A Decade of Findlay ‘fi Rsts’ by JEANNIE WILEY WOLF Named to Honor the President of Former Curator/Archivist at the STAFF WRITER the Findlay Publishing Co
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The Courier 1950s: Findlay booming again By JEANNIE WILEY WOLF ernized and equipped with the lat- The Welfare Department took STAFF WRITER est machinery and clay processing over part of the building. The com- The decade of the 1950s may procedures. missioners considered moving the well have been the boom years of A year later, First Presbyte- county jail into the structure, too. the 20th century in Findlay. rian Church at the corner of West The jail that was in use, just south The discovery of gas and oil San dusky and West streets was of the dairy building, had become some 60 years earlier had trans- de stroyed by fire. The structure dilapidat ed. formed the small county seat into dat ed back to 1901. A new church When the Korean War broke a thriving metropolis. was built at the extreme southern out in June 1950, Findlay and Han- cock County again responded to But progress in the 1950s did edge of the city. In 1955, fire gutted the Fenster- the country’s call. not depend on mineral resources maker Block on South Main A new selective service system and luck. This time, the commu- Street. Damage was estimated at had been established in 1948 as nity made a conscious effort to $750,000. part of the national defense pro- create its own success. That same year, voters gram. Under this program, Han- Toward the end of World War approv ed a special levy to mod- cock County was directed to II, an organization called the ernize the Fire Department. create a new three-member draft Post-War Planning Committee Personnel and equipment were board to serve the entire county. was de veloped in conjunction added and a two-way communi- The Ohio National Guard, with the chamber of commerce cation system was installed with in cluding the Findlay company, to examine the possibilities for the help of the Han cock County was called into service during the economic re covery. The group Photos provided by Hancock Historical Museum Civil Defense pro gram. The Fire war. assembled facts and figures and A MAJOR MILESTONE for Findlay in the 1950s was when a highway bypass was opened in 1958 on the Department also opened two new Meanwhile, Hancock County made rec ommendations for a city’s west side at a cost of $10 million. It rerouted Old U.S. 25 (Lima Avenue) to help ease congestion stations, one at the corner of Tiffin was one of the first counties in the course of ac tion. on Main Street. and McMan ness avenues, and the state to install automatic voting The resulting plan enabled other on South Main Street to machines. Find lay to make great strides. office facilities. The old part of the of developmentally disabled chil- direct oper ations, and the name replace the old central station on Direct distance dialing also The city’s population rose to Donnell building on East Hardin dren. Classes were held at Howard Blanchard Valley Hospital was Crawford Street. was introduced to the area. 23,845 during the decade, and Street was torn down and an eight- Methodist Church. adopted. The Hancock County commis- the construction of new homes story addition was constructed. A By the end of the decade, Find- The old north wing of the hospi- sioners bought the former Page Wolf: 419-427-8419 contin ued. few years later, a nine-story build- lay College announced plans for a tal was later remodeled. One floor Dairy Co. on Broadway in 1956. [email protected] New industry that came to ing was erected nearby. $2.9 million, eight-year develop- became the Civilian Defense head- town contributed to the commu- Likewise, Cooper Tire & ment program that would add quarters. Another area housed the nity’s prosperity. Rubber Co. was engaged in a two- eight new buildings to the campus. local Red Cross chapter. Ashland Oil and Refining Co. year, $5 million expansion by the Municipal improvements were Early in the decade, the Judson Mask factory folds after 70 years be gan operations in 1950 after end of the decade. also being made. Palmer Home was built on North pur chasing the facilities of the Midway through the decade, Findlay Council approved a Main Street to provide a place for Many of Findlay’s longtime businesses prospered in the 1950s, but Na tional R efinery. Findlay’s school enrollment sky- zon ing ordinance that placed all indigent older women. Money for not all. Radio Corporation of America rocketed to more than 5,700 stu- areas within the city in different the facility was provided in the The American Mask Manufacturing Co. closed its doors after selling opened a few years afterwards. As