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Pix #1 - The Fostoria Steel Roofing Co. factory, once located east of the railroads, where Machine Tool and Fabrication Co. is located today.

Pix #2 - Machine Tool and Fabrication Co. building, built in 1977, and owned by Greg Ridge. The small building in left part of photo is much older building, where Strouse Pipe and Machine was in the early part of this century.

Pix #3 - Schreiner Construction now occupies former Fostoria Ice & Coal Co. building.

Pix #4 - Danielak Electric is in the building where Fostoria Union Dairy once was.

Author's Note: Today's article is the sixth and last in a series about East North Street. If you are a new reader, you will want to get the previous issues of The Review Times to know the full history of that street.

Many years ago, the railroad yards east of Cadwallader Street were made up of three systems: The Hocking Valley, that later became the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O), and is now the Chessie System; The New York Central (NYC); and the Toledo and Ohio Central (T&OC).

Today, the passenger station that served the NYC and the T&OC is used by Gray Printing as a warehouse. The old Hocking Valley Station is a silent reminder of the excellent passenger service provided by the C&O north to Detroit and south and east to Norfolk, VA.

SHEET METAL PLANT OF LAST CENTURY

On the east side of the tracks, south of East North, there once was a thriving factory. Fostoria Steel Roofing Co. manufacturers of corrugated iron and steel roofing, ceilings, siding, and eave troughs and conductor pipes.

According to The Railway Reflector, published by The Columbus, Hocking Valley and Toledo Railway Co. in 1897, that factory shipped their products to all parts of the U.S.

The factory was owned and managed by Fostorian J.L. Faulhaber, who at one time resided at 237 W. Tiffin St., where the Tony Fillator family now live. Photo #1 shows Faulhaber's factory as it appeared in The Railway Reflector.

NEW NAMES NOW IN THAT AREA

Today, in about the same location where the Fostoria Steel Roofing Co. once was there is now Machine Tool & Fabrication Co. owned and managed by Greg Ridge. Photo #2 shows that factory. They specialize in tool and die work, serving customers in a 40 mile area...principally Fostoria, Tiffin and Findlay. The factory employs six people and has been in operation for 7 1/2 years.

Directly across the street is Schreiner Construction Co. owned by Howard Schreiner and shown in Photo #3. He came here from Carey in 1948, and in 1965 bought the defunct Fostoria Ice & Coal Co. building, that dates back to earlier days. Large quantities of ice were manufactured for home and commercial refrigerators, and for packing perishable food products during shipment, prior to the advent of refrigerated rail cars.

REMEMBER THE OLD ICE DAYS

Older readers will remember the ice wagons that covered out town, delivering chunk ice in various sizes for home refrigerators...and they will also recall how "we" waited on the wagons hoping to get a sliver of ice to cool our tongues in summer.

Fostoria Ice & Coal Co. was owned by Messers, Clore and Clink. They also sold coal as their name implied.

Photo #3 shows the Schreiner building with the new front added, after Schreiner purchased it. When I visited and talked to Schreiner I saw again the area where water was frozen in large metal containers.

Schreiner bought the building from the Clore family after his death and when the ice business had dwindled. Mr. Clink had died earlier.

SOUDER WORKED AT ICE HOUSE FOR 25 YEARS

Kenneth Souder, residing at 11473 W. Jackson TR 41, who worked for Fostoria Ice & Coal Co. for 25 years was the last employee on the job before it closed. Souder not only had an ice route and worked in the coal division, but managed the business the last 12 years before it closed. Others who worked there were Randall Duffey and John Rossman during the latter days.

In the far right of Photo #3 can be seen the building where Danielak Electric Inc. is located. It is the same building where The Union Dairy was from 1919 to 1957, at which time it was sold to Babcock Dairy, Toledo. Jack Reeves and O.E. Duckworth were the principals in Union Dairy. Both are deceased. Potluck articles about Union Dairy and others were in The Review Times May 17-24, 1979.

ELECTRIC CONTRACTOR IN OLD DAIRY BUILDING

Donald A. Danielak came to Fostoria from Florida and established his business 25 years ago, locating in the old dairy building.

He and his employees install electrical equipment and systems for industrial and commercial customers in northwestern Ohio.

I must mention again, that many times as a lad, I went to Union Dairy and got a half gallon of buttermilk fresh from the churn (real buttermilk) for only 5 cents.

Just east of the building now occupied by Danielak Electric, there exists a large concrete, covered by a roof at an elevation of about 20 feet. Jesse Green, a well-known Fostorian, who once owned that plot of ground, thought that if he had it erected, he could rent parking spaces for employees at Union Carbide plant about a block away. The idea never caught on.

LOOK AGAIN AT PHOTO #2

In the left portion of Photo #2 can be seen a smaller building near Machine Tool & Fabrication. It is the same building that A.F. Strouse had Strouse Pipe & Machine Co., starting back in the early part of this century. First listed in a 1919-20 directory, he may have been there earlier, but was not listed in 1915-16 directory. His business was still listed in the 1941 directory. The Strouse at one time lived at 439 E. North but later moved to 739 N. Main St., their home until both died. They has one son Alga "Al" who was a football player under coach Boles.

