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Newspaper Stories From The Days Of The Interurban


   The stories that follow are from period newspapers and are a sample of those included in our monthly newsletter. They are displayed here in chronological order. You can read them in the order displayed or click the links in the table below to jump to selected months. Check this page for updates each month and join our organization to receive our monthly newsletter with additional stories (now available by email or regular mail).


January 1910 February 1910 March 1910
April 1910 May 1910 June 1910
July 1910 August 1910 September 1910
October 1910 November 1910 December 1910
1907 Archive 1908 Archive 1909 Archive
1911 Archive
1912



January 1910

1. Clever fox eludes hounds and trolley car alike.

2. Chardon riders fed up with poor lighting on C. & E. cars.

3. New owners of Bass Lake promise imrovments will be put in place for coming season.

4. C. & E. car overturns near Hodges Crossing as major storm blankets County in heavy snow.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, January 5, 1910, Page 5

Fox Dodged C. & E. Car

Motorman Thought the Fender Struck Him, But It Didn’t – Strange Freak of Reynard Near Gates Mills

     Will Hill, motorman on the eastbound car out of Gates Mills at 11:10 a.m. last Wednesday, came near running over a fox just east of Summit Siding.
     Hill noticed a fresh trail on the bank, and on rounding a curve saw the fox on the track ahead.
     When the car got close, Reynard ran up the track. The car was going faster, and just as it overtook him the fox turned and appeared to sit down and await results.
     Hill had heard that fox pelts were worth $6, and he slacked up, thinking he had killed the fox. He was astonished to see sly Reynard run swiftly up the bank and disappeared in the forest.
     At Gates Mills, a mile distant, is a large pack of hounds, owned by the Chagrin Valley Hunt Club, but Motorman Hill says the fox didn’t seem to be worried about its surroundings.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, January 7, 1910, Page 1

Gets Big Corn Ears

     Grant Brower, E. O. T. motorman, received a box of some big ears of corn last week raised by his brother, Oscar Brower, of Freeport, O. One of the ears picked at random from the box was 11 inches long, 3 inches in diameter, had 1296 kernels with 48 in a row of 27 rows. It figured this ear would plant 328 hills of corn.

* * *

Chester

     Residents of Scotland station on the C. & E. railway recently petitioned Receiver Robert F. Beatty, asking that the railroad company fill the north approach to the depot, at that point which stands on a side hill and is reached from the north by crossing a small swamp. Receiver Beatty replied in substance that the company would be unable to grant the request, but was willing that Chester people might make the improvement. The north side of the platform at Scotland station is without a railing, as is provided at the Junction, which makes a dangerous place, especially for aged people who alight from the cars after nightfall.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, January 14, 1910, Page 1

Bother You to Read on a Car?

     No doubt you have got on the car at Cleveland, settled yourself for a comfortable ride to Chardon, and with a newspaper or book started to read. You just got interested when the lights suddenly become so dim, you couldn’t read for a few minutes, and then they would get bright again, this being repeated many times before you arrived home. Nearly everyone has had this experience and wondered why. To an electrician it’s simple.
     If a small hole was drilled in a water pipe just above a faucet, the water, under pressure, would rush out at terrific speed; but if you should open the faucet the pressure would immediately drop down so low the water would all but cease to flow out of the tiny hole. This is exactly what happens to the incandescent lamp in a street car when they suddenly grow dim, only it is electricity we are stealing with instead of water. To start a loaded street car requires an enormous amount of electricity, the motors fairly eat up the current in order to get the necessary starting power, or torque, as it is called. Using such a quantity of electricity relieves the pressure, or voltage, of the system and of course the lights burn dim until the car is under way.
     Nearly all street car systems operate at 550 volts pressure. The lamps in the car consume current at 110 volts pressure and they are connected in groups of five in series across the 550 volt circuit. When the voltage for these lamps drops below 110, because of the large amount of current going to the motors under the car, not enough electricity is being forced through the lamp filament to heat it to incandescence and of course the light is dim. Opening wide the current conductors to the motors suddenly lowers the line pressure which in turn reduces the pressure to the lamps. Once the car is under way the motors do not require so much current and the pressure returns to the lamps and they continue to give their rated candle-power until the next time the car is started.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, January 14, 1910, Page 4

Local News

     The new private car “Northern,” built to replace the “Josephine,” which burned, has just appeared on the C. P. & E.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, January 19, 1910, Page 1

History of a Week

     C. A. Calvert, one of the new owners of Bass Lake resort, was recently in Chardon. Mr. Calvert says that himself and wife attended the opening party of the season at Bass Lake in 1881, and that since that time they had kept an eye on the property with a view of owning it someday. The land included in the Smith farm is owned by their son, F. H. Calvert. The side hill west of the C. & E. railroad affords a splendid location for a hotel, which, we learn, the son will erect there this year. Improvements this season at the island, so-called, will include the erection of a large hotel, which, together with the several cottages there now, will make it possible to accommodate a large number of guests. The cottages are being re-fitted, re-painted, papered and re-furbished throughout this winter, and made ready for guests who will arrive as soon as the ice goes out of the lake. There were many transient guests at bass Lake the past autumn, especially during the fishing and duck hunting season. Before Locating in Trevlac, Ind., Mr. Calvert was for 30 years a resident of Cleveland, being associated with the Rubber Paint company of that city.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, January 28, 1910, Page 1

Big Storm Is Cause of Wreck on E. O. T.

Car Plunges into Fence at Hodges, Trapping Seven

     As the result of the snowstorm, from which Chardon scarcely recovered Sunday, an interurban car on the Eastern Ohio traction line jumped the track two rail lengths from Hodges Crossing into a snow bank and bruised sever persons.
     Icy tracks derailed the Eastern Ohio car, sending it crashing into a fence and overturning it on its right side in a deep snow bank. Passengers and crew got out of the wrecked car by digging through snow or breaking windows on the side above them and crawling through.
     When all passengers were out they were taken to a nearby farmhouse, where they received first aid while waiting for a milk car to take them to their destination.
     Mrs. William Smith, of Burton, had her arm broken in two places. William Smith, Miss Blanche Pennell and Mr. and Mrs. John Backla, all of Burton, who were the other passengers on the car, escaped with a few bruises. The car was in charge of Conductor Will Cooley, and Motorman Charles Huey, both of Burton. Although severely shaken up, as were their passengers, they were not injured.
     The wrecked car, which runs between the main line and Middlefield, was approaching Hodge’s crossing, north of Punderson Lake, on its way to the Junction, when it ran into a heavy coating of ice on the tracks. Leaving the tracks, the speed of the car was broken by a fence and it turned on its right side, thereby preventing the passengers from getting out of the rear door.
     When the accident occurred the five passengers were seated in the center of the car and were thrown against each other. Mrs. William Smith felt the car leave the tracks.
     “The car seemed to hesitate an instant before it left the rails,” she said, “and then I knew nothing more. When I regained my senses my head was firmly wedged in the hat rack. Miss Pennell fell against me when the car turned over.”
     Motorman Huey and Conductor Cooley helped the passengers, who walked on the street car signs out of the overturned trolley. A few days since Motorman Huey, fearing a wreck might sometime occur, bolted the stove in the front vestibule to the floor of the car. It is understood that the stoves on many of the E. O. T. cars are not fastened. When the car turned over the stove maintained in its place. This probably saved Huey from being crushed and the car from catching fire.
     “Ice on the track is the only thing that I know of that could have caused the car to jump the track,” Motorman Huey said. “It is a miracle I was not killed. Conductor Colley was coming down the aisle to speak to me and I fell on him. If we had been running at full speed the accident would have been more serious. Slow speed and deep snow probably saved us.”

* * *

Blizzard Piles Up Snow Highest in Years; Cars Held Up

     The worst storm that Chardon has known in years swooped down upon the village, Saturday, tieing up traffic on the Eastern Ohio Traction lines and making roads impassable.
     After the car due here from Cleveland at 8 o’clock in the morning arrived 35 minutes late, there was not another one through until 3 o’clock in the afternoon. The 8 o’clock car was not late because of the storm, but was held up by a head on collision on the Euclid Heights line near Coventry Road. A city bound car ran into a derailed sweeper, without lights in the blinding snow. Motorman Fallon’s leg was broken. The wrecker got on the wrong track, ahead of the Chardon car, and it was not until some time spent in argument that the crew backed down and let the Chardon car through.
     The storm increased in violence as the day wore on. Rural mail carriers were forced to give up their trips after battling with the snow for a few miles out into the country.
     The car in charge of Motorman Herbert Cusick and Conductor Freeman got off the track at Stop 5, and they and their passengers were forced to stay all night. There was no fire in the car.
     Every attempt to maintain a schedule on the Eastern Ohio Traction was abandoned Saturday night and Sunday. The B. & O. passenger train did not suffer much from the storm with the assistance of the snow plow.
     It was the first time in three years that the Eastern Ohio Traction line has been tied up. A car off the track near South Euclid aided the drifts of snow in tieing up traffic.
     The wrecking crew worked 40 hours without stopping getting cars back on the track. Icy rails caused the trucks on more than one car to slip off.
     Drifts of snow were piled high above the hitching posts on Main Street. The 3 o’clock mail from the city arrived at 6:30, and the 7 o’clock mail late in the evening, Saturday.
     The town looked almost like a deserted village, Saturday, many preferring to stay in their homes than brave the drifts. Those who did venture out waded in snow almost to their knees.
     The heavy snow storm of Saturday blockaded the roads so that they had to be shoveled out in many places.
     Milk haulers from Hambden were unable to gather the milk on Saturday and Sunday, the roads being so badly drifted. Harry hale made his regular trips to the factory at East Claridon.
     The eastbound B. & O. local had two cars derailed by the ice and snow near the Middlefield depot, Saturday afternoon. No damage was done, but traffic was blocked 30 minutes.
     No car arrived in Chardon through from the city until 7 o’clock Sunday evening, the west end of the road, from Gates Mills to Cleveland, being tied up because of cars off the track.
     Chardon people were forced to go without their Cleveland papers Sunday. They did not arrive until Monday morning. This is the first time Sunday papers have not arrived in Chardon in years.
     The storm started late Friday night and showed no signs of abatement until Saturday night. A peculiar feature of the storm is that local telephone lines did not seem to suffer much.
     The storm did not bother telegraph lines to any extent and the Western Union wires were working as well as could be expected.
     The blizzard, which paralyzed Cleveland and which Weatherman Kenealy pronounced the worst there in 13 years, was in direct contrast to a year ago when balmy breezes blew.
     No ore could be moved from Fairport, as everything was snowed in at that point.
     The E. O. T. cars did not make the circuit of the park until Tuesday, backing up to the station.

