Lydia Harmening Moll - First Defiance College Class Graduate and Entrepreneur

 A continuation of the John Frederick Harmening story, with the spotlight on his oldest and only surviving daughter, Lydia, who married William Moll.  After the death of Carl, her brother, and Amelia, her stepmother and aunt, Lydia took care of the large estate of her family.  Her obituary appeared in the Springfield Union, Springfield, Massachusetts, on January 4, 1960. She inherited the business acumen of her father and continued in positions of importance until her death at 92.

"MRS. MOLL DIES AT AGE OF 92 IN W. SPRINGFIELD

WAS VICE-PRESIDENT OF LOTUS CHINA AND GLASS, MOTHER OF PRESIDENT

Mrs. Lydia H. Moll, who in late life had added a career in retailing to her previous success as a homemaker, died in her home at 1339 Riverdale St., West Springfield, Saturday at the age of 92.

Known as 'Gram'

She was a vice-president of the Lotus China and Glass Co. of West Springfield and mother of Edward H. Moll, its president.

Mrs. Moll, who had been in good health until the day after Christmas, was known to everyone in the West side store as 'Gram.'  Even her own children used that term of endearment in addressing her.

The store was a major part of her life and she had participated wholeheartedly in the Christmas season.  Among other things, she had made more than 3000 bows that decorated holiday packages.

Mrs. Moll had been active in the company ever since its first store was started in Auburn.  She came to West Springfield when a Lotus store was opened in a former house and, with other members of her family, occupied an apartment in the rear.  She retained that apartment after the store moved about 10 years ago into a new building on the opposite side of Riverdale Street.

In First College Class

Mrs. Moll had been the only surviving member of the first class to be graduated from Defiance College in Ohio - in 1888.  There were only nine in the class.  Defiance College has been in the news nationally during President Eisenhower's administration because its president, Dr. Kevin McCann, served for a period as an assistant to the President.

Mrs. Moll has continued her interest in the college since her graduation and had been able to supply to its alumni publication the only remaining picture of the first class.

Mrs. Moll has found time for some travel and had been to Alaska, Cuba, and the West Indies, among other places.  Her prime interest had been the store and its problems and her son credited her attention with keeping him and others alert to opportunities.

She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, the Women's Relief Corps and the Methodist Church.

Married in Ohio

Mrs. Moll was married in Ohio to William E. Moll, who died in 1916.  They had nine children, five of whom are living.  She went to Worcester in 1942 from Toledo, Ohio, to live with her late daughter, Lydia, and was associated in the Lotus store in Auburn.  In 1953, she moved to West Springfield to assume her interest in the Riverdale operation.

Mrs. Moll was the daughter of the late Frederick and Anna Maria (Hecht) Harmening, born March 23, 1867, in Defiance.

Besides her son, Edward H. Moll, of Longmeadow, who is the former vice-president of the American Bosch Arma Corp., she leaves another son, Carl H. of St. Joseph, Mo.; three daughters, Esther, Elizabeth and Estella, all at home; six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

There will be visiting hours today from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at the Curran-Jones funeral home in West Springfield.  Services will be held Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Mansfield funeral home in Defiance.  Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery, Defiance.

In lieu of flowers, the family has stated any contributions to the building fund of Defiance College would be appreciated."

Eisenhower and the Defiance College - The Back Story

Almost anyone familiar with Defiance, Ohio, knows the story of President Eisenhower's visit to the city in October, 1953, thanks to Kevin McCann.  McCann was a former speechwriter and biographer for Eisenhower and eventually, McCann became president of the Defiance College. The plan was for President Eisenhower to visit the college, speak for 15 minutes and then lay the cornerstone for the college's new library.
Obviously, when a President of the United States makes his way to Defiance, it was historic. Preparations had to be made. A parade route was established from the downtown area out to the college, extra law enforcement was brought in, dignitaries were invited, and school was dismissed for the day so thousands of school children could view the president.

Ohio Memory Project - Defiance Library.  Ike greeting the crowds in downtown Defiance.

 Drew Pearson, a noted columnist of the day, published a column nationwide on October 20, 1953, after the event, that told some of the behind the scenes facts behind Eisenhower's visit.

"EN ROUTE THROUGH THE MIDDLE WEST.
There was a special reason why President Eisenhower stopped at the Defiance college in Defiance, Ohio, en route to the Mexican border.  That reason had to do with 200 special cigars in glass containers prepared by the American Tobacco company and labeled, 'Defiance welcomes the Eisenhowers, September 1953.'

Actually Ike got there in October, so the cigars weren't quite up to date, nevertheless he got there.

And the story behind all this is that Kevin McCann, president of the Defiance college - Dr. McCann insists upon the 'the' - had obtained a promise from the president last summer that he would stop off at Defiance, Ohio enroute home from Denver.  Dr. McCann is Ike's original biographer and wrote the book syndicated in many newspapers last year which helped to prepare for his nomination.

And having obtained the promise that Ike would stop over, McCann proceeded to get ready for him.

He spent $150 on a new cornerstone, raised a lot of money to extend the runways of the Defiance airport so Ike's big plane could land, and had the special cigars made for 200 guests.  Furthermore, the city of Defiance turned out with gala decorations - when suddenly McCann got a wire from the president, reading:

'Sorry, we won't be able to stop at Defiance on way home, Kevin.  We have to stop in Chicago to pick up the kids.'

He referred to the fact that he had to pick up his grandchildren who were visiting in-laws at Fort Sheridan, Illinois.

McCann got a bad razzing from the folks at Defiance, and for a time, he didn't feel much like living there.  However, he went to Washington, made a personal appeal to the President, and Ike finally decided to stop at Defiance in October, not September."

L to R: Mayor Rost, President Eisenhower, Gov. Frank Lausch, Sen. John Bricker, and DC President McCann

 -at the train

 (Photo - courtesy of the Defiance College Pilgrim Library Archives)

Whew...job well done, President McCann, and it couldn't have been easy.  I'm looking for a photo of one of those special cigar cases and I haven't been able to find one.  The Defiance College no longer has the Eisenhower room and the items there have been dispersed.  Wonder if any cigar cases still exist?  
Update!  Thanks to Susan for this photo of the Eisenhower cigar case!

 

Defiance College - World War I

"DEFIANCE COLLEGE NOW ARMY TRAINING SCHOOL

(Special to the News.)

HICKSVILLE, O.  Sept. 14 -

By government action, Defiance college has been made a unit of the students army training corps, and will now be under the direction of the war department.  A regular army officer will be stationed there, and the students will wear the khaki uniform of Uncle Sam.

Sisson Hall has been converted into a barracks and a portion of the new Tenzer science hall will also be utilized for that purpose.  Over 100 young men have already registered there for military training, and prospects that the number will be doubled before the month ends."

Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana - September 14, 1918

Defiance College, 1918.  Photo from the digital archives of the Defiance Public Library Ohio Memory Project.