Reinhart Stehle's Farm Becomes Gold Star Park

View of Harmar Hill from the 1870s

 Reinhard Stehle (Born:1841, Binsdorf, Germany - Immigrated 1866 - Died: 1913, Marietta, Ohio)

Reinhart Stehle bought land on top of Harmar Hill, then known as Fairview Heights, from Douglas Putnam in 1885. Reinhart said that he'd been trough one flood (1884) and he wasn't going through another - according to his grandson, Max Saik. He was a cobbler at Fischer & Stehle Shoes on Front Street and his family lived in the 300 block of Scammel Street at that time.

Reinhart built his house where tennis court #1 now stands and worked at becoming a farmer. He raised and sold bees and bee frames, sold milk to local firms, raised registered cows, and farmed the land. He had the land surveyed in 1889 and sold peripheral lots on Lancaster Street and Fairview Lane to help fund his enterprises and care for his family.

Reinhard's Registered Cows. (About 1913)

I believe the water tank now (2019) in the park would appear in the
background at the crest of the hill

 Reinhard and his son, Lawrence Stehle, by the barn, with Shep.
The barn was very close to the house, just below where tennis court #1 now stands.

After Reinhart's accidental death in 1913, his son, Joseph K. Stehle Sr., saw to it that the farm continued as a single entity as long as he lived. Corn one year, straw the next.

 Jim Arnold leaving to harvest corn (about 1955). Barn and house visible in the background.

Reinhart's remaining descendants decided to sell the farm following J.K Stehle Sr.'s death in 1962. The city of Marietta bought the farm and created Lookout Park. A community building, two tennis courts, and a small playground were soon added to the park. The park remained much the same for over 50 years.

On November 17, 2017, Marietta's City Council renamed the park Gold Star Park. It is named to honor any relative who has sacrificed a loved on the the the armed forces of the United States.

 Each of the separate panels is embossed with an image on the reverse. 

The panel below is from World War II.

Gold Star Park, Marietta, Ohio

Weser Death Notices

I've just add the following death records to the Picasa picture site:

• Nancy J. Wigal Weser - died 1896 - Roman's wife
• Roman Weser - died 1899
• Daniel Weser - died 1902 - Matthew and Rebecca's son
• George Alexander Weser - died 1901 - Roman and Nancy's son
• Rebecca Wigal Weser - died 1912 - Matthew's wife
• Teresa Weser Stehle - died 1941 - Roman and Nancy's daughter, Reinhard's wife
• Mary A. Weser - died 1943 - Roman and Nancy's daughter

Click the link on the title of this post to see the notices. If they do not download in a resolution suitable to viewing, let me know.

Stehle Addition, Fairview Heights 1896-1914

I went to the records office at the Washington County courthouse to see if Reinhard had sold any of the lots on the hill subsequent to all those adds he ran in the Marietta Daily Leader in 1896. I was there for two hours.

On 01 APR 1885, Reinhard purchased land up here on the top of Harmar Hill – 98 and 26/100 acres in three parcels – for $4500 from Douglas and Sara Putnam . (Washington County, Ohio Deed Book Vol. 97, Page 202) Douglas Putnam got the land from his father, one of Marietta’s pioneer settlers, David Putnam Sr., on 21 DEC 1877. The Putnams got the land from the Ohio Company.

Max Saik, Reinhard's grandson/Nancy Stehle Saik's son, said in his interview with his nephew Richard Saik that Reinhard had earned the money to buy the land on Harmar Hill from selling honey. That would have had to have been a massive amount of honey! I think he had some other source of income.

Reinhard had 25 and 48/100 acres of his original purchase platted as the Stehle Addition. (Plat Book 3, Page 57) The plat map, dated 08 APR 1896, is available at the Washington County courthouse. The streets have changed since the time the plat was made. The original Fairview Avenue shown on the plat map has long been abandoned. Its former location can be still be seen as a flat area in the woods down over the front of the hill to the east of the Fairview Lane houses at the crest of the hill. The street currently named Fairview Lane appears on the plat map as an unnamed alley between Fairview Avenue and Summit Street. The northern ends of both Summit and Beaver Streets exist today. The rest of these two streets as well as all of North and South Streets were never developed and were totally abandoned when Marietta bought the Stehle Addition as a public park – Lookout Park – in the 1960s. The entrance to the park is where the former North Street intersected Lancaster Street.

