FIFTH MEDINA COUNTY HISTORY FAIR

It's time again for the Annual Medina County History Fair!

Fifteen of the local history and genealogical organizations will be on hand, displaying their collections and answering your questions about the uniqueness of Medina County.

JOIN US FOR A WONDERFUL DAY OF HISTORY!

Stop by the Library's table and say "Hello!" to Lisa, Lauren and myself!

Who are they?: The answers to last week's trivia challenge.

And the answers are:

1.William Batchelder - m. Ohio legislator for 40 years.
Read more about his career on this Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_G._Batchelder.
He and his wife, Judge Alice Batchelder, still own a house on East Smith Road in Medina.

William Batchelder
Photo is from a screenshot of a YouTube Video

2. Martin Van Buren Bates - k. A giant among men.
Captain Martin Van Buren Bates was literally a  giant, measuring 7 feet 5 inches tall. He and his wife Anna settled in Seville and became known as The Giants of Seville.

Captain Bates next to an 
ordinary man.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

3. Sylvia Beach - h. Missing Wadsworth girl.
Sylvia was a young woman who went missing in the wild country around Wadsworth in 1823. Read more about her on this blog: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2016/08/missing.html 

4. Wilda Bell - q. 1st Black woman on Medina City Council.
Learn more about her inspiring life here:

https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/search?q=wilda+bell

Photo from Wilda's obituary at Waite & Son

5. Elsie Bennett-Wilson - p. Local library promoter.
Here is more information on this influential Medina woman: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2015/03/elsie-bennett-wilson.html

6. H.G. Blake - o. Started Old Phoenix Bank.
 Pick up any Medina history book and you will find entries on H.G. Blake. Starting the Old Phoenix Bank was just one of his accomplishments. Read more about his life: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2017/04/hg-blake.html

Old Phoenix Bank, undated, from Bob Hyde's Beyond the Storefronts web site.
The bank was one of the first buildings constructed after the 1870 fire that destroyed much
of uptown Medina. It rose from the ashes like a Phoenix. It was a Medina landmark
for well over 100 years until the bank was sold first to First Merit and later to Huntington Banks.

7. John W. Brown - a. Ohio Governor from Medina.
Sure, he was only Governor for 11 days, but he didn't let that slow him down! Here's more info: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2017/03/medinas-governor.html and on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_William_Brown

8. Peter Cherry - c. Medina historian and author.
Almost forgotten now, Peter Cherry was once the go-to person for Medina and Summit county history. He wrote The Western Reserve and Early Ohio (1921) and The Portage Path (1921) and this article from The Medina Gazette:

Medina County Gazette 9 August 1935, section 2, page 3. Article by
P. (Peter) P. Cherry, a local Medina historian.
Cherry inflated the number of troops involved.

9. Sidney Fenn - t. Medina Educator and Principal.
The Fenn Elementary School is named in his honor. Learn more about him at: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2017/09/who-was-sidney-fenn.html

10. Rufus Ferris - r. Pioneer & land-sales agent.
Rufus was the land agent for Elijah Boardman, who owned most of Medina Township. He tragically died while trying to save others' lives during a cholera epidemic. Learn more here: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2017/06/rufus-ferris-medina-pioneer.html

Historic marker outside the house that Ferris built on what is now
North Broadway

11. Michael Foreman - l. NASA astronaut.
Who knew Medina County boasted their own NASA astronaut? Friends and family of Michael Foreman who grew up in Wadsworth.  Read about his career on Wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Foreman_(astronaut)

12. William D. Frazier - w. Historic marathon walker.
Confession time - I forgot who William Frazier was, even though I wrote this blog about him:
https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2016/06/william-bill-frazier-medina-legend-you.html

13. Sadie Green - e. An early Medina health nurse. Just not the first!

Often listed as Medina's first county health nurse, Sadie Green held that position from 1924 to 1935. Two other women were Medina Health nurses before her: Constance Hanna, 1920-1922, Miss Musse, 1922-1924. Read more about Sadie's life in this blog: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2015/03/sadie-green.html

14. Letha House - j. Medina benefactress.
The Letha House Foundation has donated to numerous worthy causes in Medina County. If you want a short account of her rags to riches story, check out this blog: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2016/12/letha-e-house.html
For a thorough examination of her life, I can highly recommend this book by Joann King:
https://search.clevnet.org/client/en_US/me-main/search/results?qu=letha%20house&te=

Local author, Joann King wrote this imminently readable
account of Letha's life.

15. Sophia Huntington-Parker - x. founded the Pythian Sisters Home in Medina.
Demolished now, the home once stood at the end of Homestead on Huntington Street.

