TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 675 (tribes) of the Improved Order of Red Men ; eleven lodges (tents) of the Knights of the Maccabees, with their corresponding women's benefit associations ; the Grand Court and six subordinate courts of the Foresters of America ; four courts and a legion of the Independent Order of Foresters ; eight camps of the Modern Woodmen of America ; seven camps of the Woodmen of the World ; two courts of the tribe of Ben Hur ; six councils of the National Union Assurance Society, which has its own building on Madison Avenue, and a number of lodges of colored people of various orders. The Ancient Order of Hibernians is represented by two divisions and a women's auxiliary. There is a strong council of the Knights of Columbus ; a branch (St. Martin's) of the Catholic Knights of America ; ten branches of the Catholic Knights of Ohio ; eight branches of the Catholic Ladies of Columbia, and a few organizations of other societies. CHAPTER XXXIV CIVIC, SOCIAL AND WELFARE ORGANIZATIONS MANY CLUBS IN THE CITY-TOLEDO BOARD OF TRADE-THE PRODUCE EXCHANGE-CHAMBER OF COMMERCE-THE TOLEDO CLUB-TOLEDO WOMAN'S CLUB-NEWSBOYS' ASSOCIATION-FIFTY YEAR CLUB-LUNCHEON CLUBS-THE CRIPPLED CHILDREN-THE BOY SCOUTS; THE GIRL SCOUTS-THE Y. M. C. A.-THE Y. W. C. A.-MISCELLANEOUS CLUBS. The club life of Toledo differs in no essential respect from that in other cities of its class. The latest city directory gives a list of more than one hundred and twenty clubs and societies of a miscellaneous character. A few of these are professional—as the Medical Society and Bar Association—and have been described in other chapters ; several are founded upon religious or patriotic sentiment ; some are based upon the nationality of the members, such as the various Polish societies ; and a considerable number are local or neighborhood affairs. Others may be classed as trade or commercial organizations, but they advocate principles and assist in the promotion of projects which have a tendency to improve civic and social conditions. It would be inexpedient to undertake to give a history of every club in the city. Without disparagement to any, those treated in this chapter are regarded as representative Organizations and have been selected as the best examples of Toledo's gregarious activities. TOLEDO BOARD OF TRADE Early in June, 1849, a meeting of commission men, produce dealers and others was held at the office of the elevator of Brownlee, Pendleton & Company, at which the preliminary steps were taken to organize a board of trade. Andrew J. Field, John M. Boalt and H. L. Hosmer were appointed a committee to prepare a constitution and by-laws, and Denison B. Smith, George Pendleton and D. G. Saltonstall were appointed to rent a room for holding meetings. They engaged a room in the new brick block erected by Kent, Poag & Company, at the corner of Madison Avenue and Summit Street, where a meeting was held on June 9, 1849, and the following officers were elected : Denison B. Smith, president ; Matthew Brown, Jr., vice president ; Francis Hollenbeck, secretary and superintendent ; Andrew J. Field, treasurer. The last record of this organization is dated September 21, 1849. On April 23, 1851, the second Toledo Board of Trade was formed. The constitution and by-laws of the former organization were adopted ; Matthew Brown; Jr., was elected president ; Andrew J. Field, vice president ; Harrison H. Dodd, secretary and treasurer. In June, 1851, there were twenty-four individuals and firms enrolled as members of the board. Whether the city at that time was too small to support a board of trade, or whether a general lack of interest was responsible - 677 - 678 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY for its failure, is not certain. At any rate the organization lasted for only about nine months and from 1852 to 1861 Toledo was without a board of trade, or any body of such a character. In the spring of 1861 the third board of trade was organized with Truman H. Hoag, president ; Matthew Brown, vice president ; Carlos Colton, secretary and treasurer. Although the Civil war commenced about the time this board Was formed, it continued in existence for about ten years, during which time it was influential in securing many commercial advantages for Toledo, as well as taking an active part in the inauguration of important civic improvements. THE PRODUCE EXCHANGE The Toledo Produce Exchange was organized on January 7, 1876, with the following officers : Henry D. Walbridge, president ; George Milmine and George E. Welles, vice presidents ; C. T. Wales, secretary ; Horatio S. Young, treasurer. Besides the president and two vice presidents, the first board of directors was composed of Abner L. Backus, H. E. Bangs, Miles D. Carrington, Edwin Goldsmith, Vincent Hamilton, S. C. Reynolds, William T. Walker, William H. Whitaker, E. R. Williams and Elijah Williams. As the exchange was founded upon a broader basis than the Board of Trade, it quickly supplanted that body in the city's commercial circles. In 1878 it erected the building on the northwest corner of Madison Avenue and St. Clair Street, in which it maintained headquarters for a number of years. In 1922 it occupied several rooms on the ninth floor of the Second National Bank building. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE The history of the present Toledo Chamber of Commerce dates back to 1893. In that year a Manufacturers' Association was organized, though a little later the name was changed to the Chamber of Commerce. This body had a sort of intermittent existence for several years but did not attain great popularity, mainly because it represented only certain business interests instead of the city as a whole. In 1899 it was reorganized under a new constitution and C. E. B. Lamson was elected president. He served until 1904. But the reorganized chamber, like its predecessor, was devoted to the commercial interests of its members, without much regard to the general civic welfare or the cultivation of friendship among its members. In 1906 the Business Men's Club was organized, with William C. Carr as the first president. This club secured comfortable and well appointed quarters on the sixteenth floor of the Nicholas building. It was not long until the representative men of the city learned that the Business Men's Club embodied more social features than the Chamber of Commerce and it grew in popularity. On May 9, 1910, the two were consolidated under the name of the Commerce Club, which took over the rooms of the Business Men's Club in the Nicholas building. In 1920 the name "Chamber of Commerce" was adopted, with new ideas of cooperation and friendship in business and with a line of work to correspond with the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. While operating under the name of the Commerce Club, the members were active TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 681 in war work ; the traffic bureau was organized in 1913 to look after the needs of Toledo shippers; the public research bureau was established in 1916 ; the Americanization board was formed in 1919 ; the industrial bureau was placed in operation the same year and has centered its activities upon the work of bringing new industries to the city, promoting trade through the circulation of advertising matter, and planning 'trade trips to various sections of the country. The traffic bureau has obtained a freight rate on coal which has saved the people of Toledo thousands of dollars, and a freight rate on grain which is restoring to the city much of its former prestige as a grain market. The public research bureau has investigated the city's financial condition and awakened the citizens to a greater interest in their municipal government and its affairs. The club had a membership in 1923 of three thousand. During the year 1922 more than five hundred meetings were held at the Chamber of Commerce rooms in the Nicholas building, with about thirteen thousand persons in attendance. Nearly all these meetings were accompanied by luncheons or dinners, at which the social spirit predominated, thus bringing about a better acquaintance and closer fellowship among the members and guests. There are several neighborhood commercial organizations looking after specific sectional problems and also aiding the Chamber of Commerce in its city-wide work. Probably the most active of these is the South Side Chamber of Commerce, which has a board of ten directors, each of whom looks after a certain district. This organization alone numbers over seven hundred members. In addition to these are the Auburndale, West Toledo, and East Side Chambers of Commerce, each significantly caring for local problems. Although business conditions and opportunities for improvement are the first care of these local organizations, the social side of their activities is attentively looked after. THE TOLEDO CLUB About 1877 a few Toledoans fell into the habit. of getting together in an informal manner for an exchange of ideas and'the discussion of current topics. Prominent, among them were A. W. Gleason, William L. Hoyt, Charles A. King, David R. Locke, Ralph Osborne, George E. Pomeroy, Jr., and Frank I. Young. The informal meetings were held in small room on Jefferon Avenue near Summit Street. After a time Mr. Locke proposed the formation of a regular club and the name "Draconian Club" was selected. Mr. Locke was elected the first president, and Ralph Osborne, the first secretary. Permanent quarters were obtained on Summit Street near Madison Avenue. On May 15, 1882, the club was incorporated. A few years after the incorporation the name was changed to the Toledo Club and a club house was built on the southeast corner of Madison Avenue and Huron Street. In the reorganization of the club the incorporators were : William T. Carrington, Walter N. Conant, William A. Gosline, William L. Hoyt, John. B. Ketcham (second) and Dean V. R. Manley. Mr. Ketcham was chosen president and Mr. Hoyt, secretary. During the next quarter of a century the club house was outgrown by the increase in membership and it was decided to erect a new building adequate to the demands of the organization. A site on the southwest corner of Madison Avenue and Fourteenth Street was purchased and the following members were appointed a building committee : Elmer H. Close, Morris J. Riggs, Henry L. Thompson, Walter Stewart and Thomas W. Warner. 682 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY The new home of the club was opened on June 19, 1915. It is one of the handsomest structures in the city and contains all the requisites of the modern club house—parlors, women's reception rooms, general and private dining rooms, billiard room, forty-two guest rooms, bath rooms, elevator service, etc. The cost of the building was $500,000. The Club includes in its membership a majority of the substantial business and professional men of the city. In 1922 the old club house, on the corner of Madison Avenue and Huron Street, was purchased by the Home Savings Bank as a site for a new banking institution to be erected in 1923. TOLEDO WOMAN'S CLUB What the Toledo Club is for the men, the Toledo Woman's Club is for the opposite sex. It was organized in 1892. Those most active in its establishment were : Miss Emily Bouton, Mrs. E. P. Breckenridge, Mrs. F. L. Geddes and Mrs. S. M. Jones. At first the organization was known as the Woman's Building Association. In May, 1911, the residence property at No. 2920 Cherry Street was purchased and remodeled for a club house. Among the alterations was the addition of a large auditorium, in which many of the largest social and educational gatherings of the city have since been held. The building was thrown open to the members on December 9, 1911, and the name of "Toledo Woman's Association" was adopted. The officers at that time were : Mrs. F. L. Geddes, president ; Mrs. Ben W. Johnson, first vice president ; Mrs. S. M. Jones, second vice president; Mrs. Charles P. Mettler, secretary ; Mrs. Elizabeth M. Irving, treasurer ; Miss Emily Bouton, Mrs. E. P. Breckenridge, Mrs. E. L. Camp and Mrs. Robert C. Morris, directors. In 1918 the name was changed to the "Toledo Woman's Club." At that time, as the 'club house on Cherry Street was some distance from the center of the city's business activities, a down-town center was opened at No. 427 Superior Street. This auxiliary serves as 'a place for board and committee meetings, and as a meeting place for many of the women's organizations, for the Toledo Woman's club is not selfish and its quarters are open to every women's club in the city. Its scope is civic, humanitarian and social, and its keynote is "service." The Woman's Exchange, one of the club's ventures, is located in one of the rooms of the Superior Street building. According to the "Club Year Book" for 1921-22, the membership at that time was approximately 2,500. Early in the fall of 1922 a campaign was had which greatly enlarged the membership. As this chapter is written a proposition• is before the club to dispose of the Cherry Street property and to build the new club house in a more central location, where it would be available for business and professional women who are members of the club, and for women who use the club for social purposes. NEWSBOYS' ASSOCIATION Toledo has a few organizations that are unique. One of these is the Newsboys' Association, which was founded by John Gunckel in 1892. Mr. Gunckel was the son of a veteran newspaper man—William Gunckel, for many years publisher of the "Germantown Gazette"—and became widely known as the "Newsboys' Friend." Beginning in a small way, he induced a self-governing organization among the newsboys whose controlling principles were highly ethical. In the later years of TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 685 his life the club was his vocation, and the success which he attained in elevating the ambitions and principles of his, proteges was phenomenal. Some of the leading citizens owe much to his friendship and encouragement when members of the Association. He induced a number of Toledo's successful business men to become members of the association and was the principal agent in raising $100,000 for the erection of the Newsboys' building, which is believed to be the only one of its kind in the world. This building contains a fine auditorium in which the newsboys are frequently treated on Sunday afternoons to entertainments calculated to edify as well as to amuse. Mr. Gunckel, in his lifetime, was the director of these entertainments. For their benefactor the boys had the affectionate name of "Gunck." When a show or a lecture was not to their liking, it was no unusual thing for them to shout : "Gunck, get the. hook !" which was equivalent to saying : "Please bring this part of the performance to a close." When Mr. Gunckel died more than fifteen hundred newsboys attended his funeral. The association is a permanent feature of city life, continuing very successfully on the lines laid down by its founder. At the beginning of 1923 there were 1,562 members. FIFTY YEAR CLUB Another organization peculiar to Toledo is the Fifty Year Club. Early in the spring of 1922 the Chamber of Commerce and other organizations inaugurated a "Talk Toledo Week," the primary purpose of which was to herald abroad the city's advantages as a commercial and industrial center and a desirable place to reside. During the week old residents were interviewed and their reminiscences were published in the newspapers. Out of this grew the Fifty Year Club, so called because any man or woman who has resided in the city for fifty years or more is eligible for membership. In June, 1922, the club was regularly incorporated under the laws of Ohio, and its charter is said to be the first of the kind ever issued by any state. Upon receipt of the charter, David W. McAleese was elected life-long president ; Andrew Snell, vice president ; Claude S. Rogers, recording secretary; Joseph P. Falloway, financial secretary ; Oliver S. Bond, treasurer. At that time the club boasted a membership of over two thousand. Communications were received from a number of cities asking for detailed information regarding the club, indicating that the future may see a National Association of Fifty Year Clubs, the idea of which originated in Toledo. LUNCHEON CLUBS Toledo has its quota of luncheon clubs, the members of which meet once a week for an hour of social intercourse around the table. At these meetings subjects of civic importance are discussed and the influence of these clubs can hardly be measured. Led by the Rotary Club, which was the first in the field, they have not only entered into many civic interests, but have instituted social influences which are proving exceedingly beneficial. The clubs work together in great harmony and with the least possible differences of effort and enthusiasm. Generally speaking, the membership 81 each is selected on the same basis, that is, it is restricted to one or more members of a single partnership, corporation or profession in the city's 686 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY life. The result of this sort of selection is, of course, to leave a wide field for several clubs of the same general character and having a personnel of the same general standard of excellence. Each one of the five clubs meets for noon-day luncheon at Lasalle & Koch's, the four largest in the auditorium and the other in a smaller dining room. In February, 1905, the first club of this character was organized in Chicago and was given the name of "Rotary." The idea quickly spread and soon became national in its scope and in a remarkably short time international, until at this time there is an International Rotary Association and clubs exist in all parts of the world where civilization has taken hold. The