I found many deeds from real estate sales – mostly from the Stehle Addition on Fairview Heights with a few other sales in Marietta and Warren Townships. Between 1896 and 1904, 23 Stehle Addition lots were sold to 13 different buyers for a total of $9086.00 dollars. Saida Palmer was the first buyer and she bought the most land in the addtion – 8 lots for $3500 on 01 JUL 1896. John Stehle got one lot for $1 on 01 JAN 1900. Other single lots sold for between $250 and $700 depending upon the lot’s size and location. All deeds list both Reinhard and Teresa (Weser) Stehle as the owners.

The other 4 deeds (from 1900, 1904, & 1912) are for land not included in the Stehle Addition. Those sales brought in a total of $6800 – with one purchase in 1912 bringing in $6000 of that total. There were also 3 listings for rights of way that brought in a total of $13.00. Two were for the Central District and Printing Telegraph Company of Pennsylvania (1905, 1906) and the other was for the Buckeye Pipeline Company (1909).

Total Real Estate Transactions: 1896-1912: $15,899

On 10 JAN 1914, about a month after Reinhard died, his will was probated and Teresa was given title to the land (Washington County, Ohio Deed Book. Vol. 147, Page 144). The will is recorded in the Will Record Book Volume 15, Page 132. I have not looked it up at this point.

Chart of deeds: Date, Buyer, Washington County Deed Book Vol. & Page, Location/Description, Price

• 3 JUL 1896, Saida M. Palmer, 119-602, Lots 128-129-130-131-132-133-134-135-136 – Stehle Add., $3500
• 28 AUG 1899, J. F. Wehr Jr., 131-576, Lots 143, 145, 147 – Stehle Add., $900
• 27 JAN 1900, John R. Stehle, 131-279, Lot 140 – Stehle Add., $1
• 25 AUG 1900, Edward A. Pfeiffer, 132-143 – Sec 35 Twnshp. 2 Range 8, 1½ acres, $300
• 15 AUG 1901, Wm. H. Leeper, 136-502, Lot 137 – Stehle Add., $600
• 3 JUL 1901, H. N. Curtis, 136-587, Lot 155 – Stehle Add., $500
• 11 OCT 1901, Mary O. Newbeck, 138-272, Lot 138 – Stehle Add., $700
• 18 FEB 1902, Anna M. Wallace, 138-545, Lot 139 – Stehle Add., $350
• 19 JUL 1902, C. W. Race, 140-453, Lot 208 – Stehle Add., $250
• 15 OCT 1902, Virginia Schafer, 142-367, Lots 144 & 146 – Stehle Add., $600
• 9 MAY 1903, Dennis J. Crowley, 144-205, Lot 142 – Stehle Add., $375
• 18 APR 1904, W. T. Buell, 148-85, Lot 154 – Stehle Add., $550
• 28 APR 1904, James E. Dewess, 148-169, Lot 209 – Stehle Add., $260
• 12 JUL 1904, Lucy M. Cole, 148-567, Lot 169 – Stehle Add. $500
• 13 JUL 1904, Fremont D. Coffman, 150-176, Sec 35 Twnshp 2 Range 8 – 160 acres - 30 feet wide, $100
• 7 SEP 1905, C.D. & P.T.Co. PA, 153-349, Right of Way – Harmar Twnshp., $2
• 5 DEC 1906, C.D. & P.T.Co. PA, 157-500, Right of Way – Marietta Twnshp.,$1
• 10 NOV 1909, Buckeye Pipeline, 168-83, Right of Way – Muskingum Twnshp., $10
• 26 MAR 1912, Wm. A. Reed, 171-301, Sec 5 Twnshp. 2 Range 9 – Lot 178 Warren and Sec 35 Twnshp. Sec 2 Range 8 Lot 66 – Marietta Twhnshp., $6000
• 2 AUG 1912, John S. Craig, 172-36, Lot 28 – Springdale Add., $400
• 10 JAN 1914, Teresa Stehle, 147-144, All personal property and the homestead lots 150-152-154 – Stehle Add., $0

Marietta Daily Leader News Articles 1896-1901

Our local newspaper, The Marietta Times, accounted last week that the Library of Congress had added an early Marietta newspaper (Marietta Daily Leader) to its Chronicling America website. I've been looking for mentions of Stehle's in the years that have already been posted there (1896-1901) and will look again later when they add more years. LOC plans to add 1902-1905.

