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The Logan County Press
The newspaper of any community is as vital a necessity to its life as are lungs to the animal mechanism. Through the press the deeds and passions of a people must be mingled, the one invigorating and renewing the other for the benefit of the whole social structure, as pure air vitalizes the blood and renews the bodily tissues. No mere blowing of bellows is sufficient. There must be spontaneous life in the organ which is to minister to and sustain the social existence. This spontaneity was unmistakably present in the germ of the first periodical established in Logan county a germ which developed through many vicissitudes, without interruption, and from which in time curiously evolved two periodicals, each possessing the vitality of the original, yet constituting entities as complete and independent as are the two jellyfish that today may be counted where yesterday was but one.
The immortal journalistic germ of Logan county-as spontaneous a growth as may be instanced in the middle west, was discovered by David Robb, who nurtured it in the "Logan County Gazette," which he originated in Bellefontaine in 1830. Mr. Robb did not long remain the proprietor of the little sheet, but after giving it a local habitation and a name, it passed into the keeping of Hiram B. Strother, an astute political manager and supporter of the Whig party, whose local mouthpiece the paper became. It is not in adverse criticism that Mr. Strother has been called a "wire-puller"-that vernacular characterization of his method of party manipulation. Mr. Strother believed honestly in his methods, whatever may be thought of them now, and in other circles he might easily have ranked as a diplomat. That he "had a way wi' 'im" is a fact well established. Mr. Thomas Robb, who afterward became editor of the "Lima Argus," was for a short time associated with Mr. Strother on the local paper, the name of which was shortened to "The Gazette." "The Gazette" supported Henry Clay in the campaign of 1832, and its editor wielded great influence through his paper and personally. To Strother's work in this campaign is attributed the long-continued ascendancy of the Whig and Republican parties in Logan county. Robert Stuart, later of Indianapolis, was a partner of Strother for a short time in 1835, at which date the "Gazette" suggested William Henry Harrison for president, thus seizing the honor of first editorial mention of his name, which afterward swept the nation like wild-fire with its popularity.
The "Gazette" at this time was about one-third the average newspaper size at the present day, and printed on an old rampage press, requiring four impressions for each copy. A new iron press was installed in 1836, and the paper "enlarged" to six columns, while, in order to utilize the new display type (and to please the fancy of the journeyman printer, Nicholas Sullivan), the name was enlarged to "The Bellefontaine Gazette and Logan County Advertiser," which load it bore for four years.
In 1839, however, Mr. Strother retired permanently from the paper. William Hubbard, born at West Liberty May 11, 1821, came to Bellefontaine in 1832, and at the age of eleven years entered the (page 220) Gazette printing office to learn printing under Mr. Strother. He continued there for five years, attending school when possible, until 1837, when he left journalism and began the study of law, at the same time teaching school at West Liberty to maintain himself. When Mr. Strother retired, in the fall of 1839, young Hubbard, then aged eighteen, acted as editor and publisher for a few months, Benjamin Stanton also contributing editorial articles when his professional duties would permit, until the spring of 1840, when William Penn Clark, afterward a distinguished lawyer, purchased the establishment and continued the paper under the caption "The Logan Gazette." Mr. Clark was a writer of decided virility and abundant initiative. He carried on the campaigns of the succeeding four years with brilliancy and the courage of conviction. He sold out to Dr. C. B. Large in 1844, but after one year, Dr. Large found the responsibility too heavy for his failing years, and in 1845 the paper was purchased by William Lawrence (Judge Lawrence), who devoted his distinguished talents to it for a few months, and then engaged as editor and publisher William Hubbard, who had found his law practice less congenial than journalism. Two years later, "by a liberal and indulgent arrangement on the part of Mr. Lawrence," Mr. Hubbard purchased the establishment and took his younger brother, Thomas Hubbard, into partnership. For the next seven years the brothers conducted the paper. Both were men of ability, touched with real genius for journalism, and possessing literary talent of high order.
Somewhere along the way through this period of party change and development, the two young men had received impressions which gradually reversed their political views, and from editing a Whig newspaper they became, in time, rather violent partisans of the opposition ranks. In 1854, as the Republican party was evolving itself from the Whig, "William H. West & Co." purchased the establishment from the Hubbards, and gave the Republican spirit, hovering thus far disembodied, a local habitation. After a year the "habitation" was returned by sale to its now Democratic owners and editors, but the "Republican," at last a vigorous body, established itself in a new and independent headquarters. Logan county now had two newspapers instead of one. The "Gazette" was published steadily by the Hubbard brothers until 1863, when it suspended for three years while William Hubbard established himself at Napoleon, Ohio, as editor of the "Napoleon Northwest," which he continued to edit until his death. Thomas Hubbard revived the "Gazette" in 1866, soon after changing its name to "The Examiner," since which its publication has been without pause. In 1890 a daily edition was begun in connection with the original weekly, and both of these survive in- vigorous condition. Since the death of Mr. Hubbard in April, 1903, the "Weekly Examiner" has been the property of Miss Josephine Hubbard and Miss Adah Hubbard, who edit it personally. The "Daily Examiner" is owned by H. K. Hubbard & Co., and its editor-in-chief is Miss Josephine Hubbard, assisted by an able staf. It is a newspaper of clean, high character, and gives its earnest support to every good movement in the community, as well as a fair and impartial (page 221) distribution of the news, without regard to its avowed politics-in which department it has always been consistently Democratic. In passing, the Hubbard brothers and sisters of today as a group do honor to the name and memory of their parents, in their life and work. The youngest member of the family, Frank McKinney Hubbard (or, as he is better known, "Kin" Hubbard), is the well-known humorist of the "Indianapolis News," whose quaint and original creation, "Abe Martin," corner store philosopher, now sixteen full years before a daily public, still dispenses with unfailing spontaneity fresh draughts of healthy, homely wit, keen and laughter provoking.