Read more about the lady who founded the home here: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2017/08/sophia-huntington-parker-pythian.html

16. Amos Mears - u. Businessman & cemetery sponsor.
When Mears left his entire estate to the Friends of the Cemetery, they decided to name their new Memorial Building after him.

https://www.cleveland.com/medina/2016/05/friends_of_medinas_spring_grov.html

His life is covered here: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2015/06/amos-carlton-mears.html

17. Ray Mellert - y. Businessman & sports booster.
Ray Mellert was another Medina businessman and huge booster of local sports. He has a city park named for him on Huntington Street. Read about Ray in this blog: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2017/05/ray-mellert.html

18. Judge Albert Munson - A spiritualist.
The Munson family were spiritualists and held seances in their home. William McKinley, James Garfield and Abraham Lincoln are among the spirits they claimed to have talked with. Munson is one of the few well-known Medina characters that I haven't done a blog on, yet. Stay tuned for that!

19. Pete Rademacher - f. An Olympic gold medal boxer.
Rademacher was a champion boxer of the 1950's. Around Medina, he was just as well known for riding his one wheel motor cycle in parades. My coworker Lisa did a blog on Pete here:
https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2016/02/pete-rademacher-1956-olympic-gold.html

20. A.I Root - i. Father of modern beekeeping.
Seriously? If you don't know A.I. Root is, you need to check out his candle store on West Liberty...
The man and his company were covered in this blog:
https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2017/06/a-i-root-company.html

21. Chuck Schodowski - g. Beloved Cleveland TV personality.
Better known as "Big Chuck" of the "Big Chuck and Little John" TV Show. He was a Hinckley resident for many years. Tell the truth! How many of you looked for Dick Goddard's name in the list? Read more about his 43 years in Cleveland television here: https://search.clevnet.org/client/en_US/me-main/search/results?qu=big%20chuck%20my%20favorite&te=

Chuck wrote about his many years on TV.

22. Frederick Streeter - v. Only man hung in Medina.
Convicted and hung for murdering the Shubil Coy family, the evidence presented in court would not be enough to convict him today. Did he do it?
https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2015/12/did-he-do-it.html

Frederick Streeter
Photo in the Medina Library's Collection

23. Franklin Sylvester - n. Paid for first Medina Library.
Franklin Sylvester was a Granger Township cattleman, who was childless. A friend urged him to follow the example of Andrew Carnegie and donate money to build a library in Medina. And he did.  His blog entry is here: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2016/10/franklin-sylvester.html

Franklin Sylvester as a younger man.
From the Medina Library Collection.

24. Edith Thomas - b. Chatham poet.
Edith was a renowned American poet who was born in Chatham. I admit that I would never have heard of her except for my friendship with Frank Munz, late Chatham historian. But she has her own Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_M._Thomas

25. Mel Wiley - s. Missing Hinckley Policeman.
He disappeared in 1985 from Edgewater Park where he went to meet friends for swimming. He left his car, his keys, his clothes and his wallet behind. And he hasn't been seen since. He was declared dead in 1993. Google his name to find the many theories about his disappearance.


How many did you get right??

SOURCES:

• Screen capture of William G. Batchelder speaking to the City Club of Cleveland on January 7, 2011 City Club of Cleveland - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzoLlFwzzTM
• Beyond the Storefronts http://www.medinasquare.org/southside-public-square-3547?rq=old%20phoenix

Who Are They?

Clockwise from upper left: Pete Rademacker, Elsie Bennett Wilson
Sidney Fenn, Franklin Sylvester, Letha House, Amos I. Root,
Sadie Green, in the middle, Wilda Bell.

Can you match these well known Medina people (below on the left)  with the occupation or activity they are known for?

Hint: Only some of them have been profiled on this blog.

1. William Batchelder
2. Martin VanBuren Bates
3. Sylvia Beach
4. Wilda Bell
5. Elsie Bennett-Wilson
6. H.G. Blake
7. John W. Brown
8. Peter Cherry
9. Sidney Fenn
10. Rufus Ferris
11. Michael Foreman
12. William D. Frazier
13. Sadie Green
14. Letha House
15. Sophia Huntington-Parker
16. Amos Mears
17. Ray Mellert
18. Judge Albert Munson
19. Pete Rademacher
20. A.I Root
21. Chuck Schodowski
22. Frederick Streeter
23. Franklin Sylvester
24. Edith Thomas
25. Mel Wiley

a. Ohio Governor from Medina
b. Chatham poet
c. Medina historian & author
d. A spiritualist
e. An early Medina health nurse
f. An Olympic gold medal boxer
g. Beloved Cleveland TV person
h. Missing Wadsworth girl
i. Father of modern beekeeping
j. Medina benefactress
k. A giant among men
l. NASA astronaut
m. Ohio legislator for 40 years
n. Paid for first Medina Library
o. Started Old Phoenix Bank
p. Local library promoter
q. 1st Black woman on Medina City Council
r. Pioneer & land-sales agent
s. Missing Hinckley Policeman
t. Medina Educator & Principal
u. Businessman & cemetery sponsor
v. Only man hung in Medina
w. Historic marathon walker
x. Founded the Pythian Sisters Home
y. Businessman & sports booster

Stay tuned for the answers!