Toledo Club was organized in May, 1912, and has long been very influential in the affairs of International Rotary. It has furnished an international president and a vice-president, and is well represented at every international convention. What has distinguished it particularly in public affairs is its initiation of an effort, already become international, to care for children physically unfortunate. The Exchange Club was organized in 1913. It meets every Tuesday noon in regular session. The Kiwanis Club meets Wednesday noon. It was organized in the fall of 1915 and is the fourth club in the organization of International Kiwanis which had its start in the city of Detroit. On Thursday the Lions Club meets for its weekly luncheon. It was organized in the summer of 1920. In 1922 the youngest and, at this time, the smallest club was organized, known as the Optimist. It meets on Tuesdays. Like the Rotary Club, each of the other four clubs reaches out for some beneficial touch upon the city's life, and stands ready at all times to cooperate with each of the others in any influence for the city's betterment in which any one is engaged. The Exchange Club gives much attention to work among boys and exercised a powerful influence towards creating a compelling public sentiment f or the erection of a new Safety Building, for which the council has provided, the club causing an extensive examination of the old Central Police Station to be had. It started in Toledo a work, now becoming interstate, for assistance to under-nourished children, in its local activity cooperating with the District Nurses' Association. The Kiwanis Club also interests itself in the under-nourished child, but particularizes with those of tubercular tendencies, maintaining for them a successful fresh air camp. Naturally, the Lions Club has a special interest in the Newsboys' Association, for one of its directors is W. H. Gunckel, only son of the late John Gunckel, founder of the Association. This club also gives special attention to the Girl Scouts. But no club allowed itself or is allowed to have a monopoly in any special line of good work, for with commendable reciprocity they help each other and take a friendly and efficient interest in each other's activities along the lines in which each takes specially unto itself. From the character of membership selection, each club is closely aligned with the objects and enterprises of the Chamber of Commerce. The Rotary Club requires its new members to join the latter, while the others encourage most strongly such membership in the general organization. Thus the luncheon clubs become, in effect, standing committees to effect measures for the city's benefit in which all patriotic and charitable citizens may have an interest. TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 689 Unconsciously, also, their friendly rivalries in good works make them powerful agencies for the promotion of a healthy state of civic morals. THE CRIPPLED CHILDREN About seven years ago the Rotary Club had a member, since removed from the city, who had a crippled child. Endeavoring to secure for her the advantages of a public school, he found that no attention was paid to these unfortunates, that most of them were unable to attend school; and those who did were subject to the unconscious cruelty of their jibing school mates. He brought the matter to the attention of the club, and while its interest was being seized by the problem, some ladies in the northern part of the city discovered and reported to the club a boy approaching adolescence who had been born without arms or legs, and who was living in squalor. This unfortunate the club. took under its care, only to find that there was-no place in the United States where he might be properly looked after except a small school in Michigan, in which he was placed. There the club educated him and fitted him with ingenious artificial appliances which have prepared him for usefulness and self-support into which he has already entered. This experience centered the club's attention on the problem. It persuaded the school board to furnish a room and teaching force for a separate school for crippled children, to which for many years the club at its own expense furnished means of bus transportation. The upshot of this start has been a segregation by the Toledo school board of unfortunate children so that, brought about by Rotary's influence, there are separate schools for the deaf, blind and partially blind and the crippled. One hundred and twenty-five crippled children are now in a separate school, cared for by a sympathetic .force of teachers. The appliances and conveyances are now furnished by the public, supplemented by donations for comforts from Rotarians, and while all the expenses of the school are now maintained by the public authorities, these children, as well as those in other schools for children. physically defective in other . respects, are under the fostering care of Rotarians and a rotating committee of members makes weekly visits. Several years ago the Toledo Society for Crippled Children was incorporated, with its charter members largely Rotarians. The society has received several respectable donations and bequests and is looking to the future for a significant expansion of its work. With this example many schools of like character have been organized by Rotary Clubs in Ohio.and elsewhere, and the Ohio Legislature has been influenced to pass satisfactory laws upon the subject. Ohio Rotarians in consequence, also led the way in the organization of a state society for crippled children, an example which has been followed by eleven other states and by Canada and an international organization in this behalf has been created. THE BOY SCOUTS-THE GIRL SCOUTS Toledo, of course, has its boy and girl scout organizations. The boy scouts have a fine cabin on the public reservation on Ontario Street between Madison and Adams, and the headquarters of the