USA > Ohio > Fulton County > A standard history of Fulton County, Ohio, an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and county, Vol. I > Part 16
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EARL KAULKINS, of Fayette, died in service of his country. He was buried in Franklin Cemtery, mourned by his wife, Nellie, and many friends.
CLYDE KELLER, an upstanding popular boy of Wauseon, was only ninteen years old when he died at Ohio State University, in October, 1918. He had enlisted in the Student Army Training Corps, and in due course would have entered the major branch of the United States Army. He was buried in Wauseon Cemetery mourned by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Keller, and by his innumerable friends in Wauseon.
CLARENCE C. LAUBER, of one of the earliest German Township families, was killed in action in France, where his body now lies. His brother, Christian S. Lauber was presented the French Certificate, to commemorate his brother's service to the French nation.
RALPH MCLAUGHLIN, of Archbold, died while in military service in this country.
RAY MASTIN, son of John Mastin, of Fayette, died on French soil, where he was buried. His father holds the French Government Memorial Certificate.
ELMER A. MICHAEL, son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael, of Swanton, was a member of 62nd Infantry, and was early in the service. His body lies in France, his mother, Rebecca, duly being presented with the French Government certificate written in his honor.
HERBERT C. MURBACH, son of Jacob R. Murbach, of Swanton, died of wounds received in action in France. He belonged to the One Hundred and First Infantry.
LLOYD NOFZIGER, was in the Air Service student corps and died in Washington, D. C. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. David Nof- ziger, of Pettisville.
ALFONZO PEARNEY, of Archbold, died in the service, while stationed at Chicago, Illinois.
ARTHUR D. RICHARDSON, son of Clark Richardson, of Lyons, was in Company I, of the Ninth Infantry, which saw some of the hardest fighting in France. He was first reported. "Missing in Action," but subsequently found to have been killed in battle. His father holds the French Government Memorial Certificate.
MCKINLEY ROBINSON, a lad scarcely eighteen years old, was one of the first Fulton County boys to volunteer. He enlisted at Toledo, Ohio, on May 12, 1917, and was assigned to the Twelfth Ambulance Company, which was one of the first American units to cross the ocean. He was serving with the 1st Division when mortally wounded by shell fire, dying on August 3, 1918. He was the son of Wallace and Jennie Robinson, the former a veteran of the Civil War. A "large concourse
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of people" gathered in Monumental Park, Wauseon, on Sunday after- noon, September 2, 1918, when memorial services in his honor and memory were held.
MOSES RUPP, of Archbold, and of the German Township family of that name, died of pneumonia at Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio. He was a steady young farmer, well-liked and respected and his parents, Mr. and Mrs Moses Rupp, of Burlington, were tendered sympathy from many quarters. He was buried at Lauber Hill Cemetery.
ALBERT SCHWYN, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Schiwyn, was born on the farm, three miles north of Swanton, on March 12, 1895. After very brief training at Camp Jackson, he was sent to France and was killed in action there, on October 30, 1918, cleven days before the close of hostilities.
WALTER SHARP, only child of Mr. and Mrs. G. M. Sharp, of Wauseon, died of pneumonia at sea, on September 29, 1918, while en route to France. He was a member of Company 5, Auto Repair Corps. His body was brought back to America, and ultimately interred in Wauseon Cemetery.
FRED SEIFERT, of Swanton, was a corporal in the Fifth Marines, and saw service in France.
WALTER D. SKEELS, was a member of Company D., 308th Machine Gun Battalion, and his body now lies in France. His father is Alfred Skeels, of Wauseon.
SHELDON SKEELS (or Skees). of Archbold, died of pneumonia at Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio.
ODELL STRATTON, of Swanton, or as he entered in official records Perry Odell Stratton, was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Elliot Stratton, former residents of South Swanton. Odell enlisted in August, 1917, in the Thirteenth Machine Gun Battalion, and was stationed at Camp Houston, San Antonio, Texas, whereshe died in February, 1918, of pneumonia. Ilis body was brought to Swanton, and interred in Centreville Cemetery. Odell was the second of his family to die in the service, his brother, Cecil, having enlisted during the Spanish war, and eventually met his death in Manila.