MEDINA'S RADIO STATION

WDBN - A Station of Firsts! 

17 October 1960, Medina's own WDBN quietly debuted at 94.9 FM. There was no ribbon cutting ceremony. No fan fare. No headlines in the Medina Gazette. It was 1960 and FM radio stations were the "sad sisters" of AM radio.

This ad that appeared in the 15 Dec 1960 edition of the Orrville Courier
Crescent  was the earliest mention I could find about the station.

In a year when songs like "Cathy's Clown" by the Everly Brothers and "The Twist" by Chubby Checkers and "It Was an Its Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" were on the top of the charts, WDBN was playing "beautiful music" - instrumental recordings of Montovani and Broadway tunes. No vocals.

Their target audience was adults. Music would last for 15 minutes and then there would be 2 minutes of commercials. 24 hours a day. Much of the programming was automated with staff only broadcasting the news.

But Ted Niarhos and his fellow investors must have had a crystal ball, because FM radio was just coming in to its own. Slowly, talk radio and news programs became the province of AM radio and music went to FM.

With a 188,000 watt transmitter, the station was the most powerful FM station in Ohio (or even east of the Mississippi). Providing a 50 mile radius listening area, people from all over north east Ohio could listen in. Later, the FCC would set wattage limits on FM stations, but WDBN was grandfathered in.

In 1961, the station provided the first stereophonic broadcast service in Ohio.

But it was early years yet for FM radio, and the station struggled financially. Especially after a fierce wind storm in February of 1967 blew down their tower and the insurance wouldn't cover the replacement costs. Once saved by advertisers & citizens of Medina County.

Medina Gazette 16 Feb 1967 p. 1. After a wind storm in February
 1967, the station transmitted on half power for six weeks
while a new 236,000 watt transmitter was installed.

After replacing the antenna, the station had better reception than ever, especially in the Cleveland area.

By 1966, Ted Niarhos bragged to BillBoard Magazine that the station had enough listeners to compete with AM stations for advertising dollars and it was #1 in their market, ahead of 20 AM stations.

Early in 1968, the FCC approved the sale of WDBN-FM to Robert Miller and his associated investors. The price? $1 million dollars! This was the highest price ever paid for a FM station at this time.

Because of a conflict of interest, Miller was also a part owner of WERE in Cleveland, Bob had to resign as officer of the Cleveland Broadcasting Inc and put his stock in that company into a irrevocable trust. The Miller family owned 34% of the Cleveland Broadcasting and Bob owned 46.57% of WDBN's stock, giving the Millers the controlling interest.

Miller was already known in broadcasting circles because of his involvement with WERE. He was the son of former Cleveland Mayor, Ray Miller and had interviewed Presidents Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy.

Meanwhile, Ted Niarhos moved to Florida and bought another radio station, but harbored fond memories of Medina. He still lives there.

Plain Dealer 12 May 1968 p. 168. Bragging: "#1 station in Medina, River Styx (where studio & transmitter are), Remson Corners & Barberton, Penninsula, Hudson. #2 with Akron adults. “Darn near tops in Cleveland”

WDBN acquired a number of nicknames during this period, among them, "The Miracle in Medina" and "The Quiet Island." While WDBN never stood for anything in particular, Bob Miller coined the term "Wonderful Days, Beautiful Nights" to describe the listening experience.

Plain Dealer 7 Nov 1973 p. 15

Plain Dealer 9 June 1971 p. 82

In 1971, the station was the first in Ohio to schedule broadcasts in four-channel stereo.

In  order to alleviate "holes" in their broadcast area caused by the hills and valleys of northern Medina and Summit counties, WDBN  revamped the transmission system in 1973. Previously, they had two 15,000 watt transmitters, one in River Styx and one in Guilford Township on Tower Road. These were replaced by three 25,000 watt transmitters and an improved antenna system that gave the station "America's most powerful transmitting system".

In 1975, the station attained a waiver from the FCC that allowed them to move their station offices from the transmitters at Tower Road in Guilford Township to Gateway Drive in Montville Township.

The station remodeled the studios in 1981 to provide cleaner brighter sounds.

Pam Miller, who was Program Director at the time of the 1981 remodel.
Medina Gazette 25 Nov 1981 p. 11.

