Before Snowplows and Snow Blowers

By Tracie Evans, Curator of Collections

Although snow has been sparse this year, the most recent snowfall brought to mind the large snowfalls of the past.  Have you ever wondered how people managed all the snow in Northwest Ohio before we had snowplows and snow blowers?  In the museum, visitors can see many of these snow related artifacts on display. 

Snow Roller

One of the most unique snow-related items in our collection is a snow roller.  This large wooden object features a 4’ wooden cylinder that was pulled by horses along drives and roadways to compact the snow into solid avenues.  This allowed sleighs and other winter vehicles to glide along without getting stuck or sinking into soft snow.

Wooden Snow Shovels

People also had to clear snow to their barns and outbuildings like the outhouse by hand. I’m sure no one wanted to wade through snow to the outhouse.  Most people cleared snow by hand using shovels. Although not everyone would have had specialized shovels, you will find five examples of snow shovels from the late 1800s in the museum.  These wooden shovels sometimes had metal on their ends to help with the removal of ice.  Just as today, ice was a problem on steps and walks, according to The American Frugal Housewife (1833), “salt strewed upon the door-steps in winter will cause the ice to crack, so that it can be easily removed.”  

There are several types of vehicles used for work in the winter.  Wide blades were used for untreated areas and heavy work while thin blades that needed compacted or hardened snow were used to transport people.  If you are or were an avid sled rider, this is the same principle between a traditional sled with runners and a flat sled or toboggan.  Although both types of runners work well on hardened or compacted snow, a traditional sled tends to get stuck in deep snow.  

Thin Runner

Wide Runner

To attend church, go to town, or visit with friends, families used either a cutter or a sleigh.  A cutter is a small single seat sleigh for one or two people.  A cutter was quick and light and usually pulled by a single horse. The small size however, made them impractical for a family.  Families used a sleigh that usually had at least two seats and were pulled by one or two horses.  Both sleighs and cutters worked best with only a few inches of unpacked snow or on packed snow.  

Albany Cutter

Russian-Style Sleigh

Many buggies and smaller wheeled vehicles had interchangeable runners so that they could be used year 'round. Our mail wagon has a set of these interchangeable runners allowing it to be used throughout the year.  Farmers also had a set of bobsled runners that could be used to replace the wheels on most farm wagons.   Bobsleds had wide blade runners that allowed farmers to continue to work around their farms throughout the winter. One important job was the harvesting of wood for fireplaces and sawmills. 

Bobsled

These winter items along with information about ice harvesting are featured in a special exhibit in the museum.  We hope that you will stop by when we open this spring to see these and other newly featured items throughout the museum.

Civil War 150th Anniversary

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War. To help us remember that historic event, and to review the impact the war had on our country, state and local communities, Sauder Village will host a lecture series and open a new Civil War exhibit in the Museum Building.

April 12, 1861 is an important historical date that may not ring a bell for many of us today. At 4:30 that morning, a cannon ball was fired at the federal fort in Charleston Harbor, Fort Sumter, marking the beginning of the American Civil War. “Blood, Sweat and Tears: How the Civil War Touched Northwest Ohio,” is a new exhibit at Sauder Village. This special display will examine the national, regional and local impact of the war. The exhibit will explore the ways Ohioans participated in the war and what was happening on the home front. Guests can learn about what affect the war had on the lives of the women and children left at home and how families communicated with the soldiers and received news about the war.

“The Civil War touched each person’s life whether they served or not and affected their daily activities,” shared Tracie Evans, Curator of Collections at Sauder Village. “The soldier’s area of the exhibit will include an overview of the war, Ohio’s role, companies and regiments from Northwest Ohio and how soldiers made the decision to serve. The Homefront area will look closely at the role of women during the war, relief organizations, daily life, agriculture and dealing with loss.”

The Civil War exhibit in the Museum Building will open on Monday, May 16 with an Open House at 5:00 p.m. – before the start of a special Civil War lecture, “Blood, Tears and Glory: How Ohioans Won the Civil War.” This first lecture in the series will be presented by Dr. James Bissland at 7:30 p.m. at the Sauder Heritage Inn. Dr. Bissland is Associate Professor Emeritus of Journalism at Bowling Green State University and author of the book “Blood, Tears and Glory: How Ohioans Won the Civil War.” The lecture is free and open to the public.