The "Republican," founded by William H. West, James Walker and Lemuel S. Powell, passed from them to L. D. Reynolds, who conducted a vigorous and aggressive campaign in 1860, in the cause of the new party and its candidate, Abraham Lincoln. Succeeding Reynolds came David R. Locke, who soon became famous far beyond Logan county as "Petroleum V. Nasby," through his "Letters from Confederate Cross Roads" and from "Saints' Rest, Noo Gersey." Early in 1865, J. Q. A. Campbell, returned to Ohio from the battlefields of the civil war, sought a journalistic opening, and upon his quest met Mr. Locke, who made him an offer for the purchase of the "Republican." This Mr. Campbell, who had already edited a paper in Iowa before entering the army, decided to accept, and on Friday, January 27, 1865, Mr. Locke, in retiring, introduced his successor to the Bellefontaine public. During the year or two preceding this event James Walker had been connected with the "Republican," and for a short time after January, 1865, he remained one of the staff, but in April of that year, Mr. Campbell assumed sole control of the paper, and for nearly thirty-nine years thereafter waged gallant war through its columns against existing evils and for the promotion of the public good. Always a strong party organ, the "Republican" led vigorous drives for civic betterment without regard to political lines or favor. Its editor was an absolutely fearless enemy of the liquor traffic, which he regarded as a moral sore, and fought on moral grounds. Unpopular as the fight may have been in the outset, the consistent character of its leader won the support of the best minds in all parties. Many political enemies, in fact, became firm friends in the support of temperance, and not a few of the followers of John Barleycorn deserted to the "dry" ranks. Out of Bellefontaine to the legislature went the authors of the Township Local Option law, the Dow law, and the Aikin law, a legal triad for which the whole state of Ohio owes a debt of gratitude.
In securing local municipal ownership of public utilities (in which Bellefontaine leads Ohio cities) the work of the "Republican" was also a mighty factor. The editor was an educator as well as a fighter, both in and out of print, and rarely lost a fight or a debate.
Out of the "Republican" office have gone many whose apprenticeship there opened the gates to larger fields of journalism or public service, while others, whose public lives have been bounded by Logan county alone, have been drawn into fellowship with its (page 222) whole constituency through their work in its correspondence columns. Among these may be mentioned "Clifton" Brooks of Northwood, Mrs. D. P. Rogers of Richland, N. V. Speece of Quincy, "Slick" Elder of Huntsville, "Old Eagle" James of East Liberty, "Mack" Hulsizer of Monroe township, Eber Norviel of Middleburg, "Donkey" Randall of Marmon's Valley, "Fishy" Clarke of Lake Ridge, "N. A. Fus" (Ed Nafus) of Belle Centre, and George A. Henry of Jefferson township, who for over thirty years wrote his quaint letters from the hill farm under the pseudonym of "Old Bunkum." There is a copy of the "Republican" dated October 22, 1863, at the Henry cottage just south of Bellefontaine, which, after fifty-five years' preservation, is still white and pliable as to paper and clear and bright as to printer's ink, while scattered through its neat columns of old-fashioned type are many items which waken old echoes of long-forgotten things and days. The mercantile advertisements display names above whose owners the "mossy marbles" have rested for half a century, yet are still familiar to Loganite ears; the government was calling then, as now, 1918, for soldiers; and among the local items is a notice reading: "Married-by the Rev. George L. Kalb, Miss Emily Robb to George A. Henry." (It was Dr. Kalb's first wedding ceremony after coming to Bellefontaine.) At the top of the title-page is the penciled greeting from a friend in the office, "Good luck to ye, lad !"
In August, 1883, the "Republican" increased its issues to twice weekly, being the first of Bellefontaine papers to change from the weekly publication. The "Examiner," which retained its weekly form, was the first office to issue a daily edition in the city. The "Mac-a-chack Press," started by Abram S. Piatt and W. H. Gribble in West Liberty late in 1858, was removed to Bellefontaine by Mr. Gribble, and became the "Bellefontaine Press," passing from Mr. Gribble's ownership to P. S. Hooper, and on to Martin Barringer, who made a specialty of job printing, then to J. H. Fluhart, who renamed it "The Index," under which name it was sold to J. H. Bowman. W. S. Roebuck was taken into partnership in 1879, and in 1882 the establishment was moved from the old Bellefontaine Bank building to the Opera block, where three years later the firm became Roebuck and Brand. In 1894 the business was incorporated as the Index Printing and Publishing Company. In 1903, upon the final retirement of Mr. Campbell from the "Republican," to accept the Bellefontaine postmastership, the Index company purchased the "Republican," and the two papers were consolidated under the name, the "Index-Republican," of which LeRoy Blessing is the editor, and under whom it has become a daily paper with a wide circulation.