HENRY STEINBRECKER, of Wauseon, was in Company C., of the Sixty-Fourth Infantry, and with that regiment went to France, where his body now lies buried. His wife, Rosa, received from the French Government, eventually a memorial certificate written in his honor and memory.
ALBERT 1. WECKESSER, son of John HI. Weckesser, of Archbold, and German Township, was missing in action in France, according to the first report. Later he was reported to have died of wounds. An acknowledgment and appreciation canie, ultimately, from the French Government to his father, the French Memorial Certificate commemor- ating fullest possible service by a stout-hearted patriot.
FRANK WRIGHT, who died at the Great Lakes Training Station, of the United States Navy, on September 29, 1918, had a somewhat unusual military career. He had enlisted in the early days of the war, had attended training camp, and had secured a commission. Later, physical disabilities brought about his discharge from the United States Army; whereupon, he enlisted in the Navy, and was undergoing a
BOY SCOUTS IN OPEN ORDER AT THE DEPOT-SOLDIER BOYS AND CITIZENS MARCHING WEST, ON DEPOT STREET, WAUSEON, OHIO, OCTOBER 3, 1917.
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naval course of training when he died. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. George Wright, of Delta, where his remains were interred.
WAR ACTIVITIES IN HOME SECTOR
Her soldier sons did not of course represent Fulton County's only contribution to the nation, for the purposes of the nation, in the prosecution of the war. In this World War, conducted as it was, literally by nations, not by armies only, much essential, and essentially patriotic work was possible of accomplishment by people of all ages. Within two or three weeks of the declaration of a state of war, the Ohio Council of National Defense was formed, its purpose, in particular, being to endeavor to systemize erop work, so that every possible acre of agricultural land might be cultivated, to yield abnormal quantities of foodstuffs, to stave off the threatened world famine. On April 27, 1917, the Wauseon "Republican" made publie the names of the Fulton County men appointed. as Township Food and Crop Commissioners. They were: Amboy, Fred Broadbeek; Chesterfield, W. E. Patterson ; Clinton, Harmon Gasche; Dover, J. L. Verity ; Fulton, O. O. Walters; German, Lan. J. Wyse; Gorham, L. E. Connell ; Pike, W. B. McClarren ; Royalton, Albert Edgar; Swan Creek, Dell Gill; and York, E. G. Dailey ; with C. H. Waid, special agent .;
The war was only a few days old when the Wauseon Chapter, Daughters of American Revolution, on April 6, 1917, "voted to co- operate with the National Red Cross organziation" stating that "an effort is being made to secure a registry of women, who are ready to volunteer their services in time of emergency." A month later some active citizens began to pave the way for a campaign for funds in aid of the War Work Council of the Young Men's Christian Association, a temporary executive committee being appointed, with the following- named men as officers. C. P. Griser, chairman ; J. M. Longnecker, vice chairman: F. H. Reighard. secretarv: and W. H. Edgar, treasurer. On July 9. 1917, the Fulton County Chapter of the Red Cross was organized, and branches organized at Metamora, Archbold, Swanton, Delta, and Fayette, the establishment of Lyons and Winameg branches following within a week, or two, all other parts of the county coming directly under the jurisdiction of the County Chapter. Eventually there were Red Cross Auxiliary organizations formed at Tedrow, Ambrose, West Barre, Northwest York, Pettisville, and Ottokee. Mean- while committees had been appointed to undertake the exhaustive work of bringing the Selective Service system into operation in the county. And soon came the necessity to organize the territory for the purpose of the stupendous national loans that would become necessary, as the national administration proceeded with its extraordinary and com- prehensive war plans.
