USA > Ohio > Portage County > Portage heritage; a history of Portage County, Ohio; its towns and townships and the men and women who have developed them; its life, institutions and biographies, facts and lore > Part 14
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PEDDLERS FADE AWAY
It was the era when the "huckster" began to disappear. Farmers had a custom of putting their produce, freshly butchered meats, etc., in wa- gons and peddling them from house to house in the towns, whereby they were able to get better prices, though sanitary methods of handling were not always in evidence. Many farmers raised more than they could easily dispose of and competition was keen. Often town men bought produce from the farmers and assumed the role of farmer-hucksters. In seasons, fruits were peddled from wagons around
In 1810 Polly Crow married Isaac Hawk in Palmyra. There were four lit- tle Hawks.
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town and the cry of "watermelons, ripe watermelons" or "pineapples" can still be remembered by older peo- ple. Peddlers of fresh fish made their appearance every spring and were us- ually welcomed by the fish-hungry folks. Butchers operated their wagons both in and out of town, some having regular routes through the country.
BECOME CITIES
In the new century population of the county began to increase in earn- est. Industry was more stabilized and general industrial activity throughout the state helped to bring the change. The increase was more noticeable in the towns. Ravenna reached the city status in 1910, with a population of 5310. Kent became a city in 1920, aft- er its population had jumped from 4488 in 1910 to 7070 in 1920. Rural population was increasing, especially in the western part of the county.
Almost imperceptibly, the new method of transportation, the motor car, was making its influence felt in altering the lives and homes of peo- ple, rich and poor.
The First World War was a new kind of war in the experience of Portage County as well as the rest of the world. It was apparent early that it was to be a kind of a "total war" requiring fully as much sacrifice and effort as the well remembered Civil War. Volunteers entered the service
Catherine Jones of Palmyra was a determined church goer. She lived a mile and a half from the church. One winter Sunday the road was so slippery that walking was almost impossible, but she crawled on her hands and knees a large part of the way and arrived safely.
but they were not enough. The "uni- versal draft" was necessary, the first of its kind, and in the county 2766 men of 18-45 age were registered for the draft. Of these, around 1,000 were called to service before the war was over, though only part of them actu- ally saw action. C. G. Bentley of Ra- venna was Liberty Bond sales head, and W. S. Kent, Red Cross chairman with Elizabeth Haymaker, secretary.
SELECTIVE SERVICE
But aside from the purely military angle, was the effort and sacrifice needed to arm and supply the men in service. Money was needed and the county responded to the various bond drives, Red Cross drives and other efforts in noble style. To "do your bit" became the popular thing and if one didn't do it, he was apt to be called a "slacker".
When the registration lists for the draft were completed in 1917, the names of all were printed in the newspapers, as well as the names of all those who made claims for exemp- tion, and the reasons for them. These names filled several newspaper pages, and of course the names of those actu- ally drafted and sent to camp were given attention. The Portage County Military registration board was com- posed of W. J. Beckley of Ravenna, and Ira R. Marsh of Kent, with Dr. Geo. J. Waggoner as surgeon.
An abundant food supply was kept in mind and War Gardens organiza- tion was an important war time activ- ity. A great deal of idle land was put to work.
MELTING POT AT WORK Immigrants had been pouring into
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this country by the thousand to work as laborers and at menial tasks. Some were slow to become assimilated, which led to the nicknames of "Wops" and "Hunkies". But when the war came on these people turned out to be loyal to their new home country. Their boys went into the army and were as good soldiers as any. There they learned American ways and ideas. At home the older ones supported the government. Here in Portage County the war had the effect of making the "melting pot" operate at a faster pace, so that nation- al and racial differences began to dis- appear. Ravenna had long had a num- ber of respected Negro families. Dur- ing World War I, common labor be- came scarce and many negroes were brought up from the South to fill the void, especially for Kent factories and railroad laborers. Some of these, at first unable to adapt themselves to new conditions, gave authorities some trouble but later became more settled in their behavior.
The farmers were starting to make their weight felt, politically and oth- erwise. The so-called Smith-Hughes state law of this period set up courses for instruction in agriculture in schools where such was desired. Like- wise, instruction in domestic science and in manual training for boys, was set up.