Mr. Blessing is a native of Bellefontaine, and is glad to be known as a local product, and it is no more than fair to say that the city likes him, too. His talent for the lecture platform is as marked as that for journalism, and as an after-dinner speaker he is said to have few rivals. He is a son of Mrs. Frank Blessing, and grandson of Walter Slicer, pioneer citizen, sheriff and landlord, whose name is interwoven with all the annals of the "early days" of city and county. Mrs. Leroy Blessing is the great-granddaughter (page 223) of Peter Leister and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph JoHantgen. She is one of Bellefontaine's foremost musical artists.
Transportation
Like the first villages of the new country, the earliest roads were natural growths of expediency and necessity, seldom the result of scientific survey. Without entering into the minutiae of the present complete system of public highways and its development, it may be said broadly that the first main traveled roads followed the lines of the old Indian trails, which in fact were used without change, at first, and were mere bridle paths at most, the settlers "blazing" other similar paths, as circumstances demanded, which were later re-surveyed and opened as roads. The Ludlow Line, on which the timber was cut in 1800, made the basis of the first surveyed road, and the "trace" of Hull's march to Detroit in 1812, crossing the county from West Liberty to the northwest, discovered routes of which the road builders availed themselves. Other roads were cut to meet the demands of the growing population, and to connect settlements for purposes of commercial intercourse, until the county is now traversed by unsurpassed pikes and roads which make possible the transportation to market by the twentieth century motor truck method, of every variety of farm produce, regardless of railroad facility. The bottomless black mire of swamps and wet seasons, bridged in the early days by "corduroy" pavements, is now a thing of the past, and the fifty years of floundering, through seas of mud varied with chuck-holes, is forgotten in the fifty years of progress since the first issue of bonds for road building, inaugurated by Bellefontaine in 1867. Formerly impassable swamps have been drained by the extensive ditching, and roadways straightened and shortened by building solid pikes across those old barriers to progress. Logan county's wealth of gravel and limestone has been a wonderful factor in pike building, and with due attention, now that the war with Germany is over, the future expense of maintaining the road system which has cost the county fully a million and a quarter in money, should be comparatively light. There was a time, even in the midst of transportation difficulties, when the first rumors of the coming of a railroad were listened to dubiously by the rural population, and even protested against with open animosity or alarm, as something subversive of the old and reliable order of things. It was many years before Logan county learned all that was to be learned from the railroad method of building road beds.
Through Logan county, from Sandusky on Lake Erie down to Dayton at the mouth of Mad river, was built the first railroad projected in the state of Ohio. Beginning at the northern terminus in 1832, it took seven years to reach Bellevue, and eight years more to reach Bellefontaine. An opportune financial assistance stretched it as far as Springfield in 1848, but it was 1850 before Dayton was finally attained. The route, known locally as "The Mad River railroad," was built by local subscriptions along the way, and the scarcity of actual money with which to pay stock subscriptions had (page 224) as much or more to do with its slow progress as the engineering difficulties encountered. Only painstaking economy and patient courage made the ultimate success of the investment possible. R. E. Runkle and Robert Patterson of Bellefontaine were, respectively, the second vice-president and secretary-treasurer of the road. In General Robert P. Kennedy's "Historical Review" is given a minute description of the method of road-bed construction and track-laying used, the details being taken from the old contracts made by William G. Kennedy for the timbering and laying of the track from Bellefontaine to West Liberty. The method, complicated and expensive, was soon supplanted by the better, cross-tie, mode still in use. The Lake Erie and Mad River railroad, long since extended to Cincinnati, forms a part of the "Big Four" system.
From 1849 to 1851 the C. C. C. & I. (or, as it was at first called, the Bellefontaine and Indiana) railroad was built from Union City, Indiana, to Bellefontaine, giving rise to the towns of Quincy and DeGraf in Logan county. Stephen Quigley, the engineer of the construction train during, the building, and his son Brock Quigley, a conductor later on, were familiar figures on the route for over fifty years. In 1852 this route was extended through to Crestline and Cleveland, opening the way to eastern markets, and benefiting the towns of the northeastern quarter.
The Bellefontaine and Delaware railroad, projected in 1852 by Robert Patterson and William G. Kennedy, was eagerly promoted by investors, railroads having attained popularity by that time, but the panic of the fifties caused a collapse in railroad building, and much money was lost. A revival of the project in 1885 also failed. The Detroit, Toledo and Indiana railway, built in 1892-3, passes through the southwest corner of Logan county, touching but one town, Quincy. The same year, the Toledo and Ohio Central railway built a line to Columbus, which enters the county at Ridgeway, and, passing south through that fertile district to West Mansfield, has given an impetus to progress invaluable to the communities on the Scioto slope.
In 1897 the St. Mary's branch of the "T. and O. C." took up the old Bellefontaine and Delaware franchise, and by re-locating the "deep cut" across the Mad river hills, successfully crossed the county from the northwest, through Lakeview, Lewistown, Bellefontaine, Zanesfield, East Liberty and on to Columbus, the Ohio Electric road, passing through the county from the Reservoir district, through Huntsville, Bellefontaine and West Liberty to the south, is another incalculable transportational advantage, the railroad map of Logan county now resembling a great wheel of fortune.