There were 132 matches for "Stehle." I've added images for ones that match our family to Picassa. That's the link to which the title of this article is connected.

Some of the things that appeared included:

• Ads for Fairview Heights Stehle Addition lots
• A notice that Theresa was to have a inquest on her sanity. Anyone know anything about this???
• Frank Stehle in the High School Cadets, off for a year of law school at OSU, and starting buisiness
• Some of Reinhard's woes like a barn that burned, a suit he lost for having the addition platted, and a suit he won brought by the agent listed in the adds
• Joe Stehle in business and ill with the grip
• John Stehle getting his marriage license, losing his only son, building a house, and Maggie having a birthday party for Ruth.
• Ginny having parties

Sue Luxa's Mermories of Reinhard

Reinhard Stehle By Sue Luxa, April 10, 2007

Reinhard Stehle > Nancy J. (Nan) Stehle Saik > Matthew J. (Max) Saik > Sue Saik Luxa

His photograph, sepia-toned and frayed, resides in my room of memories. He is handsome with a snow-white beard, a hat perched properly on top of his head with rimless glasses that looked into the present, but saw the past. His three-piece suit is buttoned, and I imagine a watch fob dangling from his pants' waist. Strangely, there appears to be a cast on his left hand. Was it a farming accident? Had he fallen unexpectedly? Why had he allowed the photographer to take his picture with his casted hand so prominently displayed? As in most old pictures, he never smiles, and I wonder what stories he could tell me.

He was my father's favorite grandparent, Reinhard Stehle, a good German whose ancestors had plied their trade as shoemakers in the Black Forest. What convinced him to decide to immigrate to America? Was there a depression? Was it a sense of adventure? Was it his unwillingness to serve in the German military? Had a relative ventured overseas and beckoned and beguiled him with America's possibilities?

My father told stories about the old house in Marietta, Ohio, that he would visit in the summers. He told of jumping off the hayloft into softness below, holding his grandfather's hand as they trekked down Harmer Hill to town. I imagine Dad with his shank of unruly hair, huge brown eyes and suspendered pants looking up adoringly at a man who must have seemed bigger than life.

The story is told that he fell through a trapdoor in the hayloft and was injured.

Today, he probably would have survived. It must have been undiagnosed internal injuries that led to his death. He lingered for several days before he died. It must have been sad news to a little boy who had loved and played with him so long ago.

As a child I returned to the very same house a generation later. My maiden Aunt Ginnie lived in the house now with its musty, mildewed odor; it's large front room. To a child, it seemed dark with its shades partially drawn against the sun's rays. It was where adults talked endlessly about family and farm. It was a house that had an attic up the stairs, a dreamscape of old letters, picturesque stamps, funny-looking clothes ... a child's delight.

It was an ancestral home, a log cabin in its beginnings with the trappings of civilization slowly added, with a trellised front porch and rocking chairs, flowers blooming in the yard and the view of the Muskingum River flowing down and over the hill. It had been home to my ancestors, some of whom I had never met, but I knew for sure it was my beginning, as surely as the river flowed below.

Frank Stehle Dies at Age 25

MARIETTA, OHIO, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1905 [Front Page]

FRANK STEHLE DEAD

Operation for Appendicitis Resulted In Blood Poisoning.

A message was received Wednesday evening from Gainesville, Texas stating that Frank Stehle, whose serious illness was mentioned in these columns last evening, had died.

The news comes as a shock to young man’s friends, and they are numerous. He underwent an operation in a hospital for appendicitis at Gainesville on February 2^nd and blood poisoning set in.

The deceased was a son of Mr. and Mrs. R. Stehle, of Fairview Heights. He was born in Marietta, May 7, 1879 and was therefore almost twenty-six years of age. His early education was occurred in the local public schools. He attended the Marietta City High School and was a member of the class of 1899. He was one of the first officers of the High School Cadets, being second lieutenant of that organization. He also attended Marietta College for a year or two.

Mr. Stehle had been located in Texas since last November. Besides his parents he is survived by four brothers and three sisters.

Joseph Stehle will arrive here with the remains, probably this evening. Funeral arrangements will be announced later.

MARIETTA, OHIO, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1905

Frank Stehle’s Funeral

The remains of Mr. Frank Stehle reached here from Gainesville, Texas at 1 o’clock this morning.

