Feb 02

Happy Groundhog Day!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Punxsutawney, PA, postcard, early 2000s.

What will the groundhog predict today? What will groundhog Punxsutawney Phil’s weather forecast be for the next six weeks? Will he see his shadow?

Will there be six more weeks of Winter? Or six weeks until Spring?

Does it really matter? Is there really a difference between those two predictions?

Probably not.

I am writing this on Thursday and by the time you read this on the morning of Friday, February 2nd, we will probably know the ground hog’s prognostication.

This is the way it works. If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If Phil does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.

Punxsutawney, PA, postcard back, early 2000s.

Just how accurate is this groundhog? Phil is accurate about 40% of the time, according to weather experts. Phil predicts six more weeks of Winter weather more often than he predicts an early Spring.

Why February 2nd? The tradition goes back to the Celts in Europe centuries ago, when they celebrated four days this time of year, the midpoint between the Winter solstice and Spring equinox.

In Pennsylvania, groundhog weather-forecasting dates back to German households in the 1840s. German immigrants in the Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, area celebrated the mid-winter holiday in the 1880s by hunting and eating groundhogs and picnicking. The name Punxsutawney is derived from the Native American word meaning “town of sandflies” or “town of mosquitoes.” Today it is the town of groundhogs. 

The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club was organized in 1899 and they care for Phil in a special burrow beside the Punxsutawney Memorial Library.  

Punxsutawney, PA, postcard, early 2000s.

Groundhog Day has been an annual tradition in Punxsutawney since 1887, held at Gobblers’ Knob. The Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club plans the ceremony and events each year, as well as caring for and feeding Punxsutawney Phil. The grounds at Gobblers’ Knob open at 3 a.m. and thousands gather to see the early morning event.

Punxsutawney, PA, postcard, early 2000s.

Our son Jeff went to Gobblers’ Knob in the early 2000s to join the Groundhog Day celebration. He said there were a lot of people there having a very good time. And he said it was cold. I asked him to get me a souvenir and he got me several postcards (shown here) and this cute hand-painted pin.

Punxsutawney Phil Groundhog Day pin.

Although some animal lovers think groundhogs are cute, adorable little critters, farmers consider them a detrimental, and even dangerous nuisance. They are a burrowing, destructive animal. They eat soybeans in the field and they dig and burrow deep holes in the ground that can be hazardous for farmers driving farm equipment. They can weaken a building foundation and chew tubing and wires. They also eat garden plants, alfalfa, clover, most garden vegetables, bark, twigs, and seedlings. Their only redeeming characteristic is that they eat grubs, snails, and other insects. They are fair game around here.

Groundhogs are the largest species in the squirrel family, weighing from 6-12 pounds. They live from 3-6 years and their incisors continue to grow throughout their lifetime. They can climb and swim.

Punxsutawney, PA, postcard, early 2000s.

Groundhogs have a shrill, high-pitched whistle and are sometimes called whistle-pigs. They are also called land-beavers or woodchucks.

They hibernate from October until Spring, and that is probably why Punxsutawney Phil looks so grumpy when they take him out of his cage on 2 February. Note that the handler in the fancy suit and top hat always wears very heavy gloves.  

My grandma Schumm really disliked ground hogs on the farm. They burrowed under their barn and in the fields, especially in the area to the back of the farm, by the old railroad track. She wanted them gone and my hubby Joe was more than happy to help with pest control.

It was sunny today, February 1st, and it will probably be sunny tomorrow, Groundhog Day. Since Phil’s forecast won’t make a lot of difference weather-wise, I’ll take another day of sunshine. January was a rather cloudy, foggy month. We can use some more sunshine.

Source of some information: “When is Groundhog Day 2024? What to know about the decades-old winter prediction tradition,” Jana Hayes, The Oklahoman, 1 Feb 2024.