Logan County in the War
Now, during the closing scenes of the world war, comes a season when a backward glance over the various patriotic activities occasioned by its grim necessities has become possible, because of the lull in the work, which, with the exception of Red Cross benevolence, will soon be laid aside, it is hoped, forever. From the first the best effort of the highest executive talent of Logan (page 225) county has been enlisted in the ranks of "war workers," and in no case is there a more signal instance of efficiency than in the conduct of the Liberty Loan campaigns. Chairman William Wallace Riddle, appointed in 1917, for the first Liberty Loan, has, with the committees then named, served throughout the four campaigns ensuing. Few changes have been made in the personnel of the committees, which follows with reasonable accuracy: Executive, R. B. Keller, Fred W. Arnold, Fred C. Spittle, John D. Inskeep, Alfred Butler, and Isaac Zearing, all of Bellefontaine. County Advisory (chosen from the bankers of the county), William B. Ramsey, Bellecentre; T. M. Cooper, Lewistown; A. B. Mcllvain, West Liberty; Harry E. Clapper, Huntsville; Harry Koogler, DeGraf; Harrison Clay, Quincy; A. L. Votaw, West Mansfield; Fremont C. Hamilton, East Liberty; H. O. Huber, Lake View; J. W. Ansley, Rushsylvania; J. D. Headington, West Mansfield; William T. Haviland, Bellefontaine. Publicity (chosen chiefly from the editorial ranks), J. G. Morris, chairman ; John M. Hare and Edwin M. Colton, secretaries; Donn C. Bailey, J. C. Martin, E. M. Day, Ralph English, LeRoy Blessing, Minnie Liles, Frank G. McCracken, S. P. Pond and H. A. Shoemaker. Township chairmen were: Union, H. B. Harner; Bokes Creek, W. F. Knight; Perry, Pearl J. Humphreys; Zane, Roy Aspinall; Rush Creek, J. E. Shaw; Monroe, Oren Outland; Jefferson, Zachary Dougherty; Liberty, Henry Foust; Lake, north, Jonah K. Meredith; Lake, south, T. D. Chester; City of Bellefontaine, Herman K. Horn; Harrison, George Detrick; McArthur, J. H. T. Gordon ; Richland, P. R. Healy; Washington, D. A. Hamer; Miami, DeGraf, W. E. Harris; Quincy, N. P. Swank; Pleasant, Marco W. Long; Bloomfield, Eber Hodge ; Stokes, Frank W. Kerr. Committee of Bellefontaine sales: Anson B. Carter, William H. Hamilton, George W. Cronley; clergy, Dr. W. L. Barrett; lodges, Harry N. Kennedy; "Flying Squadron," O. L. JoHantgen, J. T. McIntosh, W. Clay Huston, A. Jay Miller, Rev. F. M. Swinehart.
The Loans. The First Liberty Loan totaled $232,750.00, from twelve hundred and eighty-two subscribers. The second amounted to $301,100.00, from nine hundred and fourteen subscribers-an apparent falling of in subscribers, which is explained by the circumstance that in the tabulation of the Second Loan the subscriptions from the Big Four railway's office and shop contingent were not permitted to appear as a component part of the county's total which was, in fact, far "over the top." The Third Loan, that of April, 1918, was over-subscribed, reaching the figure $665,650.00, from three thousand five hundred and twenty-six subscribers. The fourth and latest Liberty Loan was the first drive in which the work of the Logan county women was recognized as a factor, and the results, which exceeded expectations, furnish some interesting study. The Women's committee, headed by Mrs. Nell Garwood Armstrong, included a large corps of able women already prominent in Red Cross work. The scheme of the canvass was thorough and only four of the townships failed to respond with a sub-committee. The women were allotted by the National Women's committee with the task of raising fifteen per cent of the entire county (page 226) quota, or, $116,647.00. They responded with $227,150.00, or over twenty-eight per cent. Bellefontaine women raised seventy-seven per cent of the city's allotment; Belle Center women raised $1,000.00 more than the city's quota ; DeGraf women raised over seventy per cent; West Liberty women over sixty-six per cent; Quincy women nearly fifty per cent; Zane township and Rushsylvania women each raised about one-third of the local allotments.
The city of Bellefontaine, men and women together, raised nearly two-thirds of the entire county allotment, going "over the top" of their own apportionment by $304,300.00, or over three times what was required of them. Huntsville and DeGraf were close behind with nearly three times the amount of their apportionments. Two thousand, two hundred and fifteen men, and six hundred and three women subscribed in Bellefontaine, one thousand four hundred and sixty-seven of the total number being Big Four railway employees. Of the city's total subscription of $453,900.00, the Big Four men took $139,200.00.
Women's subscriptions in the whole county, one thousand five hundred and forty-five; amount, $227,120.00. Men's subscriptions, four thousand eight hundred and fifteen; amount $742,950.00. Total subscriptions, six thousand three hundred and sixty-one; total amount, $976,100.00. Over-subscribed, $197,450.00. The four loans aggregate $2,175,600.00. For the grand result of the campaign in Bellefontaine the meed of credit is divided between, first, the magnificent response of the railroad employees; second, the work of the women's committee; and third, the Bellefontaine chairman, Herman K. Horn, and his corps of earnest, patriotic workers.
