At the time Delphos came into existence, most families didn’t have money to spend on store-bought clothing and linens, but had to depend on their own expertise with a needle and some thread to make such items for their households. It was a very tedious and time-consuming chore.   But that all changed with the invention of the sewing machine by Elias Howe in 1846. Right on his heels was Isaac Singer, who developed a sewing machine for home use; but it was a little-known third inventor, Allen Wilson, who fine-tuned it into the smooth-working machine such as we know today.  Wilson was an inventor, but he was no businessman, so he teamed up with Nathaniel Wheeler, and during the 1850’s and 1860’s, The Wheeler & Wilson Company was the most successful sewing machine producer in the world.  Theirs was the best sewing machine money could buy, but their glory did not last.

Although sewing-machine prices dropped after the Civil War, a machine was still a sizeable investment. Sometimes neighboring families pooled their money to share a machine.  To increase the market, Singer began making cheaper models and came up with the “hire-purchase plan”, which was the prototype for making installment payments. With this  plan, the Singer sewing machine was made available to just about anyone—even those with very limited incomes.  Also, by the late 1870′s all the patents had been extended and exhausted and Wheeler & Wilson production fell dramatically as competition from new manufacturers increased. In 1904 they were bought out by Singer.

The canal museum is very fortunate to have one of the first Wheeler and Wilson models made during that prosperous time. It is very unusual because the material feeds from left to right rather than front to back.  The machine pictured here was made around 1867 and donated by Arthur and Gayle Ladd.

Locally, an 1899 Delphos Herald had ads for sewing machines at  Mueller’s Emporium on South Main Street just before the railroad tracks, and  at H.B. Schwartzengraber & Company Hardware Store at 320 N. Main Street.  The 1931 City Directory lists sewing machines at F.J. Mersman’s, 529 N. Main and in 1957 John Wilson carried Necchi-Elna sewing machines at 318 N. Main.  It is not known if Wheeler & Wilson machines were ever sold in Delphos.

The museum has a very good sampling of different brands of sewing machines.  We are open every Saturday & Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. and every Thursday from nine to noon.

Printed in the Delphos Herald February 11, 2012.

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Introduced in the 1930’s, the units grew in popularity until  by the 1950’s there were 10,000 such devices in shoe stores in the United States.  At the same time scientists began to voice concern about the potential hazards of radiation,  and by 1970 shoe x-ray machines had been banned in 33 states.

The unit at our museum was donated by Bob McNamee who was the manager of Charles Company Shoes, 229 North Main Street, which is now Delphos Sporting Goods.  Sorry, the inside workings have been removed, so it’s not as much fun to stick your feet in as it was then, but you’re welcome to visit the museum for a bit of childhood nostalgia.  The museum is open every Saturday & Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. and every Thursday from nine to noon.

Printed in the Delphos Herald January 14, 2012

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 BOATMAN’S BREAKAWAY BENEFIT DINNER 

The original Boatman’s Breakaway dinner was held at the museum and since we now have more space, we are again hosting it at our own facilities. This will give guests a chance to see our new look, enjoy our new player piano, and hopefully, ride in our new elevator.  Barring any more snags, it should be up and running by then.

 Date: Sunday, March 11, 2012 – 5:30 PM

Location: Canal Commission Museum, 241 N Main St.; Delphos, OH

Cost: $25.00 per person, by ticket presale only. Restricted to 110 tickets.

Menu: Buffet: chicken, beef, noodles, roasted red potatoes, green bean casserole,

                       buttered corn, rolls, dessert from Baked to Perfection.

           Drinks: coffee, homemade lemonade, beer and wine

                                     Speakers: Pastor Dave Howell – “Impact of Canal Development on Area Churches”.

                                                            Msgr. Chris Vasko- “Impact of Canal Development on Area Commerce”.

Museum Staff will conduct tours of museum after dinner.

Email us at Info@DelphosCanalCommission.com for reservations.

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Captain John Ross

This year marks the 150^th Anniversary of the Civil War.  Probably the most well-known local persons associated with the war were the young drummer boy Avery Brown and Captain Rudolph Ruel who organized a company made up entirely of Delphos men.   But there are many more names listed in local history books and many more who are not listed at all.