NEWSPAPERS PROSPER
Probably as a result of increasing business and population as well as a new attitude, local newspapers were growing in both size and influence. Where the standard size was formerly
four pages, eight pages were now needed regularly for the weeklies, with ten or twelve on occasion. Where city dailies only had been us- ing type-setting machines, local edi- tors now found they could be used to advantage here. Larger and faster presses were needed and electric pow- er was put to work in the newspaper back rooms. And where display ad- vertising had been confined to one or two column widths, quarter pages, half pages and even full pages were employed. About 1910, automobile advertising began to appear and real estate was being sold by page display advertisements as well as other things. Editorially, more and more display headlines were used and editorials were more restrained in their lan- guage. News photographs were now in use in a limited way. But in this era, many handbills were printed and dis- tributed to advertise special events and sales. This practice has now al- most died out, though direct mailing is often used.
In the Memorial Day parades, the number of G. A. R. comrades were growing smaller and smaller, but be- fore they faded away entirely, a new organization appeared-the American Legion posts-about 1921. Boy Scout troops were organized in Ravenna and Kent in 1915.
The establishment of the White Hospital at Ravenna in 1904, made Portage people more health conscious.
Church records show that on Nov. 22, 1853, James A. Garfield received one dollar for speaking at the Kent Disciple Church. The church also paid 12 cents for feeding Garfield's horse.
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They found they had skilled surgeons available as well as the best knowl- edge in fighting disease among her own physicians.
Golf was beginning to take hold. Band concerts were held regularly in nearly every town during the summer months. New words appeared, such as garage, taxi and jitney bus, tonneau, and mileage.
A small activity of unusual nature was seen here for a time in the culti- vated ginseng raising business. The dried root of the wild American plant was much prized by Chinese as a med- icine. Men found it could be grown successfully by cultivation. A number of ginseng gardens were started in and near Ravenna, Kent, Garrettsville, and Mantua. They were successfully operated until a plant disease hit the gardens. This, together with a dwind- ling market in China, brought a fin- ish to the enterprise.
CHESTNUT DISAPPEARS
In this era wild chestnuts still were eagerly sought. The county was once liberally covered with chestnut trees. Gathering their sweet nuts in the fall was both a pleasure for boys of the age, and a source of profit, for they found a ready sale. They were sought by country merchants and re-sold in the cities. It is an activity fondly re- membered by the older residents. The disappearance of the chestnut tree be- cause of a disease was a calamity. The settlers prized chestnut wood as ma- terial for fences. The old "snake"
fences that once were seen everywhere were built from split chestnut wood, and only a few of these now remain.
Every fall the tasty nuts were gath- ered by the hundreds of bushels, for private consumption or for sale. County merchants bought and re-sold them by bushel or barrel. They brought spending money for thou- sands of boys. They were much used as refreshments at parties and meet- ings. A blight was brought in from abroad. It reached Ohio about 1920. Today only bare, dead skeltons of old trees are to be seen.
COUNTY Y.M.C.A.
In 1919, some of the lay religious leaders of the county sponsored the organization of a county-wide Young Men's Christian Association. Promin- ent in this were J. J. Jackson of Gar- rettsville and M. B. Spelman of Kent. Ben H. Darrow was the first secre- tary and organized Hi-Y clubs in many of the high schools. In 1924, Mr. Darrow resigned to go to Colum- bus, being succeeded by J. Craig Smith. Mr. Smith continued until 1928, when he went to Dover, Ohio. Albert Roose succeeded Smith and re- mained until about 1930, when the Y.M.C.A. was dissolved here. By that time the Boy Scouts and other organ- izations had become so numerous and active that much work was being dup- licated. For its outdoor activities, the Y.M.C.A. fostered a boys camp in connection with Boy Scout work. This was known as Camp Hudson.
The school consolidations and bus service had the effect of giving rural people schools advantages resulting in schools nearly equal to those of
"Black Salts" were wanted by Prentiss & Hough in Ravenna in 1835. The store paid $2.50 per hundred.
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cities. The old one-room schools were limited in both equipment and cur- ricula. With bigger districts and more money, rural high schools now have courses of study as good as any. They have laboratories, work rooms, do- mestic science and manual training courses and equipment that is good as those of the cities. Many people today do not realize that all these advant- ages have been made possible by the system that had its beginning in Ohio and this county was among the lead- ers in establishing them.