Jan 30

Tombstone Tuesday-Christian Kable

Christian Kable, Kessler/Liberty Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. (2024 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Christian Kable, located in row 12 of Kessler Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Christian
Gestorben
June 10, 1876
Alt 3 Jahre
6 Mo, 12 Tag
Kinder von F & C Kable

Christian, died 10 June 1876, age 3 years, 6 months, 12 days. Children of F & C Kable.

According to the records at Zion Lutheran, Chattanooga, Ohio, Christian Kable was born in Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, on 28 November 1872, the son of Frederick and Catharine (Koch) Kable. Christian was baptized 1 January 1873, with Christian Kesseler his wife serving as his sponsors. 

According to his tombstone Christian Kable died 10 June 1876, age 3 years, 6 months, and 12 days.

A lamb is carved at the top of the tombstone, a common symbol on the gravestone of a young child or infant.

This tombstone is very weathered and nearly impossible to read. Find a Grave.com has a photo of the stone, taken a few years ago, which is more legible.

The tombstone is a double tombstone for two Kable siblings, Christian and his sister Katharine. Next week, Katharine Kable’s tombstone.

Siblings Christian & Katharine Kable, Kessler/Liberty Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. (2024 photo by Karen)

Christian Kable had the following siblings:
Jacob Kable (1865-1946)
Christina Kable (1867-1939), married John A. Baumgartner
Frederich Kable (1870-1934), married Mary Ann Wendel
Katharine Kable (1876-1876) 
Johann Heinrich Kable (1877-1957), married Viola L. Baumgartner

Jan 26

Willshire Neon Sign Shines Once Again

If you lived in or near Willshire about 60-70 years ago you may remember this neon sign.

State Auto Insurance sign (2024 photo)

This beautiful sign once shone brightly in the window of a home-based Willshire business on Green Street, the Hoblet Insurance Agency.

Today it is a predominate feature at the State Auto Insurance Headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. 

State Auto sign & plaque, Columbus, OH (2024 photo)

I want to thank Kyle Anderson for sharing the story of this neon sign. Kyle is the son of Rev. Gary Anderson (1945-2013) and his wife Mary Lou. Pastor Gary was Zion Chatt’s minister from 1978-1993. He baptized our son Jeff in 1982 at Zion Chatt.

Kyle is an Assistant Vice President, in Marketing and Communications at State Auto Insurance. Their corporate headquarters is in Columbus, Ohio.

In 2021 one of Kyle’s State Auto colleagues learned that her neighbor had a neon State Auto sign in their attic, and State Auto could have the sign if they were interested. State Auto Insurance was celebrating their 100th anniversary at the time and Kyle was responsible for the centennial activities, so he jumped at the opportunity to obtain the sign.

Then Kyle learned that the sign had once hung in the front window of a home-based agency in Willshire! What a surprise!

State Auto/Kyle received the sign in 2022 and had it completely restored. The Columbus State Auto headquarters building was being renovated at that time and there was no good place to hang the sign right then. But late last year the sign was mounted in a prominent location off the lobby. A few weeks ago they mounted a plaque next to the sign. The plaque details the background and history of the sign:

Inscribed on plaque near neon State Auto sign, Columbus, OH (2024 photo)

According to the 1950 census, Vernon Hoblet, 47, was an insurance salesman in Willshire. Vernon’s wife Wilma C, 45, was the other person in the household. [1]

Prior to 1956 the State Auto sign hung in the window of the Vernon Hoblet home on Green Street. From 1956-1967 it hung in the home of his daughter, Phyllis Bollenbacher. 

This Hoblet Insurance Agency ad was in the 1957 Willow, Willshire School’s yearbook:

Hoblet Insurance Agency, Willshire, 1957 Willow

This ad was in the 1964 Almega, Parkway Local School’s yearbook. Note that their telephone number has changed:

Hoblet Insurance Agency, 1964 Almega

State Automobile Insurance Company was formed in Columbus, Ohio, by Robert Pein in 1921, the first home-office casualty company. Pein wanted a new kind of insurance company with reasonable rates and prompt, fair claim service. State Auto offers insurance in 33 states through approximately 3400 independent agents and agencies.

