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ABC of Victory Gardens Pamphlet

This pamphlet, titled "ABC of Victory Gardens: A Compilation of Facts, Figures, Tables and Charts to Make Backyard Gardening Easy," was printed during World War II to encourage Americans to plant victory gardens. During World War II (1941-1945), many people supplemented the food they had available for personal use by planting vegetable gardens, both to support the war effort and due to food shortages and rationing. The gardens were promoted widely by the government and industry, and were known as "victory gardens" due to their importance to the war effort. Gardens were planted during World War I as well, but were called "war gardens" until the end of the war, when the term "victory garden" came into use.

Anna Mary McCracken Sampler

This silk on linen sampler was created by Anna Mary McCracken of Centerville, Ohio. Young girls created samplers as part of their education and in order to practice sewing techniques, since clothes would often be marked to establish a laundering and use schedule. As was common with samplers in the nineteenth century, this piece features letters of the alphabet and numbers done using varying stitches. The sampler also includes a stitched picture of McCracken's house. She refers to her hometown as "Centreville." The spelling was changed to "Centerville" in 1879. The daughter of Jacob and Sarah McCracken, Anna moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio with her family in 1833. She completed the sampler in 1840 when she was thirteen years old.

Armbruster Jacquard Woven Coverlet

This jacquard coverlet of indigo, red and green wool and white cotton is decorated with a floral ground with border pattern with thistles, birds, and trees. Between 1825 and 1860, jacquard coverlets, bed coverings woven on a loom, were popular in the United States, particularly in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and New York. Frenchman Joseph Marie Jacquard (1752-1834) perfected the jacquard mechanism, which could be attached to a hand loom in order to allow the weaver to create more realistic designs. Weaving was considered a man's profession, and most weavers also made carpets or farmed for extra income. Women were not involved in professional weaving (although they did weave in the home), but sometimes provided hand-spun and dyed wool for their coverlet. Coverlets were often made for special occasions, such as weddings, and were among the family's cherished possessions. After the Civil War the popularity of jacquard coverlets dwindled as the textile industry was fully mechanized.

Baum-Longworth-Sinton-Taft House

This Federal house in the Palladian style was begun about 1820 for Martin Baum (1765-1831), one of Cincinnati's early merchants. Art patron and abolitionist Nicholas Longworth (1782-1863) lived there for more than thirty years and commissioned the notable landscape murals in the foyer painted by African-American artist Robert S. Duncanson (1821-1872). Iron magnate David Sinton (1808-1900), the subsequent owner, bequeathed the house to his daughter Anna Sinton Taft (1852 circa-1931). She and her husband Charles Phelps Taft (1843-1929), older half-brother of President William Howard Taft (1857-1930), assembled the acclaimed art collection displayed in the home. William Howard Taft accepted his party's nomination for president of the United States from the portico of the house in 1903.

Black Swamp Photographs

This photograph depicts a field in Paulding County, Ohio in the process of being cleared for farming. Paulding County was part of the Black Swamp, an area of northwestern Ohio from the Maumee River to Fort Wayne, Indiana that both American Indians and white settlers avoided because of its knee-deep mud and mosquitoes. Settlers began draining the swamp and clearing the large burr oak and American elm trees in the 1840s and 1850s. The process began with clearing the trees, but it often took years to remove the stumps and dig ditches to drain the water.

Buckeye Land Company Housing Photographs

Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company created the Buckeye Land Company to develop sites and build affordable housing for its employees. In 1917 the Mahoning Valley's leading steel companies began constructing housing for their employees to rent or own in response to shortages of decent, affordable housing. In the aftermath of the 1916 steel strike and riot (when several blocks of East Youngstown were burned to the ground) the steel companies hoped that offering steelworkers the chance to rent or own a home would promote stability within the workplace and the community.

Butter Molds

These butter molds were used by the Ursuline Sisters of Brown County. They range in size from 2.25 to 3.5 inches (5.71 by 8.89 cm) across. The handle measures 5 inches (12.7 cm). Rural women in the nineteenth century frequently supplemented their income by making and selling eggs and butter. Molds were used as the final step in butter making. Butter was packed into the wooden mold and pushed through the cylindrical housing to create a shape.