The home record of Fulton county during the period of national stress is one of distinct honor. It was marred by one or two regrettable incidents but, generally, the county was whole-heartedly loyal, and almost unanimous for the continuance of the war until victory had been won. As the loan campaigns proceeded, it was found that some did not measure up to the standard expected of them, and a Wauseon newspaper of May. 1918, carried an announcement, by Government representatives in Fulton county, that "a review of allotment and fin-
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ancial ability of certain small subscribers to Liberty Loan" had made it necessary for them to "certify" names to the Federal Authorities, "to be placed on the Yellow Roll." In the course of a flag raising at Fayette, on April 13, 1918, it was announced that the teaching of German having been discontinued in the public schools, the books would be burned. "All the German text books were gathered and burned, on the public square" at Fayette, "signifying that hence- forth America must be for Americans." Another instance of the temper of the people during that momentous time was contained in certain proceedings at the Court House, at Wauseon, on June 1, 1918, when, at a public hearing, the League of American Patriots decided to place a certain man, who had said: "Damn the Red Cross" on the "Un-American" list. When the man stated that he had offered the Executive Committee a contribution of five dollars, and a further one dollar monthly, the League decided that it could not be "a collect- ing agency," neither could it be "a whitewash society," averring that "it must stand for true Americanism, if it is to be of any good to the country," also that it could be "no respector of persons, but that after the names of rich or poor, high or low, who are not honestly and faithfully serving their country, in whatever capacity they are able to serve it, it must write the words: Un-American." However, there must have been an almost unanimously loyal populace in Fulton county during the years of war, for little has been published regarding de- nouncement proceedings by the League of American Patriots in Fulton county. The subscriptions to the various war funds demonstrate that the people, as a whole, were prepared to give "till it hurt.". To the five Liberty Loans, the people of Fulton county contributed $3,575,200, that sum being represented in the 16,122 subscriptions filed. They contributed $69.811.07 to the Fulton County War Chest Fund; they bought $800,000 of War Savings Stamps; and went "well into five figures in Red Cross support." What the actual contribution to the Red Cross organization was cannot be ascertained, so much of the contribu- tion being in kind-in the labor of love, for, and in remembrance of, the home boys who were in the field, and stood possibly in need of sweaters, helmets, mittens, and the like. Of these the home folk who labored, and gave, mention can here only be made of a few. As Judge Wolf, county chairman of the Red Cross in Fulton County, in reviewing Red Cross activities over the years 1917-18, stated :
"Hundreds of workers all over the county practically abandoned all their other duties, and gave unsparingly of their time to help win' the war, and it is to be regretted that within the confines of this brief history the names of these workers and the valuable work performed by them, cannot be set forth in detail, but their reward shall be the knowledge and consciousness of duty well performed."
The statement applies to workers in all phases of war activity. The workers for the Liberty Loan campaigns were like "busy bees-in swarms," but mention here can only be made to a few of the chief executives. Wayne B. Harris, of the First National Bank, Wauseon, was the capable chairman of the Liberty Loan Committee, and the following were members of the Executive Committee: C. L. Mathews, chairman ; F. H. Reighard, C. P. Grisier, R. S. Campbell, C. D. Perry, M. L. Allstetter, speakers; A. B. Eby, director of Publicity. Members
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of the Publicity Committee, of which A. B. Eby was chairman, were Emil Weber, W. W. Caddell, and Chas. Prichard. Then there were town and township committees, speakers, canvassers, and supervisors, in such numbers that it would not be possible to here name them. The report covering the Second Liberty Loan campaign, October, 1917, niade reference to good assistance rendered by the Boy Scout organiza- tion and the Betsy Ross Girls, of Wauscon. The Boy Scouts secured one hundred and thirty subscriptions, amounting to $36,350, and the Betsy Ross Girls fifty-six subscriptions totaling to $14,700. Among the Boy Scout workers were Charles Cole, Donald Grisier, Rolland Mad- dox, Louis Jodry, Niel McIntosh, Donald Porter, Lowell Perry, and John Outcalt. The Betsy Ross Girls were Dorothy Waldron, Helen Fink. Ruth Ziegler, and Eugenia Harrison. Embodied in the County Chairman's report of the Fourth Liberty Loan campaign was the following statement :
"One of the notable features of this campaign was the co-operation by the conscientious objectors. The members of the Reformed Men- nonite and the Defenseless Mennonite churches contributed to the Third Liberty Loan, and at the beginning of this campaign they again asked their share. This amount was raised by solicitation by the members of the church. The Amish Mennonites, who did not accept this plan in time for the third loan were asked to raise an amount of money equal to five and one-half per cent of their assessed valuation, and this was done, satisactorily to the Committee. The amount of money con- tributed by the Amish Church was $98,200; the Reformed Mennonites, $1,650; and the Defenseless Mennonites, $2,600. The valuation of the members of the conscientious objectors religion in German Township represents, approximately, one-third of the valuation of the township." The tax valuation of German Township, in 1918, was a little more than five million dollars.