Recently we came across a pencil drawing of a Civil War soldier labeled “self portrait of Capt. J Ross.”  Immediately, a question  came to mind.  “Was he from Delphos?”  Several sources failed to give us the answer, but we finally found a John W. Ross on Ron Kunz’ Delphos History web page under cemetery listings.  He was born in 1826 and died in 1880 so he was the right age.  There was also a GAR after his name which means he was in the Grand Army of the Republic, the official name of the Union Army during the Civil War.  We were pretty sure we had our man.

Further searching lead again to Kunz’ site under Bob Holdgreve’s  “Window to the Past.”   An 1877 Delphos Herald article told of a Mr. John W. Ross, a hydraulic engineer for the Delphos Iron Works, who held a patent for the “Delphos Turbine” water wheel  which runs on a horizontal shaft.  He had recently traveled to a paper mill in  Massachusetts to install what was probably the most powerful water wheel in America at that time.  Another article told of a German visitor who, after looking at many different  turbine water wheels around the country, was most  impressed with the Delphos Turbine and ordered several  to be shipped back to Germany.  Our talented artist was also a very good engineer.

Of course, that led to another question.  “Where was the Delphos Iron Works located?”  We found our answer by using the Sanford Fire Insurance Maps which are available online if you have a library card.  The earliest maps were dated 1884 and they showed the location on the corner of Water (now 4^th) and Franklin streets, site of the present  Franklin Elementary School .  A further search of the 1888 maps showed a vacant lot there.   Hmm, what happened to the company between 1884 and 1888? John Ross died in 1880, so was that a factor?  The original Franklin School was built in 1889, so was that a factor?  

The museum has a nice display of Civil War items located in the second floor Military section.  We are open every Saturday & Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. and every Thursday from nine to noon. 

Printed in the Delphos Herald November 12, 2011

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Christmas Tree Festival 

1 – 4 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday

 November 26 thru

 December 18, 2011

Over 100 trees

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For many years, most of the artifacts that were a part of the Delphos Historical Society Museum on the second floor of the Old Commercial Bank Building remained unseen, the only access  to them being from  a Third Street  door.   But all that has changed.  As part of our recent  expansion/renovation, we put a door between that building and ours,  installed a stairway,  and soon will have an elevator for those who cannot manage the stairs.  With the inclusion of the old museum and the newly opened second floor of our building, we have more than doubled our display area.  Judging from all the “oohs” and “aahs” during Canal Days, people like our new look.

One of the artifacts that has been marking time in the old museum is a very large oil painting, and according to Jim Weger, there is a most interesting story associated with it.

A young woman, Elizabeth Dietzel, lived in Baltimore, Maryland, and was being courted by two gentlemen, Frank Weber and Adam Deupert, both of whom had asked to marry her.  One rainy day, Elizabeth was in church praying about this very important decision she had to make.  As she was leaving the church, young Frank Weger was there with an umbrella in his hand.  She took this as a sign and chose to marry him.

Mr. Weger was a barrel-maker, also known as a cooper.  As the timber was depleted in the Baltimore area, he and Elizabeth moved west and settled in Delphos to raise their 7 boys and 3 girls.

When Frank died at the age of 70, the news reached relatives in Baltimore and also reached  Adam Deupert who had become very prosperous.  He began a correspondance with the widow Weger, and as things progressed, Mr. Deupert, who had been the unsuccessful suitor of Elizabeth those many years ago, ultimately became the successful suitor.  Since some of Elizabeth’s family were still living at home with her, she requested that Mr. Deupert provide a suitable place for them to live in Delphos.  He obliged by having a new house built and happily  took his new bride back to Baltimore.

Elizabeth was Jim’s grandmother and she died before he was born, but he believes the painting came from Mr. Deupert’s collection in Baltimore. It hung in his childhood home on Third Street and was donated to the museum by his mother, Mrs. Anthony (Lucille) Weger.

The museum is open every Saturday & Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. and every Thursday from nine to noon.  We are located on the west side of Main St. between 2^nd and 3^rd St. and right along the Miami-Erie Canal.  Come see our new look.