girl scouts are in the Valentine building. In 1922 there were 78 troops of boy scouts, with a membership of 2,025, supervised by 525 volunteer leaders. Near Sylvania has been purchased and equipped a scout 690 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY reservation of 140 acres, on which, in 1922, had been erected 25 cabins. A summer camp has been maintained for several years at Vinyard Lake, Michigan. In 1922 there were 27 registered troops of girl scouts and 9 affiliated but non-registered troops. The girl scouts membership was 1,021, with 53 leaders. THE Y. M. C. A-THE Y. W. C. A. The city, of course, has flourishing establishments of The Young Men's Christian Association and The Young Women's Christian Association, each established very firmly in the public confidence. The building of the former is on Michigan Street, opposite the Courthouse Park, and that of the latter at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Eleventh Street. The men's organization had, in 1922, 4,036 members. It maintained summer camps with 544 persons in attendance. There were four community branches looked after, and its aggregate individual contacts for the year were 21,743. Fifteen boys' clubs and six church clubs were also affiliated. Its work covered efficiently the entire range of Y. M. C. A. activities. The membership of the Y. W. C. A. in 1922 was 3,200 with twenty-two grade and four high school clubs. It likewise occupied for the city the entire field entered by the international organization, so far as the city life afforded opportunity. MISCELLANEOUS CLUBS One of the largest organizations in the city is the Toledo Automobile Club which numbers nearly ten thousand members. As its name suggests, it is composed of motor car owners. One of the principles upon which it is founded is to work for better highways throughout the country. Members of the club have been concerned in cooperating with the ,city authorities and the police department in the establishment and enforcement of better traffic regulations, in order to avoid accidents. The Country Club, a purely social organization, with a membership of over three hundred, owns a commodious club house and spacious grounds in Adams Township, just outside the city limits and between the River Road and the Maumee River. Here many dances, dinners, etc., are given, and the Country Club Golf Course has been the scene of many a "foursome." On Dorr Street, extended, about three miles west of the city, are the very extensive grounds of the Inverness Golf Club, with a membership approximating five hundred. This club is about eighteen years old and is one of the best known in the United States. Its golf course, buildings and grounds have no superior in the country. The Sylvania Golf Club, with grounds near the village of that name, has Toledo citizens for nearly all of its three hundred or more members. The K. O. G. Club is an organization of traveling men who combine interests peculiar to their vocation with social improvement and attention to civic matters. The Toledo Transportation Club was formed in 1905 and has grown to include 250 members. It is the common ground for social and educational purposes of the industrial traffic men and railroad men in operating, commercial and other branches of service. It was the first club to adopt the noonday luncheon plan of meeting and TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 693 monthly meetings with educational talks. The war, however, seriously interfered with this plan and emphasis has been given to the social side only. It is now planned to go back to the pre-war educational meetings, discuss some of the big problems of railroad legislation, car distribution, and railroad consolidation, and make the organization function in the old way of bringing the shippers and railroad men together for mutual benefits. The Merchants and Manufacturers Association is composed of about two hundred of the leading industrial concerns of the city, whose interests are similar, and in many respects more or less inter-related. Its influence upon industrial stability in the city is very great. The Central Labor Union is an organization of many of the labor unions, principally of those together under the American Federation of Labor. The membership consists of delegates elected thereto by the constituent unions. In 1920 the Zenobia building on Jefferson Street, with Zenobia Hall, was acquired and is now known as the Labor Temple. The Toledo Baseball Club is a member of the American Association, the other clubs of which are located in Columbus, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Louisville, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and St. Paul. The baseball grounds are at what is known as "Swayne Field," at Monroe Street and Detroit Avenue. There are two advertising clubs in Toledo—one composed of men and the other of women. The aim of these clubs is to secure more character in advertising, thus establishing greater confidence between the seller and buyer. The Women's Advertising Club was organized in the early part of December, 1920. In 1921 it won the trophy (a handsome silver vase) offered by the Chicago Women's Advertising Club for the most constructive work done toward securing the attention of the buying public. The trophy was awarded at the convention of Associated Advertising Clubs at Milwaukee. The Zonta Club, the first of its kind in Ohio, was organized on December 6, 1921, with thirty charter members and Miss Clara Millard, deputy probate judge, as the first president. This organization is to women what the Rotary Club is to men and the thirty charter members of the Toledo organization represent as many callings or occupations. The word "Zonta" is said to be of Indian origin and means "trustworthy." In the club constitution the objects of the organization are set forth as follows : "To demand fair dealings, high ideals and honest business methods." A weekly