Cedar Point Amusement Park Photographs

These prints depict Cedar Point Amusement Park at the end of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. The images include a beach scene, the Racer roller coaster, rolling chairs on the boardwalk, and the Main Pavilion and boardwalks, showing the various leisure activities available at Cedar Point. One photograph, with G.A. Boeckling in the foreground, shows the dredging of the lagoons to provide greater access for ferries. Another depicts the Breakers Hotel under construction. Cedar Point's history as an entertainment venue began in 1870, when German immigrant Louis Zistel opened a beer garden and bathhouse. Men and women bathed in Lake Erie, separated from each other by screens, and picnicked in the meadows and woods.

Champion Reaping and Mowing Machines Brochure

This sixteen-page catalog advertises Champion reaping and mowing machines manufactured by Warder, Mitchell & Co. of Springfield, Ohio. The brochure claims that the company offers the "most reliable harvester in America" and includes information on the features of the machine and how to use it. The production of the Champion line was eventually taken over by the firm of Warder, Bushnell & Glessner, which was one of the five firms that formed the International Harvester Company in 1902.

Christian Moerlein Brewing Company Advertisement

This circa 1901 advertisement for the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company of Cincinnati touts the "purity, flavor and health-giving qualities" of their product. The Christian Moerlein Brewing Company was founded by Christian Moerlein, who traveled to America in 1841 to work as a blacksmith. Moerlein began brewing European-style beers in the back of his blacksmith shop. His beers became so popular that Moerlein established the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company in 1853 in Cincinnati. The company was one of the most successful pre-Prohibition breweries in the United States.

Christianity in the Kitchen: A Physiological Cook Book

Christianity in the Kitchen, which represents the beginning of the domestic science movement, discusses good nutrition and its relationship to moral and ethical values. Mary Mann discouraged the consumption of processed and fatty foods, labeling them "death in the pot." In accordance with her temperance beliefs, alcohol was one of the ingredients she would not use, along with butter, vinegar, and baking soda. Christianity in the Kitchen is 189 pages. The index and preface are digitized here, as well as chapters on "Gluten," "Cooking of Meats," "Beverages," "Yeast, Bread, Griddle Cakes, Muffins, Waffles, etc.," "Puddings," and "Diet for the Sick." Mary Tyler Peabody Mann (1807-1887), wife of Antioch College president and educational reformer Horace Mann, shared her husband's views on education. Before their marriage, Mary Peabody joined with her sister, kindergarten movement leader Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, to establish a girl's school in Brookline, Massachusetts. Mary married Horace Mann at Elizabeth's West Street Bookstore in Boston in 1840, which had also been the site of her younger sister Sophia's marriage to Nathaniel Hawthorne. Mary Mann traveled to Yellow Springs, Ohio with her husband in 1852 when he accepted the position as president of Antioch College. After his death in 1859 she returned to live with her sister in Boston and remained active in social reforms, including suffrage, education reform, and American Indian rights.

Energy Building Vitamins in White Castle Hamburgers Poster

This "Energy Building Vitamins in White Castle Hamburgers" poster was part of White Castle's successful campaign to promote the nutritional value of its signature product and change the public's perception of hamburgers from unpalatable ground meat to "America's favorite food." The 14" by 22" (35.56 by 55.88 cm) poster from the White Castle collection documents the company's innovative marketing strategy. In the 1920s, White Castle introduced the concept of fast food, chain restaurants and "sliders" to the American people. Billy Ingram and Walter Anderson founded the White Castle restaurant chain in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921. Seeking a more central location as the business expanded, Ingram moved the headquarters to Columbus in 1934, thus earning the city the title "Hamburger Capital of the World." Part of White Castle's success can be attributed to its innovative production equipment, marketing strategies, and trademark steel and porcelain enamel buildings.

Etch A Sketch

The Etch A Sketch toy was invented by Frenchman Arthur Granjean in the late 1950s. Ohio Art Company of Bryan, Ohio bought the rights and the Etch A Sketch was first produced on July 12, 1960. It contains aluminum powder and plastic beads behind its glass screen. Two knobs control a stylus that runs through the powder, leaving black marks on the screen. Shaking the toy re-coats the screen with the aluminum powder, erasing the image. This Etch A Sketch, produced around 1975, measures 12 by 9 by 2 inches (30.48 by 22.86 by 5.08 cm).

Execution of Edward Webb Documents

Edward Webb, an African American farmer and possibly a veteran of the Civil War, was convicted of the murder of William S. Finney, an elderly white farmer, in 1878. Although he maintained his innocence until his death, Webb was hanged for the crime. The hanging drew crowds in Mansfield that were estimated at between 10,000 and 15,000. Afterwards, public outcry against the gruesome show led to the end of public hangings in Mansfield. This collection is significant as a record of race relations in small-town Ohio in the late-nineteenth century. In addition, it shows the character of the time, in that public hangings were a spectacle not to be missed.