The draft board for Logan county opened, officially, August 1, 1917, and its work being now officially closed, a complete report has been made as to the number of men included in the draft who were called to the service of the nation in the war with Germany. The entire registration resulted in the induction of five hundred and seventeen men, of whom four hundred and eighty-two were accepted. The total registration was two thousand three, hundred and eighty-two men, of whom two thousand three hundred and thirty-three were white, and forty-nine colored. Fourteen were aliens. Only thirty-fve were rejected, while twenty-one were delinquent. Enlistments after the draft totaled, through the local board, one hundred and sixteen, making the total number of soldiers passing through the county draft board, five hundred and ninety-eight. This, however, does not represent the man power furnished the nation from Logan county, for, previous to the declaration of war with Germany, enlistments both in the army and navy had been going forward rapidly, through the government stations ; while before the draft board was organized a rush of enlistment followed the announcement of war. Also, Logan county lads who threw of parental restraint and enlisted at other points swell the total service of the county to nearly double the number reported by the board. From a carefully collected list of names obtained from parents and friends of Logan county soldiers and sailors, the service fag at the canteen headquarters displays the equivalent of one thousand and (page 227) fifteen stars, which is granted to be, if anything, an under-estimate of the actual number. The personnel of the draft board is : Newton Archer, president; Dr. E. R. Henning, medical examiner; George W. Guy, secretary; Ray Miller, chief clerk.
The War Savings Stamp campaign in Logan county, under the leadership of William T. Haviland, of Bellefontaine, made an exceptional showing, for which the honors truly due may not be paid because each chairman ascribes the honors to the others. The organization of the county was perfect, and received most efficient aid in the canvass from the publicity committee, composed of O. L. JoHantgen, chairman ; Fred W. Arnold, Edward C. Cowman, Frank G. McCracken, J. H. Denman, John R. Hare, W. W. Riddle and Myran LeSourd. The quota for the county was $601,680.00, and the sales amounted, December 1, 1918, to $665,011.00. Of this fne total the "Thousand Dollar club," under the chairmanship of Hon. John C. Hover, rounded up three hundred and thirty-nine members, the largest "club," per capita, of any county in Ohio, and this, too, in a county which has one of the lowest bank deposit totals per capita of any county in Ohio. So much for captaincy and team work! The second prize offered for the highest sales made in the state by a juvenile during the drive, was also won by a little girl, Mary Huston, in Bellefontaine, who trudged on crutches to accomplish her purpose.
The War Chest Drive opened Monday, September 23, 1918, in a raw cold rain which lasted nearly all the week, but failed to dampen the ardor of the workers or their chairman, judge John C. Hover. Figures, while they may not lie, drone monotonously, and except for totals they are not given in this report, but a few interesting points are brought to light, drawn from the published report of the chairman. The organization was complete to the last detail, more than thirteen hundred workers having been banded together for this drive.
Of the total population of the county, thirty thousand and eighty-four, about one-third, or ten thousand and twenty-seven, were expected to subscribe. As a matter of fact, eleven thousand seven hundred and eighty did subscribe. Of the townships, eight went well over the thirty-three per cent of population expected to subscribe, and only five fell appreciably below that proportion. Of the two prizes offered, Lake township won both, having over fifty per cent of her population as subscribers, and also the highest per capita subscription, $13.67. Zane and Perry townships came next, with forty-eight and forty-five per cent of population, while Bloomfield and Perry townships follow closest in per capita subscriptions, with $10.13 and $9.28 to their credits. Lake township also had the highest rate per subscriber, $26.78; DeGraf, $26.54, and Bloomfield, $25.50. The average amount per capita the county over is $8.82, and the average per subscriber is $23.38.
The Agricultural Society donated a percentage of their gate receipts at the county fair, amounting to $241.85, and $18.00 from the fine commission. Subscriptions amounted to $265,182.57, making a grand total of $265,442.42. About $65,000.00 has already been paid in, January 1, 1919, and the disbursements to different (page 228) departments of the field have already begun, being published as made, a policy which will be pursued until the end.
The Logan County Chapter of the American Red Cross. "Forever must I hold you as the pioneer of the Red Cross in America." With these words, addressed to judge William Lawrence of Bellefontaine, by Clara Barton, frst president of the American Red Cross, under date of October, 1898, the history of the Logan county chapter may be said to have had its inception.
While visiting in Switzerland, prior to the Civil War, Miss Barton became acquainted with the international treaty then being entered into, by the nations of Europe, at Geneva. Miss Barton immediately felt the importance of the United States uniting in this treaty, and of the organization of a national society in America, and during the Civil War (when she was a nurse in the Union hospitals, and was permitted, under flag of truce, to visit Confederate prisons and minister to suffering Union soldiers confined therein) and after its close, she continued to urge the secretary of state, William H. Seward, and the national presidents and secretaries of succeeding administrations, to gain the consent of the senate to make the United States a party to the treaty of Geneva. Owing to the precedent of Mr. Seward's opposition, her appeals were of no avail until after the opening of President James A. Garfield’s administration, in 1881, when, having engaged the assistance of judge William Lawrence and Mrs. Lawrence of Bellefontaine, Ohio, a conference was secured with the president, with the hope of persuading him to accept the office of president of a Red Cross society. Mr. Garfield hesitated to assume the responsibility as well as the honor of the position, but the organization, which had been effected, and constitution drawn, May 21, 1881, held a subsequent meeting at which Miss Barton was chosen president and William Lawrence (then comptroller of the United States treasury), vice-president. By Judge Lawrence's advice, the association was incorporated, July 1, 1881, those signing the articles being: Clara Barton, William Lawrence, W. K. Barnes, A. S. Solomons, and Alexander V. P. Garnett. On July 2, 1881, occurred the tragic shooting of President Garfield, his death following September 29, 1881. After the accession of Chester A. Arthur to the presidency, judge Lawrence accompanied Miss Barton in calling upon President Arthur with a request, which he granted willingly, to recommend, in his annual message to the senate, the participation of the United States in the Red Cross convention. Acting upon this recommendation, the senate concurred, March 1, 1882, and proclaimed the same July 26, 1882. (United States Statutes, XXII, 940.) Miss Barton afterward maintained regular correspondence with judge and Mrs. Lawrence to the end of their lives, a letter written at the close of the Spanish-American war containing the words with which this sketch begins.