luncheon is served, with speakers and entertainment at each meeting. Among the other organizations of a social or civic nature are many whose names indicate their character. Those most prominent in the list, with their meeting place or headquarters, are : The City Club, meeting at LaSalle & Koch's on Saturdays. This organization corresponds in activities and organization with clubs generally under the same name in other cities. It specializes in matters of general public interest. The Salesians is a club of young women of the Roman Catholic Church and suggested by Monsignor John T. O'Connell. It has been very successful and prosperous. In the winter of 1921-22 this club bought the Unitarian church building at the corner of Prescott and Ashland avenues. The Art-Clan, 401 Meredith building ; the Anglers, 639 St. Clair Street ; the Bachelors, meets on call at such place as may be designated ; the City Federation of Women's Clubs meets at stated intervals in the women's meeting room of the Ohio Savings Bank ; Civic Voters' 694 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY League, 710 Nasby building ; Chess and Checker Club, Room 7 Denison block, 515 Jefferson Avenue; Maumee River Yacht Club, meets weekly at the club house in Walbridge Park ; Musicians, 513 Madison Avenue ; Old Sod Club, 422 Valentine building; Power Boat Club, Bay. View Park ; Toledo Athletic Club, 239-41 Superior Street ; Toledo Canoe Club, 321 Huron Street ; Toledo Driving Club, 506 Gardner building; Toledo Writers meets monthly at the residences of the members ; Toledo Yacht Club, at the club house on Wausonoquette boulevard, Bay View Park; United Commercial Travelers, Council No. 10, meets the first Saturday of each month in Valentine Hall. The city has a full complement of literary clubs, of both sexes, and many small social or athletic organizations of more or less permanent character. CHAPTER XXXV MUSIC THE ADVENT OF LOUIS M ATHIAS-EARLY OPERATIC AND OTHER PRODUCTIONS- THE GREAT FESTIVAL OF 1879-THE JUNE FESTIVAL OF 1880-LAST YEARS OF MR. MATHAS - KORTHEUER ORCHESTRA -THE TOLEDO SYMPHONY SOCIETY-TOLEDO MAENNERCHOR SOCIETY-THE CIVIC MUSIC LEAGUE-THE EURYDICE CLUB-THE ORPHEUS CLUB. Because of the cosmopolitan character of its population into which entered a large proportion of the music loving races of Europe, it is apparent that there must have been considerable interest in the development of music in the city of Toledo from the first. The city's musical history practically begins with the advent of Louis Mathias, whose father was a clarinet player with the army of Napoleon in the Spanish campaign and who had thoroughly grounded his son in the science. ADVENT OF LOUIS MATHIAS Mr. Mathias, who was born in Germany, August 22, 1826, landed in Philadelphia in 1850, and after spending two years in New York, came to Toledo on a concert tour with a company consisting of two violins, flute and guitar. Something in the atmosphere of 'the little town, then of less than four thousand people, induced him to remain, soon writing to his brother Julius to come on, saying, "If you want any orchestra music, bring a string bass because there is none in Toledo. * * * I have found but four pianos in Toledo, but I think by tuning and playing for dances we could make a living." The Brand and Lenk families were then prominent in the leading industry of the city, which was brewing, and were musically inclined. They recognized the ability of Mathias and the advantage to the community .if he should take up his residence here, and, therefore, made it possible for him to remain. Within a year after his arrival he had organized the first orchestra. It was known as "The Musicverein," and a little later on he founded a singing club called "The Gesangverein." Records of the early meetings of these societies are carefully preserved by Rudolph Mathias, a nephew. The purpose of one of the societies was, as its constitution says, "To endeavor to help the citizens of Toledo to understand music in general and especially to educate the members of the society in the art of music." The membership was divided into active and inactive members, the active members being musicians. The inactive members were contributing friends. The regulations were very comprehensive, designed not only to protect the organization in its property and in the collection and disbursement of its funds, but to regulate the personal conduct of members. As might be expected, the names signed to the regulations, adopted October 15, 1854, indicate that the membership of twenty-two persons was entirely Teutonic. One of the early actions of the society before it - 695 - 696 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY had reached the stage of public activity was to dismiss one of its members "on account of bad behavior." A dramatic society then existing in the city received the cooperation of the Musicverein, and an arrangement was made with the Gesangverein whereby the two associations should work together and divide the profits of concerts. February 6,"1855, the Musicverein, that is, the instrumental society, gave its first public concert, followed by a second in May in the Military Hall. Newspapers for the succeeding four or five years abound in references to concerts, vocal and instrumental, by these organizations and others known as the Toledo Musical Society and the Philharmonic Society. During Mr. Mathias' absence in 1857 in Germany for a short time Mr. Milverstedt, whose excellent band was a local institution, acted, as director. Within five years the records show that a considerable number of citizens of other than, German extraction became musically interested through the activities of Mr. Mathias. A concert of the Philharmonic Society in April, 1860, was held, and its program abounds with other than German names. This society was conducted by Mr. Mathias as an organization independent of the Musicverein, and it was made up very largely of English speaking