Forest City Motor Car Company Catalog

This Forest City Motor Car Company catalog was published in 1906. It gives prices, descriptions, and sketches for the Jewell Model B Runabout and the Model C Stanhope. It also includes instructions for operating the cars. The catalog contains eleven pages and measures 5" x 7.75" (12.70 x 19.69 cm). Herbert A. Croxton (1871-1940) was the president of Massillon Iron and Steel Company and Massillon Bridge and Structural Company. In 1905, he became the president and treasurer of the Forest City Motor Car Company, the company responsible for manufacturing the Jewell automobile. (After 1907, the name was changed to Jewel). The company produced approximately 1,000 cars between 1906 and 1910. In 1909, Forest City Motor Car Company was merged with Keeton Town Car Works to become Croxton-Keeton Motor Car Company. The company folded in 1913. After 1913, Herbert A. Croxton served as a Massillon rubber company executive.

Fourth of July Celebration Poster

This poster advertises the 1871 Fourth of July celebration in Elmore, Ohio. The poster, which measures 48" x 32" (121.92 x 81.28 cm), lists the order of exercises, officers of the day, committee of arrangements, and contests. The oration was given by the Honorable George W. Keightley, a local attorney. The day began with "a salute of 100 guns...fired at sunrise" and participants were lured with the promise that "a handsome pipe will be given to the man who smokes an ounce of tobacco in the shortest time." Image courtesy of Dan Laity.

Fremont Trinity Evangelical Church Cook Book

The first 51 pages of a cookbook created by the Dorcas Circle Class of the Trinity Evangelical Sunday School in Fremont, Ohio, are shown here. The complete cookbook is 183 pages in length and measures 6" x 9" (15 x 22 cm). Household hints, proverbs about food and eating, and advertisements for local businesses and national companies are included. More than half the recipes are for cakes, pies, cookies, and other sweets. The cookbook was printed locally, and many of the recipes indicate the name of the person submitting them. Also printed in the book is a photograph of the church, now known as Trinity United Methodist Church.

Give Mother A Night Off Poster

White Castle's "Give Mother A Night Off" poster was developed to introduce the nation's housewives to its products and convenient carry-out service. Fictional spokeswoman "Julia Joyce," played by various actresses, gave local housewives and women's clubs tours of the restaurants and samples of company products. The company also published menu books containing suggestions of foods to serve with White Castle hamburgers. This 14" by 22" (35.56 by 55.88 cm) poster from the White Castle collection document the company's innovative marketing strategy. In the 1920s, White Castle introduced the concept of fast food, chain restaurants and "sliders" to the American people. Billy Ingram and Walter Anderson founded the White Castle restaurant chain in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921. Seeking a more central location as the business expanded, Ingram moved the headquarters to Columbus in 1934, thus earning the city the title "Hamburger Capital of the World." Part of White Castle's success can be attributed to its innovative production equipment, marketing strategies, and trademark steel and porcelain enamel buildings.

Gold Star Mothers Quilt

This quilt was made by Mrs. Earl E. Shaeffer of Zanesville, Ohio around 1945. It measures 68" x 88" (172.72 x 223.52 cm) and is a Star of Bethlehem pattern. Each segment of the star has the name of a military person from Muskingum County who died during World War II. The quilt was property of the Gold Star Mothers Club of Muskingum County. Club members were mothers of military personnel who died during World War I and World War II. The organization was named for the gold star that families hung in their windows when a family member was killed in the war. Mrs. Shaeffer's son, Charles Shaeffer, died in France on June 12, 1944.

Grand Lake St. Marys Postcards

Four 3.5" x 5" (8.89 x 12.7 cm) postcards document scenes along Grand Lake St. Marys in Mercer County. The first shows the lighthouse at Northwood, located on the north shore of the lake between St. Marys and Celina. Three other postcards include images of a street along the west shore, a swimming beach, and a bird's eye view of the shoreline near Celina. Grand Lake St. Marys was the largest man-made lake in the world when it was built in 1845. The 13,500-acre lake was built to feed water into the Miami-Erie Canal when water levels fell below five feet. The lake took seven years to build and includes fifty miles of shoreline. It became a state park in 1949.