Funeral services will be conducted at the German Methodist church at 2 o’clock tomorrow afternoon by Rev. J. F. Millis assisted by Rev. H. Hertzer.

The funeral party will leave the residence on Fairview Heights at 1 o’clock.

Reinhard Stehle Dies as Result of an Accident

THE REGISTER=LEADER, MARIETTA, OHIO, THRUSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1913

FALL IS FATAL TO RHINEHART STEHLE AN AGED RESIDENT

Injuries Not as First Considered Serious End in Death

---THUR TRAP DOOR---

In his Barn Mr. Stehle Fell, Monday Afternoon - - Death a Shock

As a result of internal injuries sustained when he fell through a trap door in his barn, last Monday afternoon, Rhinehart Stehle, a well known and highly respected resident of this county, died Wednesday afternoon, at 2 o’clock, at his home about two miles west of the city on the Watertown road.

Following the accident, the aged man was carried into his home, a short distance away, and a physician was called. An examination showed that he suffered no serious external injuries and members of the family and the attending physician entertained some hope for his recovery.

Later developments, however, showed that the aged man had received internal hurts, and owing to his advanced age he was unable to withstand his injuries and the shock of the fall. He lingered on until yesterday afternoon, when death relieved him.

Mr. Stehle was working about the barn when the accident occurred. He was pitching hay through a small trap which leads to the basement of the barn. Some hay had stuck in the hole and partly covered it over. At that time Mr. Stehle’s attention was called to something else about the barn, and after retuning, he evidently forgot about the trap door being open. He walked into the hole which is very small. He did not fall through the hatch, but managed to catch himself and hold on until assistance reach him.

Rhinehart Stehle was born in Germany and was past 72 years of age at the time of his death. He was the son of Kasiner [sic] and Josephine Stehle. He left home when quite young and traveled over the greater part of Europe. He came to this country when he was only 26 years of age. Mr. Stehle was a great student from his boyhood and while he did not receive an extensive school education, he was a remarkably intelligent man. In this country Mr. Stehle had made extensive trips and seemed to take great delight in the study of matters generally. Only a few weeks ago Mr. Stehle returned from a trip through the west.

After coming to this country, he located in West Virginia, near Parkersburg, but later came to this city where on June 26, 1868, he was united in marriage. For years Mr. Stehle was in the shoe business in this city and was a partner with Mr. Fischer, in the shoe business on Front Street, where the Fischer Shoe Store is now located. He purchased a farm back of Fairview Heights in 1884, where he moved with his family and has since lived. Mr. Stehle has been a resident of this city and county for more than forty years. He was one of the best known and most highly respected residents of the county, and the news of his death will be received with deep sorrow by his many friends in this city and throughout the county.

Mr. Stehle had never taken part in politics although he watched with keen interest the affairs of the city, county, state, and nation. He was a man of quiet disposition and he never expressed his opinion on matters unless he was requested to do so.

He was a member of the German M. E., church, of this city.

Besides his wife, he is survived by seven children as follows: Mrs. Joseph Saik, of Cincinnati; John R. Stehle, of Marietta; Joseph K. Stehle of Marietta; Misses Regina [sic] and Mary Stehle of Marietta; George Stehle of Pittsburg; and Lawrence of Marietta.

Funeral arrangements have not been completed, but will be announced later.

New Years Letter - Reinhart to Joe Stehle Sr. 1904

Contents of handwritten letter from Reinhard Stehle to his son, Joseph K. Stehle, dated January 1, 1904. Text, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation of words are as in the original. Text that could not be read accurately is enclosed within square brackets. Reinhard would have been about aged 62 and Joe about 21.

Marietta, O. Jany 1 – 1904

Mr. Joseph K. Stehle

Bauemont, Tex.