Miss Elizabeth Haviland, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William T. Haviland and grand-daughter of judge and Mrs. William Lawrence, was one of the earliest promoters of the Red Cross, and was a speaker at the initial meeting, held Friday, May 4, 1917, in the Chamber of Commerce.
At this time she elucidated the First Aid work, in which she had (page 229) already finished a course of training. A. F. Rothstein, secretary of Chamber of Commerce, presided, and Rev. William C. Welch, of St. Patrick's church officiated as secretary at this meeting, and Mrs. Frank R. Griffin opened the program with a ringing appeal. A temporary organization was effected on this occasion, and a mass meeting called for Monday, May 7, at the First Presbyterian church. A committee on permanent organization also was directed to report at the mass meeting, which was opened at the appointed time, with the auditorium of the church crowded to the doors. A. F. Rothstein acted as temporary chairman, and upon the report of the organization committee being read and accepted, the permanent officers assumed their positions, and the Logan county chapter was ushered formally into existence, with judge Ernest Thompson, chairman; Mrs. Frank R. Griffin, vice-chairman ; Miss R. Eva Byers, secretary; Alfred Butler, treasurer. In the programme, prepared by Mrs. A. Jay Miller and W. W. Hamer, Rev. William C. Welch delivered the first address, conveying to the meeting his own enthusiasm and that of the previous meeting at the Chamber of Commerce. Miss Josephine Valentine, of Urbana, formerly a nurse in Serbia, gave an outline of the plan of work, and of the purposes and needs of the National Red Cross (under rules of which the local chapter works), explaining also the four courses of training authorized and provided for volunteer nurses and workers, viz.: First Aid, Dietetics, Preparation of Surgical Dressings and Elementary Hygiene and Nursing. She then sketched the working methods of base hospital units, and related vividly some of her own experiences in the field hospitals in Serbia, where she had assisted in caring for wounded Americans. The meeting joined in the singing of the Battle Hymn, and Mrs. W. L. Smith sang a popular war song, accompanied on the piano by her daughter. The membership committee, consisting of Father Welch, Dr. Hale, George T. Brandon, Rev. William Barrett, Rev. John Williamson and Rev. Traverce Harrison, reported the acquisition, to date, of two hundred and thirty-two members, Mrs. Charlotte Hamer, aged 88 years, having been the first to register. At subsequent meetings the work was carried swiftly forward until the organization was complete. Chairmen for the organization of the four classes were appointed June 1, 1917, as follows : First Aid, Miss May Marquis ; Surgical Dressings, Miss Haviland ; Elementary Hygiene and Home Nursing, Mrs. A. Jay Miller; Dietetics, Mrs. Mary A. Zerbee. The committee on by-laws consisted of (Mayor) U. L. Kennedy, Mrs. Carrie Thompson and Mrs. Frank R. Griffn ; and Mrs. Moselle Butler, Miss Haviland, Mrs. Emil Geiger, Mrs. Harry Goff and Miss Maud Hiatt constituted the supply committee. By the advice of Mr. Charles O'Donnell all temporary committees became permanent. A petition for membership in the National Red Cross was signed by the same members who had made up the organization committee, the honor of the frst signature being given to Mrs. Charlotte Hamer, followed by Mrs. Moselle E. Butler, Mrs. Mary Emery Griffin, Miss Elizabeth L. Haviland, Mrs. Carrie Thompson, Judge John C. Hover, Alfred Butler, Mrs. Mary A. Zerbee, U. L. Kennedy and Charles F. O'Donnell. On June 24, 1917, at an outdoor meeting held at Highest Point, (page 230) Hon. James M. Cox, Governor of Ohio, became a member of Logan County Chapter by formal application.