* * *

Motorman Hurt

Helping Relieve Another Tie-Up Draw Bar Drops on Foot

     Because of a car jumping the track near Gates Mills the Eastern Ohio traction line was partially tied up Wednesday morning, and Motorman Salsgiver, who is also proprietor of a restaurant here, had his foot badly hurt.
     When the car jumped the track at 5:35 a.m., it dashed into a trolley pole and knocked it into kindling wood. The force of the collision hurled the big car crosswise of the track. No one was injured in the accident.
     When Motorman Salsgiver, who left here at 6:50, arrived at the scene, he went to assist in getting the car back onto the track. While doing so a draw bar fell on his foot. He was brought home, where he will be confined for some time.
     Several cars have jumped the track at the same spot within the past week or so, due to water getting on the rails and freezing. The place lies in a small hollow.
     Passengers were transferred during the morning, and the mail due here at 8 o’clock was an hour late.

* * *

Back to Top



February 1910

1. Heavy snows continue to disrupt travel by road and rail.

2. E. O. T. Falls branch sold at auction.

3. Disaster narrowly averted in Scotland Station fire.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, February 2, 1910, Page 5

Local and Personal

     The Republican acknowledges a fraternal call Friday afternoon from A. H. Squire, manager of the Chagrin Falls Exponent, and his son Frank, also an employee of that office. Mr. Squire, Sr., has been connected with the Exponent about 36 years, and during that time his vacation periods have been few and brief. The two gentlemen came over into the snowbound hills of Geauga via Cleveland and the C. & E. railway, and found Chardon clad in her old-time regalia of snow banks. They called briefly on other long-time friends, and left town on the 3:50 car.
* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, February 4, 1910, Page 1

Takes Plunge Over Bridge

Horse and Sleigh with Couple, Just Married, Have Icy Bath and Narrow Escape

     Bert L. Drake and Miss Ethel Hemenway, of Huntsburg, who were married by Rev. George Henshaw at the home of Howard Hemenway at 10 o’clock, Thursday of last week, will not soon forget their wedding day, filled with more than the usual experiences accompanying the beginning of voyage on the matrimonial sea.
     Hurrying to Middlefield in a sleigh to take a car for Cleveland, the horse shied when on the bridge over Kile Creek, and plunged over the side, carrying sleigh and occupants in the water. . .

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, February 4, 1910, Page 5

Novelty

     Quite a number attended the Commissioners and Trustees meeting at Chardon, Thursday of last week. Those on the 12 o’clock car for Chardon failed to get to Chardon until 5 o’clock on account of a car off the track.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, February 9, 1910, Page 5

Burton and Vicinity

     Having decided to go out of the dairy business, Louie L. Slitor of south Burton, will sell at auction at his farm at stop 72 C. F. & G. electric line, on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 18 head of fine dairy cows and young stock, Holsteins and Jerseys, work horse, hay, oats, gasoline engine, feed, cutter, etc. Usual terms of sale, lunch at noon. C. W. Canfield, auctioneer, C. E. Williams, clerk. For full particulars see posters printed at The Leader office.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, February 11, 1910, Page 1

Chagrin Branch of E. O. T. Sold

Auctioning of Railway Regarded as Step in Through Service to Youngstown

     When the Chagrin Falls division of the Eastern Ohio Traction Co. was sold at auction Saturday, another step was taken toward the accomplishment of through suburban car service from Cleveland to Youngstown.
     In the office of Robert D. Beatty, 701 Electric building, with Beatty as auctioneer, the bidding began at $137,000. There were no dramatics, only a certain tension in the air, as the bids rose $50, $100, and $1,000 at a time to $263,050. At this price, the road was knocked down to J. R. Nutt and F. H. Ginn, Cleveland banker and attorney, who represent bondholders.
     The bidding was between Nutt and Ginn on one side and Francis R. Welsh, of Philadelphia, on the other. Welsh represented minority bondholders, who wanted the property sold as high as possible, so that they could take their share of the proceeds and have no part in the future operation of the road. They will receive about $950 for each of their bonds.
     As a result of the sale, the Eastern Ohio Traction Co., which runs between Cleveland and Garrettsville, will be reorganized and ultimately will be taken out of the receiver’s hands. In all likelihood an extension will be built from Garrettsville to Leavittsburg, O. There the road will connect with the Mahoning & Shenango Railway & Light Co., which goes through Warren, Niles and Girard to Youngstown.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, February 18, 1910, Page 1

Drifts High in Chardon

Sleigh Load of Young People Get Stalled at Burton

     “Haven’t seen the snow so deep here in years,” remarked an old resident, Sunday, as he rode up South Street on an E. O. T. car Sunday morning, and gazed at the drifts plied up in front of residences, some over five feet high. . .

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, February 18, 1910, Page 4

Three Fire Scares Over in Chester

     There were three recent fire scares in Chester. . .

     And another man living at Scotland Station, desiring to smoke a small piece of pork secured a nail keg and began the smoking operation upon the back porch. No one knows when the smoking process ended and the blazing process began because no one was near.
     R. Freeman meeting the evening car with mail saw the house on fire. The meat was well fried and five feet of the siding on the house and a good part of the porch burned. He gave the alarm and a fire extinguisher was used successfully. A few minutes more and even that would have been useless.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, February 23, 1910, Page 1

Burton

     Owing to the irregular car service, Chagrin Falls Odd Fellows did not come to Burton, Friday night, to put on degree work.

* * *

     During the recent blizzard, three cars were snowbound between Punderson Lake and the Junction. Several Burton people are reported to have been aboard one of the cars. The snow-plow was in great demand last week, to open up the road between the city and country towns.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, February 23, 1910, Page 4

Additional Chardon

     Another big snow storm in Chardon Thursday and the beautiful is now two feet deep on a level. The C. & E. cars could not get in to town Thursday night and the passengers had to walk through the deep snow nearly a mile which was fine for ladies.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, February 25, 1910, Page 1

Passengers Were Late

     Passengers for Middlefield and Burton on the 5:50 car out of Chardon, Wednesday morning did not arrive in those towns until nearly noon. Power was low. The snow storm of Tuesday night was partly responsible.

* * *
Car Crew Work in Snow

     “E. O. T. car crews deserve much credit Chardon people,” remarked Agent F. D. Hollis Saturday. “During the recent bad snow storms, although not required, they have gone to work and shoveled the tracks around the park clean, enabling the cars to leave not so far behind schedule, instead of waiting for the snow plough or a gang of shovelers to arrive.”

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, February 25, 1910, Page 5

Novelty

     John and Tom Mullen went to Cleveland Thursday and were dropped off by the cars at Novelty at 2 o’clock at night, delayed on account of the storm.

* * *
Chester

     Rural mail carriers missed going out on Friday as no mail cars came until late in the day.

* * *

Back to Top



March 1910

1. Hundreds brave winter weather to attend Geauga Republican Club banquet at Chardon.

2. Eastern Ohio Traction Co. to implement new dispatching system recommended by Ohio Railroad Commission.

3. Cleveland & Eastern Railroad receiver Beatty and Chardon Mayor Austin agree to work together on Square beautification.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, March 2, 1910, Page 5

Banquet Was a Big Success

     An inspiring gathering of Republicans - young, middle-aged and old –which packed the large ballroom of the Chardon House on Tuesday night of last week, for enthusiasm and earnestness has probably never been equaled under such adverse weather conditions in this part of the Western Reserve. . .
     It was a blistering winter’s might, but nearly 300 banqueters attended the annual meeting of the Geauga Republican Club. They came in large delegations via the C. & E. railway, while larger numbers drove to Chardon over badly drifted roads from surrounding towns. Middlefield was host, and the Republicans of that enterprising town worked unceasingly to make the banquet a success, which it was in every respect.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, March 2, 1910, Page 1

New First Degree Odd-Fellows

     A car load of Chagrin Falls Odd Fellows came over to Burton last Thursday evening and did degree work for the Burton lodge. A fine time was had with the work which was done in very creditable manner, and with a banquet.
     . . . The trip coming was fraught with difficulties that caused nearly three hours delay, and the fine supper that the ladies had ready for the visitors at five o’clock was not eaten until nearly eight. . .

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, March 4, 1910, Page 1

Takes Trip Alone

Runaway Child Boards Car in City and Lands in Chester

     Chesterland, March 1 – A 7-year old boy left an E. O. T. car at Scotland alone late one afternoon last week. When asked where he was going he said he was lost. Plied with questions he said:
     “My name is Sherman Collier. I got on the car at the Square for a little ride. My papa and mama do not live together and I often run away, and they keep me tied upstairs. I got away this time. Yes, I know where I live. I could find it if I was on the Square.”
     Mrs. Nettie Thwing took him in and kept him till the next morning, then went to Cleveland with him. When they reached his home she found he had not been missed until about ten minutes previous their arrival. He was an unusually bright little fellow. This is another of the many evils of the divorce curse. Little ones are possessed with restless, unsettled feelings, and audaciously wander out. Some meet with kind consideration, but many are left to wander on and down.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, March 9, 1910, Page 1

North Troy

     Otto Lillick and L. B. Russell, managers of Snow Lake ferry line, did a big business last week. Water was so high that the electric cars could not cross, and these men transferred passengers and mail in boats between cars on each side.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, March 9, 1910, Page 5

Burton and Vicinity

     A special carload of Burton Rebekahs went to Chardon last Thursday to do some work for their sister lodge of that place.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, March 18, 1910, Page 1

New System of Car Dispatching

Responsibility to be Divided Between Dispatcher and Crew on E. O. T. Soon

     A new system of car dispatching will take the place of the present manner on the Eastern Ohio Traction Co., within a few days.
     It is the one recommended by the Railroad Commission of Ohio, and is practically the same as used largely by members of the American Street and Interurban Association.
     The method divides the responsibility between the dispatcher and crews, and is so systematically arranged that the chances of mistaken orders, and other irregularities are reduced to a minimum.
     Each car will have its own schedule time to run on, and conductor and motorman will not have to report to the dispatcher at various stations, as under the present system.
     If a car is disabled so that it cannot reach the next station on time cars coming from either direction must be flagged.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, March 18, 1910, Page 4

Local News

     S. D. Strong killed a mallard duck near the Junction, Friday, the first of the season.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, March 23, 1910, Page 5

Local and Personal

     But little syrup is being shipped via the C. & E. railway at Chardon. The consignments are small, going mostly to private families and stores in Cleveland.