GUARD MILK SUPPLY
About this time dairy farmers of this county and others began to be alarmed by the discovery that many cattle were afflicted with tuberculosis, a fact newly emphasized. A state law was enacted providing for the testing of cattle and forbidding sale of milk from sick cows. Ailing cattle were to be slaughtered as a health measure. This meant loss to owners, for some herds were found to be affected in toto. Some dairymen objected to this slaughter. There was trouble but the state finally provided partial payment for losses. Herds were finally cleared up and cattle testing is now accepted routine and healthy cattle are the re- sult. Milk production for human use was regulated by new state laws.
At the beginning of the century, electric light and power were un- known on most farms. Cost of instal- lation was high where only a few in a neighborhood wanted electricity. At first electricity was wanted only for lighting but with the continued use of machines on the farm, it became popular for power purposes. Today,
milking machines alone would be nearly impracticable without electric- ity. Now virtually all Portage farms have electricity.
IMPROVEMENT ASSN. FORMED
In early days settlers lost many of their sheep through depredation of wolves, but even after wolves disap- peared, sheep had enemies. Sheep killing dogs have been found in every community and even today the coun- ty re-imburses owners of sheep killed by dogs.
Among the really important devel- opments of the early 1900's was the formation of the Portage County Im- provement Association, which not on- ly had a great deal of influence local- ly but attracted much attention else- where. It seems to have been mainly the idea of Dan R. Hanna, wealthy Cleveland business man, who owned the beautiful Cottage Hill estate, east of Ravenna. He was much interested in better roads, better live stock, bet- ter farming methods and other things. Memberships in the Association were sold to farmers and business men and Mr. Hanna himself aided liberally. He made his own place into an example of scientific farming. When the As- sociation started in 1912, he was the first president; H. Warner Riddle was vice president; W. H. Getz, second vice president; C. G. Bentley and F. H. Carnahan, treasurer and assistant treasurer; and C. R. Sharp, secretary.
CALL IN EXPERT
Under some new laws, H. P. Miller was obtained as the first county agri-
In 1901 there were still 43 postoffices in Portage County.
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cultural agent. Objects of the Associa- tion included such matters as im- provement of live stock, soil improve- ment, better agricultural methods and practices, and largely to improve roads for use of the farmer. To im- prove live stock, blooded sires were placed in each township for horse and cattle breeding. There were few com- petent road experts at that time and Mr. Hanna got a recognized road building engineer, Frank M. Wil- liams, here from New York state, al- though first experiments in road building had been made several years previously. Working with the "coun- ty surveyor" and W. H. Linton, a plan was drawn up for road construction. Resulting largely from this plan, a bill was later introduced into the state legislature which eventually be- came the so-called Green Law.
While there was then a state high- way department, its work was ex- tremely limited. In 1909, a new law had provided some revenue from mo- tor vehicle license fees, though not until 1921 was the department or- ganized to plan and build state routes. Before this time, road building was considered more or less a local matter. Gasoline tax came in 1925 and it pro- vided funds not only for state work but for its sub-divisions.
ASSOCIATION FLOURISHES
Hanna was a man with ideas of his own and he wanted to be liberal. In 1913, he proposed to donate the sum of fifty thousand dollars for good roads, on condition that the county raise thirty thousand dollars a year for a period of five years. A further condition was that Ravenna, includ-
ing city and township, and Franklin township, including Kent, raise $35,- 000 of the five year total-Ravenna $20,000 and Franklin and Kent $15,- 000. The proposition was boosted and debated, but this particular plan was not acceptable to many, and was a- bandoned. In that year the Improve- ment Association had about 1300 members.
Another part of the Association ac- tivities was in co-operative sales and buying, though not directly by the Association. For a number of years, a store was housed in a building on South Sycamore Street, Ravenna, which was later the Oak Rubber Co. plant. The Association was active un- til 1920 when it was succeeded by the Portage County Farm Bureau.