Grow Your Own Victory Garden Poster

This poster, titled "Grow Your Own," encourages Americans to create victory gardens during World War II. The poster measures 19" x 21" (48.26 x 53.34 cm). During World War II (1941-1945), many people supplemented the food they had available for personal use by planting vegetable gardens, both to support the war effort and due to food shortages and rationing. The gardens were promoted widely by the government and industry, and were known as "victory gardens" due to their importance to the war effort. Gardens were planted during World War I as well, but were called "war gardens" until the end of the war, when the term "victory garden" came into use.

Hadley Abolitionist Quilt

This quilt was made in 1842 by Quaker women of Clinton County, Ohio and Wayne County, Indiana. These women had been disowned by the mainstream Quaker meetings due to their anti-slavery activities. Although the Quakers were opposed to slavery, they did not want their members to take an active role in the emancipation movement. The women who made the quilt were all members of the Indiana Yearly Meeting of Anti-Slavery Friends, which was comprised of twelve Monthly Meetings in Indiana and Ohio. Rebecca Harvey Hadley of Clinton County, who along with her daughters signed the quilt, was related to several of the signers from Indiana. By the later 1850s, the anti-slavery Quaker groups disbanded and rejoined the mainstream Quaker movement.

Heisey Glass Catalog

This 1896 catalog was one of the first published by the A.H. Heisey Company of Newark, Ohio. Tableware for entertaining was elaborate around the turn of the twentieth century. In addition to standard table items, the company produced pieces specifically designed to serve mustard, pickles, celery, olives, custard, and jelly. Dishes for salt, sugar, nuts, and butter were produced in both large and individual-serving sizes. Bowls, called nappies, also came in multiple sizes.

Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Warren G. Harding and Harvey Firestone Camping Trip Photographs

These two photographs show automobile manufacturer Henry Ford, inventor Thomas Edison, President Warren G. Harding and rubber manufacturer Harvey Firestone, during a camping trip in 1921.

I.O.O.F. Temple Dedication Souvenir Book

Represented here are 41 pages of the 64-page souvenir booklet that was created for the 50th anniversary of one of the oldest secret fraternal organizations in Stark County, the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.). The group sponsored a Grand Lodge Meeting in May of 1895. This booklet gives the historical background of the society, a list of its lodges, auxiliaries, officers, and committees, and the program for the dedication ceremony. This booklet also contains pictorial advertisements of industries and hotels, photographs of area schools and public buildings, and snapshots of the downtown area. The booklet measures 9" x 6.5" (22.86 x 16.51cm).

Kraut Cutter

Thomas Reighter of Briceton, Ohio, a blacksmith, made this kraut cutter in 1899. His family used it to make sauerkraut. The cutter, a 20 by 21-inch (50.80 by 53.34 cm) wooden box that holds two heads of cabbage, was placed over a large crock. Cabbage was placed in the box, and the handle was turned, forcing the cabbage through sharp slicing blades. Shredded cabbage fell into the crock, where it was salted and compressed, then left to ferment. Cabbage was a major crop in Paulding County, in part due to the large German population. Sauerkraut is a German word meaning sour cabbage. Although they did not invent it, sauerkraut was a popular food among Germans. Making sauerkraut preserved cabbage so that it could be eaten during the winter months.

Lily Martin Spencer Painting "First Stew"

"First Stew" is an example of the domestic genre paintings produced by Lily Martin Spencer (1822-1902) in the second half of the nineteenth century. It shows a young, seemingly distressed woman, perhaps newly married, preparing a stew in what is presumably a Victorian kitchen. The painting is 15" x 18" (38.10 x 45.72 cm). Lily Martin was born in England. Her family settled near Marietta when she was eight years old. She studied with Sala Bosworth and Charles Sullivan, both prominent Marietta artists. After seeing an exhibition of her works in 1841, art patron Nicholas Longworth helped to arrange further training in Cincinnati where she studied with Henry Beard and John Insco. She married Benjamin Spencer in 1844; he worked as her business manager so that his wife could devote herself to her painting, which was the family's major source of income.