Battle of Antennas

In 1982, the FCC approved WDBNs request to increase height of antenna from 300 to 700 feet & move it to Paradise Road in Montville Township. What seemed like a simple request at the time became much more complicated:

• Believing the radio station is a public utility, Miller did not seek zoning permit from the township.
• Montville Township officials sought an injunction as they opposed the move and did not believe that a radio station was a public utility. 
• FCC said it was not clear if township officials have zoning authority over broadcast towers. 
• Medina County Common Pleas Court Judge Neil Whitfield said WDBN could be considered a public utility and would not have to seek zoning permission from the township.
• Montville Township Trustees appealed. 
• The Appeals court sent the issue back to Medina County Common Pleas Court.
• The Case went back to Appeals court & they ruled WDBN was not a public utility.
• In 1984, WDBN said it will take its case to OH Supreme Court but later dismissed the case.

Picture of this promotional button provided courtesy of Max Grubb, who was the Account Executive  in the 1970's and 80's.

Meanwhile, also in 1982, the NAACP filed a discriminatory hiring case against WDBN and four other radio stations because no minorities worked at the stations. The group maintained that the stations' licenses should not be renewed. The NAACP said that hiring at the station should reflect the  employment pool represented by standard metro area of the broadcast area, which for WDBN included Cleveland and Akron, both of which had significant black populations.  The NAACP representative admitted that no one from their group had ever examined the company's employment records.

The Millers believed that the case was prompted by the publicity surrounding their zoning issues and their request for their license renewal. WDBN had had black employees in the past and had made efforts to employ black people. Over the years, they had offered jobs to several African Americans who had turned down the employment opportunities. The Millers blamed the station's rural location.

The American Legal Foundation, a conservative public-interest law group that fought inaccuracies in the media, came out in support of WDBN.

It was found that the NAACP case was misguided and contained no substance. WDBN's license was renewed unconditionally. The station made some adjustments to their hiring practices, like reaching out to Reverend Burton of the Medina Second Baptist Church,  to further encourage minority employment.

Photo of promotional mug provided courtesy of Max Grubb.

Because of the popularity of the station and in FM radio in general the station was experiencing windfall profits. With those profits, the Millers decided to broaden their market in 1985 by buying other radio stations. They bought WKSW-RM in Urbana in November and had plans on acquiring more Ohio Stations.

By 1985, WDBN boasted 250,000 listeners per week.

Deregulation of the industry in the 1980's made it much easier to buy and sell radio stations. The Millers received a great offer and sold WDBN in 1988 for 4.5 million to Thom Mandel.

The station changed to “adult Contemporary” format and became Mix 94.9  and the call sign changed to WQMX. The station moved east into Summit County.

WQMX switched to country format on Dec. 6, 1993 - “Akron’s Own Country”

SOME OF WDBN-FM'S FIRSTS:

1. Pioneer FM stereo station – first in Cleveland Metro area & Ohio in 1961
2. 1961 first stereophonic broadcast service in Ohio.
3. Bought for $1,000,000 in 1968, highest price ever paid for a FM station at that time
4. 1971 first in Ohio to schedule broadcasts in four-channel stereo.
5. 1973 "America's most powerful transmitting system".

SOURCES:

• Brewer, Mary Jane, “Public Servant Pamela Miller Gets the Job Done: Medina Local Legends” Cleveland.com, 20 Feb 2018, accessed: https://www.cleveland.com/medina/2018/02/local_legend_pamela_miller_ded.html
• “MILLER, Raymond Thomas” from Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, Case Western Reserve University, accessed: https://case.edu/ech/articles/m/miller-raymond-thomas
• "Robert McBride Miller" Akron Beacon Journal, 27 Aug, 2006 accessed on: www.legacy.com
• "The Dividends of Automation" Broadcasting, 31 July 1967 accessed: https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1967/1967-07-31-BC.pdf 
• Brack, Ray "FM Broadcasters Pain Bright Future" in BillBoard, 9 Apr 1966, page 30 accessed at: https://bit.ly/2Z1oEa0 
• "$1-Million FM Sale Sets New High" Broadcasting, 15 Apr 1968, p. 46, accessed: https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1968/1968-04-15-BC.pdf
• "VOX JOX" BillBoard, 18 Dec. 1965, p. 49, accessed: https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1968/1968-04-15-BC.pdf
• "WDBN-FM", Cleveland Broadcast Radio Archives, accessed:  http://www.cleve-radio.com/index2.htm#WDBN-FM
• "WQMX" WikiWand, accessed https://www.wikiwand.com/en/WQMX
• "WQMX" Wikipedia, accessed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WQMX
• "Top 100 Songs of 1960", Bob Borst's Home of Pop Culture, accessed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WQMX
• Grubb, Max, interview with Kathy Petras via phone, 7 Aug. 2019. 
• Miller, Pamela, phone conversation with Kathy Petras, 13 Aug. 2019.
• "Bennet's Furniture advertisement" Orrville Courier Crescent, 15 Dec 1960, p. 14, accessed from NewspaperArchive.com. 
• Medina County Gazette
• "County Suffers Extensive Wind Damage", 16 Feb., 1967, page 1.
• "Salmagundi" (editorial", 10 Jan. 1968, p. 2.
• "Purchase of WDBM Approved by FCC", 12 April 1968, pp. 1 & 3.
• "The Miracle of Medina WDBN", 26 March 1969, p. 3.
• "WDBN At Half Power For Week", 15 Aug., 1970, p. 2.
• "WDBN To Finalize Change of Location", 29 March 1975,p. 12.
• "Anniversary WDBN Celebrates No. 18", 18 Oct. 1978, p. 25.
• Long, Pam, "WDBN Upgrades Sound", 25 Nov., 1981 p. 11.
• Long, Pam, "Court Battle in Making? WDBN Tower Approval Signals Fight", 22 Sep. 1982, p. 1 & 7.
• Nofel, Pete, "NAACP Files Against WDBN", 29 Sep. 1982, p. 1.
• Nofel, Pete, "Foundation Lends Support to WDBN" 9 Oct. 1982, p. 3.
• Long, Pam, "WDBN Can Build Tower", 31 Dec 1982, p. 1 & 18.
• "Montville Appeals WDBN Court Ruling", 11 Mar., 1983, p. 1'
• Bailey, Steve, "Appeals Court: WDBN is Not a Public Utility", 2 Sep 1983, p. 1.
• Bailey, Steve, "Montville, WDBN Fight On", 30 Nov. 1983, p. 3.
• Bailey, Steve, "Appeals Court Nixes WDBN's Tower", 20 July 1984, p. 3.
• Bailey, Steve, "Public Status WDBN to Seek Higher Ruling on Utility Claim", 26 July 1984, p. 1.
• Bailey, Steve, "WDBN Drops Court Appeal", 26 Sep. 1984, p. 1.
• Webb, Dennis, "WDBN Looking At New Markets", 12 Nov. 1985, p. A-1.
• Plain Dealer
• "Pendulum", 11 April 1967, p. 41.
• "The Miracle in Medina", 12 May 1968, p. 168.
• "WDBN, Medina's FM Voice", 9 Jun 1970, p. 80.
• WDBN Advertisement", 9 June 1971, p. 82.
• "The Struggling Years at WDBN Have Finally Paid Good Dividends", 22 May 1970.
• "Medina's WDBN-FM Now Is Beaming More 'Structured" Adult Music", 16 Apr. 1972, p. 21-E.
• Hart, Raymond, "WDBN To Improve Signal Next Week", 28 Mar. 1973, p. 39.
• "WDBN-FM Stereo" advertisement, 7 Nov. 1973,p. 15.

Return to Spring Grove

The Friends of the Cemetery host a tour of Spring Grove Cemetery every year. This year it will be this Saturday on August 3rd at 1 p.m. and is FREE!

Highlighted people include:

• Sophia Huntington Parker: Her estate provided the funding for the Sophia Huntington Parker home for women. Of course her home is a hot topic of discussion currently in Medina.

• R.M. and Elizabeth McDowell and their daughter Bessie: Prominent members of Medina community. Their home has been in the news as the Medina County Historical Society is raising funds to buy it.

• Florence Phillips: Daughter of F.O. Phillips. Well known and loved history teacher.

• James Collins: died tragically due to suicide in Spring Grove Cemetery.

• Earl Foote, Sr.: was a local housing developer

And this year, the tour will include the Mausoleum:

The 1920's Mausoleum is seldom open to the public and was restored in 2013.

Mausoleum highlights:

• Cornell W. Starr and his wife Sally He was a deputy sheriff and she was a teacher in the Medina Schools.

• And other familiar names: Branch, Spieth, and Foskett.

Join Teresa Merkle and the other Friends of the Cemetery at 1 p.m. for a pleasant and informative stroll around this Medina Landmark.

Meet up at the Chapel.

Tour will be over at 2:30 P.M.

LIGHTING UP THE TOWN, cont'd...

Medina Square Light posts. These decorative historic looking lamp posts were replaced in 2015.
Photo taken 12 June 2019.

The research into the history of bringing electricity to Medina continues as I scour the newspaper microfilm to tease out snippets of news on the topic.So far, I have browsed 2 ½ years of The Gazette, out of a possible of 6 years. My search has been concentrated on 1892, when we know the light and power scheme was first proposed, and 1897 when we know that the light company finally started operations.

Some interesting things I have learned along the way:

1. When the village of Medina first started talking about bringing electricity to the village, it was always only with the thought to light the streets and businesses and private residences. There was no thought to bring in electricity to power homes and businesses. And why would there be? In 1897, homes were not filled with electrical appliances as they are today. Businesses used gas powered motors and dynamos to power their machinery.

2. Strangely, the power company never seemed to promote itself. I have yet to find an ad.

3. Most of the Medina County news came in the form of “letters” or articles sent in by correspondents from each of the villages and crossroads of the area. But the village of Medina did not have a separate correspondent as it was the home of The Gazette. Its local news was in the Local News and Personals columns of the paper, that usually appeared on pages 4 or 5.