Names which appeared in the first directorate and committees included Hanna, Riddle, Sharp, Bentley, R. M. Wheeler, N. H. Mervin, J. A. Parish- er, W. J. Beckley, Carl B. Ford, A. D. Kump, F. H. Boosinger, C. H. Curtiss, W. T. Jones, J. F. Dudley, J. J. Jack- son, Miner Lee Bates, F. A. Merrill, Carl Nichols, H. W. Hahn, J. M. Hurd, H. F. Hutson, John D. Kline, M. C. Price, H. M. Ellsworth, and W. H. Etter. After Mr. Hanna withdrew in 1915, Miner Lee Bates, then presi- dent of Hiram College, became presi- dent, with H. W. Riddle, vice presi- dent. Of those mentioned only Rid- dle, Ellsworth and Carl Nichols are still alive today. Miller, the county agent, retired in 1915 and was suc- ceeded by C. R. Shumway, who served as county agent until 1944.
ASSOCIATION DISBANDS By this time, many of the stock-
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holders had became dissatisfied, there was bickering and the Association went out of existence. Its existence had been justified by road building achievements alone.
Hanna's Cottage Hill estate was at one time owned by Daniel Rhodes, his grandfather, and once a Kent man- ufacturer. For sentimental reasons Hanna selected the place to establish a country home, and with more land bought later on, he built it up to an estate of 2400 acres. The place was later owned by William H. Pew and later still by Congressman Chester Bolton. At present it is owned by Frank R. Fageol.
The Improvement Association fost- ered and promoted new roads. Under new laws the county commissioners could contract with such associations for the engineering and supervision of local road projects. This was known as the Portage Plan, and in this way the county stepped out as a leader of road building.
In the report on the activities of the Portage County Improvement Associ- ation for 1914, is the following state- ment:
RESULTS ARE GOOD
"Through the efforts of the Port- age County Improvement Association, more miles of road have been desig- nated by the state as inter-county highways than any other county of its size in the state. It was due almost entirely to the efforts of this associa- tion that County Highways Nos. 460 and 474 were added to the state sy- stem already designated, thus adding a mileage of 38 miles to the mileage originally regarded as the share Port-
age County. Through the efforts of the association also, the route of Main Market Road No. 11 was laid through Portage County, passing east and west through the townships of Franklin, Ravenna, Charlestown, and Paris."
In this year $85,836.20 was spent in Portage County for road building purposes during the year.
BLIMPS AFLOAT
The purchase of Fritch's Lake in Suffield in 1916, by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., marked the be- ginning of one of Portage county's most unusual and important activities. The name of the lake was changed to Wingfoot and a large hangar was put up with machine shops, etc. for train- ing in aerial flight. At first free bal- looning was more important, but when the lighter-than-air craft called dirigibles or blimps were developed, attention turned to that. During World War I, the company supplied more than 1,000 balloons for use and assembled and built about 100 dirigi- bles. Several hundred men were train- ed at the Wingfoot barracks. When World War II came on, there was a repetition of activity in dirigible building and training which has con- tinued after the war ended. The sight of a dirigible sailing serenely through the aerial heights is a common one, particularly in the southwest part of the county.
An interesting feature of the politi- cal scene, here as elsewhere, was the township or county convention of caucus, as the case might be.
The Ohio primary nominating sys- tem came into being soon after 1908, when a law was passed definitely pro-
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viding for them, and requiring them for city and county elections. The smaller towns were not affected. There had been laws previously which provided for primaries on a voluntary basis.
SPRING ELECTIONS GO
Up until 1904, Portage County had its spring elections. Here township and municipal officials were chosen, after nomination by the caucus or convention system. These elections were held in April. Because it was felt that one election day was enough for one year, the system was changed.
A series of school and theater dis- asters elsewhere had its effects here. Greater safety in schools and public buildings was urged. Fire escapes were emphasized and fire drills in schools were inaugurated. The state worked to get movies out of narrow, fire-trap halls into specially safeguarded build- ings.
It was still considered ethical for lawyers and physicians to run their professional cards in the newspapers.
Interest in county and local fairs kept up fairly well. The automobile was a vehicle to get patrons to and from fairs with ease, though later it was blamed for keeping them away from fairs. Patrons were still interest- ed in the unusual and oddities. The Ravenna Republican reported in 1916, that at the Randolph Fair, John York had taken three prizes for apples, and six second prizes, on fruit all taken from the same tree, made possible by the practice of grafting.
MERCHANDIZING CHANGES
Politics blew hot and cold, with various side issues. The Democratic
party gained strength. In 1916, Mar- tin L. Davey issued a sharp attack on Probate Judge E. F. Robison (of his own party and then candidate for re- election) accusing him of "playing politics" However, Robison was elected.