Malabar Farm

Malabar Farm was the home of Ohio author, farmer, and conservationist Louis Bromfield. Bromfield (1896-1956) received the Pulitzer Prize for his book Early Autumn in 1927 and wrote 30 best-selling books during his 32-year literary career. In 1939, he created his dream, Malabar Farm, where he could demonstrate sound soil and water conservation practices and teach others about sustainable agriculture. Many Hollywood celebrities visited the farm. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were married there. Bromfield's 32-room country mansion is preserved exactly the way he left it upon his death in 1956 and includes personal artifacts, books, photographs, original paintings, antique furniture, and a 914-acre working farm complete with livestock and crops

Mansfield Reformatory Postcards

In 1884, the Ohio legislature voted to build an intermediate penitentiary and chose Mansfield as the site. Well-known Cleveland architect Levi Scofield designed the massive structure. It was also the sight of much human drama, including a riot in 1957, the murder of the head of the prison farm and his family by former inmates, and the suspicious death in 1950 of Helen Glattke, the warden's wife. The last inmate was moved from the prison in 1990, several years after the state determined that the prison did not meet minimum standards. Despite the demolition of a number of out-buildings, the old castle-like prison, now operated by the non-profit Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society, is still a popular tourist stop. It has also been a major stop for Hollywood; parts of a number of movies have been filmed there including, Harry and Walter go to New York, Tango and Cash, Shawshank Redemption, and Air Force One.

North Union Shaker Child's Tilter Chair

This child's chair was used by children at the North Union, Ohio Shaker community, near present-day Shaker Heights. It is a smaller version of the tilter chair used by Shaker adults. The Shakers patented a device that allowed a chair to tilt backward. This chair uses a similar device. Attached to the back legs are tilting feet that remain flat on the ground when the sitter leans back, preventing damage to the chair and the floor. The chair measures approximately 37" x 16" (93.98 cm x 40.64 cm). Although the Shakers were committed to a celibate lifestyle, they routinely cared for orphaned and homeless children. Some of the members of the community also brought children to live at North Union. Children were well-cared for by the Shaker communities. They were allowed to leave and enter the realm of the World's People at adulthood, but many of them stayed.

Palace Hotel Christmas Menu

This menu for Christmas dinner at the Palace Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio in1901 contains a list of dishes and a holiday story. Squirrel pot pie, Belgian hare, and lettuce with egg were among the foods offered. The accompanying text proclaims that "American children now enjoy the best of all the Christmas customs of the Old World."

Palace Hotel Thanksgiving Feast Menu

This menu for Thanksgiving dinner at the Palace Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1901 contains a list of dishes and a holiday story. Black bear soup, "Puritan Puffs," and Yankee maple sherbet were offered in addition to the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce.

Recipes from the Old Country and the New Cookbook

This cookbook, collected and published for the benefit of the New Straitsville Social and Athletic Club in 1910, includes advertising for local and out-of-town companies. It contains recipes, household hints, and humor ("How to Cook a Husband"). The New Straitsville Social and Athletic Club was established in 1904 by E. S. Martin. In 1905 the organization erected a three-story building that housed a gymnasium, locker rooms, bowling alley, billiard room, reading room, and game room. It also had a special "ladies room" for the nearly 40 women members. In 1907, the club was described as "the center of social activity in the village." The building was destroyed by fire in 1992.

Reeves Home

This seventeen-room home belonged to the J.E. Reeves family of Dover, Ohio. Industrialist Jeremiah E. Reeves extensively remodeled the old farmhouse when his family moved to Dover in 1900. The home contains many of the furnishings that belonged to the Reeves family. Included here are photographs of the downstairs rooms, including the entrance, parlor, living room, library, dining room, kitchen, and sitting room. Second-floor rooms included the bedroom and sitting room. The house also features a ball room on the third floor. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Rookwood Garden Pottery and Ornaments Catalog

This 16-page catalog focuses on Rookwood Pottery's garden pottery. Included are color illustrations of flower pots, fountains, and other garden ornaments. Rookwood Pottery was founded by Maria Longworth Nichols in 1880 and financed by her father. The name Rookwood comes from the name of her father's estate. Though the company started out as an amateur pottery club, it soon became one of the most important pottery manufacturing companies in Cincinnati because of its innovative glazing and firing techniques. Rookwood Pottery won many prestigious awards at expositions such as the Columbian Exposition in Chicago (1893) and the Pan American Exposition at Buffalo (1901).

Rookwood Pottery Company Architectural Department Catalog

This 1907 catalog for Rookwood Pottery focuses on the company's Architectural Department, which made decorative tiles, mantel faces, and complete mantels.

Sandusky Tool Company Planes

These planes, or carpenter's tools used for smoothing or leveling wood, were manufactured by the Sandusky Tool Company between 1869 and 1900. Four examples of planes are shown here: a number 69 filletster plane, a number 5 Lignum vitae or ironwood smoothing plane, an number 140 rosewood panel plow, and a number 135 ivory-tipped, ebony panel plow.