The Fulton County War Chest Association was under the chairman- ship of Judge Fred H. Wolf, with M. E. Read, treasurer, and L. H. Deyo, secretary. Members of the Executive Committee were :
C. P. Grisier, F. H. Reighard, F. H. Wolf, L. H. Deyo, C. D. Perry, Ed. Scott, L. M. MacDonald, J. L. Socie, Fred Perry, C. A. Cole, O. C. Standish, and C. L. Mathews.
Members of the Disbursing Committee were :
H. M. Jay, Wm. Mohr, Chas. A. Hayes, Jacob Ehrat, D. B. Simp- son, Jay C. Burr, D. S. Knight, Geo. K. Russell, Sam Berkebile, Frank Dielman. Geo. R. Ackerman, L. E. Connell, R. N. Belding, N. F. Carmon. Jacob Mossing, H. H. Tredway, H. F. Dimke, W. H. Standish. and D. C. DeGroat.
The War Savings Committee of Fulton County was, in 1917, under the chairmanship of Professor C. D. Perry, when strenuous work was undertaken and successfully accomplished. In 1918 R. S. Campbell was the county chairman, and Florence H. Bennett, woman's chair- man. The Executive Committee, for the greater part of the time, was constituted as follows: C. L. Mathews, F. H. Reighard, C. P. Grisier, C. D. Perry, W. B. Harris, Emil Weber, and W. E. Disbrow.
The chief executives of the Fulton County chapter of the American Red Cross were, in addition to Judge Fred H. Wolf, its chairman : Mrs. W. T. Campbell, vice chairman; Davis B. Johnson, secretary. There have been two treasurers, O. C. Standish eventually resigning,
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because of ill-health, whereupon Edward Scott was appointed treasurer. Other reponsible workers at County headquarters were:
Mrs. W. H. Maddox, Mrs. F. J. Spencer, Mrs. Robert Sweeney, Mrs. O. C. Standish, Mrs. Fred Croninger, Mrs. J. E. Merrill, Mrs. Sam Rowe. Mrs. Ed Scott, Mrs. Howard Lyon, Mrs. F. S. Ham, Mrs. William Domitio, Mrs. Geo. Blizzard, Mrs. C. E. Rossman, Mrs. H. J. Schlatter, Mrs. Luther Shadle, Mrs. Kolb, Mrs. Ed. Taft, Mrs. Nellie Dill, Mrs. Lindley Hann, Mrs. Chas. Humphrey, Mrs. Anna Ruppert, and Mrs. Crawford Blair.
If newspaper headlines were "conspicuous by their absence" from local papers when America went to war, they were certainly con- spicuously present in the second week of November, 1918, after the signing of the Armistice, on November 11th. The front-page captions in themselves took up the space of almost a column, of the Wauseon "Republican," of November 15, 1918. Reporting local happenings of the great day when the Armistice was signed, the "Republican" stated :
"Joining with the rest of the nation in celebrating the ending of the war, the people of Fulton county set apart Monday as a great holiday. Business was suspended in every town commencing as early as nine o'clock in Metamora, and by noon every place of business in the county was closed.