* * *

     W. D. Toop, the market man, recently found a loaded Smith & Wesson revolver in Munson. He was walking from the Junction to Chardon just after the deep snow went off, and discovered the weapon lying near the C. & E. track. The revolver is believed to have been thrown away by one of the four Italians who were arrested near Burton in January for hunting with a ferret, and brought to Chardon on a C. & E. car for trial. It is against the law to carry concealed firearms.

* * *
Beauty Spot on Square

To Be Established by Village and the Cleveland & Eastern Railway – Flowers to Bloom in Park

     Robert D. Beatty, receiver of the Cleveland & Eastern railroad, and Supt. Joe Emery, were in Chardon last Friday afternoon on a tour of inspection.
     While here Mr. Beatty made Mayor Austin a friendly call, and expressed his appreciation of favors shown the railroad by Chardon.
     Mayor Austin and the park committee of the Village Council are anxious to beautify a triangular piece of ground at the south end of the Public Square, which the suburban cars pass on two sides when they circle the park.
     The Mayor asked the co-operation of the railroad in beautifying the spot mentioned, and Mr. Beatty readily assented to the scheme. He stated that Supt. Emery would bring workmen here and see what was needed, and that some desirable woods dirt would be secured at some point on the road and hauled here.
     The land to be improved is several rods in extent, and of sufficient size to insure making a great beauty spot in summer.
     The idea is to establish a grass or lawn plot, and set out flowers and perhaps shrubs, and surround it by a wire fence.
     The Mayor is enthusiastic over the scheme, and has further expressed himself as in favor of re-establishing flower beds in the park, which in former days added greatly to its beauty.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, March 30, 1910, Page 1

     Ralph Cooley, who bought Arnold Fisher’s draying business, was employed almost continuously as motorman on the C. & E. since the road was constructed, and very popular with its patrons. He finds plenty to do at his new calling.

* * *

Back to Top



April 1910

1. E. O. T. patrons complain of overcrowding on cars, Receiver Beatty offers rebuttal.

2. Erie Railroad to begin gasoline motor car service between Cleveland and Garrettsville.

3. Eastern Ohio Traction Co. to sell Cleveland-Garrettsville branch line,

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, April 1, 1910, Page 1

Object to Crush

Patrons of E. O. T. Don’t Like Crowded Conditions of Cars

     Regular patrons of the Cleveland & Eastern Traction Company complain bitterly about the overcrowding of the car which leaves Cleveland at 6:30 a.m. and the one which passes South Euclid at 5 p.m., coming into the city.
     The car has a seating capacity of 69, yet the conductor frequently collects as many as 150 fares.
     Going out in the morning on the car that leaves the Square at 6 and is due in Chardon at 8, 90 laborers are picked up at Lee Road. They go as far as South Euclid, 50 other laborers who are employed on Mayfield Road grading are also picked up.
     These same men are brought back at night. Regular patrons of the line say that the crowd of passengers is so great that they hang on the outside of the car, clinging to the rear platform by their toes.
     A request has been made that an extra car be run from Gates Mills to Lee Road to take care of this crush, so that the regular patrons of the line can ride in comfort.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, April 6, 1910, Page 5

Burton and Vicinity

     Gasoline motor cars, running at frequent intervals, may soon be in operation on the Erie Railroad between Cleveland and Garrettsville. The railroad company, having tried out the motor cars on other divisions, is considering such service out of this city. It will be the first of its kind in Ohio, says the Leader. The attention of the officials of the Erie has been attracted to the need of more frequent trains between Cleveland and Garrettsville, Mantua, Aurora, Geauga Lake and Solon by residents of those towns. Following the meeting a committee called upon General Superintendent Dunkle at the Erie offices, where they were introduced by Assistant Passenger Agent Jay D. Brown. Another meeting is to be held between the railroad officials and a subcommittee representing the six towns to consider the cost of operating the gasoline motor cars, or a short train, and it is expected that a schedule for the additional service will be arranged at that time.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, April 8, 1910, Page 1

Chardon Women Can Have Parcels Brought to Depot

     A new million dollar interurban station is being talked of for Cleveland. Before going ahead with the selection of a site, the committee has decided it will ascertain definitely to what extent the interurban lines and the Cleveland Railway Co. will cooperate. For the convenience of out-of-town shoppers a checking system will be inaugurated, whereby parcels may be delivered at the terminal.

* * *

Crush on Cars Only Temporary

Receiver Beatty Says Service Was Quickly Increased After Seeing Spring Rush

     “If the regular patrons of the Cleveland & Eastern Division of The Eastern Ohio Traction Co. complained bitterly about the overcrowding of the car which leaves Cleveland at 6:30 a.m. and the one which passes South Euclid at 5 p.m., they have evidently had an old women’s tea party among themselves, as the question has never been taken up with the management of the company in any way, shape or form, other than one communication which I received which was sent after double sections had been run to take care of the crowds which come on to our line, without the company being notified in any way that such a large increase was expected,” said Robt. D. Beatty, receiver of the Eastern Ohio Traction Co., Friday.
     “The increase was due to the opening of the spring season, whereby a large number of men were sent out along the line for the purpose of working on the Mayfield Golf Club grounds, the Baldwin contracting work, also the Cleveland Illuminating work. There is no doubt that until such time as we were assured that such a crowded condition would exist, which was probably for one or two days, the passengers were to a certain extent discomforted, but as soon as we were able to ascertain what the requirements would probably be, service was immediately started to take care of the crowd.
     “It was through no request, nor complaints from patrons of the road, that the running of trains in two sections to accommodate the crowd has been brought about, but simply through our endeavor to, in so far as possible, accommodate the public, as we appreciate their patronage and wish to increase it.”

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, April 15, 1910, Page 1

Flames Threaten Chesterland Caves

One Hundred Men Fight Fire that destroys Ten Acres of Woodland

     Chesterland Caves, the popular Geauga County summer resort, was threatened by flames for a time Thursday morning, but prompt response to a general alarm and hard work on the part of farmers saved it.
     The origin of the fire is unknown. It burned ten acres of woodland. It started near the cave stop on the E. O. T. and worked east toward the road. First reports said that several cottages had been destroyed, but later they were found to be untrue. . .

* * *

Runaway Lad Is Well Pleased with Novelty

     Novelty, April 13 – Cleveland papers of last week told of a boy who was missing from home. A strange boy came to Chagrin Falls and came home with John Nutt. Fred Nutt saw the account of a missing boy. Roy Rosenthal, 1651 Crawford Road, in the city papers. Questioning him, he concluded that the missing boy was the one they had. Nutt sent a special delivery to the boy’s father, who immediately came after him. The boy told his father he did not care to go home, as he had secured a position and could earn some money. His father said he would have to return to the city and go to school, and the couple left on the next car.

* * *

Part of Electric Line Sold

     The name of the former Eastern Ohio Traction Co. branch known as the Cleveland-Garrettsville line, was lost April 1 under the plans incident to the sale of two sections of the road, which were bought into the same interest, looking toward connection farther eastward. It is now the Cleveland, Youngstown & Eastern. One of the longest mortgages ever recorded in Portage County was the one given Saturday to cover the issue of the bonds in the recent sale. It covered 40 typewritten pages.

* * *

Snow Marks Anniversary of the Big Storm of 1901

     As if to commemorate the big storm of April 19, 1901, which will ever be remembered as most unusual in this section for so late in the season, snow Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
     Chardon citizens could scarcely believe their eyes when they awoke Tuesday morning to find the ground covered. Fruit trees in bloom laden with snow made a beautiful and rare sight.
     The storm was not as heavy as the one nine years ago which started on Friday, became heavier on Saturday and was drifted in many places to a depth of many feet. Traffic was suspended in many places and was hampered everywhere. It was not for a long time afterward that the snow disappeared.
     In many locations branches of trees were broken by Tuesday’s storm, but there was no damage in Geauga County. It was the heaviest snow storm at this time of year since the 1901 blizzard. . .

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, April 27, 1910, Page 5

Burton and Vicinity

     C. A. Dakin, who was laid up several weeks with a serious sickness, is now around again and will soon resume his work with the E. O. T. Co. at Gates Mills.

* * *

     Foreman Joe Curtis and his section men have commenced putting the track on this division of the E. O. T. in good condition, after the winter frosts and spring rains.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, April 29, 1910, Page 1

Traffic Held Up

     The falling of a trolley wire on the Burton-Middlefield branch of the E. O. T. Monday afternoon, held cars up two hours.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, April 29, 1910, Page 4

E. O. T. Cars Crash

Crew Has Narrow Escape near Babcock’s Crossing

     Claude Brewster, Will Eggleston and Will Brothers, of Chardon, had a narrow escape at 3:30 o’clock, Saturday afternoon near Babcock’s crossing on the E. O. T., when the line car crashed into the bonding car on which they were working.
     The line car was coming from Chardon. Although the bonding crew had their flags set, it is said the wind had blown them over, which is responsible for the crash.
     The men jumped just in time to escape injury. The car on which they had been working was thrown into the ditch. The accident occurred near a curve.

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May 1910

1. Cleveland youth arrives on interurban car seeking work, tries to leave with another man's money.

2. Eastern Ohio Traction Co. announces new summer schedule, additional service added to Chardon.

3. Chardon man severely injured in accident at Gates Mills car barn.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, May 4, 1910, Page 5

Wanted to Work Did This Boy, But He Went Wrong – Was Treated Humanely and Sent Back to Cleveland

     A pale-faced boy of slender build, who wore spectacles and said he was Charles Frank Van Dyke, aged 15, of Cleveland, arrived in Chardon on the 5 p.m. car Thursday. The first person he met was Frank Waste, who is employed at the coal and feed warehouse of C. H. King. The boy wanted to get work on a farm, he said.
     Waste’s sympathies were aroused, and he gave the boy his supper, lodging and breakfast at his rooms on Court Street.
     Friday morning, while Waste was at work, young Van Dyke met Mayor Austin, who volunteered to help him, and said he knew a farmer who wanted a boy.
     The lad then went to Waste’s rooms and stole $2. Neighbors telephoned Waste that the boy had been there. Waste investigated, found the money gone, and hurriedly sought Mayor Austin.
     The two men found Charles Frank Van Dyke ready to leave town on the 10:50 car. He handed over the $2. The Mayor took him to the village lockup, and confined him for a half hour. He acknowledged the theft, and wept bitterly. The Mayor and Probate Judge Reynolds gave the boy an earnest talking to, and enough money to pay his way back to the city and to sustain him for several days. He ate dinner with the Mayor, and left town on the 12:50 car.