citizens, of whom the Osborn and Doolittle families, were the most musical, members from which contributed frequently and prominently to the several programs. At the outbreak of the Civil war, Mr'. Mathias joined the band of the Thirty-seventh Ohio Infantry. This band was noted in the army for its musical ability. At the close of 'the war he returned to Toledo, continuing his work, organizing orchestras, training choruses, managing Saengerfests, teaching and encouraging a large number of pupils, and exercising a powerful influence in all musical' endeavor. Among his many friends was the late Chief Justice Waite, in whose family he taught. He was instrumental in the organization and acted as leader of the Beethoven Quartet, and concerts, vocal and instrumental, were frequent notes in the city's life under his inspiration, until he succeeded in arousing a general interest in the art among the citizens. EARLY OPERATIC AND OTHER PRODUCTIONS In 1869, under the direction of Mr. H. C. Hahn, was essayed a comic opera, "The Doctor of Alcantara," for the benefit of the Protestant Orphans' Home, Mr. Hahn drilling the singers and actors while Mr. Mathias organized and d'rilled an orchestra of twenty members, with Mr. W. H. H. Smith, a prominent figure in Toledo's musical history, at the piano. Later the Toledo Mendelssohn Club was organized, and in February, 1872, presented the opera, "The Two Cadis," for the benefit of the Friendless Women's Home, Mr: Mathias acting as musical director. In the meantime, The Mendelssohn Union had been organized, a mixed choral society directed by Mr. Hahn, assisted by an orchestra conducted by Mr. Mathias. As an outgrowth of the Union came the Toledo Vocal Society, made up of the foremost voices of the city. This society quickly took a prominent position among the musical organizations. Toledo noted with a musical jubilee the Centennial of the country in 1876, the festivities opening with a concert at White's Opera House, for which unusual preparation had been made. This, of course, was under the direction of Mr. Mathias, who undertook the task, full of difficulties, of placing upon the stage, as TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 697 The Blade said, "A musical entertainment that received the enthusiastic applause of discriminating critics and the people at large." An orchestra of thirty-seven pieces was made up of twenty-six performers from Toledo and eleven brought over from Detroit. The German Maennerchor, which had long been in existence, rendered a selection from "Ossian," the overture to "Stradella" was played by the Orchestra, Lombardi's "The Pilgrims Chorus," was sung, and Buck's Centennial Cantata was rendered by a full chorus of 100 voices. Other ambitious parts appear to have been very satisfactorily rendered—solos, choruses and orchestral productions. THE GREAT FESTIVAL OF 1879 The most ambitious and successful effort at musical production in the history of Toledo, however, was the great Saengerfest of August, 1879. For this a special hall, seating nearly four thousand people, was erected on Monroe Street between. Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets. The exercises continued for five days, beginning Monday, August 18th. The officers of the committee were Guido Marx, president ; George Milmine, vice president ; H. C. Hahn, secretary ; E. H. Norton, treasurer ; and Louis Mathias, musical director. The professional singers taking part were Marie Litta, prima donna ; Florence Rice-Knox, alto ; Signor Tagliapietra, baritone; Edouard Remenyi, violinist ; and F. L. Boos, cornetist. A chorus of 600 voices was brought together, including singers from Detroit, Saginaw City, Bay City, Lansing, Jackson and Grand Rapids, Michigan, 'South Bend and Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Tiffin, Ohio, with, of course, all the available Toledo. talent. The programs of the several concerts were notable productions. Probably nothing in the middle west had theretofore equalled the importance, musically, of this jubilee, and its successes in the program's renderings were noticed generally throughout the country. At every performance hundreds were turned away, unable to secure admission. The local papers note that on each occasion every seat was occupied and all available standing space was used. An immense procession of bands, singing societies and others interested in the festival was an imposing feature of this eventful week. THE JUNE FESTIVAL OF 1880 The success of the Saengerfest stimulated a June festival for the next year, beginning June 7th. Again professional talent was brought in to supplement Toledo ability, and a program of unusual excellence was rendered at each of the six concerts. Remenyi played during the entire week, and at the close was presented with a gold badge on behalf of the people of the city. The manager, of course, was Mr. Mathias, the orchestra being under the direction of Professor Abel of Detroit. The 'affection in which Mr. Mathias was held by the people was exhibited at the closing performance which ended with the singing by the grand chorus of the part from Mendelssohn's St. Paul, "0, Great is the Depth." As he led this chorus he was literally buried beneath floral tributes hurled at him by members of the chorus and admirers in the audience. An outgrowth of the June festival was the Toledo Vocal Society, composed of over sixty men and women gathered from all the musical circles of the city, with Professor Mathias as conductor. For several years this society occupied a leading position in musical activities. 