GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY WILL NOT MEET IN
DECEMBER AND JANUARY.
MEETINGS WILL RESUME IN FEBRUARY.
THE BLOG WILL ALSO BE VACATIONING UNTIL THE NEW YEAR.
Friday, December 16, 2022
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Mark Eagles Edge Out Farmer Tigers - Tournament 1948
"MARK BEATS FARMER, 51-50, IN CLIMAX OF EXCITING COUNTY TOURNEY
The Blue and White, brought to the peak for this one, after a stunning first round defeat at the hands of Jewell, won the hard way - by withstanding the loss of their star, Junior Kline, early in the fourth quarter on fouls; by closing a five point gap in the final minutes when it seemed that all was lost; and then by slugging it out with the desperate Tigers in a point crazy regulation overtime that saw 22 tallies - 11 by each side - swished through the nets in three minutes.
For the Farmer contingent and Coach Ollie Zedaker, this loss was a heartbreaker, coming as it did on top of the overtime defeat in the championship bracket at the hands of Ayersville They had few excuses, however, for in both contests, they enjoyed comfortable leads in the late minutes, only to get nipped at the wire.
This was one of the best of recent tournaments - an affair of surprises and thrills galore However, patronage fell off somewhat, being considerably less than last year, and there was plenty of room the final round for what turned out to be the best-played game of the entire event.
Individually, Mark's Junior Kline looked the best of the lot throughout the tournament, while Curly Lilly and Willard Kammeyer, of Farmer, Ted Shreves of Ayersville, Hellemn and Bergman of Ney, Keith Kinzer of Mark and one or two others performed consistently well...
Mark held a three point margin over Farmer throughout most of the first half, with the Tigers pulling up to 19-17 at intermission. The county league champs took the lead, 30 - 27, in the third quarter, and when Kline left the game in the early minutes of the last canto, the Farmer advantage was 6 points. The jig seemed up for Mark, but the Walters boys, paced by Kinzer, kept pecking away, and it was tied at 38 all when the game ended.
The overtime was a frantic nightmare with both clubs playing almost perfect under terrific tension. Kinzer popped home the first 5 of Mark's 11 points, but Bob Gotschall answered with three beautiful long shots to keep Farmer moving, and the count was tied at 49 when the extra period ended.
Leland Anderson, who had replaced Kline, was the hero of the 'sudden death' overtime, breaking free from the pivot position to score after Curly Lilly had given Farmer the lead with a charity toss. Big Andy really drove for his bucket, moving past two Tiger defenders - and that was it.
The Geer brothers, Lloyd and Ralph, worked the tournament and did (in the eyes of the observer) a bang-up job There were some debatable calls, of course, but all in all, it as high class officiating
Mark and Ayersville will represent the county at the Leipsic district, and both should do reasonably well."
The Sherwood Chronicle, 26 February, 1948
Monday, December 5, 2022
Let's Go Dancing at Sunset Gardens
In September of 1928, a dance pavilion was constructed on the Hicksville-Defiance Pike (State Route 18 today), to be known as the Sunset Gardens. The location was about 2 1/2 miles east of Sherwood and the man behind the idea was Charles W. Seibert.
Charles William Seibert was born on September 4, 1884, in Hicksville, Ohio, to George J. and Charlotte (Miller) Seibert who operated a boarding house or hotel there. Charles married Gertrude Wilson on June 1, 1907, with whom he had two children: Helen, born in 1909, and Robert Miller Seibert, born in 1911. The family lived with his parents in Hicksville at the time of the 1910 census and they were in the theatrical trade, trying to work in vaudeville.
Sometime after the birth of Robert, the second child, Charles and Gertrude divorced and Charles headed for the U.S. Navy and New York City. Gertrude stayed in Hicksville with his parents. Always interested in the field of entertainment, Charles lived at the dance hall while it was constructed and in the 1930 census was listed as the manager of an amusement park.
The front page of the Defiance Crescent-News on July 31, 1928:
Once opened in early 1929, the dance hall proved to be a very popular spot for drinking and dancing . Soon it began to bring in bands from all around. In 1929, WOWO, Ft. Wayne, broadcast music from Sunset Gardens.
Occasionally, trouble ensued among the customers. One newspaper report in 1929 reported drunkenness charges against Bernard, Virgil and William Carpenter, brothers. They all were charged $5 on the charge. Bernard declared that he was not drunk or involved in any way, but he paid just to end the matter.
In August,1930,tragedy struck when the dance hall caught fire and was completely destroyed. The Defiance Crescent-News reported on August 16, 1930 on page 1:
"FLAMES RAZE SUNSET GARDENS.
SCHEUERMAN SUMMONS FIRE MARSHALL'S DEPUTY, SUSPECTING INCENDIARISM IN $12,000 BLAZE
Suspecting an incendiary, Fire Chief John Scheuerman has summoned Deputy State Marshall C. O. Figgins, West Unity, to come this afternoon to investigate fire which at 2 a.m. today razed Sunset Gardens, a dance hall on the Hicksville-Defiance Pike, two and half miles east of Sherwood.
Owner Charles Siebert, reached by telephone at the Wellington Hotel restaurant, Napoleon, where he is employed as a cook, estimated the value of the destroyed building between $12,000 and $15,000. Insurance totaling $5,000 is carried in two companies. Representatives of these companies here conferred with Chief Scheuerman before Deputy Figgins was summoned.