* * *

Stone Caught in Chain

And Chardon Man’s Auto Was Hurled into the Ditch in Chester – Owner Escaped Unharmed

     Groceryman H. F. Goodrich met with an auto accident a half mile east of Chester Cross Roads about 6:30 o’clock Sunday evening.
     He was driving home from Chagrin Falls through the rain, and had left his wife and little son Harvey at Novelty station to come by car.
     The machine was going about 12 miles an hour when it ran over a good-sized stone. This raised the wheel up, causing the chain to catch in the fender and locking the wheel.
     Goodrich shut off the power instantly, but the machine swerved and went over into the ditch.
     The auto was hauled to a nearby farm barn, and Mr. Goodrich returned to Chardon on the 9 o’clock car. He went after the machine Monday.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, May 4, 1910, Page 5

Burton and Vicinity

     Ben Harrison is again doing duty as conductor on the E. O. T. after trying work for a year as traveling salesman for Cleveland grocery houses.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, May 13, 1910, Page 4

Local News

     Mrs. Diana Hill and Mrs. Rose A. Bower have sold the Hill farm, just south of town, to J. W. Marx for $9,000. The sale included 116 acres. Two railroads have a right of way through this farm, the B. & O. and the Cleveland & Eastern. The transfer was made last week.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, May 18, 1910, Page 5

Local and Personal

     The summer schedule of the Eastern Ohio Traction Co., effective May 16, provides additional service from Cleveland to Chardon on Sundays and holidays as follows: Hourly from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and 7, 9 and 10 p.m. From Chardon to Cleveland, 5:50, 6:50 a.m., hourly 8:50 a.m. to 7:50 p.m., and 9 p.m.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, May 20, 1910, Page 4

Squeezed by Cars

     Claude Brewster, of Chardon, was severely bruised and painfully injured in an accident at Gates Mills car barn last Thursday evening. In some way he was caught between the wall and a car, and rolled around and squeezed in the 8-inch space. His body was badly bruised from the hips up. He was brought to his home on the 9 o’clock car, where his injuries were attended by Dr. J. R. Davis. He is recovering from the accident, which narrowly missed resulting fatally.

* * *

Additional Local

     Pettis brothers have secured the contract for rebuilding a part of the Cleveland & Eastern car barns at Gates Mills. Work on the job will begin soon.

* * *

Local News

     E. O. T. officials made an inspection trip to Burton, Saturday.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, May 25, 1910, Page 1

Chester

     There are lots of city people out here Sundays. The cars have been packed. It needs hourly service or double-headers through the summer. The new summer schedule, which went into effect May 16, provides hourly service on Sundays, and it is an accommodation that will be appreciated.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, May 25, 1910, Page 5

Casting About

Auditor Cowles Put the New Tax Limit Law Up to Land Appraisers Tuesday

     The Real Estate Appraisers of Geauga County met Tuesday with Auditor H. A. Cowles by request. . .
     J. R. Downey, of Chester, said that he had listed the land in his township on a valuation of from $10 to $24 an acre. The latter figure he had placed on farm land near the C. & E. railway, for which $125 an acre had been refused. This is listing real estate at less than one-fifth of its actual value. Mr. Downey further said he thought that farms should not be listed at their cash value, but at what farmers transferred them for among themselves. Most of the deeds for farms recorded in Geauga County name $1 as the total consideration. . .

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June 1910

1. Suburban railway brings Real Estate boom to Chester.

2. Auditors raise value - taxes on local railways.

3. Cleveland & Eastern Railway sold at auction.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, June 3, 1910, Page 1

Public Careless in Cars

     “I often wonder what people think these cars are, anyhow,” remarked an E. O. T. conductor the other day. “They throw anything on the floor – banana skins, peanut shucks; it don’t make much difference what, it seems. It only makes work for others who have to clean up after them. I don’t believe this would do it in their own homes.”

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, June 8, 1910, Page 5

Chester to Grow

An Hour’s Trolley Ride to City, and Because of It Land Values Are Way Up – A Boom Had to Come

     . . . For several years past farmers adjacent to the Cleveland & Eastern railway in Chester have hesitated at naming a price per acre for their land, through fear that buyers would appear. . .
    A real estate boom was destined to come to Chester. It was the next place east of Gates Mill, whose hills and ravines have been eagerly purchased by city people in a sort of conquest for the simple life, a place where land had been rising in value since the coming of the suburban railroad a decade ago.
     A building boom, around Scotland Station, which is already the business center of a most delightful locality about an hour’s trolley ride from Cleveland, will not be long delayed, while towns eastward along the railroad are sure to feel the impetus of the new uplift, and profit because of it.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, June 8, 1910, Page 5

Burton and Vicinity

     Mrs. Parker will serve warm meals on Race matinee days during the summer at her home opposite the C. & E. depot. All invited.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, June 10, 1910, Page 4

Local News

     L. N. Grosvenor, of Claridon, is loading potatoes at the E. O. T. station this week.

* * *

     Claude Brewster began work Monday as engineer at the C. & E. subpower house at the Junction. John Chapman, former engineer, has gone to Niles, where he is employed at the same work.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, June 10, 1910, Page 8

Raise Valuation

     Auditor H. A. Cowles met last Thursday with the auditor of Cuyahoga County, and assessed the Cleveland & Eastern railway and the Cleveland, Youngstown & Eastern railway for taxation.
     The valuation of the main track of the Cleveland & Eastern was raised from $4,000 a mile to $4,250, and moneys and credits from $400 a mile to $700. No change was made in rolling stock, which remains the same as last year.
     The Cleveland, Youngstown & Eastern, known as the Garrettsville line, was raised $400 a mile.
     At a recent meeting of auditors in Painesville, at which Auditor Cowles was present, the valuation of the B. & O. railroad was raised $250 a mile from Fairport to Youngstown.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, June 17, 1910, Page 1

Hartley Palmer Weds in Burton

Miss Ella Miller, Popular Teacher, Becomes Wife at Pretty Home Wedding

     Mr. Hartley T. Palmer, of Chardon, and Miss Ella A. Miller, of Burton, a well-known and popular couple, were married at the home of the bride’s mother, Mrs. Mary E. Miller, on Spring Street, on Burton, at 1 o’clock, Thursday afternoon.
     The ceremony was performed by Rev. Dr. Scullen, of Cleveland, in the presence of thirty-five relatives. Arline Lehman was ring bearer. The house was decorated in green and white. . .
     Mr. Palmer is dispatcher of the Eastern Ohio Traction road, is a son of Mrs. Minnie Palmer, of Chardon High school, class of 1898. . .

* * *

Nightwatch is Attacked

But Affair Proves Pleasant Surprise and Results in banquet

     C. C. Woodard, popular night watchman, was attacked by a mob while waiting to meet the 11 o’clock car at the E. O. T. station, Wednesday night.
     Resistance was useless and Woodard soon found himself in Salgiver’s restaurant and the honored guest of a chicken supper tendered by seventeen of his friends.
     After the meal Photographer Strong took a picture. Woodard made a few remarks of thanks. It was a complete surprise.
     Woodard leaves his present position after Friday night when he expects to reside in Cleveland.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, June 17, 1910, Page 8

Electric Line is Sold at Auction

     The Cleveland & Eastern railway, last and only remaining asset in the way of property owned by the Eastern Ohio Traction Co., was knocked down at foreclosure sale by Receiver Robert D. Beatty, in Cleveland, Friday. It was purchased by H. P. McIntosh, president of the Guardian Bank, in the interest of the Cleveland & Eastern first mortgage bondholders.
     The price was $755,334, the upset figure, there being no competition. The bondholders have agreed to accept for the present $1,000,000 of bonds, a new issue of $800,000. They will forego interest on the new bonds for a period of two years, the first coupons being made payable July 1, 1912. This will give them an additional $80,000 with which to develop the property.
     The road is reported to be in good condition, and is now operating enough to show a fair margin over interest on the new bond issue. It will be operated by Robert D. Beatty, who will continue in charge of the lines of the Cleveland & Eastern and Youngstown & Eastern. The two systems will maintain joint headquarters in the Electric Building, Cleveland, but they will be operated entirely independent of one another.
     In the final round up of the receivership the holder of $900,000 Eastern Ohio Traction Co. consolidated bonds are wiped out, their bonds being worthless. There are debts also unprovided against which stockholders’ liability accrues, and shareholders of financial responsibility are subject to a heavy assessment.
     The Eastern Ohio Traction Co. has been called the “Jonah” of the traction lines centering in Cleveland. It was organized in 1902, with 83 miles of track through a consolidation of the Cleveland & Eastern, extending through Chardon, Burton, and Middlefield; the Cleveland & Chagrin Falls, and the Chagrin Falls & Eastern, the latter extending to Garrettsville. The plan was to extend the line to Leavittsburg, 13 miles further, making a connection with the Shenango Valley lines into Youngstown. Failure to provide funds for this extension made the Garrettsville line a drag on the system.
     Small holders were unable to meet their part of the proposed expense, and the larger interests in the company refused to hold the bag for the smaller fry. The road consequently went into receivership in 1902. Interest on debt piled up year after year, until finally the three properties were sold one by one, and underlying bondholders took them over to save their equities.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, June 24, 1910, Page 8

Believes in Adage “Early to Bed”

     John Egan, of Chardon, the popular Cleveland & Eastern conductor, probably has an earlier hour for retiring than any other employee of the road.
     Mr. Egan goes to bed at 8 p.m. regularly, and arises at 5 a.m. He never deviates from this rule. Summer and winter is all the same to him.
     “More than three-fourths of the American people have no fixed hours to rest,” Mr. Egan remarked a few days since. “They go to bed when they can’t go anywhere else, and get up in the morning when they are compelled to. I couldn’t live that way. If there is one thing we should all be punctilious about, it is in keeping regular hours of rest, for our hours of work are made regular for us by others.”

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July 1910

1. Geauga County Officials to hold annual picnic at Chester Caves.

2. Increase in number of personal automobiles adds pronounced odor of gasoline to Chardon Square.

3. Cleveland & Eastern announces new fare zones effective August 1st.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, July 6, 1910, Page 5

Burton and Vicinity

     Mr. Cathcart of the Western Reserve Historical Society of Cleveland, was in Burton last Tuesday looking up old newspapers and other interesting historical papers and articles for the Society collection. He now has the file of The Geauga Leader nearly complete since the present editor took charge and a large part before that. The society recognizes the value of the newspapers as records of history and is making strong efforts to complete files of Western Reserve papers. He called on Mrs. Jane Russell and others in an effort to locate some missing copies of papers. The Society has one of the finest historical collections in existence.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, July 8, 1910, Page 4

Local News

     Mrs. F. Greiner, 1816 E. 111th St., Cleveland, while returning home with Mrs. L. O. Sherman, Friday, on the 9 p.m. car, fractured her foot at Fowler’s Mills by the car stopping too far from the platform, she claims.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, July 15, 1910, Page 4

Local News

     Henry Newness has resigned as E. O. T. conductor and moved to Detroit, where he has secured a position in an auto factory.