My Dear Boy,

…your favor of the 24th [ult? nlt?] came to hand and was duly appreciated. I am glad to Know that you are well and that the Climat is more Kind to you than in the Summer. I hope that your health and Strength will return to you and that you may fill out the Measure of your Manhood. We are enjoying a real old fashioned spell of Winter Muskingum been froze solid for more then one Month and Still it is cold. So this is the first day of 1904 it is very apropriat time to look over our Chart and Mark our Compass that we may Steer our little craft safely past

2

…the reefs, sand banks and breakers of Lifes seas. If we choose Jesus Crist as our Captain all is well. I don’t want to Keep my New Years Resolution from you, as you Know that lifes journey with me, has been prolonged beyond the average length. Hence I may be able to give to you a good or a bad example. My Resolution this Morning is not less than this go and desire to love God above things and to love my Neighbors as Myself. I know that this is aiming high and I know the fraielty of Human Nature but I strife after it, and the Lord will give strength and [grace? peace?] to the work. And now I would like to preach to you a little as I have already done to your Brother in my

3

…New years greeting, but preaching is rather unsuccessfull unless the hearers or [other? eather?] Readers Mind is reseptive. As you have so often assured me that you could take care of yourself and did not need my admonitions I will refrain, hoping that you may be able to take care of yourself in the full sense of the Word. It is my earnest wish and desire that 1904 may have [have] in store for you real Happenis Properity, good Health good Companians. In my desire to save you from all pain and dissapoinment I feel constrained to appeal to you and remind you, least you may forget that the Wages of Sin are Death. There is one thing that you seem not to

4

…realize, that is that you ought to take your Parents your Father in to your confididence, I do not Know any thing of your affaris, you make $100.00 per Month how do use your earnings? Do you feel still that it is all right no matter what one does with his money? The fact is Money used for evil is a curse that Man cannot eskape Money use for good is blessing. Each will bear fruit of its Kind, What soever Man will sow soweth that will he also reap. I hope you will accept this few words in the spirit in which it is intended it is me heartfelt desire to see you enjoying true Happeniss, which the loving Heavenly Farter has intended for all his Creatures and now

5

…few Words about Matters, I have tried this sommer to get along with as little help as possible and have worked afith fully myself but there is but little in it. I would like to hold on the land Knowing that some day it will be worth more Money but I don’t see my way out it takes every Dollar to pay expences and Taxes. I think that I could sell the 70 Acers for $7000 [readely?] to invest that at 6% would bring us 420 a year is more than I can make throwing my years work besides and the help besides. What do you think of it let me Know in your next letter. Hoping this few lines will find well and happy, (we are all reasonable well thank God) from your affectionate Father

R. Stehle

George Stehle's Patent

Today I found G. M. Stehle's patent on line using Google's free patent search application.

George M. Stehle " a citizen of the Untied States, and resident of Marietta, in the county of Washington and in the State of Ohio" filed for a patent for a "new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Developing Photographic Films." He was granted the patent on 20 June 1916 and was given the patent number 1,188,217. The down-loadable 6-page PDF file includes images of the drawings for the apparatus as well as the complete text of application.

The application was filed on April 27, 1915.

Max Saik Remembers the Stehles

Recollections of Max (Matthew J.) Saik and His Wife, Shirley Saik

Max (Matthew J.) Saik (1896 to 1985), was a son of Nancy Joseph Stehle Saik and Joseph J. Saik.

Richard T. Saik and his wife Cathy Ann interviewed his Uncle Max (a first cousin of Joe Stehle, Sr.) in the spring of 1981 when Max was 89. This copy of the transcription reproduces those parts of the original interview that speak about Reinhart Stehle, his wife, Teresa, and their children: Nan (Nancy), John, Lawrence, Frank, Joe, George, May (Mary), and Ginny (Virginia)

This transcript picks up on page 4 of the interview. On the previous pages - 1 to 4 - Max speaks of his Saik grandparents and their families.

Page 4 of the transcript:

Shirley: Now tell ‘em about Granny’s side [Teresa Weser Stehle]—

Max: Oh, yeah, my, my maternal grandfather [Reinhard Stehle] was born in Binsdorf, Germany, which used to be part of Austria and is close to the Swiss border. And you know, at the time he was born, they taught the young boys (or whoever wanted to learn) some kind of trade. Now my grandfather was a shoemaker—and he made shoes. And a cousin of his—I don’t know—about a forty-eleventh cousin who lived in Parkersburg—and he had his saloon at Eyth . He looked just like the Kaiser—he looked exactly like him! Well I cant’ help it, I get so excited [to Shirley.]

Shirley: …[? unintelligible ?] German demanding, you know.

Max: He was a big, big tall man and his wife was a little woman…

Shirley: She was so tiny…

Max: And he [the cousin] had a saloon, and at that time they served food to their customers with their beer. And they lived on a street that was number, uh… number 9 1/2, was what the number was—91/2. And the house they lived in is still there.