By-laws were adopted June 26, 1917. The home of Mrs. George Brandon had been previously offered for a regular meeting place until a permanent headquarters could be secured, but the Y. M. C. A. simultaneously offered the use of the old Folsom residence on North Main street, of which they had control, and this offer was accepted, and a house committee appointed with authority to renovate and furnish it for offices, class and workrooms. At the first meeting held in the new chapter house, the house committee, Mrs. Griffin, chairman, and her able assistants, Mrs. Johnson West, Mrs. Blanche Miller, Mrs. Claire Hover, Mrs. Maurice Carter, Mrs. Hazel Davis and the Misses Gertrude Funk, Lulu Morgan, Marie Kerr, Myrtle Armstrong, Helen Patterson and Elizabeth Haviland were voted thanks for their service and its fine results. Dr. Clyde Startzman was appointed to fill the place of Miss May Marquis, resigned from First Aid Organization. The board of directors was named with the date of expiration of term as follows : For the year ending October 31, 1917, Miss Agnes Pool, Mrs. Frank P. Kerr, Miss R. Eva Byers, Hon. Ernest Thompson, Hon. John C. Hover, Mrs. John Harner, Mrs. Fremont Hamilton, Mr. William T. Haviland and Mrs. Robert Butler. For the year ending October 31, 1918, Mrs. Emil Geiger, Mr. Alfred Butler, Mr. Charles O'Donnell, Mr. LeRoy Blessing, Mr. John Ansley, Mrs. Mary E. Griffin, Mrs. Grace Goodhart, Mrs. F. R. Makemson, Mrs. Mary A. Zerbee and Rev. C. F. Irwin. For the year ending October 31, 1919, Mrs. T. F. Wilson, Mrs. Louisa B. Barr, Mrs. Nora G. Shoots, Mrs. Freeman Jones, Mr. Frank McCracken, Mr. Charles Harshfield, Mr. Harry Koogler, Mr. Walter Stanley, Mr. Job Sharp and Rev. William C. Welch. Sixteen township branches have been organized in the county, each with its own by-laws, and reporting all work to the chapter, at Bellefontaine. The Lake township branch includes Lake, Harrison and Union townships, and its by-laws are identical with those of the chapter, with its headquarters in the Chapter House. Chapter committees for 1918 were:
Executive : Chairman, Fred Spittle ; secretary, Miss Mary Jenkinson ; Mrs. R. H. Butler, Mrs. F. C. Hamilton, Mrs. Louisa Barr, Harry Koogler, William T. Haviland, Judge Thompson and Father Welch. House: Mrs. Chester Miller, Mrs. L. E. Pettit, Mrs. Robert Morgan, Mrs. Johnson West, Mrs. Guy Swan and Miss Harriet O'Donnell. Stock : Mrs. Frank Grimes and Miss Mary Bissell. Supply: Miss Haviland, Miss Madge Lowe, Mrs. Frank S. Mitchell. Packing and Shipping: Mrs. Perry Powell, Mrs. Robert Morgan, Mrs. Minnie Kirkpatrick, Mr. E. E. Olsen, Mr. James R. Fulton, Mr. Lavon Pittman. Civilian Relief : Chairman, J. D. Inskeep, Mrs. A. W. Elliott, Mrs. R. W. Chalfant, Mrs. R. P. Dickinson, Dr. Carrie Richeson, Judge Thompson, Rev. W. T. Mabon, U. L. Kennedy and Anson B. Carter. Membership : Dr. J. P. Harbert. Second War Fund Drive : Rev. Mabon, chairman. The Canteen committee, created early in the summer of 1918, is composed as follows : Mesdames W. T. Haviland (commandant), C. D. Campbell, E. P. Humphreys, Frank Grimes, D. R. Hennesey (page 231) (secretary), Walker Prall (treasurer), Harry Morrow and Messrs. J. H. Underkircher, A. P. Humphreys, Max Leonard and H. K. Horn. This committee is highly organized, under three captains, each of whom conducts the work for one week in rotation, the officers being: Company "A", Mrs. Hattie Jones; Company "B", Mrs. Chester Miller; Company "C", Mrs. Robert Morgan. A fund for the maintenance of this work was started by the competitive parade and celebration of July Fourth, 1918, at which about two thousand dollars was raised, of which the canteen committee received $800. Thousands participated in the largest and in many respects the most unique festival ever given in Logan county. Detailed description is not possible, except for one or two features. Thirty Civil War veterans rode in the parade, and the children of the East School made a characteristic display, which won second prize. The truly original feature, which won the frst prize, was a large body of Red Cross workers, formed by the joint inspiration of Miss Madge Lowe and Mrs. Harry W. Eaton, with Mrs. E. P. Humphreys and Miss Mary Allen, into "The Rainbow Division." The ladies were costumed, with but two days for preparation, all in white, but wearing the Continental tri-cornered hat, with aigrette of color, a sash of the same color, and a white wound cane, tied with colored streamer. All colors of the rainbow (and intermediate shades) were used, and the whole color scheme was worked out in crepe paper, at a negligible cost. The colors were arranged in long lines in the march, which was so timed as to display in counter-march at the railroad for the benefit of a passing troop train. In September, at the County Fair, the ladies repeated the attractive feature, with a slight change of costume, wearing a hat of solid color, and a military cape to match, over the white costume, while at the head of the column
Mrs. V. W. Ballinger mounted on a white charger, with snow-white trappings, personated "America," robed in white and carrying a beautiful fag. All prize moneys were donated to the canteen fund by the winners. The canteen service will be maintained until the soldiers are all returned to their homes from camp and battlefield. The headquarters of the work are located in the Railroad Y. M. C. A. building on West Columbus street, and a conveniently located "hut" on the south side of the tracks gives the workers access to trains on any track, at the Big Four Station. Hot coffee and sandwiches, apples and cigars are served to "the boys," who are also furnished with postcards if needed, and sick cases are cared for. The 1917 Christmas membership campaign brought in $8,113.43, of which $4,077 was remitted to the Lake Division, James R. Garfeld, manager, the local chapter receiving a net amount of $3,382.84 after all expenses were paid.