Neon signs are beautiful and have been around for some time. The first neon signs date back to 1910 and they became popular in the United States in the 1920s through the 1950s.

Thank you, Kyle, for sharing the photos and the story and for preserving a piece of Willshire (and State Auto) history.  

[1] 1950 U.S. Census, Ohio, Van Wert County, Village of Willshire, ED 81-38, sheet 282 (stamped), Vernon Hoblet; Ancestry.com.

Jan 23

Tombstone Tuesday-John A. Baumgartner

John A. Baumgartner, Chattanooga, Ohio, Mausoleum.

This is the burial chamber of John A. Baumgartner, located in the Chattanooga Mausoleum, east of Chatt on the edge of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The chamber is inscribed:

John A. Baumgartner
1864-1917

John A. Baumgartner was born in Adams County, Indiana, 20 April 1864, the son of John Baumgartner and [?] Amstutz. [1] [2]

John Baumgartner, age 41, married Christina Kable (1837-1939) in Mercer County on 25 August 1905. Christina was the daughter of Frederick (1817-1886) and Catharine (Koch) (1837-1911) Kable. According to their marriage license, John Baumgartner had been married once before and was living in Fort Recovery when he married Christina. [1]

John Baumgartner, 52, died in Van Wert on 30 October 1917. He was a salesman and according to his death certificate he died of a cerebral hemorrhage. John Baumgartner’s brother-in-law John Kable provided the information for Baumgartner’s death certificate. [3]   

Notice of John’s death appeared in the Decatur Daily Democrat, reprinted from the Van Wert Bulletin:

HAS RELATIVES HERE
The remains of J.A. Baumgartner of near Rockford, who dropped dead due to heart failure in this city, Tuesday afternoon, have been removed to his home. The deceased was sitting in the Herman Miller shoe shop on East Main Street, engaged in conversation, when he unexpectedly fell from his chair and died in a few moments. Mr. Baumgartner had been engaged in selling oil burners for furnaces in this city during the past month. A wife and one daughter survive him. He was about fifty years of age.-Van Wert Bulletin. The deceased was a brother of Mrs. Frank Boyer of this city. [4]

John Baumgartner’s sister, mentioned above as Mrs. Frank Boyer, was Sarah (Baumgartner) Girod Boyer. [5] Sarah married Charles Dibble in 1920. Sarah (1866-1939) was born and died in Indiana.

In 1920 John Baumgartner’s widow, Christina (Kable) Baumgartner, lived with her widowed brother John H. Kable and his children. John H. Kable’s wife, Viola (Baumgartner) had died in 1918.

Unfortunately, that is about all the information I have been able to find and confirm about John A. Baumgartner.

Many questions about John remain unanswered: Were John and Fannie his parents? Who was his first wife? Who was his daughter and was she born from his first marriage? Where was he living all these years, since he appears to be absent or nearly impossible to locate in census enumerations? Was John related to John H. Kable’s wife Viola Baumgartner? 

[1] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016,” Mercer, Vol. 9, p.152, John Baumgartner & Christena Kable, 25 Aug 1905; digital image, FamilySearch.org.

[2] John’s parents may have been John Baumgartner and Fannie Amstutz, who married 11 November 1856 in Allen County, Ohio, per Ohio, U.S., Compiled Marriage Index, 1803-1900, Allen County, John Bumgardner [sic] & Fanny Amstutz, 11 Nov 1856; Ancestry.com.

[3] “Ohio Deaths, 1840-2001,” Van Wert County, Jno A. Baumgartner, 30 Oct 1917; FamilySearch.org.

[4] Decatur Daily Democrat, Decatur, Indiana, 2 Nov 1917, J.A. Baumgartner; NewspaperArchive.com.

[5] Decatur Daily Democrat, p.1, Frank Boyer obituary, 28 Oct 1918; NewspaperArchive.com.

Jan 18

Lunchtime!