Printed in the Delphos Herald October 8, 2011

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Horns and banner won in contests

Canal Days is fast approaching and one of the events that draws a lot of people is the waterball contest. Area firefighters come together to participate in a wet game of “who can get the ball across the opponents line”. If you have never experIenced this event, you need to check it out this year.

Contests between fire departments are nothing new.  Delphos was a bustling town of almost 2000 citizens on May 3, 1872, when a fire started in the rear of Shenk and Lang’s Drug Store and quickly spread through the wooden structures in the area bordered by Washington Street to the east, 2^nd Street to the south, Canal Street to the west, and 3^rd Street to the north, burning 45 of them completely to the ground.  The only means of fighting the fire were bucket brigades using water from the canal.

This disaster was labeled the “Black Friday Fire.”

On July 1,1872, just 2 months later, the Washington Volunteer Fire Company was organized and quickly made a name for itself. An 1870’s Delphos Herald printed the following :

We know our Lima neighbors will pardon us if  we proceed to a little blowing over the mere

matter of “taking a horn,” an indulgence to which our friends at the county seat are not

entirely strangers.  On this occasion it was taken straight and a good deal of it.  But as

there are so many kinds of horns, we ought to specify the particular horn referred to above. 

It was a large horn—a very fine horn—a horn upon which Lima had set its eye.  It was a

fireman’s silver horn, or more properly speaking, trumpet, offered at the Catholic

fair held at Lima last week to the most popular fire company.  Sometimes popularity is

bought, and if this was of the merchantable kind, it is none the less prized, as the market

was open and accessible to all.  The Washington boys of Delphos received

364 votes, which, being a majority, entitled them to the trumpet.  It is a valuable companion

to the banner carried by them from the State Tournament, and of course, will be highly  prized.  Next!

 And from the 1885 History of Allen County,

The prizes carried off by this company are named as follows: Ohio State Banner, at Galion, Ohio, in 1873; Northwestern Ohio State Banner, at Van Wert, Ohio 1874; a trumpet at Lima, Ohio, 1876; a trumpet at Van Wert, Ohio 1877; a trumpet at Delphos, Ohio 1882; a United States flag at Delphos, Ohio, 1882; a money prize at Northwestern Ohio tournament, held at St. Mary’s, Ohio, 1883, and a money prize at Sandusky, Ohio in 1884.

 The museum has the three trumpets and recently received a banner from a thoughtful donor who saw it for sale in Michigan and bought it for us.

We will be open during Canal Days so stop in to see the horns and our new displays on the main floor and upstairs. While you are there, check out the 9 beautiful baskets that some lucky persons will be winning during our raffle.  If you purchase some tickets, it could be you!

Reprinted from the September 10, 2011 Delphos Herald.

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Admiral Byrd’s Snow Cruiser

The Lincoln Highway Buy-Way sale is over for another year, but the highway itself continues to draw “roadies” who like to travel at a much slower pace and enjoy the scenery.  In fact, the Lincoln Highway Association has over 1,000 members from 39 states as well as 6 other countries.  Each year they have a convention and next year, in June, it is going to be in Canton, Ohio.

At the canal museum, we have recently redone our Lincoln Highway display and it now features a model of Admiral Richard  Byrd’s Snow Cruiser which was built by Kermit  Stemen  in 1940 when he was a senior at Elida  High School.  He had seen it pass through Gomer the previous year, and was quite amazed and inspired.

For those who are not familiar with the background, the Snow Cruiser, named the “Penguin”, was a huge science lab and home on wheels, specifically made for Admiral Byrd’s expedition to the South Pole.  It was built in Chicago and followed the Lincoln Highway from east of there to Mansfield, Ohio where it took another route to get to Boston and a waiting ship.  The cruiser was so wide it took up both lanes of the highway.  It was 55 feet in length and the tires were 10 feet tall.

In Delphos, Chief of Police Glen Ditto issued a notice that no one could park on Fifth Street until the Penguin had passed through town on a Saturday afternoon in October of 1939.  This was the Depression Era and people lined the streets to see the $150,000 monstrosity. 