Shaker Two-Fingered Oval Box with Lid

The oval two-fingered box was a specialty of the Shakers, a communal sect that practiced celibacy and public confession of sins and believed in equality of all people. Craftsmen in all Shaker communities produced boxes in various sizes for storage. This one may have been used to store sewing items. It is typical of the style, with a pine top and bottom and maple sides. Construction of the oval two-fingered boxes required a series of intricate steps, including steaming the wood to make it pliable. The "fingers," which allowed the wood to expand and contract without cracking, were then nailed in place.

Tide Box Photograph

Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Company introduced Tide, the first heavy-duty detergent, in 1946. It became the market leader by 1949. This 8 by 10-inch (20.32 by 25.40 cm) image depicts the front of the box of Tide. It proclaims Tide to be the "new washing miracle" that will produce "Oceans of Suds" as well as "cleaner clothes, sparkling dishes."

Tykie Toy Tales

The first Tykie toys were produced by Richard B. and Sarah L. Grosvenor in their home in Piqua, Ohio. The couple made the toys when their son, Michael, nicknamed "Tykie," began teething. Grosvenor worked in the accounting department of the Piqua Hosiery Company until the business was absorbed by one of the other four underwear factories in the city. Grosvenor then organized a family business to manufacture toys. The business operated out of the former machine shop of Grosvenor's father, and the family lived upstairs. By 1944, the firm had fifteen employees and was shipping their products to Saks in New York and Marshall Field's in Chicago. Product names included "Baby Bunny," "Tom-Tom- Rattles" and "Billy the Bellboy."

Wirick Jacquard Woven Coverlet

This Jacquard coverlet of indigo, salmon, and green wool and natural cotton is decorated in a floral pattern with border of birds and trees.

World War II Ration Book

This three-page ration book was issued to Mary Grebuck of Youngstown, Ohio. Grebuck tore stamps from the booklet and gave them to merchants when she purchased rationed goods, such as sugar, butter, coffee, meat, and gasoline. The instructions explain that "rationing is a vital part of your country's war effort. This book is your Government's guarantee of your fair share of goods made scarce by war, to which the stamps wherein contained herein will be assigned as the need arises... Be guided by the rules: If you don't need it, DON'T BUY IT." Another purpose of rationing was to decrease consumption at home, allowing production of more materials for the war effort and preventing the jump in inflation that occurred during World War I.

Worthington Dining Table

George McCormick made this Sheraton-style dining table for Ohio political leader Thomas Worthington's home Adena. It is made of maple and walnut and decorated with curly maple veneer.

Worthington Sideboard

George McCormick made this sideboard for Ohio political leader Thomas Worthington's home Adena. The mahogany and walnut sideboard is made in the Hepplewhite style.

Wow! Radio Signal

On August 15, 1977, the Ohio State Radio Observatory located in Delaware County detected the most promising extraterrestrial signal to date. The so-called "Wow!" signal received its name from the note Dr. Jerry Ehman wrote in the margin of the computer printout. This strange signal, unique in radio astronomy history, has never been recorded again. The signal was received by the Big Ear radio telescope, which was dismantled in 1998. The telescope was the size of three football fields and stood 100 feet high. The Wow! signal is a one-page printout measuring 11" x 14" (27.94 x 35.56).

Young Housekeeper's Assistant

Eliza Ward Follett, wife of Sandusky, Ohio publisher Oran Follett, wrote The Young Housekeeper's Assistant in 1875. The book includes recipes and advice for housewives. Like her husband, Mrs. Follett served actively in the community until her death in 1876 at age 74. She worked for several charities, was active in the abolitionist movement, and served on the board of the Ladies' Library Association, the predecessor to the Library Association of Sandusky. The Follett family home, built of yellow limestone quarried locally between 1835 and 1837, is now a local history museum operated by the Sandusky Library. Oran Follett was a prominent member of Sandusky society throughout much of the nineteenth century. Born in Buffalo, New York in 1798, he moved in 1834 to Sandusky, where he lived for the next sixty years. He achieved wealth and prominence in publishing, first in western New York, and later in Ohio, where he served as editor of the Columbus Journal. He also had a role in publishing an early text of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. He was active politically, being one of the earliest members of the Republican Party. He held many official and unofficial roles in the community, including president of the Sandusky board of education, superintendent of the Ohio Board of Public Works, and president of the Sandusky, Dayton and Cincinnati Railroad.