It was the half-way point of the school day. We were ready for a break and ready for some time to socialize with our friends and move around. We were hungry and restless. It was lunchtime!

As I was looking through this week’s Photo Star I noticed Parkway School’s breakfast and lunch menus for the following week. We did not have breakfast at school when I went to grade school, but we did have lunch and a mid-afternoon milk break, white or chocolate milk in glass bottles.

I went to elementary school at Willshire Public School. That was before Willshire and Rockford consolidated to form the Parkway Local School system.

I don’t think I ever packed my lunch. Back then the school lunch was 25¢. I purchased a lunch ticket for the whole week for $1.25 and someone would punch the ticket for that day’s lunch before entering into the lunch line. Once in the lunch line each student picked up a tray, eating utensils, and napkin and was handed a plate of food by one of the cooks.

School lunch line

I recall that the cafeteria food was pretty good, probably because our cafeteria cooks were good cooks. I liked most meal items, but I have never been a picky eater, and it shows.

Lunch in the early 1960s was not a smorgasbord. They had one scheduled meal for the day and that is what you got. No major choices.

I did have several favorite school meals.

There was the ever-popular macaroni and cheese, usually served with a peanut butter sandwich. To this day I like to have a peanut butter sandwich with macaroni and cheese.

We had two very good soups, chicken noodle and chili. I always crushed my crackers into the soup and dipped my butter bread into the hot soup. Not the best dining etiquette, but I was just a kid and it tasted good that way. Comfort food.

There were breaded fish sandwiches, usually on Friday, for those who did not eat meat on Friday. I also recall the Johnny Marzetti, meatloaf, and Sloppy Joe sandwiches.

But my very favorite food was an option at the end of the main food line, before the milk. Often times there was a large bowl of warm creamy rice pudding. There were raisins and brown sugar nearby to put on the rice and I usually sprinkled brown sugar on top, which sort of melted on the warm rice. Delicious! More comfort food.

Our school cafeteria food was pretty basic. We didn’t have pizza or tacos back then. I don’t believe I even knew what a taco was in the early 1960s.

After eating with our friends, we took our tray, plate, and utensils up to a window, where they were cleaned for the next day, and threw away our paper trash.

We had smiling, pleasant cooks at Willshire.

I have an incomplete set of The Willow, Willshire Public School’s yearbook, but looking through the copies I have, it appears the first photo of the school’s cooks was in the 1957 yearbook. The cooks that year were Effie Lautzenheiser, Ellie Regedanz, and Bertha Anderson.

Those same three cooks are pictured in the 1960 Willow:

Willshire School cooks, 1960 Willow.

Ellie Regedanz apparently retired after the 1960 school year and Beatrice Acheson replaced her.

The Willshire School cooks in the 1961 Willow:

1961 Willshire School cooks.

These were the same three cooks in 1962. In 1963 Doris Thatcher replaced Bertha Anderson.

I remember seeing their smiling faces every day at lunch. They were friendly and pleasant and obviously enjoyed interacting with the school children. These women kept the school kitchen clean and provided well-balanced, nutritious meals.

Beatrice (Hoblet) Acheson (1903-1964) was married to Gaylord Noble Acheson (1900-1952). She is buried in Willshire Cemetery. 

Bertha (Willis) Anderson (1913-2011), was born in Canada and was married to Edwin Martin Anderson. She is buried in Decatur Cemetery. [I believe this is the person who was the Willshire School cook.]

Ella M. (Huffman) Regedanz (1892-1979) was from Chatt and was married to John Regedanz (1892-1983). She was a member of Zion Lutheran, Chatt, and is buried in Riverside Cemetery, Rockford.

Effie (Cook) Lautzenheiser (1902-1990) was born in Adams County, Indiana, and was married to George Clinton Lautzenheiser (1885-1949). She is buried in Tricker Cemetery, Decatur, Indiana.  

Then after lunch we hurried off to play outside or in the gym.

Those were the days. Good old school days…