* * *

     The bonding crew has been at work on the E. O. T. track in Chardon this week.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, July 20, 1910, Page 1

Burton

     The old C. & E. and the Eastern Ohio Traction Co. are a thing of the past now. Let the new Cleveland & Eastern railroad keep on remodeling the old road, as has been done, and in two years we will have one of the finest suburban railroads in Northern Ohio, and a service to be proud of.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, July 20, 1910, Page 5

Big Time at Picnic

County Officials and Their Families Hold Annual Outing Wednesday at Chester Caves

     The Geauga County officials and their families will hold their annual picnic at Chester caves, Wednesday, July 20, and that they will have a good time is a foregone conclusion.
     Ex-officials and their families also attend these annual events, which insure a gathering of respectable numbers.
     Last year’s picnic was held at Euclid beach, and the attendance was large.
     The inaccessibility of such distant places, however, and the long street car ride necessary to get there, caused the committee on time and place of this year’s picnic to select Chester Caves, which is easy of access, and a most desirable place for a picnic.
     The committee on amusements has, we learn, provided a program of sports that will be entertaining and undoubtedly exciting.
     The ladies have been vying with each other for several weeks in deciding what the dinner baskets will contain.
     Most of the Chardon contingent will leave town on the 8:50 a.m. car.

* * *

Autos Responsible For the Smell of Gasoline in Chardon – To Buy or Not to Buy Is the Question With Many

     The smell of gasoline in Chardon this summer is stronger than was ever known before. At times of low barometer, and when there is no wind stirring, the public square has a pronounced odor.
     It is not so deadly a smell, as comes from the town’s open cesspools and sewers, where offal is dammed up and festers under a blazing summer sun.
     The gasoline smell that tinctures the village air comes from the town’s increased number of autos, which are burning a large quantity of the volatile fluid these days.
     At all hours of the day, and until a late hour at night, Chardon auto owners are gliding about in every direction, carrying family parties and merry making.
     There is not a beauty spot in Northern Ohio but has been repeatedly visited this summer by local auto enthusiasts, some of them, since they yielded to the pressure and bought a machine, have learned more about the topography of their home county and also neighboring counties than they ever before knew.
     Thus it is that the auto, aside from the distinct pleasure of riding in a reliable machine, has become an educator of the people.
     The question of owning an auto – “to buy or not to buy” – admits of but one solution if a man has got the price, and then contracts the fever. He buys a machine.
     The fever, there is abundant proof, never subsides, but continues to consume his peace of mind until he does buy.
     If he buys a reliable machine, his repair bill is small, while the small cost of motive power is largely offset by the pleasure it brings.
     There will be more autos in Chardon next year, for some of our citizens who declared early this season that they didn’t care to own an auto, that it was cheaper to hire one, etc., have got the fever in big shape now, and are quietly figuring on the swath they’ll cut and the “joy rides” they’ll take in their new 1911 machines.

* * *

Sunday Schools to Picnic

     Children and older members of the Cong. Sunday school are looking forward to the annual picnic at Euclid Beach, Wednesday of next week. Two special cars will probably be chartered.
     C. L. Smith, Lloyd Bickle and D. F. Strong are the committee in charge of the picnic. Round trip tickets are 75c.
     The Christian Church Sunday school will picnic at Euclid Beach, Thursday of next week. Adults will be charged for round trip 75c and children 50c. All are invited to go.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, July 22, 1910, Page 4

Local News

     The Cleveland & Eastern Traction Co., of Cleveland, which is expected to build the electric line from Garrettsville to Leavittsburg, has increased its corporate capitalization from $100,000 to $1,000,000.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, July 22, 1910, Page 5

Chesterland

     Who wants a job? The stops and crosswalk from Scotland Station are unsafe and inconvenient and need attention. T. Phillips will give the lumber. R. Freeman offers to pay for part of the work and H. Weaver will superintend the job. Who will join Mr. Freeman in his offer and who wants the job? Notify H. Weaver.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, July 27, 1910, Page 4

Big Picnic Next Week

     The 5th annual reunion and picnic of Newbury Grange and the present and former employees of Geo. W. Stafford, veteran cheese box manufacturer and telephone company owner, will be held at Grange Park in Newbury, on Saturday, Aug. 6. A general invitation is extended to everyone. . .
     Passenger hacks will carry C. & E. passengers to and from the park. Hot coffee will be furnished free from the kitchen door of the Log Cabin. . .

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, July 29, 1910, Page 1

New Fare Zones

C. & E. Makes Changes to Take Effect August 1

     Fare zones on the Cleveland & Eastern have been reorganized, and taking effect Aug. 1 with fare rates in some higher, they will be as follows:
     Lee Road, 0; South Euclid, .05; Stop 14A, 10; Stop 20, .15; Stop 21A, .20; Stop 23, .25; Novelty, .30; Stop 28, .35; Stop 33, .40; Bass Lake, .45; Chardon, .50.
     Middlefield Branch – Stop 34, .40; Stop 38, .45; Stop 46, .50; Stop 52, .55; Stop 56, .60; Middlefield, .65.
     All East bound passengers desiring to change cars for the Middlefield Branch should so indicate to the conductor at the time they pay their fare beyond Stop 28 as they will then receive a hat check which will entitle them to ride to Stop 34.
     All West bound passengers should advise the conductor at the time they pay their fare beyond Stop 34 on the Middlefield Branch as they will receive a hat check from the conductor which will carry them to Stop 28.

* * *

Jumps from Moving Car

     Because he wouldn’t pay his city fare a stranger jumped off a swiftly moving E. O. T. car Sunday noon on Mayfield Road. He was rolled for some distance, and beyond a few bruises, was not hurt.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, July 29, 1910, Page 8

In Geauga’s Court House

Deeds Recorded

     Eastern Ohio Traction Co. by Special Master to H. P. McIntosh, all property in Chardon, $753,334.
     H. P. McIntosh to The Cleveland & Eastern Traction Co., same, $1.

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August 1910

1. C. & E. announces new fare zones, Burton patrons to pay higher rates.

2. "World's Richest Man" finds Chardon air to his liking.

3. Odd Fellow's lodge charters C. & E. cars for trip to Euclid Beach to witness aviator Curtiss fly his airship over Lake.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, August 3, 1910, Page 1

Burton Stuck for Extra Nickel

     The C. & E. has again raised the fare from Burton to Cleveland, in effect August 1. It now costs 65c from Burton into the city. This is done by changing the fare zones. For instance, the one affecting Burton is accomplished by moving the fare zone from Burton station to Belle-Vernon Stop 52. This moves Burton one zone further east. Several other changes of the same kind along the line raise the fare for other places. Chardon and Middlefield remain the same. Burton people can save this 5c addition by taking the car at Belle-Vernon. The new deal increases the fare between Burton and Punderson Lake to 15c, and between Burton and Chardon to 40c.
     Considerable opposition is being made to the raise in instances on the west end of the line.

Below is given the new schedule of fare zones as follows:

Main Line – Lee Road 0, South Euclid 5c, Stop 14A 10c, Stop 20 15c, Stop 21A 20c, Stop 23 25c, Novelty 30c, Stop 28 (first stop west of Junction) 35c, Stop 33 (first stop east of Junction) 40c, Bass Lake 45c, Chardon 50c.

Middlefield Branch – Stop 34 (first stop east of Junction 40c, Stop 38 ¾ 45c, Stop 46 50c, Stop 52 (Belle-Vernon) 55c, Stop 56 (Cuyahoga River) 60c, Middlefield 65c.

     All east bound passengers desiring to change cars for the Middlefield branch should so indicate to the conductor at the time they pay their fare beyond Stop 28 as they will then receive a hat check which will entitle them to ride to Stop 34.
     All west bound passengers should advise the conductor at the time they pay their fare beyond Stop 34 on the Middlefield Branch as they will receive a hat check from the conductor which will carry them to Stop 28.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, August 3, 1910, Page 8

Middlefield

     Nearly 100 Middlefield people were in Burton last Saturday attending the races, one car load and many drove over. The races were good and all had a good time.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, August 5, 1910, Page 1

Two Men Are Arrested on Charge of Kidnapping Boy

Brothers of Cleveland Man Said to Have Taken Child After Divorce Suit Was Filed

     Sequel to divorce proceedings begun by Lizzie Hissa against Jacob Hissa Wednesday morning, John Hissa and Charles Hissa were arrested Wednesday afternoon charged with kidnapping Martin, two-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Hissa. The men were taken into custody by Sheriff W. W. Cowin and Deputy Sheriff Homer J. Ballard at Lake Punderson, where they were at work on the C. & E. line. . .
     It is claimed that Jacob while in Burton persuaded John and Charles to go to the home, abduct the child, carry him to the car while Hissa was waiting. Father and child are supposed to have gone back to Cleveland. . .
     Hissa is also charged with causing the baby to be stolen. Hissa has been living at 1608 East 25th Street, Cleveland. C. & E. cars were searched Monday night for traces of the child. Mrs. Hissa claims that for more than 3 years she has been compelled to rely on her own resources and he has kicked her and ordered her from the house.

* * *

5c More to Get to City

Burton People Don’t Like Raise in Fare in Electric Line

     Burton people are forced to pay five cents more to get to Cleveland by the changing in fare zones of the C. & E., which took effect Monday.
     The one effecting Burton was made by moving it from Burton to Belle-Vernon Stop 52. This moves Burton one zone further east.
     Burton people have found a way to save this additional 5c by taking the car at belle-Vernon stop. The fare between Burton and Punderson Lake is now raised to 15c. The fare from Burton to Chardon is now 40c. Fares from Middlefield and Chardon to Cleveland remain the same. It now costs Burton people 65c to go to Cleveland.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, August 5, 1910, Page 4

Local News

     Will and Ernie Pettis are working at the macaroni factory in Chardon. They are to rebuild part of the big smoke stack, and make it higher.

