyard, Chief Davis and Nancy Labadie from Robert  Hyde's Beyond the Storefront web site.

2016 Genealogy Resolution Continued

So, I didn't really talk about my GENEALOGY resolution for 2016, and I do have one!

My MASON family.

I have neglected this family line for decades because, well, it is difficult!

#1 - It is a common surname. But hey! I have SMITHs, JOHNSONs and WILLIAMs, the top 3 most common surnames in the country, so that is no real deterrent.

#2 - They all named their sons, William and John. No kidding! Generation after generation of William and John Masons. But that is not that uncommon with English ancestors.

This is photo from FindAGrave of a "cemetery" in WV.

#3 -  They lived in West Virginia. Don't get me wrong! I love my West Virginia ancestors and their West Virginia Archives and History is one of my favorite web sites for birth, marriage and death records. But my ancestors seemed to have a cavalier attitude for registering such events. Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn't. And the terrain can be quite challenging.

 The MASONs are well researched back 4 generations, to my 2X great grandfather, William H. Mason (1860-1935), but his father, William B. Mason is where the information is incomplete and contradictory.

So to tackle this problem all the information on the family will be reviewed. ALL OF IT!
I will be looking for:

• Incomplete information. For example, I don't know when or where William B. Mason or his wife died or were married. The most obvious sources have been checked. Less obvious sources and locations need to be investigated.
• Contradictory information, such as two of his daughter's death certificates, list different names for their mother. Is the information on the death certificates wrong or did William have two wives? 
• His wife's name is given as Elizabeth in the 3 censuses they appear in, but Elizabeth starts out as 12 years his junior and ends up being 19 years younger. Same woman, fudging her age, or two different women with the same first name? I have seen that happen, too!
• Collateral lines need to be fleshed out and investigated for possible clues.
• Was William B. Mason in the military? He would have been about 44 years old during the Civil War. West Virginia came into being during the Civil War. Which side might William have served on?
• Did he own land? In the 1850 Census, his occupation is "overseer". The next two censuses list him as a farmer, but with little personal property. Did he own or rent?

I will probably create several spreadsheets to view all the information and identify missing and conflicting information.

Periodically, I will post updates as to how this research is going...

Want a quick laugh? Check out this list of how to "fail at family history":
How-to-Fail-at-Family-History-Research-in-10-Simple-Steps

New book coming to the Medina Library soon: Great Migration Directory

This book promises to list the names of all people known to have come to New England during the Great Migration period, 1620-1640. Each entry provides the name of the head of household, English or European origin (if known), date of migration, principal residences in New England, and the best available sources of information for the subject. This book will be shelved in the Franklin Sylvester Room in the very near future!



Robert Hyde has generously donated 3 scrapbooks on the Medina High School Class of 1950 Reunions. These are already shelved in the Franklin Sylvester Room above the yearbooks.

Historic Homes of Medina

The John Smart House, home to the Medina County Historical Society

The Medina Library has some wonderful resources for researching your home's history, particularly if it is an older home in the downtown Medina area.





First, there is the Historical Home Research brochure, that is available on the library's web site and HERE and I blogged about it HERE.

Then there is Bob Hyde's wonderful web site that was in The Medina Gazette last week - READ THE ARTICLE  HERE.   I blogged about that HERE. (Bob has changed the name of the site since I posted about it.)

But you know that not everything is available online, right? Right?

In 1979,  MCRPC registered a number of area homes on the Ohio Historic Inventory. It is a one volume binder with indexing by address and the home's name. Houses had to NOT had significant rennovations to qualify and the information is limited.

 A sample sheet from the Ohio Historic Inventory:

AND...

For the last 30+ years, the Medina Library has collected newspaper articles on local history topics. One of those topics is historic homes in Medina County, with much of the focus being Medina City. These articles are now compiled in two volume (soon to be four) binders in the Franklin Sylvester Room.

The articles are indexed by address and the name of the house. 85 different homes are covered including:

• Burnham House which currently houses The Corkscrew Saloon
• The Farmer's Exchange which is currently closed. Developers are looking at options.
• The Gingerbread House in Weymouth
• Hershey's Barbershop off the Square in Medina
• The King-Phillips-Deibel House on North Broadway in Medina. This house was moved from its location on the southeast corner of the Square to North Broadway so the Franklin Sylvester Library could be built.
• Lustron Homes - post WWII pre-fab houses built aroun 1948.
• McDowell-Phillips House at the end of Washington Street in Medina
• Octagon House
• Quonset Hut
• John Smart House
• Victorian Village
• York School

The "Blue" Phillips house was one of the homes that were
part of Victorian Village on East Washington. The homes are
all gone now, removed for the Medina Library Expansion
The Phillips house was dismantled and moved across
 country to the San Francisco are and rebuilt.

The Gingerbread House in Weymouth.
It is often the focus of historic home tours
 in Weymmouth

The King-Deibel-Phillips House on North Broadway. It was
moved from the corner of East Washington and South Broadway
for the construction of the original 1907 Library building.

McDowell-Phillips house at the end of Washington Street
in Medina. 

Information is as simple as a single article about an Historic Home Tour or many articles covering multiple decades. 

Is your historic home included?


Maybe. Maybe not. Visit the Franklin Sylvester Room at the Medina Library and browse through the binders








But the library will welcome copies of any information you have gathered to be added to our files!

Flyer from Akron Summit County Public Library

Akron Summit County Library is offering a wonderful program "Church and State: Genealogy Research in Religious and Government Records" on April lst. If you have never attended one of Akron's all-day program, I can highly recommend them. I would go to this one, but I have a conflicting engagement. I.E. - I have to work that day! Sign up information is HERE.