Shirley: …And two boys—

Max: And two boys--

Shirley: are still living there—they [got] married—still living there.

Max: And one girl who married lived in the same house on the [4th street] that I was born in. Yeah, they… I don’t know how [? unclear phrase – they favor ?] that house then. And my grandfather [Reinhard] and his cousin were real good friends. And they used to visit each other every once in a while. And my grandfather, now I’m talking about [unclear phrase] my grandfather [Reinhard] on my mother’s [Nan Stehle Saik’s] side had a shoe store in Marietta on uh, Pootman St., I think it is. [Putman Street]. And he was in high water. And that water came up in Marietta pretty high. And he said, “I was in one high water, and I’m never going to be in another high water!” So he moved up on a hill and I guess it would have to get up 200 feet before it’d get him. And he bought a farm up there. The money he made to buy a farm while he had the shoe store, he raised bees. And he sold honey—and he made enough money off of the honey to buy this farm. And there was 100 acres on that farm.

[Richard’s note: Again, the phrase behind “I don’t know how...” was unclear. To me, it sounded something like, “they managed,” but I can’t be positive. That would seem to imply that there was some difficulty with either the house itself or the relationships—don’t know what that may have been, unfortunately. In addition, I’m not quite sure what the reference to “the 4th street” might be, since Uncle Max said he was born on Swann St. The shoe store was on Front St. in downtown Marietta, which runs parallel to the Muskingum River and perpendicular to Putnam Street.]

Richard Saik: Quite a plot…

Max: Well, it wasn’t all in one place—I’m under the impression that was, uh, General Putnam’s farm at one time. You know, after the Revolutionary War, a general got 10,000 acres. And then, lieutenants and the others, it went down… privates got 100 acres, I think. Anyway, he had an orchard on there, and he made some money from the orchard. You know, when we lived in Chillicothe, he used to send us a barrel of apples every year. The he… uh, got into the dairy business and he had twenty head of Jersey cows. And of course, there wasn’t no milking machines then. And uh, let’s see…there was George, Uncle George, and Lawrence, and John, and Frank—they were his boys. There were two girls—Aunt Mae and Aunt Ginny. And…uh they helped

Shirley: there was Joe, Joe

Max: …uh, they helped milk the cows—twenty. And when I went over there, I had to turn the separator. You know you have to… And after we separated the milk, I think we got about 5 gallons of cream. And Lawrence and I used to take milk down to a bakery and a creamery where thy served ice cream. And we took that 5 gallons of cream down there every night. And we wouldn’t get home until 10 o’clock. We used to fall asleep. We took it down in an express wagon and oh, [Forrest??] took us and we used to fall asleep coming back home and that darn horse use to go right up into the barn and stop and wait until we unhitched him! (Laughter)

[Richard’s note: Again, a little bit of research confirmed some things about these statements. Marietta was founded in 1788 by the Ohio Company of Associates, a group of about 50 veterans/investors that settled the area. Rufus Putnam was indeed their leader.]

Richard Saik: That’s interesting. I’m thinking…since there was no sophisticated refrigeration equipment…

Max: Oh, no, no…

Richard Saik: …How was the milk preserved?

Max: Well now, they had what they called a cooler. And uh…the milk came down on the outside, and they drew water from a well, or where it was cold, and they had cool water on the inside, and the milk would roll down over there. But they never had any trouble with milk because that skim milk (not the cream) was fed to the hogs. What we pay for now, they fed to the hogs! (Laughter)

Richard Saik: I can believe that… I can see that…

Shirley: And cottage cheese was just a waste…

Max: Yeah, cottage cheese, and clabber.

Shirley: And here now, they manufacture cottage cheese.

Max: Well, they took the whole milk and churned it—that’s where they got their butter.

Richard Saik: But certainly cheese products must have been a convenient way to convert the milk products.

Max: Oh…we went up from Cyrus [Sardis]…I don’t know if you know where Sardis, Ohio is…it’s over on the eastern part of Ohio. It’s pretty close to, uh…I think Pennsylvania.

Richard Saik: Pennsylvania or West Virginia, that’s the only two there…

Shirley: They call it Swiss…

[Jayne Stehle’s note: Sardis is on the Ohio River in Morgan County about 45 miles northeast of Marietta. Morgan County still has a school district named “Switzerland of Ohio”.]