* * *

At the County Seat

     Sheriff Cowin and Dept. Homer Ballard went to Punderson Lake Wednesday and arrested John and Charles Hissa for kidnapping the two year old son of their brother Jacob. They brought them to Chardon, and before Justice Parks they plead not guilty and were placed under bonds of $500.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, August 10, 1910, Page 8

Middlefield

     The News says the electric car fare between Burton and Middlefield has been raised from 60c to 65c. The News is mistaken. The fare is only 10c, the same as for many years. In fact, the new schedule of fares favors Middlefield in that the 10c zone is extended to Belle-Vernon stop west of Burton (formerly 15c) which ended at Burton depot under the old schedule.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, August 12, 1910, Page 1

Fresh Air Children Happy on Burton Fair Grounds

     Happy days for a score of children from the congested parts of Cleveland, who have been enjoying a two weeks’ outing on the Geauga County fair grounds at Burton, getting initiated into the mysteries of the country and breathing pure air, are rapidly drawing to a close. . .
     Charles Huey, genial motorman on the Burton-Middlefield division of the C. & E., who is an adept with the camera, has made himself solid with the children by taking a picture of the camp and presenting one to each child.

* * *

Want Higher Wages

     Conductors and motormen on the Eastern Ohio Traction Co. have been holding closed meetings during the last week. Wages and working conditions have been gone over and a committee has been appointed to call upon R. D. Beatty, receiver for the company with a view to adjusting the demands. At the headquarters of the Cleveland street car men’s union, which also is the office of a national organizer, it was said something would be done about the meeting with Beatty today or tomorrow.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, August 12, 1910, Page 4

Additional Local

     Conductor Baird will not stand for drinking on his car. He knocked a whiskey bottle from the hand of a dry passenger near Mansfield, Saturday night, and it went out the window.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, August 17, 1910, Page 5

John D. Favors Chardon with Frequent Visits Three Days – “A Fine Town and Fine Air,” World’s Richest Man Declares

     John D. Rockefeller’s repeated visits to Chardon of late, the pleasure he has expressed at the being here, the spontaneous compliments he has bestowed on the village, and what he says about Chardon air – has pleased our citizens so much that they feel slighted now when a day passes and his auto doesn’t pull up on the Public Square.
     Mr. Rockefeller has been here nine times within a month. About three weeks ago his touring car drew up in front of L. L. Fletcher’s store on Main Street. The oil magnate was recognized by Mr. Fletcher, who went out and chatted with him.
     “You have a most delightful air, I am coming here again,” said Mr. Rockefeller on the occasion of his first visit.
     Then his auto began to come more frequently. The chauffeur pulled up on the east side of the Public Square, and Mr. Rockefeller picked out a particular iron seat in the center of the park, and sat down on it several days in succession.
     “This is indeed a fine air; it is like mountain air,” Mr. Rockefeller remarked with a contented look, as he filled his lungs repeatedly with Chardon’s life-giving ozone.
     Then he inquired particularly if malaria or catarrh was encountered. He seemed pleased to learn that there was none of it here.
     On Tuesday and Wednesday of the last week, several Chardon ladies were introduced to the noted visitor in the park. He expressed genuine pleasure at meeting them, and enjoyed an old-fashioned friendly talk.
     On Wednesday afternoon one of the first men to meet John D. Rockefeller was Mel Hossler, who sells independent oil. Hossler was introduced by V. W. Wellman, a North Munson farmer, who worked 25 years for Mr. Rockefeller, and is now on the pension list of the Standard Oil Co. Nothing was said about oil.
     N. P. Munsell, of this place, was instantly recognized by Mr. Rockefeller, who called him by name and said: “I am glad to see you.”
     Mr. Munsell traveled extensively several years for the Standard Co. “The last time I saw you were in Ashville, N. C.,” he observed.
     “I remember it well,” said Mr. Rockefeller.
     Accompanying the richest man in the world to Chardon last Wednesday were W. C. Rudd, his brother-in-law, Mr. Rudd’s son-in-law, two ladies and the chauffeur, all of Cleveland.
     Mr. Rockefeller intended to visit the magnetic well west of town on his way home, but he enjoyed himself so strenuously in the park that he over-stayed his allotted time, and postponed his inspection of the purest and best water in the State to another day. He is anxious to k now the analysis of it.
     Among the ladies he met in the park were Mrs. Henry Bickle, Mrs. Kate Moore and Miss Sophia Knowles.
     Mrs. Bickle remembered Mr. Rockefeller when she was a girl and attended the old Baptist Mission at the corner of Scoville and Sterling Avenues in Cleveland, and of which he was superintendent for many years.
     “Ah, indeed, this is a great pleasure. I am delighted to meet you,” he said to her, while his face beamed the evident truth of his words.
     Someone vouched for the superior quality of the magnetic well water, the great quality that flowed from it, its value as a cure for rheumatism, and also that Chardon citizens were going to vote on the proposition to construct sanitary sewers and waterworks.
     “I have no data, but I should think that water ought to be brought here,” said John D. Rockefeller.
     “Have you no water?” asked W. C. Rudd.
     Mr. Rudd was informed that the town’s water supply came from private wells, and from fire cisterns in front of the stores, and that Chardon business men occasionally used water from the cisterns to clean their stores.
     Chardon people are impressed with the idea that John D. Rockefeller has become tired of his Forest Hill estate in Cleveland; that the city has grown up all around him, and there is too much noise.
     One thing is certain; we have got Forest Hill beat on quality of air. There is nothing equal it in Ohio.
     And then Mr. Rockefeller cannot motor among the lake shore any more without encountering autos by the hundred, and clouds of dust. He is seeking more pastoral scenes these days, ane. He finds great pleasure in mingling with those who live the simple.
     Mr. Rockefeller promised to be in Chardon last Thursday, and no one doubts that he intended to keep his word. But enroute here he passed the home of C. H. Hickox in Russell where a largely attended meeting of the Farmers’ Club was in progress. He simply could not miss it.
     His auto stopped in front of the house. Mr. Hickox went out and the oil magnate introduced himself.
     “I would like dearly to meet the people here,” he said. The next moment he was being introduced right and left. Upon learning that the pioneers of Newbury and Russell were to meet at Grange Park, Sept. 10, Mr. Rockefeller expressed a desire to attend, and promised he would try and be present.
     When citizens gathered around Mr. Rockefeller in the park the first day he was there, some of the men blushed when he spoke to them, while others seemed to be stupefied at close contact with a man who represented so much wealth, and appeared unable to speak. Mr. Rockefeller’s friendliness, has dissipated this feeling now. A Chardon lady says of him: “Mr. Rockefeller is a very nice man. He isn’t half as pompous as some men who haven’t two cents.” And this is true.
     The lure of the country is growing stringer all the time. Can it be that John D. Rockefeller, a man who could go anywhere for pleasure, has heard the call? Anyway, he is enjoying himself to the utmost in Chardon, and Geauga County these days, and he is being given a friendly welcome and glad hand.
     Come often, Mr. Rockefeller.
     Later – John D. Rockefeller came to Chardon early Monday afternoon with a party of ladies. The thermometer was 93 in the shade.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, August 24, 1910, Page 8

Mayfield, East Hill

     Gates Mills S. S. decided to hold their picnic at Bass Lake. When their special car arrived there, a search was made for a place to spread lunch. The choice was between a dry and barren cow pasture and a swamp. The car was boarded again, and brought the crowd back to Chester Caves, where the day was spent.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, August 26, 1910, Page 1

Guests at Hotel Robbed

Attired in Their Clothing Thief Boards Car for City

     Guests at the Braden hotel in Middlefield were victimized by a foreigner who has been staying at the hotel and working on the erection of the new Lampson block near.
     Returning from work Tuesday afternoon he entered the rooms of the boarders.
     Dan Gingerich is minus a pair of shoes, shirt, necktie and $5; George Woods lost $3; Ray Pickett is minus his best Sunday-go-to-meetin’ suit; Carl Braden reports the loss of money and small articles.
     Attired in the raiment of his victims the stranger was seen to board an E. O. T. car and disappear in the direction of Cleveland. Marshal Wilkerson is making an effort to capture him.

* * *

Nothing Doing Here Tuesday

     All aboard for Euclid Beach next Tuesday, Aug. 30, to witness Glenn H. Curtis make his airship flight to Cedar Point over Lake Erie!
     Chardon merchants announced Monday their intention of taking a day off and witnessing this great event. Tuesday, the Odd Fellows lodge got busy, arranged for three electric cars, and invited the merchants and all to join with them in an excursion to Euclid Beach, Aug. 30.
     The round trip fare has been placed at 65 cents, which is low enough to insure a large excursion. Tickets can be secured of N. M. Goodrich, Henry Wilbur, W. H. Radcliffe, committee.
     It us requested that those who intend going secure tickets not later than Saturday night. The cars seat 48 persons comfortably, and as soon as the three cars are sold more cars will be ordered. Don’t delay buying a ticket if you intend to go.
     The only stores open here Aug. 30 will be the meat markets, which will close at 9:00 a.m., and reopen at 6
    p.m. The first car will leave Chardon at 7 a.m.; the second at 7:30, and the third soon after.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, August 31, 1910, Page 4

Belle-Vernon

When the milk car at Belle Vernon stops
And the motorman attempts
To swipe the Vickroy ox
With buggy and harness free
It shows an appreciation
Of speed beyond the C. & E.
And classes with the highest art
That’s only equaled by an ox cart.


* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, August 31, 1910, Page 5

Burton and Vicinity

     Actor Chas. Huey during his performance at the opera house last Wednesday evening was presented with an immense bouquet of corn stalks and sun flowers by his brother crews of the C. & E. He made a hit as the dutchman police.

* * *

Back to Top



September 1910

1. Thousands flock to Euclid Beach to see famous avaitor's daring flight.

2. C. & E. motorman foils pickpocket's plan.

3. New Youngstown to Painesville trolley line proposed.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, September 2, 1910, Page 1

Chardon Folk See Curtiss in Flight

Go to Euclid Beach in Special Cars to Watch Celebrated Aviator Make World Record

     There was a generous scattering of Chardon people among the thousands in Cleveland, Tuesday, who gathered to see Glenn Curtiss make his announced flight from Euclid Beach to Cedar Point.
     It was like Sunday in Chardon, Tuesday. In fact the town was almost a deserted village. Stores were closed.
     Shortly after 7 o’clock in the morning four special cars carried 212 residents to Cleveland.
     Contrary winds prevent Curtiss from making the world’s record long distance flight over water on that day. But they were not disappointed.
     They saw Curtiss fly. About sunset Tuesday when the wind died down, he shot up from the beach above tooting yachts and 15,000 cheering men and women, flew a mile out, traced a great mile in long oval high above the water, then dank slightly to his starting point.
     Chardon people were better satisfied than if they had seen Curtiss make his flight to Cedar Point. Had he done so on that day he would have been out of sight in about ten minutes. As it was they were afforded an excellent chance to see the wonderful aviator perform.
     Curtiss made the successful flight from Euclid Beach to Cedar Point, Wednesday.