Alga has a tire and accessory business on Main Street many years ago, and later was in business in Canton. He too is deceased.

Others to occupy the Strouse building in Photo #2 were: National Traffic Control Co., Inc. and Hummel Motor Sales.

OLD RESIDENTS SOME MAY REMEMBER

Readers are always interested in knowing who lived at certain addresses in years past. Here are those who lived in the 500 block of East North at various times from about 1914 until early 1940's: (500) Linus Beck; (501) C. M. Mergenthaler, C. Melvin Ridge, Alpheus Reeves, Harry D. Cramer, (505) Lynn E. McClung, Jas T. Harris; (511) Jas. T. Brightwell, Ray Opperman, John W. Flechtner. (512) Terry M. Segner, Gerald Tong. (513) Thomas Beck, B.F. Agnes, Harold Lusk. (514) Wilbert H. Reynolds, W.P. Adams, Karl W. Johnson. (515) David L. Slesh, Cliff Stocker. (516) Thomas Beck, Wilbur Nixon. (517) E.J. Wagner, Robert Trafelet, Mel Braxter, Carl C. Meyers. (519) W.I. Shale, H.C. Mergenthaler, E.C. Mercer, W.F. McDonald, Robert T. Kroetz. (520) Fred Shifler. (523) Robert E. Doty, Linus R. Schalk. (524) John F. Kroetz. (531) B.L. Miller, John Cocoran, Earl M. Good, Frank Pingle. (534) Chas. Brickel. (535) Lester Switzer. (542) Lloyd Arnold, Fred Buckingham. (553) Henry Lawrence. (554) Haskell D. Rader, Harry G. Cramer, Dwight T. Dunn. (555) W.H. Ogg, Wlater Merrick, Ira Reynolds, Monroe W. Seel. (559) Jackson A. Rowe, H.R. Bateson, Vila Rathfelder.

READERS FEEDBACK AGNES PUGH ADDS TO PERRY STREET HOUSE

Pugh, a resident of Tiffin, but employed at Ohio Bureau of Employment Services, Fostoria, telephoned to add her appreciation for the articles about the McDonel House, and to add a few comments.

Being a part of the family of the Baxters who lived in the house prior to the Thirtys, she often visited there. She said the Baxters had made considerable changes in the house during the 24 years they lived there, including residing the exterior. According to Pugh, the Baxters purchased the house in 1948. She said Mrs. Baxter always had the entry hall and the sitting room halfway up the front stairs, beautifully decorated at Christmas.

ONE READER DIDN'T KNOW HOUSE BY PHOTO

At leat one reader...Chet Kieffer, 499 Park, couldn't guess the location of the photo of the McDonel house on Perry St. He said he tried without looking in the article but couldn't guess it. He did enjoy the aricle and the pictures.

RUTH GWINER FRIENDS OF BAXTERS

Gwiner, 924 Leonard St., told me that she and Ida Baxter, once owner of the Perry Street McDonel house, worked together at A&P on West Center. Gwiner said she visited in the Baxter home many times, and recalls the beautiful rooms.

TURKS LIVED THERE TOO

Marge Mauer, 737 N. Union, was another to telephone about the old McDonel house on Perry St. She too visited there...when the Charles Turk family resided there. She and the Turk's daughter were friends. Mr. Turk was an employee at Seneca Wire when they lived there.

READERS RESPOND TO PERRY STREET HOUSE ARTICLE

Publication of the story about the McDonel house, once on Perry Street, but demolished to make way for Commercial Bank expansion, drew quick response... all of whom expressed opinions that "fine old homes should be preserved"

Mrs. Scherger, rural Amsden, informed me that I had erred by naming Mrs. Carl Reed, mother of Charles, as the daughter of E.J. Cunningham. She informed me that she knew both Charles and his mother.

Not doubting Scherger's word, I wanted to see what Mrs. Reed's obituary contained about her lineage. Microfilm at the library disclosed that Charles Reed's mother's name was Anna and her parents were Charles and Clara (Cunningham) Gribble. Mrs. Charles Gribble, was a daughter of E.J. Cunningham, not Mrs. Reed as stated in the article. Charles Gribble was a well-known Fostorian and still remembered by many.

MRS. TRUMAN FRUTH PROVIDES INFORMATION

Fruth, residing on County Road 587, read the first installment about the McDonel house, and telephoned to tell me more about the Baxters. She said they lived in that house for 20 t0 30 years and are now residing at 835 18th Street, No. 409, Villamore, Fl. She also said that when the Baxters were in Fostoria, Mrs. Baxter worked at A&P on West Center Street, and her husband worked for an out-of-town ice cream manufaturer as a truck driver.

The reason Mrs. Fruth knew about the Baxters is because she lived with her parents across the screet. Her name then was Pauline Ward.