"The people were wild with enthusiasm and patriotic ardor. Flags were unfurled to the breeze. and 'Old Glory' meant more than it had for half a century.
"Every town in the county held its celebration and jollification, and every road in the country lead to the nearest town that the rural population might have a part in fittingly observing the day. Country folks and town folks were all wild with enthusiasm. Bands played, cannons boomed, guns roared, and every conceivable noise was resorted to, to given vent to the pent-up enthusiasm.
"In Wauseon a great parade was given at three o'clock, all the pupils of the public schools joining."
It was a fitting climax of a glorious phase in the history of Fulton county.
During 1920, the organization of American Legion posts in Fulton county was actively pursued. Dr. William H. Maddox was appointed chairman of the American Legion Committee in Fulton county, and his work, in association with that of other energetic ex-service men, has resulted in the formation of six posts in the county. They are: The John Dale Post, No. 143, Fayette, the commander of which is Dr. Ralph Reynolds, and the adjutant, F. E. Stevens; the Robinson-Gibbs Post, No. 265, of Wauseon, Dr. C. F. Hartman, commander, and Ernest Gorsuch, adjutant; the B-L-W (or Buehrer-Lauber-Weckesser) Post, No. 311, Archbold, with Dr. C. F. Murbach, commander, and C. H. Hoffmire, adjutant; the Agsten-Elton-Eckhart Post, No. 373, of Delta, the commander of which is Dr. A. M. Wilkins; the Swanton Post, Dr. L. C. Cosgrove, commander; and the Pettisville Post, No. 1445, Pettisville. The Swanton and Pettisville Posts are still more or less in the formative stage, and full data concerning them cannot yet be recorded.
CHAPTER VI FARM AND FARM INDUSTRIES
Fulton is distinctly an agricultural county, and as such it has a worthy place among the counties of Ohio. There was a time when hog raisers in the county could only obtain 11/4 cents a pound for pork; and to take corn to the mill for grinding eost almost as mueh as the corn was worth. In those days the people of the county were poor; some wore buekskin breeches, for economy's sake. Some had only wooden table knives and forks; and some would walk barefooted for miles, rather than wear out shoe leather. There is about as great a difference in the general condition, as to worldly possessions, between
HOGS ONCE SOLD IN FULTON COUNTY AT 114 CENTS A POUND.
the pioneer settlers, and their children, or their children's children, who have inherited the landed cstate the pioneers hewcd from the forest, or reclaimed from the swamp, as there is between the pioneer log cabin, and the fine brick farm residenees one sees in so many places when passing through the county today. Fulton county is rich. Its wealth has come, too, ahnost wholly from industrious tillage, and the development of profitable dairy farming. Each township chapter will record all that is essential regarding its industries, but it may be said that, apart from agriculture, the county's industries arc insignifieant. Swanton shows indieations of industrial growth; and, with improved water facilities, Wauseon might at some time in the future become
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a factory town, although at present it is, in reality, a town of homes; but, viewing the county as a whole, industrial effort of consequence runs in but one direction-agriculture. The development in that direction has been very substantial, and lucrative. It is very doubtful whether the majority of the families of Fulton county would have more comfortable homes, or be possessed of a greater measure of material wealth, had the bread-winners bent their energies to other industries. The "Ohio Annual Crop Report," for 1919 is illuminative. The statistics of principal crop yield of that year in Fulton county are: Corn, 49,101 acres, 2,013,141 bushels; oats, 24,506 acres, 808,698 bushels; winter wheat, 34,207 acres, 321,545 bushels; spring wheat, 1200 acres, 20,900 bushels; buckwheat, 460 acres, 8,740 bushels; white potatoes, 1,057 acres, 52,850 bushels; tamc hay, 32,063 acres, 41,300 tons.