4. Medina Village Council meetings were generally not deemed worthy of news print.

5. Prior to electric lights, Medina Public Square was lit by gas lamps.

This ad for electric fans appeared in the
Akron Beacon Journal 23 July 1896 p. 4 

Here is a timeline of events, as I have been able to reconstruct them:

1892

• 3 March – “Medina behind its neighbors” Mr Fred Bostwick of Thomson-Houston Electric answered many questions
• 10 March – finances of electric light plant

This excerpt shows the estimated cost of the electric plant.
Medina Gazette 3 Mar 1892 p.4 

• 10 March – a new stove plant in Medina is dependent on the light plant
• 16 March  – Ohio legislature passed an act, that while it did not name Medina, targeted Medina specifically, to allow the village council to issue bonds and levy a tax for the purchase and erection of an electric light plant.
• 17 March – editorial urging a yes vote for the lights
• 31 March – “example” lights set up by AI Root plant and run by his dynamo
• 7 April – slander is that village council members don’t pay taxes; lists taxes for T. Ferriman, J.S. Warner , W.H. Hobart, D. Hemmeter, W.B. Croft, R.S. Shepard
• 7 April – Dr. S. Hudson writes letter criticizing the electric lights scheme as too precipitous (and by waiting they could save half the cost), too experimental, that the village already had capital improvement debts totaling over $20,000, and that streets and sidewalks should be improved first.
• 12 April – new village council has a “Street Lights & Lighting” committee consisting of Hobart, Ferriman & Warner
• 14 April – Vote on electric lights passed with 70% of the vote. AI Root workers and other factor workers marched en masse to polling booths.

Election Results Medina Gazette 14 Apr 1892 p.6 

• 12 May – No electric lights this year; Herman Holmes filed suit against village council to prevent them from selling electric lights bonds; lawyer Spellman; be to be heard by Judge Nye (from Elyria)
• 19 May – Holmes suit claims that the price quoted by village council $18000 was way too expensive and should be able to be accomplished for half that price; and that the legislation passed to allow the village to issue bonds and taxes was unconstitutional.
• 21 July – J.M. Henderson, attorney for Village Council, asked to remove his previous filing and to be able to file a separate action by 15 Aug.; probably abandon of litigation & repeal of electric light ordinance recently passed by the Council; Medina will remain dark this coming winter.
• NO OTHER ARTICLES COULD BE FOUND IN THE INTERVENING MONTHS
• 22 Dec – Monies set aside in bank for the proposed stove factory sit idle because stove plant didn’t open because of NO ELECTRICITY.

1896 - October through December newspapers have been searched with no articles found mentioning the light and power company. However, 1896 was a very busy year:

• Medina was building a new waterworks plant.
• The Methodist Episcopal Church that was built in 1859 burned down. The women of church went into a flurry of fundraising.
• There was a lot of discussion of the electric railways that were being proposed for Medina.
• W.W. Pancoast, who had embezzled a great deal of money from the people of Medina, was arrested elsewhere on charges of murder. People followed his trial and sentencing closely.
• The Gazette had a weekly column dedicated to the care, maintenance and proper use of the bicycles that had become very popular.
• Several gentleman waged a war in the newspaper on whether bicycles should be allowed on the sidewalks.
• William McKinley was running for President of the United States. As an Ohio man, and a Republican, The Gazette dedicated a great deal of space in its papers boosting and endorsing McKinley and vilifying his opponent, William Jennings Bryan. McKinley won and the paper crowed about the victory. After being elected to his second term as President in 1900, McKinley was assassinated in 1901.

1897 - The October through December 1896 and January and February of 1897 newspaper microfilm was scoured, but nothing mentioned bringing electricity to Medina. But... 

• 13 March – Ozro Sanders granted franchise for erection of an electric light plant to be in operation inside of six months

Medina Gazette 11 Mar 1897 p.5

and from the big city paper...

Plain Dealer 13 March 1897 P.9

• 8 April – Electric bells have been put up in both the recitation rooms at the High school building. Powered by what?
• 22 April - attention to better street lighting; parties interested in obtaining a franchise at $1600-$2500 a year;deemed too expensive previous year spend $38 for lighting (from what source?); could add to water works; hope for Medina to enjoy lighting in the “not-distant time”
• WHAT CHANGED? WHEN? 
• 13 May – “when the electric lights brighten the streets (of) Medina”
• 27 May “Medina is…putting in electric lights”
• 27 May – Mrs. Sanders is purchasing materials; predict lights within 60 days; lot is purchase west of the N O depot; credit to Mr. O. Sanders for “taking hold” of this business for our town
• 8 July – Chimney and foundation in place
• 15 July – work of hanging the electric light cable was completed
• 12 Aug – engine, pump, heater & separator in position for electric light plant; cementing the floor has begun; already have orders for 500 incandescent lamps & 20 arc lamps; lighting for new Methodist church in place
• 2 Sep – dynamo arrived; expected that lights on during fair week

And finally...

