Of course, for a genealogist, this can complicate things a bit. My family lived most of their lives in the Monroe County, particularly the townships of Bedford and LaSalle. From the map, you can see how close that is to Ohio.
Did you know that vital records (birth, marriage, and death records) stay in the county that the event happened? I think I knew that, but it was confirmed after I stopped at the Monroe County Courthouse the other day. I had gone looking for the death records of a few specific people, plus anyone else I happened to run across.
I stumbled on Henry Meinhardt Sr. He died in 1906. His son, Henry Jr. died just a few months before in a fire. But I couldn't find him in the records anywhere. The County Clerk's office had some very helpful people, including one guy who agreed that Henry Jr had probably been taken to Toledo for treatment of his burns. Which means his records would be down there instead. Oh well, guess I'll just have to make a trip down there sometime. At least it isn't clear across the country.
While I was doing research on a few pictures, I found some other interesting things about Monroe County. Do you see that little house symbol on the map? There's an arrow pointing to it that says Michigan Welcome Center and under that, Toledo Beach.
Toledo Beach opened in the early 1900's and didn't close until the 1950's. People from Detroit, Toledo, and Monroe flocked there in the summers. It was a place to swim (and slide), dance (there was a pavilion), and eat. Apparently there was a restaurant that specialized in seafood and chicken.
The bathhouse featured 300 rooms and you could rent bathing attire to go swimming for the day. You can see the dock that stretched out into Lake Erie in this postcard. Swimming for women at this time usually involved holding onto a rope tied to a buoy farther out and being able to jump in the waves. Of course their suits were more like dresses then. They were usually made out of wool and used 9 yards of fabric or more.
Toledo Beach also featured a wooden slide. I couldn't find any information telling how high it was, but from this picture, I'd say it was pretty good size.
You're probably wondering why I'm telling you all about this place. Part of the reason I love searching for my ancestors is because I want to know what life was like for them. I want to know where they went, what they did, and how they met people.
My great grandpa, Ernest Meinhardt grew up in the Bedford Township area of Monroe County. My great grandma Etta Luebben grew up in the city of Toledo. I have stories of their courtship, but I've never found out how they initially met. Could they have met here? It's entirely possible.
On the right is a picture of Etta's family. (Left to Right: Fredricka, Lena, Irma, and Louise) You can see clearly that they were at Toledo Beach in 1914. Though Etta isn't pictured here, she would have been 17 that year.
The picture on the left is Ernest Meinhardt in his first pair of long pants It's more difficult to see, but in the upper right hand corner it says, Toledo Beach 1913. He was 17 here.
How many other memories did Etta, Ernest and their families have of this place? It makes me wonder.
No comments:
Post a Comment