Max: We went up, and Aunt Mae went with us. She said, “I’m going to show you where to go.” And I just caught a glimmer, and I wanted to try it out, anyway. And she said, “You’re going up, and up, and up. They call this place ‘Little Switzerland.’” And we went up and up, and she said, “This is where they make Swiss cheese.” She said, “There’s fellows from Switzerland that come over here, and the people who live up in there and have cows bring all their milk to him, and he makes the cheese.”

Shirley: We went in…

Max: We went in, and at the time we were there, we were buying the cheese for 60 cents a pound. And I told the fellow down below there, and he said, “Don’t you tell anybody else you get it for 60 cents a pound!”

Shirley: Then they took us in the place where they made big wheels and it’s the gas that blows out that makes the holes.

Max: Oh gosh, they got things that big around. Wheels, they call them—in the curing room—well, like a cave. I guess they may still make cheese up there, I don’t know.

Shirley: I don’t know whether all Swiss cheese is made that way now, I don’t know, but they did then. This was a long time ago, when we were first married.

Max: Yeah…

Shirley: Because our car, we only paid $750 for it, so you know it was a long time ago. (Laughter) But the gas in it was…the holes there. I thought that was so interesting because I hadn’t any idea how that happened.

Max: Now then, there was 20 acres that was in the front part of the farm. The city of Marietta bought it. And they made a…

Shirley: [The town??] bought the house…

Max: Oh yeah, well the house was tore down…

[Jayne Stehle’s Note: Reinhard’s house was torn down and replaced with a tennis court. The barn near the house was torn down and nothing put in its place. The property is now Marietta’s Lookout Park and has a fire station, a community building, two tennis courts, a playground, and a city water storage tank. Most of the land is still undeveloped and is often used for sled riding by neighborhood children in the winter – as did I when I was a child.]

Shirley: Yes, it had a log cabin.

Max: Oh yeah…in the dining room was a log cabin. And it was built up around there

Shirley: They kept adding on around it.

Max: And the part that the old kitchen…my grandfather moved it over and he said, “I’m going to put all my beekeeping equipment in there.” And that’s where he kept his beekeeping equipment. He, uh…well, he extracted the honey from the comb and that’s the way he sold it—like uh liquid honey.

Richard Saik: Was it used as a substitute for sugar sometimes?

Max: Well, I used it for sugar…

Richard Saik: Because refined sugar may have been extraordinarily rare because…

Max: Oh, I don’t know about that…Oh, I used to live on biscuits and honey…(Laughter)

Shirley: We thought it was reducing, see—but honey has calories, too.

Max: Yeah…Well, anyway, we always got all the honey we wanted, because we always had honey and my grandmother [Teresa Weser Stehle] used to make pancakes & biscuits. Gosh, I can see her yet. When she made pancakes, she had a big old, uh…crock-like—it was about that high. And she put those pancakes in there to keep them warm and that’s the way they served ‘em—it’s a wonder we were all there.

Richard: OK, you couldn’t, uh…you could only make a certain number at a time…

Max: Yeah, that’s right…

Richard: And rather than serve them to each one, she kept them warm, and then served them.

Max: Well, she had an old stove—no, they had gas—when I re…because you know, they had…well, that’s where John D. Rockefeller started—over in the eastern part of Ohio. And had gas and, uh…in the places they had gas they’d have a flaming burning all the time—night and day—they never shut it off.

Richard: This is natural gas?

Max: Natural gas. And that’s what they had in…

Shirley: Fireplaces were that way…

Max: Oh yeah, the fireplaces…

Shirley: It really wasn’t good because there was a certain dampness that goes with it. And then uh…you know, at the time, I don’t know about gas now, if you had that much of it, it would smell, but the odor from it was…kind of worried you.

Max: And when my uncles got sittin’ around, and didn’t do anything, it kinda disgusted my grandfather. He said, “When are you fellows gonna get outta here and do something?” He said, “You’ve been sittin’ around here all morning, and you ought to get out.” And it kind of disturbed him that they’d bought an old stove—and it was a wood stove—and that’s the way they heated the place. And they finally got out and chopped wood. Oh, they helped him…they helped him. And uh…well, Uncle John, he went out to Montana, and he thought he was going to make some money on raising wheat, but he…well, you know, it doesn’t rain out there in Montana where they raise wheat too often and he lost out on three times—three seasons. He didn’t make any money at all on it. Finally, it caught up with him and I think he went to work for a railroad or something, and the children stayed out there. But one girl [daughter of John Stehle], well, she came east here, and she, uh…she’d go, and she had a boy—and I don’t know, I think they got a divorce, didn’t they? Or did he die?

