More Fostoria Recollections from Resident Paul Carbin
October 13, 1999

This is part two of "Fostoria Recollections with Paul Carbin, a Fostoria resident since 1921.

Recreation was a lot different in the '30s and '40s. There were dances in Fostoria and at Meadowbrook Park.

Paul went to Toledo Mudhens baseball games at Swayne Field where baseball hasn't been played since 1955. Paul attended the Fostoria Redbirds games played at Fox Field, not far from the current site of Paul's home, Independence House.

One of the Redbird organizers was Fred Morgan who owned a pool hall on Main Street, Fred's Recreation. There were a number of pool halls on Main St. in those days. The Pastime on South Main was owned by Johnny Williams whose always felt poorly -- until hunting season came around that is.

"They always told the story about Johnny. He was in bad health until hunting season. Then he was very healthy. People asked his son, 'Where's your dad?' 'He went hunting.' 'No, he's feeling better.'"

The pool halls were rather different then. You could get a haircut in many of them. In the Past- time, Pap Andes, Gladys Andes' father, had a barbershop. Ray Burson had one for a time in the Smoke House.

The fellow who covered the Redbirds for the Fostoria Daily Review was another friend of Paul's Virgil "Poody" Switzer.

"Poody was a friend of mine. He was just one of the fellows. Covered all the baseball, football, track, basketball, everything else. Did a real good job. He was a very likable man."

Poody had a chance to cover a dramatic moment in Fostoria football while Paul watched from the stands.

"Pete Peters kicked the longest field goal in high school," said Paul. "He was going to punt it, but he thought 'I can drop kick it as far as I can punt it.' So he drop kicked it and it went through the goal. It won the game. He was a big, tall boy with a lot of leg."

Of course, the drop kick is a weapon long gone from the gridiron.

Prior to the Redbirds, Fostoria fielded some pretty fair amateur baseball clubs in town.

"They had a team that played at a ball diamond out by the Carbon Works. Earl Adams was a pitcher. I mean he was a pitcher. He could zip it in there. Goat Adams, they called him.

"He ended up working at the Carbon as a supervisor. He was a real nice fellow. They'd play and pass the hat."

Paul owns the distinction of being the first public address announcer for FHS football back in the days when the games were played behind the old high school.

"Floyd Kinnamen had an amplifying system on his truck. He called me to come down one night and said, 'I want to try you out on this microphone. I've got an idea. You can make some money.'

"I said, 'I'm interested.'

"He said, 'We'll go to the football game. You get about five or six local businesses at $5 or $10 apiece and we'll broadcast the game from the public amplifier.'

"I made 25 bucks that day and that was more than I made in a week. I did that for three years."

Paul can also tell you when the local commercial landscape was much different that today. For instance, the downtown area had a number of small, locally owned groceries.

At the south end was Blazer's Market. There was Albert Flechtner's meat market. Sandusky Street had Sandelbach's Grocery. The Pure Milk and Dairy was on South Street and O'Neill's was on North Main.

And all the downtown drug stores -- Central Drug at Main and Center, Cunningham's, Eaton's west side of Main, Orwig's at Tiffin and Main.

There were three men's clothiers downtown -- Peter's McDonalds and Mose Lamfrom's.

Restaurants included Mumma's (105-107 S. Main), Mogle's at South and Main, Skip Emerson's near Sandusky on Main, Bert Azaar's place on North Main, the B&O Lunch on South Main, In-O-Way's in the basement of current Ohio Bank building.

"Bert's was the largest. Stayed open all night. That's where guys used to go after they'd come off their dates. They's go in there and talk."

Lots of folks might remember the State Theater on Main Street. Fewer probably recall the Civic where the Sharing Kitchen is today. Paul's friend Andy Emerince built that theater. How many folks remember Bank Night at the movies?

"You went to the theater and signed in and at nine o'clock they'd draw a name. Both theaters had this. If you have been to the theater you'd win a prize. But if you were standing outside, you still won. You'd be surprised the people who'd stand outside the theater on Bank Night."

Today kids hang out at malls. Paul remembers when kids hung out at a tailor shop.

"There was a tailor upstairs in the Alcott Building (Park 'n Shop Lot), Bill Ellis. That was a hangout for kids. He'd leave 'em play cards, but they couldn't gamble. He liked kids.

"He also had a basketball team called Ellis Midgets. Poody Switzer played on it. They'd go play fellows that had amateur teams out of high school. He had two sone, Bill and Dick."

The Midgets played out of the YMCA.

"Gladys Andes was a good friend of Paul's. Her dad was Pap, the barber.

"Everyone knows her old house, "The big house on West Fremont Street. She was a prima donna in Chicago and New York. She had a beautiful voice. I was her executor. She sang in hotels and concerts. But she never went with Al Capone and there's no tunnel between her house and her parents' house. Gladys was a very good friend of ours."

When Paul says "ours," he's referring to himself and his wife Uldene. They wed Oct. 22, 1938, and were married over 60 years. They had one son, Mike, a retired teacher in Columbus.

One morning not long ago, on his birthday, Paul answered a knock on his door at Independence House. Three women from the staff serenaded him with "Happy Birthday."

He has a photo to commemorate the occasion, just one of the little things that has Paul liking life at Independence House just fine.

"I think it's the greatest place there is for a man my age whose wife has passed away who has to live alone. We moved here because my wife needed it. When she passed away, I wasn't capable of cooking and keeping house so I'm staying and I love it."

Paul's affection for life at Independence House is evident and so is his affection for Fostoria. We thank him for sharing his recollections with us and hope that our readers enjoyed them.