More than a year ago, an attempt to burn the dance hall failed. Following a investigation at that time, the case was presented to a Defiance county grand jury which returned an arson indictment against Robert Sanders, Delaware Bend, who kept his cattle near the pavilion. For want of evidence, Prosecutor Jay R. Pollock later nolled this bill. He said today he did not think Sanders had anything to do with the former attempt to fire the place.
The investigation last year was the result of a $25 blaze. There was indications that oil had been sprinkled about the building and lighted, but that the fire had smothered since the building was closed and no air could reach the flames.
Firemen Harvey Hughes, Francis Beadel, and Rolla Dunn of the Defiance department took the small chemical truck to the hall this morning after an alarm was sent here from Sherwood. They said they were unable to learn any cause for the flames which were widespread by the time they arrived.
The Sherwood department was already on the job. Firemen devoted their time to checking spread of the flames through the dry grass and protecting buildings on the David Fair farm across the Hicksville-Defiance Pike. Only a motor connected with the Delto-light system was saved.
Mrs. Marie Miller who lives near by, notified the Sherwood department and spread the alarm. Defiance firemen said they talked to Carl Kuhn, Hicksville milk truck drier. Kuhn, according to the Defiance men, had driven past the dance hall a few minutes before the alarm was spread and saw nothing wrong. When about a mile and half up the road, he happened to look back, he said, and one end of the structure was enveloped in flames.
Siebert, in discussing the fire over the telephone from Napoleon, expressed the theory that possibly persons camping near to sleep there, had set the place afire. It was recalled that several months ago, Siebert, while sleeping in the dance hall, was aroused by intruders who fled when he opened fire on them. Campers are known to have been in that vicinity on Friday...
Siebert constructed the pavilion in September of 1928 and conducted dances and served dinners there during fall, winter, and spring months each year. The place was closed for the summer and changes had been made with a view to reopening in the fall."
Charles died in Hicksville on November 21, 1939 of cancer. He is buried in Forest Home Cemetery in Hicksville, Ohio.
👉 Many thanks to Dan Hasch who provided all this information on Sunset Gardens and Charles W. Seibert.
Are there any photos of Sunset Gardens out there??/
Friday, December 2, 2022
Richard Knight - Long Time Farmer, Ohio, Resident
A native of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Richard Knight came to Farmer, Ohio, early and settled in for at least fifty years. He was a farmer, but he also served as postmaster one year, sold insurance, sat on the board of a bank and the county infirmary, and contributed to the draining of the swampland in the area.
He was a family man, married to his wife, the former Harriet Firestone for their lifetimes. Three daughters blessed their marriage: Eliza Jane, Eleanor (Foot), and Eugenia May (Haymaker).
His obituary detailed his life and accomplishments, and appeared in the Hicksville Tribune on June 3, 1909, p. 1.
"KNIGHT
Richard Knight was born in Pennsylvania, Jan. 26, 1816, and died at Farmer, Ohio, May 28, 1909, aged 93 years, 5 months and 9 days. The funeral was held at Farmer on Sunday, May 30th at 10:00 a.m.
In childhood, he removed with his parents to Wayne County, Ohio, and in 1839 was there married to Harriet Firestone. For 70 years this couple lived together, Mrs. Knight passing away on March 28, just two months prior to the death of her husband.
In early manhood, Mr. Knight united with the Baptist church and maintained his church relations as long as a society of that denomination was maintained in his community.
Mr. Knight was a member of Fountain City Lodge F & A.M. at Bryan and that lodge had charge of the funeral. At the time of his death, he was the oldest member of that lodge.
Mr. Knight removed to Defiance County in 1850 to farm in Section 8 of Farmer Township, removing some years later to Farmer Center, where he resided the rest of his life. Two children survive: Mrs. Ella F. Foot of Farmer and Mrs. K. V. Haymaker of Defiance.
Very few men are vouchsafed such length of years as was given to Richard Knight, and it is also true that very few men accomplish as much of good to the community in which they lived as he did. In the early pioneer days when he settled in this country, life was a strenuous affair and in the work of reclaiming the land from the wilderness and developing its resources, he bore a man's part.
For many years, he was engaged in the lumber business, conducting saw mills in various points in the western part of the county. He was also a carpenter and builder, and much of his work in that line is still in use.
It may not be generally known that the first official surveys of this county designated a large portion of Mark Township as 'Irreclaimable Swamp Land.' When the first efforts were made to drain 'The Marsh,' as it was called, Richard Knight was one of the contractors who did the work of constructing the first of the big ditches through that land, where today are located some of the finest farms of the county.
Deceased was one of the organizers of the Farmer Township Mutual Protection Association which has become a very popular company among the farmers of this county, and is probably carrying more farm risks than any three companies doing business in the county. He was for many years the president of this company.
He was also for many years a director of the Farmers' Banking Company of Bryan, which has since been reorganized as The Farmers National Bank.
In politics, he was a democrat of the old school, and for many years was one of the wheel horses of the party. He was never an office seeker, though he was elected as a director of the first Board of Infirmary Directors, that being the only office which he ever held. For more than forty years he attended every Democratic Convention in this county and enjoyed a very wide acquaintance among the workers of the party, to which he gave allegiance.
It is men like Richard Knight that makes our country truly great, and he will long be remembered as an upright man, a good citizen, and a true and faithful friend."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)