Due to tremendous advertising, a patent medicine known as "Peruna" achieved wide popularity and made a fortune for its proprietor.
Packaged and bottled grocery prod- ucts were beginning to appear. Bread came wrapped and sliced from distant bakeries. Oatmeal was sold by the package instead of the pound. Tropi- cal fruits were now all-year commod- ities instead of seasonal luxuries.
Because most roads were still bad, many believed the old high wagon wheel style of auto was most practical.
GAS OR ELECTRIC?
"Automobile parties" were popu- lar. In these someone lucky enough to own a car, took his friends to the theater or some place of diversion or recreation. People argued over the merits of the gasoline and electric type of motor vehicles.
In Ravenna, Davis & Case advertis- ed the Maxwell car for $695 with $55 extra for electric starter. In 1916, it was announced in Ravenna that Long's Auto Livery would have cars at the stations to "meet all trains."
Klein, a Ravenna junk dealer, ad- vertised that he would buy all kinds of wrecked automobiles and cars.
The world was indeed speeding up in Portage so that Portage County had changed to a marked degree by 1920. Some say this was due to the coming of the automobile age, or the
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machine age. But it was probably more than that. Men had a new out- look; there was new activity all a- round; a new social consciousness was building up, there were important changes politically; new standards
and new activities and horizons. Any- how, there was a little more money in circulation, a little more leisure time and ways to use it, and a little faster pace-possibly a much faster one.
What Canals Carried
After canal traffic was in full swing on the P & O, one product shipped most regular- ly appeared to be cheese made in the county. According to the lockmaster's book, in the year April 20, 1849, to April 20, 1850, about 18,000 boxes of cheese were shipped from Kent. After that cheese shipments appeared to decline and the last shipment of 53 boxes was made May 1, 1851. As that was about the time railroad services reached the county, it is presumed the reason for canal shipping decline is clear. The largest cheese shippers from Kent included Dow & Pease, Richardson & Taylor, Thomas Earl, E. Parmalee, S. Odell, the Harmons, the Hurds, A. Baldwin and others. Cheese, of course, was also shipped on the canal from Ravenna, Campbellsport, Newport and other places. Most cheese shipped went to southern points-Cincinnati or below.
Of the outgoing freight from Franklin Mills port cheese was most often mentioned, but other items were butter by the keg, cask and barrel, wool, calf skins and similar products. There seems to have been few shipments of grain or beef and pork. One ship- ment was marked "One Box Public Documents for Western Reserve College at Hudson."
Of the incoming freight, merchandise of all sorts prevailed. This included such things as nails and light hardware, paint, glass, candles, lake fish by keg or barrel, tools, "4 pounds marbles", sarsaparilla, sun dials, wicking, shawls, lamp black, "mineral coal," molasses, kegs of shot and lead, brimstone, buggies, "one box logwood", shipment of Franklin stoves, buffalo robes, liquors and saleratus.
In later years considerable "stone coal" was received for local consumption.
The above are entries in a ledger marked "K. G. & Co., 1849" on back. This probably refers to Kent, Grinnell and Co. which firm acted as canal agent, or lockmaster.
Drovers Of Other Days
In early Ohio there was little sale for produce and farm animals because of lack of transportation. Accordingly, cattle raisers often drove animals along trails and roads across, or around, the Allegheny mountains, to markets in the East. Riders on horseback attended the herds en route, which bedded down at night, or were pastured and rested. There were feeding grounds at the end of the trails where cattle could be fattened up especially in Chester and Lancaster counties near Philadelphia. Robert Murray of Burton, reported that in 1832 he got $25.00 to $50.00 per pair for yokes of oxen, and $10.00 to $15.00 each for steers. Some owners drove their own cattle, hogs or sheep, while dealers often bought up animals for re-sale in the East. Further North, drovers took their cattle to Buffalo along the shores of Lake Erie, using the sands for roads. The custom lasted until railroads came. Canal boats were considered too slow and costly for livestock transportation. Huron Morse and Bill Hatcher were noted Randolph drovers. Isaac Phelps, a Ravenna dealer, is said to have made a total of 40 trips to eastern markets, driving cattle overland. The famous Senator Ben Wade as a boy made six trips to the East as a cattle drover.
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