March 19, 2024

The Railroad Watchtowers as Remembered by June Dunlap

Delphos had crossing watchman towers on Bredeick, Jefferson and Franklin streets.  Each tower was responsible for getting the crossing gates down for three crossings.  The one on Bredeick Street was responsible for State, Bredeick and Cass streets.  The Jefferson Street one was responsible for Clay, Jefferson and Canal streets.  The Franklin one was responsible for […]

Evolution of Girls Basketball

  It used to be said that when spring arrives, a young man’s fancy turns to love.  A modern version might be that a young man and a young woman’s fancy turns to March Madness and basketball tournaments.   Boys and girls high school basketball teams are now well into their state tournaments, set up exactly […]

Delphos in the Late 1940’s

    Our new model train display is up and running although it is still a work in progress.  It was designed  to depict the late 1940’s era so I thought it would be interesting to take a look at that time. World War II was over and most servicemen were home.  After years of […]

A Little Bit of History

The Old Commercial Bank building stands proudly at the southwest corner of Main and Third.  Built in 1912, it was patterned after the Flatiron Building in New York City and served as the Commercial Bank until the 1970’s.  But there is more in its history.   Using the 3rd Street entrance of the building, part […]

That Personal Touch

  Almost every week something new (well, at least new to us) comes into the museum.  Sometimes we are lucky enough to get the story behind the item which makes it more than just an item;  it adds a human element to it and gives it much more meaning.  Here are 3 examples: Joan Weger […]

Polio and the March of Dimes

Few diseases frightened parents more in the first 6 decades of the 1900’s than polio. It usually struck in the hot summer months, attacking the nervous system and causing paralysis. No one understood how or why people got it, but children were the most frequently affected. Early treatments were limited to quarantines and the infamous […]

For the Record

  For people of a “certain age,” the little 7-inch vinyl record with the big center hole, also known as the 45, brings back memories of sock hops, juke boxes, and teen idols. It took a while to come on the scene, but when it did, the timing was perfect.   The invention of Edison’s […]

Typewriters and Guns?

  What do typewriters and guns have in common?  Nothing, you might say;  however while researching the museum’s collection of typewriters I discovered an interesting connection not once but three times. Christopher Sholes invented the first commercially successful typewriter in 1869.   His machine was manufactured by the Remington Typewriter Company, whose parent company was E. […]

The Filling Station

In 1908, when Henry Ford began selling his Model T, the first car that the middle class could afford, it resulted in an increased demand for filling stations. At first the term “filling station” referred to the gas pump itself and could be found in front of various businesses such as general stores, mom & […]

The Golden Age of Radio

                          When the first commercial radio broadcast was transmitted on November 2, 1920, it was a magical feat to the few people who owned radios and heard the broadcast. How could sound travel through the air to a location so many miles away? […]