[Jayne’s Note: The daughter of John Stehle who came to visit was Louise Stehle Walker Collins. She had her nephew, Kyle Gipson – the only child of her sister, Winifred Stehle Gipson McKoewn, with her. This information is from Kyle Gipson who survives at the writing of this note on August 30, 2009. Kyle is the only grandchild of John Stehle. John’s other daughter’s had no children.]

Shirley: Yeah, she was divorced.

Max: Yeah…And oh…she was really good. And she said, uh…

Shirley: She had gone away by herself.

Max: And I said, “Well, how in the world do you get by, driving by yourself?” “Well, uh…you know, I have a gun layin’ right on my side.” And she could shoot, too! She was a…

Shirley: She was from Butte…

Max: She what?

Shirley: Butte, Montana.

Max: Butte…Well, she made herself one of those little jackets, like…out of a deer that she shot, and had the fringe on it.

Cathy Ann Saik: Is that right?

Shirley: Well, she was manly. [unintelligible] You could tell she was real western.

Max: Yeah. And she said, “If anybody would have bothered me, I’d let them have it.” And she could shoot, too! (Laughter)

Skipping here from Page 9 to Page 11 of the transcript:

Max: Now Uncle Joe [Stehle] was in the uh, oil well supply business. He sold for a company by the name of Turner, out of Pittsburgh. And he went down to Texas, and he sold oil well supplies down there, and he then he had his brother come down with him—that was Frank—you didn’t know Frank.

Shirley: No…

Max: And he went down there, and he contracted…oh, uh…appendicitis. And gangrene set in, and they couldn’t do anything for him, so he died down there in Texas. And Uncle Joe had to bring his body back up here. Anyway, when he got tired of going down there, he, uh…he got a job with a company up in Dayton that made, uh…cast iron pipe fittings. And he did bid on a job when they built that Carew Tower, but Crane Co. beat him out.

[Jayne's note: Frank died in 1905. Joe later worked for Kuhn Brothers in Dayton, OH until he retired.]

Shirley: Uncle Joe was a good salesman.

Max: Oh, he was a good salesman! Why, Aunt Mae said he could sell refrigerators to Eskimos! (Laughter) That’s what she said. And…why, I used to sit in his study and, uh…maybe read some of the books, and listen to him on the telephone, and gosh, he could sell more stuff over the telephone than I think he did out on the road.

Shirley: You didn’t want to play pinochle with him, though…

Max: No…

Shirley: ‘cause he cheated…

Max: He cheated! (Laughter) And when he got tired of that job down there [in Texas], he went over in the eastern part of Ohio, and I think he got quite a number of acres that he leased. You know, the people who owned the property get an eighth of all the oil that’s produced on their property. And he went up there—and that’s where he…it was in the same ground that John D. Rockefeller owned. And he had a fellow with him who started out at the same time John D. Rockefeller did. And he didn’t do what John D…John D. gave…oh, he tried to run everybody out of business. Now I was talking to this fellow one time. And he said, “Now when this is all on the up, well, you could go down there with a huckster wagon, and before you got very far, you could sell everything you had.” He said, “It was really crowded in there—uh, people who connected with oil.” And that was part of the Pennsylvania base, too—and that’s the best oil there is. Now, out in California, where they have, uh…out there at Santa Fe Springs, Walnut…Walnut Hills?

Shirley: Walnut Grove…

Max: Walnut Grove, there. Why, that oil is…oh, is asphalt-based, and western oil is not as good as this eastern oil.

Richard: I think it has somewhat to do with the, uh…geological history of the Pennsylvania area because are not the Appalachian Mountains considered to be older than the…geologically speaking, than the Rockies? Is not that true?

Max: I don’t know, but…

Shirley: Seems like it ought to be…

Max: But out there in the eastern part of Ohio, they go down eight and nine hundred feet, and out in California, they go down 6,000…10,000 feet.

[The interview ends shortly after this section with more talk about California.]