Special committees, of temporary duration, are: Influenza, Messrs. F. W. Arnold, J. D. Inskeep, W. W. Coulter, Mrs. E. P. Humphreys and Dr. W. C. Pay. Christmas Cartons, Mesdames C. F. O'Donnell, H. K. Humphreys, Margaret Barton, H. N. Thomas and Johnson E. West. Collection of fruit pits and nut shells, Dorcas Circle of King's Daughters, Mrs. J. D. Inskeep, chairman. The strongest interest naturally centers in the Woman's Work Committee, of which Mrs. Robert Morgan was the first chairman, and Mrs. (page 232) J. S. Boyd, vice chairman; Mrs. Fred Armstrong, treasurer, and Miss Edith Black, secretary, the other members of the committee being special instructors in knitting and sewing, cutting and other activities. These were : Mrs. Ernest Bryant, Mrs. W. W. Riddle, Mrs. Jos. JoHantgen, Mrs. Samuel Tharp, Mrs. O. M. Newell, Mrs. George Brandon and Mrs. W. W. Coulter. The first shipment made from the chapter, of finished work, consisted entirely of surgical dressings and hospital linens, comprising respectively 3,578 and 3,970 pieces, a total of 7,548 articles of these two classes alone. Subsequently, Mrs. Morgan's committee accumulated, in addition to 739 really very useful knitted articles, of hospital linens, 867 pieces, and of surgical dressings 1,419 pieces, which were not shipped until November 22, 1917, and are, therefore, included in the for the year ending October 31, 1918. Mrs. Mcrgan's successsor, Mrs. Robert Butler, was appointed in November, but owing to her necessary absence from Bellefontaine, Mrs. Butler did not serve, and Mrs. O. M. Newell, chairman of Lake township branch, carried also the county work ahead, with Miss Myrtle Armstrong as lieutenant, for the next six months, when Miss Armstrong, with Mrs. Harry Morrow, was appointed to lead the Lake township branch work, and Mrs. Newell remained at the head of the county committee. Her assistants were: Mrs. J. E. West and Mrs. J. M. Kerr. The report for the year just ended, October 31, 1918, seventeen shipments in all, is given below, under the various heads. Total woolens or knitted articles, 3,263; hospital garments, 10,204; surgical gauze dressings, 32,756; surgical muslin dressings, 4;786; layettes (ten pieces to each), pieces, 1,260; refugee garments, 602. Two hundred comfort kits aggregating 3,200 articles ; linens for France, 4,375. Total articles shipped from November 1, 1917, to November 1, 1918, 60,446. Total articles shipped since women's work began, 67,994. The order from the National Red Cross headquarters is simply, "Carry on." Work along certain lines is, happily, no longer necessary, but civilian relief is at all times and seasons the field of the Red Cross, and the canteen service is not yet at its crest.
The women's work will for the present be directed toward refugee and rehabilitation supplies, and the new committee appointed is Mrs. F. N. Johnson, chairman ; Mrs. Charles Kruse, vice chairman. The officers for the year ending October 31, 1919, are : Charles Harshfield, chairman; Fred C. Spittle, vice chairman; Mrs. Mary Jenkinson, secretary ; Rev. W.C. Welch, treasurer. Mrs. George Esplin will serve as chairman of the house committee. On the board of directors those who will serve until November 1, 1920, are: Mesdames Ray Allinger, Frank P. Kerr, Robert H. Butler, John A. Harner, Fremont Hamilton, Harry S. Jones and Messrs. Ernest Thompson, Fred Soittle and W. T. Haviland. Those who serve until November 1, 1921, are : Mesdames George W. Windham, Harley Plum, W. H. Carey, Milt Kerr, Charles Kruse, Charles O'Donnell and Messrs. Roy Aspinall, L. T. Shoots, O. B. Goodhart and Walker Prall. Members-at-large: The president of the Ministerial Association, the chairman of the City Union of King's Daughters, the president of the Logan County Medical Society and the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce.
(page 233) Throughout the entire history of the Logan county chapter of the American Red Cross, a spirit of harmony and co-operation has prevailed, changes occurring among the committees only when unavoidable circumstances compelled voluntary resignation of individual workers, which were never accepted, except with regret, yet out of the fine timber of the membership such gaps have been filled perfectly, while the former occupants are "remembered by what they have done." In this connection it is proper to speak of the clerical work done by John Palmer Brandon, for the membership committee, in the first months of the chapter and during the membership drives. It was the last service Mr. Brandon, for years an invalid, was ever able to render, a willing, glad service, still in evidence in the pages of the membership register and records, though the hands that wrote were folded, to write no more, in June, 1918. By a pathetic coincidence, Mrs. Herbert Miller, a young soldier's bride, who assisted Mr. Brandon in this work, was called to rest October, 1918. Mrs. Miller was a victim of "Spanish influenza," which she contracted while attending her husband in the hospital at Camp Taylor.
Numerous cases of individual work for the soldiers, unobtrusively accomplished, and not coming under any specified head of "Woman's work," might be instanced, among them that of Miss Sara Lowe, who with some assistance from her sisters, in obtaining silk pieces for the work, made over 700' pinwheels and distributed them to the Logan county soldiers as they entrained, bound for the service of the nation.
Mrs. E. A. McKee, who had taken the prescribed course of instruction in surgical dressings at .Connorsville, in the summer of 1917, was placed in charge of that department upon her return to Bellefontaine in September, and conducted the work from that time until the spring of 1918, with great success. The first large shipment of over 3,500 pieces was done under her chairmanship. A "first aid" class was also formed with a small membership, consisting of Mrs. Frank Griffin, chairman ; Mrs. Robert Colton, Mrs. Will McKee, Mrs. E. A. McKee, Mrs. Elmer R. Gebby, Mrs. Ernest Bryant, Miss Mary Braden and Mrs. H. K. Humphreys. The instructions were given the class by Dr. Robert Butler, and the examinations were conducted by Dr. W. W. Hamer, seven receiving certificates in the first examination. The class then took special examination in advanced work in bandaging, and were awarded the coveted medal with the bar, one of the first three classes in the United States to be so decorated.
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