East of Gomer, disaster struck.  The steering mechanism malfunctioned and the cruiser slid off the road into a ditch where it stayed for 3 days.  During the rescue, the crew of 5 stayed at the Phelan Hotel, now Lehmann’s Furniture.

After a few other minor problems, the cruiser eventually made it to Boston and on to Anarctica.  Unfortunately, one final disaster occurred.  Once off the ship, the idea was to move inland, but  those 10 foot tall tires spun in place in the snow and the cruiser ended up sitting right where it first landed, a case of not having enough power.  The crew was still able to use it for living quarters and a lab, but not as a method of transportation. 

The snow cruiser may not have lived up to expectations at the South Pole, but it certainly entertained a lot of people on its journey and it gave one young man a great idea for a school project.

The museum is open every Saturday & Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. and every Thursday from nine to noon.  We are located on the west side of Main St. between 2^nd and 3^rd St. and right along the Miami-Erie Canal.  Come visit us soon.

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Recently, while cleaning out a room in the old Commercial Bank Building part of the Canal Museum, we discovered a letter dated April 5, 1938, addressed to the Delphos Can Company from a 13 year old boy in Alabama.  Seems his grandmother had an oil can and liked the name that was on the label so well that she named her grandson after it.  His name was  Delphos Fulton.  The letter was informing the company president, Elmer Werner,  to save a spot for him because after he graduated he was coming to Delphos to work for the company that was the inspiration for his name.  Mr. Werner was kind enough to answer Delphos’s letter, telling him the company was now the New Delphos Manufacturing Company  and giving him much encouragement.  Makes one wonder how many CEO’s today would take that kind of time.  Fortunately for us, both letters were filed away and eventually made their way to our museum or there would be no story.

But wait…the story doesn’t end there.  After a little research on the Internet, we were able to contact a Delphos M. Fulton in Sarasota, Florida.  Turns out he is the son of our original Delphos and goes by the name of Del.  He was very aware of where the name Delphos came from, so the story was passed down.

But wait…there’s more.  The original Delphos Fulton also had another son as well as a daughter.  And the daughter named her son…you guessed it…Delphos. 

Delphos Fulton never made it to Delphos, Ohio  to get that  job.  He stayed in Alabama and became a mechanic and a truck driver.  He passed away in 1998, but his name certainly lives on. 

Published in the Delphos Herald July 9, 2011.

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The turn of the century saw wedding dresses become increasingly more elaborate until the onset of World War I when supplies were limited.  At that time styles became simpler and also reflected the changing role of women in society with hems getting shorter. The typical 1920’s dress was a white knee-length dress that was worn with a long train. A cloche-style wedding veil was also worn.

During the Great Depression, brides either wore their best dress for the wedding or purchased something practical that could also be worn after the wedding.  Sometimes it would be a white dress that would be dyed a darker color and sometimes it was simply a suit.

Women felt it was their duty to give up the traditional wedding during World War II. Another factor was the last minute marriage proposals before a soldier was shipped overseas, which did not leave enough time to plan a big ceremony.  With the entire nation behind the war effort, a new dress was almost impossible to find anyway, so again, the best dress or suit had to do. If both the bride and the groom were in the military they were married in their uniforms.

The 1950’s was a time of prosperity and wedding dresses included a lot of lace, thanks to the end of wartime restrictions on fabric. They were fashioned after the popular qualities (for women) of the day: sensibility, modesty, and femininity. 

The social upheaval during the 1960’s caused many brides to reject the cookie-cutter standards of the 50’s and opt instead for attire (not always a dress) that was unique to them and reflected their personality.  It wasn’t until Princess Diana’s wedding in 1981 that the traditional wedding dress came back into vogue as each bride strived to be a princess…at least for a day.  Now we have a new princess bride who has set the style with a traditional, yet modern style.  What will the next style changing event be?

The Canal Museum is open every Saturday & Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. and every Thursday from nine to noon.  Our new displays are taking shape so stop in for a visit to see the progress we have made.

Printed in the Delphos Herald June11, 2011.

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