• 16 Sep – engine of Medina Electric Light and Power Company started up; eight business houses had been equipped with lamps 7 4 arc lights, one on each corner of the park, illuminated the streets; soon most of businesses 7 private residences will be lighted by electricity;
• 30 “light there be light and there was light and the people rejoiced greatly”

Medina Gazette 30 Sep 1897 p. 5

1905 – Judge Fremont O. Phllips bought the Medina Electric light and Power Company

1915 – Company bought by Pennsylvania Power Company who sold it to Cleveland Southwestern Power Company who sold it to Western Reserve Light and Powere Company

1931 –Sold to Ohio Edison

And as much as I would like to track down exactly when Medina village council took up the lighting and power issue again, I cannot justify the amount of time it would take to do so.

By the way, Dr. Hudson, who wrote the article criticizing Medina for wanting to install an electric plant in 1892 was right about one item. The price for building and operating the plant had dropped by almost 50% when the council took up the plan again in 1897!

Sources:

Medina Gazette

Historical Highlights of Medina(1966)

"Beyond the Storefronts" Medina Square http://www.medinasquare.org/  by Bob Hyde

Medina County Coming of Age by Joanne King
Summit County Beacon 18 May 1892 page 8
Akron Beacon Journal 18 1897 p. 5
Akron Beacon Journal 23 July 1896 p. 4
Plain Dealer 13 March 1897 p.9

MEDINA COUNTY HISTORY FAIR

January 26th 12-4 p.m.

@ The Medina Library

Curious about Medina County History? Have questions? Want to learn more? Want to talk to other people who are as fascinated by Medina County's unique history, events and people?

COME TO THE HISTORY FAIR!

Touching History

One of the wonderful aspects of my job is that I get to touch history. Like last fall when a donation was brought to my attention. Someone was getting rid of a bunch of theological materials. Among the items donated was a tiny handmade New Testament that was written in an Ethiopian language that is mostly used just for ecclesiastical purposes.

Wooden end pieces and hand stitched binding of this
very unique donation.

Vellum pages and ornate illustrations and text.

We are still waiting to see if the item has any monetary value or if it is just incredibly interesting.
























And it happened again just a couple of months ago...       
     

Medina County Texas is due east of San Antonio, Texas

In the spring, a gentleman from Texas contacted us about a Civil War diary that he thought belonged at the Medina Library. Knowing that there is a Medina, Texas, we first verified that he had the right Medina library.






Thomas Kreneck, is an archivist, and knew what he was doing. The family who was donating the item, Dick and Mary Heldt,  just wanted to make sure it had a good home. Thomas wanted to know that it had the right  home.

He said the diary never gives the author's name, but mentions that the author's father was the sheriff of Medina and also mentions several locations, such as, Brunswick, Seville, etc. Yep, he had the right Medina Library.

The gentleman promised to send the diary to us. Months went by and no diary ever appeared. As often happens, life took over and sending us the library went to the bottom of the list. I contacted Tom in September and on October 4th a package was sitting on my desk when I came into work.

It was the diary! 




The cover is a very delicate leather with a little slot and flap to keep it closed. The days and dates are pre-printed and leaves 10 lines for each entry.   

This type of diary was meant to be carried in the inside pocket of a man's coat.  And they were very popular with Civil War soldiers. 

The first pages have an annual calendar for 1862 and then it jumps right into the daily entries.

Indeed, the author never identifies himself but starts recording his daily routine.

His punctuation, capitalization and spelling are erratic and when doing transcriptions, these must be recorded accurately. This is particularly challenging when all of our software wants to auto-correct everything.

The first 3 days read:

January 1 Wednesday Happy new year to myself and the rest of mankind=. Dull new year’s in this Town of Medina= nothing going on. at home all day. Father went to Brunswick in morning: Firm got home from Chicago Friday. Gilmore & Firm came down going to Seville

January 2 Thursday At home. Done nothing particular, Cold day= Firm & Gilmore were at our house to day. went up to court house in evening Severance & Bill Hayslip were there

January 3 Friday About home. done some work at the office and at house. snowed most all afternoon. Went up to Clerks office in evening Bill. Hayslip was there found what we wanted to do impractible. the roads are in good condition

Reading further into the diary still did not reveal who the author was. This was purported to be a Civil War Diary but for months, all the author does it recount his daily schedule which involves helping his father with clerical work and delivering summons and subpoenas. Not until mid-April does he talk much about the war.

April 10 Thursday About  home all day worked most of the time 
News Recd today of the Death of H. Canfield he was killed in the battle of Pittsburg Landing at the Head of the Regt. The combined forces of Grand & Buell have Defeated Beauregard with 100,000 men with terrible slaughter on both sides

(The Battle of Pittsburg Landing is more commonly known as the Battle of Shiloh.)