698 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY LAST YEARS OF MR. MATHIAS Mr. Mathias' activities in all musical directions continued unflaggingly with advancing years. April 12, 13, and 14, 1902, a golden Jubilee was planned and executed in commemoration of his fifty years' service to the city, opening with a concert in the newly built Memorial Hall on Adams Street, in which many of the prominent local musicians and a large number of pupils from the public schools participated, followed on the next evening with a concert in the Valentine theater by an orchestra of the united musicians of Toledo, assisted by the German singing societies. The third concert was given Mr. Kortheuer's Symphony orchestra, and the Eurydice Club and a special chorus. Mr. Mathias died in February, 1922, in his ninety-sixth year, his last appearance as conductor having been at a benefit concert given in February, 1905, for a local violinist, Mr. Steinhauser, whose failing health caused him to return to Germany. Probably no single citizen of Toledo ever exerted so wide. and beneficial an influence within the limits of his vocation as Louis Mathias. He was the father of Toledo music, and from his careful training many Toledo musicians owe not only their successes but inspiration. THE KORTHEUER ORCHESTRA In 1897, Arthur W. Kortheuer, recently returned from a study of music abroad, organized an orchestra of some forty men, whose concerts were intermittently given during the next sixteen years, and were prominent features of the city's life. This orchestra, the concerts of which were promoted by a group of Toledo men calling themselves the "Toledo Orchestral Club," was the first ambitious effort toward the production of symphony concerts. THE TOLEDO SYMPHONY SOCIETY This, the most notable musical organization, other than vocal, of the city at present, is to a large extent the outgrowth of Kortheuer's orchestra. In 1911 Mr. Lewis H. Clement, returning to the city after several years of residence in New York, cooperating with the Musical Art Society, made up largely of music teachers and professional musicians of the city, attempted two symphony concerts. These were very successful within the limitations of the city's provision for such critical undertakings. After several years of discussion, the "Toledo Symphony Society" was organized in the winter of 1919-1920 through the efforts of Mr. Clement before the Commerce Club. Its first concert, given in Scott High School auditorium October 20, 1920, proved the feasibility of Mr. Clement's ambition for the city, and justified the effort at organization. The Society is continuing with a bright promise for a symphony orchestra worthy of the community. The city, of course, possessed from time to time, during these years, many bands and small orchestras and singing clubs of great worth. To note them all is impossible, and it is impracticable to discriminate to the mention of any. During the last fifty years of the city's life, musical societies, orchestras and choruses were developed, and served the community acceptably in numbers bewildering and confusing. Space permits noting only the most important and those which continued to affect the city's life. TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 699 TOLEDO MAENNERCHOR SOCIETY In 1891 another Maennerchor Society was organized. For more than twenty-five years, under the direction of Mr. Josef Wylli, it presented many concerts of great acceptability. In 1918, then with a membership of sixty, it disbanded, the director, Mr. Wylli, who had been placed in charge of music in the Toledo grade schools, finding it necessary to be relieved from responsibility of this organization. The history of musical development in Toledo, no matter how sketchy, would be imperfect if some reference were not made to the Hamiltons. Mr. Charles A. Hamilton came to Toledo in 1866, and united with the Mendelssohn Union. He was one of the first in Toledo to undertake concerts by outside talent, bringing to the city such attractions as Edouard Strauss and his orchestra, Theodore Thomas and his orchestra, Leopold Damrosch and orchestra, besides many soloists. Some time later, his sister, Miss Ella Hamilton, undertook a series of concerts of the highest class. Under her management some of the most renowned artists in the world were brought to the city, losing a great deal of money, however, as the unfortunate result. THE CIVIC MUSIC LEAGUE A present most important influence in bringing to the city the best talent, especially of singers and soloists of world wide reputation, is the Civic Music League, organized in 1916 by Mr. Bradford Mills. Under its direction many important musical attractions of the highest character have been brought before the Toledo public, including such artists as Caruso, Farrar, Elman, Kreisler, Jeritza, Chaliapin and the following orchestras : New York Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, Cleveland Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and Chicago Symphony. THE EURYDICE CLUB Some years before 1891 a small group of women, calling themselves "The St. Cecelia Society," under the leadership of Mrs. W. H. H. Smith, met regularly at their several homes to sing music written especially for women's voices. In 1890 this society, with some outside assistance, gave a very successful concert, as a result of which the Eurydice Club was formed, rendering its first public program in May, 1891. From that time to the present, this club has been the outstanding musical organization of the city, producing more than sixty concerts in which have appeared the very best talent not only of the city but in the country. THE ORPHEUS CLUB In the last decade of the last century was organized the Toledo Apollo Club of men, producing its first concert in June, 1893. After several years' successful existence, the name was changed to the Apollo Club, disbanding because of the removal of its director at the close of the season of 1900. In 1908, however, out of some of its old membership, with new blood, was organized the present existing Orpheus Club, a most important element of the city's musical life, with Walter Eugene Ryder, its director, continuing to the present time. This club has developed parallel with the Eurydice Club, and is an indispensable feature of the city's musical