A second lecture will be held on Monday, June 20th at 7:30 p.m. Steve Charter, Head and University Archivist for Archival Collections at Bowling Green State University, will present “Civil War on the Homefront.” Steve will focus on what was happening on the homefront, the economic, political and social climate during the Civil War. What happened while the fathers, sons, husbands and brothers were away? Who was left behind and how did they cope while offering “moral support” to their soldiers. Insight will be gleaned from diaries and letters.

Sauder Village is pleased to be working with the Ohio History Service Corps and a group of local museum and non-profit organizations from Fulton, Williams, Henry and Defiance counties to coordinate the Civil War and War of 1812 activities. For more information about the Civil War Exhibit and Lecture Series at Sauder Village visit: http://www.saudervillage.org/History/Civil_War_Remembrance.asp

For other Civil War events and activities throughout the region visit: http://www.ohiocivilwar150.org/

Sauder Village participates in “Arts Gone Wild”

At Sauder Village, we understand the importance of partnering with other art and cultural organizations and are excited to again be part of Arts Gone Wild, the annual summer event sponsored by Toledo area arts and cultural organizations.

The Arts Gone Wild event will be at the Toledo Museum of Art this summer with a new twist. Instead of a two-day festival, the Museum is hosting a month-long exhibition of objects and materials from participating organizations.

The Arts Gone Wild exhibition opens in the Community Gallery with a special It’s Friday celebration on Friday, July 16 and continues through August 15. The exhibition is not a typical fine art exhibition but instead features multi-media “vignettes” representing the work of each organization. Displays include video clips of performances, theatre costumes, musical scores, books, photographs or original artwork. Using photos and unique works of art designed by our talented craftsmen, our display is a striking exhibit that highlights Sauder Village as a cultural destination in Northwest Ohio.

From 1:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, July 16 in Libbey Court, Nancy Lewis, one of our Native American interpreters, will invite visitors to learn about Northwest Ohio in 1803. She will be weaving a traditional native bag and visitors will be able to make cordage bracelets. In addition, Chereen Thompson will demonstrate spinning. Visitors will be able to touch different types of fibers as well as try their hands at carding wool, drop spindles and spinning on a wheel.

Urban Jazz Collective will perform from 7–8 p.m. that day in the Great Gallery. The talented students from the Toledo School for the Arts have performed in various venues in the Toledo area including Murphys and Manhattan’s. Later, from 8–9 p.m. in the Great Gallery, the Toledo Ballet will present Aquarius, from the musical Hair, and Flow, a contemporary piece. The music for Flow is a song titled “Ketto” by Bonobo.

Arts Gone Wild is an evolving series of events sponsored by a coalition of arts and cultural organizations including the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, Imagination Station, Sauder Village, Toledo Ballet, Toledo Botanical Gardens, Toledo–Lucas County Library (Main), Metroparks of the Toledo Area, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Opera, Toledo Symphony, Toledo Repertoire Theater, Toledo School for the Arts, Toledo Zoo, Valentine Theater and WGTE. The organizations meet regularly to discuss issues of common interest and ways to work collaboratively.

Admission is free to the Toledo Museum of Art and to all of the Arts Gone Wild activities. We hope you'll take time this summer to check out our Sauder Village display and all of the other great exhibits and activities planned for Arts Gone Wild!

Treasures of the Museum

Let’s take a quick look at a new addition to Sauder Village! If you’ve been to our Museum Building, you know it is truly a “treasure chest of Americana” . . . featuring rows of farm equipment, tools, washing machines and more! Our founder, Erie Sauder, was interested in preserving these artifacts to share with future generations. And today, our curator of collections is working to preserve these treasures while also helping to share their story!

To help create some visual interest in the Museum Building and better tell the story of these artifacts, our curator of collections, Tracie Evans, has created some special new exhibits. Some of the first exhibits you’ll see are “Children at Play in 1900” and “Time for Fun” – sharing the story of how children and families enjoyed their leisure time. Other displays include “A Winter Harvest,” “Expressions of Grief,” and “Incubators, Brooders & Chicks, oh my!” We hope you’ll take time this season to wander through the Museum Building to enjoy the thousands of items on display and the unique new exhibits that help tell stories of life in the past!