April 11 Friday Father went to special Meeting in A.M. to take measures in regard to Receiving Remains of Col. Canfield. as the meeting adjourned Mr. Mat & Mrs Canfield arrived from Grafton with the information of the arrival of the remains at the station. The citizens went in carriages men the corpse & escorted it into town.

April 12 Saturday Went up in morning and seen Canfields Corpse. looked natural. started bout 9 & went to Lodi Homer Spencer Chatham & home bout Dark Served Summons & got Jurymen. goog many of the 72d Regt are Killed & wounded & taken prisoners.


(More information on Colonel Herman Canfield can be seen at his memorial on FindaGrave.)

Consulting the 1881 History of Medina County and Ohio, disclosed that in 1862, Morgan Andrews Sr. was the Sheriff of Medina County.

Listing of Medina County Sheriff's from the 1881
History of Medina County and Ohio, page 240

The History had other revelations in store:

List of Civil War Soldiers from Medina county on page 348 of
History of Medina County and Ohio.

This would be Morgan Andrews, Junior. A quick jump to the end of the diary...

The last entry is on July 8 of 1862:

July 6 Sunday  Inspection in the morning very warm day no drilling took out a lot of boys in the P.M. They went off and milked their canteens full of Milk. Jo Welch Beul & myself laid under the Shade in the woods

July 7 Monday  Not very well today did not drill in the forenoon went out on dress Parade and felt so sick came pretty near dropping my Gun got better and drilled with the Cos. the Captain was either drunk or very cross on our drill

July 8 Tuesday Unwell all day did not drill any. laid on Lieut Manning's bed most all the time. took some medicine of my own. did not report to the surgeon at all as he is not fit to be surgeon of a Regt. slept in our mess tent in the night.




The Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, lists Civil War Soldiers and Casualties and has this to say about Morgan Andrews:

According to the Roster, Morgan died on July 30 1862, page 632.

Page 784 of the Roster tells us that Morgan died of disease and was buried in Antietam, Maryland.

The diarist was "quite unwell" in his last entries on July 7th & 8th and Morgan died on July 30th. I believe we have identified the author of the diary - Morgan Andrews Jr. But Morgan Andrews Sr. had other sons.

This excerpt from the 1860 Census for Medina County shows Morgan Andrews with his (2nd) wife Cordelia, daughter
Maria (sic), son Morgan, son Finley and two inmates from the jail, Christian Breemer, a farmer who is
listed as insane and John Reed a "convict".

This excerpt from the 1850 Census for Hinckley Township, Medina County shows Morgan Andrews' original
profession was "tailor" Also shown are two additional sons, Addison, age 19 and Fairman, age 15. Neither of
these young men are listed among the soldiers who served in the Civil War from Medina.

The diary mentions "Firm" several times and most likely this refers to "Fairman", Morgan Jr's brother. So Fairman is not the author. NO other concrete information has been found on Addison.

Additional research using the census records on Ancestry Library Edition, Findagrave and Medina Library's Obituary Index confirmed that the author of the diary was Morgan Andrews Jr. 

Although the Roster says that Morgan was buried at Antietam, he also has tombstones at Old Town Cemetery and Spring Grove Cemetery in Medina.

Morgan Andrews tombstone in Old Town Cemetery
Photo courtesy of itsallrelative2me 

Morgan's tombstone at Spring Grove.

Following up with more research on the family, I found out that Fairman, Sarah and sister Meroa (listed as "Maria" in the census records) all died in 1910, within several months of each other.

Meroa never married and worked for A.I. Root when he had a jewelry store. Then she started a small jewelry shop of her own. When the a small circulating library was formed in 1877, Meroa donated space in her shop to house the books and served as the "librarian" of the collection.

Both her and Fairman's obituaries mention that they came from a family of five children, but neither obituary mentions what happened to Addison...

Fairman died in Girard Pennsylvania, outside of Erie. The people who donated the diary had cleaned out their father's attic in Lake City, Pennsylvania, less than a mile from Girard.

After Morgan's death, Fairman undoubtedly kept the diary and it was passed on through his family, eventually ending up in the attic of Wilson F. Andrews, father of Mary Andrews Heldt. Mary now lives in Texas with her husband Dick.

Wilson appears in the 1880 Chicago, Cook County, Illinois census as the 14 year old son of ... "Firnon" Andrews.

1880 Census for Chicago, Cook County, Illinois from Ancestry Library Edition.

We thank Thomas Kreneck and Dick & Mary (ANDREWS) Heldt for their diligence in finding a new home for Mary's great uncle's journal. So now Morgan Andrews' diary, that details his daily life in Medina and recounting his short time in the Civil War, has returned home.