* * *

Burton Players Making Hit

     “The Corner Store,” a four-act comedy drama which has been presented by the Burton Dramatic Club, and which has made a decided hit, may come to Chardon. Friday evening it will be at Huntsburg and Saturday evening at Middlefield. During the performance at Burton last week Chas. Huey, whose character as a Dutchman is one of the star roles, was presented with a large bouquet of sun flowers and corn stalks by his brother crews of the C. & E.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, September 2, 1910, Page 4

Local News

     Next Monday is Labor Day. The C. & E. freight office will be closed.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, September 9, 1910, Page 1

Arrested for Pickpocketing

     Frank Hagenbecker’s pocket was picked of $15 in a saloon near E. 9th Street and St. Clair Avenue, N. E., Labor Day. He suspected a man, who said he was from Chardon, of taking the money, he told Patrolman Glaefke, according to the Plain Dealer. The officer waited for the next interurban for Chardon to come along. Then, with Hagenbecker, he hopped aboard. As a result a man, giving the name of Lester Cox, 20, farmer, Chardon, was placed under arrest on a charge of pocketpicking.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, September 9, 1910, Page 4

Local News

     Traffic over the E. O. T. to and from Chardon on Labor Day was heavy.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, September 14, 1910, Page 1

Burton

     A narrow escape from what might have been a serious accident, occurred Saturday night, when the car due in Burton at 1:10 o’clock ran into an open switch just east of the depot (left open by the crew of the freight car). The motorman reversed the power and jumped, also the conductor. The trolley flew off the wire, and the car came to a stop in time to prevent any serious mishap to the dozen or more passengers in the car bound for Middlefield.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, September 14, 1910, Page 5

Local and Personal

     The C. & E. will run a special car from Chardon direct to the County Fair grounds at 8 o’clock on Thursday and Friday. There will also be hourly service between Chardon and the Junction, to connect with the hourly cars from Cleveland to Burton.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, September 14, 1910, Page 5

Chardon

     Sept. 11 – William Wolf, Ed. Ferry and S. Higgins, all of Chester, O., were arrested at Chesterland Caves and brought here today on charges of attacking C. Eddy and R. C. Eddy, proprietors of the Chesterland Caves resort, several miles west of here on the Cleveland & Eastern traction line.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, September 16, 1910, Page 1

Bishop Farrelly Dedicates Chardon Catholic Church

Nearly Three Thousand People Attend the Biggest Religious Event in Town’s History

     Chardon welcomed over 2,000 visitors Sunday in the biggest religious event in its history, the dedication of St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
     Two special trains from Cleveland, one from Painesville, over the B. & O., special cars on the Eastern Ohio traction lines and many automobiles augmented the crowd. Bishop Farrelly, of the diocese of Cleveland, was the big figure. . .

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, September 16, 1910, Page 4

Local News

     Brush is being cut down along the line of the C. & E. railroad, while long stretches of track are being improved with cinders. It has been a season of general improvement for the Cleveland & Eastern.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, September 21, 1910, Page 1

A Pickpocket Outwitted

     Wally Akins was the victim of a pickpocket for just a few minutes last Thursday on his way home from the Burton fair.
     He was on a C. & E. car going to his home in Newbury. The car was very crowded, and a stranger crowded suspiciously against him on the way over to the Fairbank stop where Akin lives. As Akins swung off the car he felt the stranger’s hand extract his pocketbook. The car started quickly and could not be stopped. Another was following and Akins boarded it and explained the matter to the motorman who speeded up and overtook the other car and got it stopped. Akins and the car crews compelled the thief to disgorge and Akins went back home with the full amount of his money.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, September 21, 1910, Page 5

Burton and Vicinity

     On the fairgrounds last Thursday as J. Riley drove across the electric track his horses suddenly became unmanageable caused by stepping on a charged rail. They sprang forward and into the air and Mr. Riley holding firmly to the reins turned a summersault over the dashboard, an acrobatic stunt that few would care to imitate, and fell down among the horses heels. The occupants rapidly made their exit from the buggy, and as help was instantly at hand no serious accidents occurred.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, September 28, 1910, Page 5

Local and Personal

     There has been a heavy passenger traffic on the Cleveland & Eastern railroad during all the past summer, and freight traffic has been correspondingly heavy.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, September 30, 1910, Page 1

New Electric Line Will Not Touch Chardon

     Youngstown and Painesville are to be joined by a trolley line if plans under consideration are carried out, says a special dispatch from Painesville.
     The new road, however, will not strike Chardon or Burton. The road bed will follow the old State road between the two cities. The first hamlet it proposes to touch is Windsor Mills. Rights of way for the entire distance have been secured, and it is understood work will soon be started. J. R. Curtis, former superintendent of the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Co., and Geo. Carpenter, vice president of the Development Securities Co. of Cleveland, are the promoters.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, September 30, 1910, Page 4

Chester

     The masquerade at the Caves last Saturday night was largely attended. Seventy-five got off of one eastbound car, most of whom were from Cleveland, while Chardon, Willoughby, Chagrin Falls and Burton were well represented at the dance.

* * *

Back to Top



October 1910

1. Cleveland & Eastern takes drastic measures to resore order, Car men sworn in as Peace Officers.

2. Foggy night and slippery rails cause collision on Electric line, several passengers suffer cuts and bruises.

3. Cleveland & Eastern reorganization brings new winter schedule, several crew men to relocate as part of route changes.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, October 5, 1910, Page 5

Local and Personal

     A special car will convey Chardon and Chester K. P.’s to Cleveland, Saturday, Oct. 15, in full dress uniform, to take part in the centennial military parade.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, October 5, 1910, Page 1

Doings of a Week

     Several of the Cleveland & Ashtabula electric road’s oldest conductors have been let off for passing girls.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, October 5, 1910, Page 4

Belle-Vernon

When going west on C. & E.
Take the car at B. & V.
Stop 52 is the route
From fairground down
Is in the mickle
And save coughing up a nickel.


* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, October 7, 1910, Page 1

Railway Makes Employees Police

Cleveland & Eastern Line Determined to Stop Rowdyism on Suburban Cars

     Forced by the element of rowdyism and disgusting conduct among certain passengers on its cars that has grown to an alarming degree, the management of the Eastern Ohio Traction Co., for the protection of property and patrons is swearing in all motormen and conductors as police.
     Without any seeming regard for other passengers, especially women, objectional language is not infrequently heard and whiskey bottles have been flourished and passed around in the smoker as though that section of the car was owned by the occupants.
     Motormen and conductors of the road deserve commendation for the way they have sought to keep order on the cars. Many times have conductors knocked bottles from the hands of men and sent them flying out the window. Drunks have been put off.
     A few weeks ago there might have been a serious cutting affair between two men had not Miss Garda Metcalfe, of Chardon, who was a passenger, stepped between two men, when one of them whipped out a large knife, his anger flared to highest pitch over a trivial matter because of his intoxicated condition.
     Robert D. Beatty, general manager of the railroad, said to a Chardon newspaper man Monday:
     “Taking effect at once a number of our men will be sworn in for the purpose of protecting the patrons of the road. This action, which will bestow police power upon the employees will give them the power to make arrests, and it is hoped will be the means of stopping rowdyism and irregularities, particularly on the night cars. The company has expended considerable money for the purpose of maintaining order on its cars, and has in a way reduced the nuisance caused by intoxicated and disorderly persons.
     “If the present arrangement does not absolutely suppress the disorder, the company will then endeavor to take other means which will be far more drastic, as it is determined to maintain order at any cost.”

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, October 14, 1910, Page 4

Local News

     The October meeting of the Russell Farmers’ club will be held at the residence of John Timmons, Bainbridge, Thursday, Oct. 13. Parties taking the car will be met with wagons. A large attendance is desired.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, October 19, 1910, Page 5

Burton and Vicinity

     R. L. Palmer of Warrensville, who built the C. F. & G. electric railroad, was in Burton Thursday.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, October 21, 1910, Page 1

Ten Hurt as Cars Meet in Thick Fog

Passengers, Homebound from Centennial on C. & E., Get Cuts and Bruises

     Ten passengers, homeward bound from the centennial celebration, were slightly injured when a passenger and a freight car on the Cleveland & Eastern interurban line met head-on in a fog at Stop 10, South Euclid, Saturday night.
     Motorman G. Simpson, of the passenger car, was caught in his crushed vestibule and received a bad cut below the knee. Frank Dura, 0f 7516 Central Avenue S. E., sustained bad cuts on all the fingers of one hand when they were caught in a broken window. Miss Irene Maxwell, of South Euclid, was cut on the face by glass and bruised about the body. Henry Foote, of Cleveland, was also severely cut and bruised. Six others received slight cuts and bruises and a severe shaking up.
     The accident occurred on the main track where the cars take the siding to pass. The freight car was in charge of Motorman L. Emnshoff and Conductor C. E. Freeman. The passenger car, which left the square at 6 o’clock, was in charge of Motorman G. Simpson and Conductor E. A. Robbins.
     The freight car was bound for Cleveland and had stopped at the switch to await the arrival of another west-bound car before taking the siding to allow the eastbound car to pass. The heavy fog is blamed for the collision as it shut off the view of the motormen and made the track slippery.
     When the passenger car was nearly upon the freight car the motormen first became aware of the danger. Emnshoff immediately started to back his car, while Simpson applied the brakes on the passenger car. Then the slippery rails got in their work and the cars came together. Both cars were so badly damaged that a third car was called to take care of the passengers and another freight car was sent tom unload the freight and take it back to Chardon.
     When the first excitement of the crash was over the passengers picked themselves up and rushed from the car. Nearly all who had received injuries were directed to the home of Dr. J. E. Rowland, nearby, where their cuts and bruises were dressed.

* * *

Many Get New Runs with Winter Schedule on C. & E.

     A general reorganization of employees took effect Monday on the Cleveland & Eastern with the new winter schedule. Many of the men are placed on different runs.
     Clarence Freeman, a C. & E. conductor, will move his family from Chardon to Burton for the winter. Paul Haines, another C. & E. conductor, will go to Gates Mills with his family to spend the winter with her parents, Geo. Varney and wife.

* * *

Horse Makes Burton Car Late

     The 7:10 car was nearly an hour late Wednesday night, owing to the fact that a horse was stuck in the trestle just east of the Junction. With the aid of ropes and plank the car crew and passengers succeeded in rescuing the animal without any broken bones.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, October 26, 1910, Page 4

Additional Middlefield

     Motorman Chas. Huey of the C. & E., got a big bouquet of dahlias on his run Monday, from Mrs. Anna Grant, who has a very large collection of those plants. His Conductor gets a dingle blossom of that variety from another source every day.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, October 28, 1910, Page 4

Local News

     The C. & E. is putting in a new switch at the onion farm on the Middlefield-Burton division.