dents. School buildings were soon catego ries, such as residential, wills of Judson and Katherine masks, false noses, wax ears, wigs and beards for 70 years. part of the RCA Tube Division, the filled to capacity. mercan tile and industrial. Palmer. Palmer had been involv ed The company was one of the top mask manufacturers in the United company manufactured electronic Voters responded by approv- In 1951, voters approved a $1.2 in the grocery business and a flour States, said Paulette Weiser, former curator/archivist at the Hancock components for televisions. ing a $2 million bond issue. million bond issue to expand the mill operation. He also served as Histori cal M useum. In 1955, the Findlay Kodak Funds were used to build Jacobs city’s sewer system. The capacity president of the Farm ers’ Bank for “They were very well known. The masks were shipped all over the Pro cessing Laboratory was com- Elemen tary School off Crystal of the waterworks plant also was a time. country,” she said. pleted to provide processing facili- Avenue, and to erect additions at doubled, and land was acquired in The Salvation Army citadel The company was started by two German immigrants, Oscar Kir- ties for movie and still film. Whittier, Northview, Washington, Marion Township for the construc- opened on Center Street during sten and Kryst Heyn. Kirsten settled in Cincinnati after coming to the Findlay Industries and the Lincoln and Adams schools. The tion of a reservoir. the period, and the Anchor Teen United States at the age of 18. He found work as a coachman and made Hy way Concrete Pipe Co. were two jun ior high schools were also A significant milestone was Cen ter was established. The Fort masks in his spare time. also founded. expand ed. achieved when a highway bypass Findlay Playhouse marked its first “Friends soon asked him to make masks for them on Halloween,” National Automotive Fibers, The number of students was constructed on the city’s west season in 1954-55. Weiser said. the first industry to locate in Find- attend ing St. Michael School side at a cost of $10 million. Old Meanwhile, the United The two men decided to come to Findlay after they heard the city lay after World War II, moved its was increasing, as well. Three U.S. 25 — Lima Avenue — was Commu nity Fund was formed to was experiencing a gas boom and was offering free fuel to businesses business out of the city in 1958. expansion projects during the re routed to the west to help ease unite the various causes that had willing to locate here. They started in a single room in the Headquar ter’s The plant was sold to the Dobeck- decade pro vided the school with traffic congestion on Main Street. been con ducting individual fund- building on South Main Street. By 1885, the company filled a three-story mun Division of Dow Chemical. a gymnasi um, a cafeteria and 21 Federal funds, local gifts and raising campaigns in Hancock building in the 500 block of West Main Cross Street. Kirsten’s brother, The Hancock County AFL-CIO classrooms. A junior high school a bond issue were used to build County. The fund initially ben- Otto, also joined the firm. Council was formed, to orga nize system was inaugurated in 1957. a new hospital in the community. efited eight agencies. In addition to linen waxed masks, American Mask had an exclusive and coordinate the efforts of local Two years later, the parish pur- The 175-bed facility opened in Several disastrous fires field in the production of papier-mache masks for several years. The labor unions. chased 12 acres on U.S. 224 east 1958 at the site of the old hos- oc curred during the decade. molds were all handmade, and almost any caricature could be produced. Meanwhile, many of Findlay’s of Findlay for future development. pital south of town. Ownership Hancock Brick & Tile was In later years, hospital masks were added to the inventory. long-established firms continued The Hancock School for was trans ferred from the city to forced to rebuild after a blaze Mask-making techniques began to change in the 1950s. Company to thrive. Re tarded Children was started in the county. The Blanchard Valley damaged the Findlay plant in of ficials decided they could no longer compete with firms that produced Ohio Oil Co. again enlarged its 1952 by a small group of parents Hospital As sociation continued to 1951. The new facility was mod- masks by machine, and closed the business. 1960s: A decade of Findlay ‘fi rsts’ By JEANNIE WILEY WOLF named to honor the president of former curator/archivist at the STAFF WRITER the Findlay Pub lishing Co. and Hancock Historical Museum. The 1960s was a decade of owner of the Republican-Courier “Cigars and patented medi- firsts for the Findlay area.