In many cases, the yield per acre in Fulton county was above the
ONE OF THE MANY FINE FARM HOMES OF FULTON COUNTY.
average of that in other counties of Ohio; and in one instance, was much above, the potato yield in Fulton county being fifty bushels an acre, whereas the state average was 40.2 bushels.
Farming methods have undergone material change during the last fifteen years, or so, the establishment of large milk-evaporating plants within reach of Fulton county farmers having wrought a wonderful change. The editor of the Delta "Atlas" referred to it, in a special "Dairy and Farm Edition" of that paper, February 27, 1919, stating that :
"For many years prior to the establishment of the plant (that of the Helvetia Milk Condensing Company, now the main industry of Delta) Fulton county was the centre of a considerable cheese industry. Almost every township boasted its cheese factory. The factories operated only during the summer months, and were run on a co- operative plan. If the cheese-maker made a good cheese, and the market stayed up long enough to market the cheese at a profit, then
RECEIVING STATION AT THE HELVETIA MILK CONDENSING COMPANY'S PLANT AT DELTA; OHIO.
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
the farmer, who was not then a dairyman, would receive a chunk of dividend. If the cheese spoiled, or the market slumped, then there was no profit sharing.
"Marking the contrast between conditions then and now, a report of the Swanton Dairy Association, for May, 1903, showed as follows :
"Milk received, 196,396 pounds.
"Cheese made, 17,783 pounds.
"Cash paid to patrons, for month, $1,608.01.
"(Less than a cent a pound for the milk).
"A cow previous to 1903 was worth about $35 to $40; her calf would be worth a dollar.
"The Helvetia Milk Condensing Company, the home office of which is Highland, Illinois, selected Delta for a branch plant; on September 8, 1903, the president came, and soon afterwards a plant was established.
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Upwards of $350,000, in cash, is paid each month to dairymen of Fulton county, and every day from 300,000 to 400,000 pounds of milk is produced and marketed. One of the results of the growth of the dairy business here (Delta) is seen in the handsome homes of Fulton county farmers. Fine residences, well-kept lawns, automobiles, and bulging bank accounts; the land itself, great broad acres, tiled and clean and fenced, has increased in value from $50 to $75 to a selling value of $200 to $250 an acre."
The Helvetia plant at Delta is only one of the large milk condensing plants within easy reach of Fulton county dairymen. The nationally- known Van Camp Packing Company has a large milk-evaporating plant at Wauseon, and more than 1400 dairymen are upon its Wauseon books; while the farmers of the northern townships of Fulton county carry milk daily over the county line into Michigan, where, at Morenci, is another large milk station. To be conservative, one might estimate the value of the milk product of Fulton county within recent years at three million dollars yearly.' Undoubtedly, the establishment of the milk-evaporating plants has revolutionized farming in Fulton county. It has encouraged the farmers to give closer attention to stock raising,
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and stock improvement. Today there is a strong dairy association in the county. The Fulton County Holstein-Friesian Association which was organized in August, 1914, with thirty-two charter members. In 1916, that association was instrumental in establish- ing a noteworthy precedent, exhibiting, through its members 132 head of Holstein cattle at the County Fair. Succeeding years, to the present, have brought an equally high standard of cattle exhibit at the fair, making the Fulton County Fair probably the most im- portant, in exhibits of Holstein stock, of all the county fairs of the state. Fulton county is known throughout Ohio and neighboring states, as as area in which can be found a high grade of Holstein cattle. Forty years ago, W. H. Standish introduced the pure breed into the county, having purchased, a registered bull, named Prince Edward. Other enterprising and progressive farmers in course of time became interested in the breed, and as the years passed possessed fine herds. Among the pioneer Holstein-Friesian cattle owners were Calvin Biddle, S. B. McLain, Byron Brink, L. E. Connell, H. B. Smith, and H. H. Prickett. Some Fulton County cattle have held world records, notably, Lindewood Hope, Crown Princess Maxie DeKol II, Irma Gilt Edge Queen II. These three cows had outstanding records in milk production and butter fat.
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