* * *


     A trolley wire down at Stop 20 made the 8 o’clock car 35 minutes late Monday morning.

* * *

Back to Top



November 1910

1. Paving of Mayfield Road continues its eastbound march.

2. New management takes over E. O. T. owned Middlefield Hotel, improvements promised.

3. Heavy snow disrupts travel by electric car and road alike, mail carriers bring out sleighs to make their rounds.

4. Geauga County population declines over last decade.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, November 2, 1910, Page 1

Chester

     Farmers can now turn into the pavement at Whiting’s Corners, Mayfield, Stop 16, with their heavy loads of potatoes and apples. This is a great improvement over the old plank road. Would not it be a good thing to have the pavement even nearer? Our roads are the great question today. We hope the time is near when the State road will be paved from Munson to Mayfield.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, November 2, 1910, Page 5

Local and Personal

     The clerk of the County Election Board desires it stated that the ballots and supplies will be ready at Chardon for the election judges early enough Saturday morning, so they can leave town on the 8:50 car if they wish.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, November 2, 1910, Page 4

East Burton

     Section hands on the C. & E. have been at work changing the switch near Stop 56A.

* * *

     Only two cars a day each way between Chagrin Falls and Garrettsville. Leave Chagrin at 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., and leave Garrettsville at 7:00 a.m. and 4 p.m.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, November 11, 1910, Page 1

Hotel Management Changes

     Middlefield, Nov. 5 – Passengers for the Eastern Ohio Traction cars will be granted the privilege of waiting in the parlors of the hotel which has been under the management of E. H. Braden and wife. The Bradens have moved to Akron. Arthur Ensign has secured a lease on the building, which is owned by the Eastern Ohio Traction Co., and the hotel will soon be open for business again, after several repairs are made.

* * *

Family Stranded

     A man, woman and child, giving their names as Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Purcell and daughter Maud arrived on the 7 o’clock car Sunday evening of last week and claimed to be stranded.
     They applied to Landlord Timm of the Chardon House for lodging. The trustees were informed of the plight of the family, and they authorized Timm to give them lodging.
     The woman was scarcely more than a young girl. Asked as to his nationality, Purcell said he was part Indian. He looked it.
     The following day they were given transportation to Pittsburg. Purcell said he came from Toledo.

* * *

Carriers Make Trips in Sleighs

     Rural carriers made their trips in sleighs, Monday, in Geauga County, as the result of the first heavy snow storm of the season which began Saturday night and increased to the proportions of a blizzard, Sunday. Eastern Ohio Traction cars were slightly delayed, Sunday and Monday.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, November 16, 1910, Page 1

Burton

     The Burtonites who were in Cleveland last Friday, and returned at 3 a.m. Saturday, have decided not to start out on a pleasure trip in a snow storm in the future.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, November 16, 1910, Page 4

Belle-Vernon

     Five officials of the B. V. Creamery were looking it over one day last week and when ready to return to the city made the ludicrous mistake of signaling and trying to catch the freight car.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, November 16, 1910, Page 8

Middlefield

     The big snow storm of last Friday and Saturday interfered greatly with travel on the highway and electric road. Mail carriers had a hard time making their trips and all kinds of heavy teaming were suspended for two or three days. The temperature was very mild, falling but little below the freezing point. Our oldest inhabitants remember nothing like it for the time of year.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, November 18, 1910, Page 1

4 Cars Off Track

     Slippery rails during the heavy snow storm on Friday of last week derailed four Cleveland & Eastern cars.
     A car off the track at Novelty made the 5 o’clock car an hour and a half late into Chardon.
     The car due into Middlefield at 7:25 did not arrive there until 4 o’clock Saturday morning. It was off the track at Lake Punderson with a dozen passengers.
     The freight car was off the track earlier in the day on the Middlefield division, and later Conductor Dock George’s car got stalled near the Junction.
     “Chardon comes under the wire ahead of all competitors in the first-sleighing-of-the-season contest,” says the Ohio State Journal. The depth of the snow varies anywhere from six to 10 inches, according to which correspondent sends in the interesting item.”

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, November 30, 1910, Page 5

Geauga’s Population Fell Off 74

     The population of Geauga County in 1900 was 14,744, and 14,670 in 1910, a loss in 10 years of 74.
     Conclusive proof of the tendency of the population of the country toward the big cities the past decade is seen in the detailed report of the population of Ohio by counties, made public at Washington last Wednesday. Of Ohio’s 88 counties 39, or almost half, show a loss in population over the census report of 1900.
     All of these 39 counties are rural counties. The counties in which the big cities are located, on the other hand, show a steady, and in some cases, an enormous increase in population. Cuyahoga and her neighbor counties in the northeastern part of the State leading in this gain.
     The back to the farm movement, if it has yet begun in Ohio, had not gained sufficient headway to have itself recorded in figures when the census of the State was taken last spring.
     Of the northeastern section including the 28 counties bounded on the west by Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca, and Crawford counties, and including Richland, Ashland, Wayne, Stark and Columbiana counties along the south, only one, Geauga, lost in population. Geauga’s loss presumably, must be charged to the slump in agriculture during the past decade, a slump which apparently has reached its lowest ebb, and is well on the upward turn.

* * *

Back to Top



December 1910

1. Thankgiving day sees Cleveland & Eastern cars filled to capacity as crowds flock to Geauga.

2. Punderson Lake property-owner expands holdings, gains control of water rights.

3. Record-breaking snow and cold weather hit Geauga County, derailments delay mails and Holiday vistors.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, December 2, 1910, Page 1

Holiday Crowds Flock to Geauga

Thanksgiving Marked by Bad Storm and Excellent Address in Christian Church

     Holiday traffic on the Cleveland & Eastern Railroad broke all records, Thanksgiving.
     Many hunters augmented the holiday crowd bound for Geauga County to enjoy the holiday.
     Cars were double-headed between the Junction and Gates Mills. Motormen say that on Wednesday evening at least 150 people waiting for Chardon-Burton-Middlefield cars on the street corners in Cleveland were passed by because the cars were then crowded to fullest capacity. . .

* * *

Lake County Smallest in Area

     Lake County is the smallest in Ohio in point of area but not in point of population. There are fourteen counties smaller when it comes to the number of people.
     Carroll, Fayette, Geauga, Harrison, Holmes, Madison, Morgan, Morrow, Noble, Ottawa, Pike, Union, Vinton and Wyandotte are all smaller. Of these Geauga is the smallest with only 14,670 people. Ottawa is the largest with 22,360. Ashland just beats out Lake with 22,975.
     Lake County has only grown a little over 1200, but some of the counties show actual losses. Lake’s growth is around Willoughby and Wickliffe. It is expected that the towns in Lake will come in very soon.

* * *

The Geauga County Record, Friday, December 2, 1910, Page 4

Local News

     Wellington Eggleston and family have removed to Gates Mills for the winter, to be nearer his work as a C. & E. motorman.

* * *

The Geauga Republican, Wednesday, December 7, 1910, Page 5

Local and Personal

     It has been a year of general improvement on the C. & E. railroad.

* * *

Hunting Season Is Over for this Year

     The legal hunting season for rabbits and quail closed on Dec. 4. Owing to the absence of snow part of the time since Nov. 15, when the season opened, less game has been killed than usual.
     It is estimated that over a thousand hunters from Cleveland have visited Geauga County during the last three weeks.
     This estimate is probably low, for some Cleveland & Eastern cars carried as many as 50 hunters at a single trip.
     More ferrets were used in violation of the law than ever before. As hunting is forbidden on many farms, there is an abundance of game left. Less game has been bought in the local market than for a good many years.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, December 14, 1910, Page 5

Burton and Vicinity

     Ernest Smith, C. & E. motorman, has secured a 90-day vacation, and he and his wife and his mother, Mrs. Wm. Smith, left last week Tuesday for Eustis, Florida, to spend the winter with the Geauga county colony in that place.

* * *

     W. B. Cleveland who owns the Punderson Lake property, has bought the Downey grist mill at South Newbury which adjoins his estate and will have possession in the spring. Mr. Downey retains the residence portion of the property, but the pond and water right goes with the mill. Thus Mr. Cleveland now controls the entire water privileges of this fine lake and pond and this purchase stops the litigation that has been pending for a long time to determine some questions of ownership of the outlet of Punderson Lake.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, December 14, 1910, Page 8

Middlefield

     The New Middlefield Hotel is now doing business under the management of O. A. Ensign and wife. They cordially solicit a share of the business and will do all they can to satisfy their patrons.

* * *

The Geauga Leader, Wednesday, December 28, 1910, Page 5

Burton and Vicinity

     This winter so far is a record-breaker for snow and cold weather in Geauga County. Beginning the first week in November the ground has been hidden by deep snow and the mercury has been down below the freezing mark all the time, but with no very severe cold. For many winters there has been but little if any snow before Christmas, but this year there has been nothing else, and the rural carriers and school wagons and milk haulers have experienced much difficulty in making their regular trips, and electric cars have been somewhat interfered with but the almost constant use of the snow plow has prevented any tie-ups on the railroads. But all in all, it is a splendid winter so far and the general wish is that the same even conditions may prevail for the traditional hundred days of sleighing that the oldest inhabitants tell about.

* * *

Xmas Mail Held Up; Car Is Off

     The car due in Chardon at 8 o’clock a.m. was delayed several hours Monday morning. The trucks got off the track at Mayfield Road. Christmas mail on the electric line didn’t arrive at the Chardon post office until 1 o’clock.
     Many letters and packages intended to arrive on Christmas for rural route patrons were delayed a day. Rural carriers did not leave the Chardon post office until nearly 3 o’clock, and consequently could not cover all of the routes before dark.
     Holiday visitors along the Burton-Middlefield division of the road, who were anxious to get into the city on the car leaving Middlefield at 6:25 Tuesday morning, were disappointed. As it was leaving Burton to commence the first run out of Middlefield the trucks jumped the track. It was just about time for the second run out of Middlefield at 8:25 when the car was back on the track, and it left Middlefield on time.

* * *

Christmas Glad Day of Reunions

Many Absent Ones Return; Parties, Good Weather and Sleighing Mark Anniversary

     Good weather marked Christmas. Old Sol showed himself a little while Monday. With excellent sleighing many visitors from the city enjoyed a bob sled ride into the country where there was many a happy family gathering, as in town. Traffic on the C. & E. was heavy. . .

* * *

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Thanks to our Newsletter Editor Bill Jackson for collecting and organizing these news stories from various newspaper and library archives.





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