Frosted Ohio Presidents

Never in my life did I think I would get excited about mid 20th-century frosted glass tumblers, but here I am blogging about it. Again. I now have several different sets of Ohio related drink-ware and I've posted about one them before. I learned from my previous research that Ohio was a leader in the glass industry from the late 1800's to the mid 20th century so there are many Ohio themed glasses from that period.

I started this next set of  "Presidents From Ohio" glass tumblers by picking up three of them for a good price at an antique mall several years ago. I've seen the rest on eBay but at $8-14 a piece plus several dollars for shipping that was going to set me back a bit to get the entire set of eight. I'm kind of a cheapskate. Another website had an incomplete set of 6 for $120. Ouch.

Thanks to the sharp eye of an old friend browsing at a local antique mall who sent up the Gehio signal (he texted me), yours truly is now the proud owner of an entire eight-piece set. The best part? Only $35!

This series was designed by Fran Taylor and produced by her company, Gay Fad Studios of Lancaster, OH which was open from 1945-1962. Fran obtained blank glassware from various Ohio manufacturers such as Hazel Atlas Glass in Zanesville and Federal Glass in Columbus. Another was Anchor Hocking which was a few doors down from Fran's Pierce Avenue studio. The blanks were then stenciled and hand-painted. Because I had duplicates, I compared them. I noticed that the coloring on the birthplaces is somewhat different. That makes each one is unique.

The 12-ounce frosted glass tumblers are 5" high with a rim diameter or 2-3/4". The front of each President’s glass features his portrait, a facsimile of his signature, and his years in office (or year of the month in W. H. Harrison's case) with “Presidents From Ohio” above, all in brown, while the back shows his birthplace* in brown with colorful accents. In all my research I've never been able to determine the exact year these were made. Perhaps the secret is contained within the two-volume 610 page book published in 2011, Gay Fad: Fran Taylor’s Extraordinary Legacy by Donna McGrady. At $150 that's too rich for my blood to find out. I'm not so much obsessed with Fran's entire impressive career and work as I am about this particular set of glasses. It would be nice to know how many were made since as I stated before, being hand painted, they are all slightly different.

*Since I am William Henry Harrison obsessed, I noticed that being a Virginian by birth, Harrison's is not a birthplace, but a home in Ohio when he was elected. However, he never lived in a home that looked like a log cabin. The same scene is used in grandson Ben Harrison's birthplace. Ben was born on William's farm in North Bend OH but it was more like a mansion. All the others seem pretty accurate.

I have a couple of other full Ohio related glassware sets to write about waiting in the wings, so look for that...

Ohio History Harvest

September is rich and abundant in Ohio Presidential trivia goodness. Here is a crop of nine savory nuggets from our ninth month. Let's start with the early adventures of our 9th President.

General Harrison statue
in Cincinnati

1812 - The Siege of Fort Wayne began in the Indiana Territory on September 5th led by Potawatomi and Miami Indians. Future 9th President General William Henry Harrison's Kentucky militia from Newport Barracks (across the Ohio River from Cincinnati) joined Ohio militia on September 8th and arrived at the fort September 12th. Known in advance of the approaching superior force the Indians led by Chief Winimac abandoned their attack.
Although born in Virginia and Governor of the Indiana Territory, Harrison would adopt Ohio as his home state, serving in various Ohio political offices and residing in North Bend OH when he became President. I've probably written more blog posts about Harrison than any sane person ever would. Here is a short one to match his brief Presidency.

1812 - Hey what do you know, another WHH entry!...On September 17th William Henry Harrison is made Major General of the US Regular Army by President Madison. Harrison would later defend Ohio from Indian and British advances by building Fort Meigs near Toledo in the War of 1812.

Hendricks is the only VP on US money

1819 - One of three Ohio born US Vice Presidents, Thomas A. Hendricks, 1st VP under Grover Cleveland was born on September 7th in Muskingum County OH. Having spent most of his life as a Hoosier and served as its 16th Governor, he ran with Indiana as his home state in the 1884 election. Hendricks is the only VP whose portrait appears on US paper currency, the $10 silver certificate of 1886. Hendricks died unexpectedly in his sleep just 8 months after being sworn in as Vice President in 1885.

grade school book
about Woodhull

1838 - Suffragette Victoria Woodhull is born September 23rd in Homer OH. Who? In 1872 she was the first woman to run for President and she couldn't even vote for herself. It wasn't just because she was a woman, but she was also in jail on election day. Oh, and black abolitionist Frederick Douglass was named as her running mate by her Equal Rights Party. One problem. Douglass was, in fact, supporting Grant. There’s also no record of how many votes the Woodhull/Douglass ticket received because they apparently weren't even counted. As you can deduce, this Presidential run was more of a protest.

I have to admit I didn't know much about Hendricks or Woodhull before researching for this post. I definitely would like to read more about Woodhull. Notorious Victoria by Mary Gabriel is on my Goodreads to do list.

I have several blog posts about the next four items which are linked in the text.

1855 - Illinois lawyer Abraham Lincoln Rudely was rudely greeted in Cincinnati on September 20th. One of the impolite greeters was Steubenville OH born Edwin Stanton who would later become Secretary of War seven years later under President Lincoln during the Civil War. Politics makes strange bedfellows they say. Upon Lincoln’s death in 1865, it was Stanton who tearfully said the famous words “Now he belongs to the ages.” 

Taft birthplace in Cincinnati

1857 - Speaking of Cincinnati, 27th  President William Howard Taft was born September 15th in the suburb Mt Auburn. Taft would finish his term unlike many Ohio Presidents, but not get re-elected to a second one mainly due to a public dispute with Teddy Roosevelt. He was the only former POTUS to become a member of the SCOTUS.
Random thought: If Hillary Clinton becomes President in 2016, she will have become the first FLOTUS to become POTUS. Bill would become the first...FGOTUS? Anyway...

Garfield Tomb in Cleveland

1880 - Arriving in San Francisco by train on September 8th, 19th US President Rutherford B. Hayes became the first US President to visit the West Coast while in office. I never had a whole post about Hayes but he gets a mention here. This is the only Ohio President who I've never visited the birthplace or grave site. I understand his Delaware OH birthplace is now the site of a BP gas station. At least there is a plaque. The more substantial Hayes Presidential Center and grave is on my Ohio bucket list. Hayes was also Ohio's 29th and 32nd Governor.

1881 - On September 19th, Moreland Hills OH born 20th President James Garfield succumbed to his bad doctors one excruciating month after an attempted assassination. I recommend reading the riveting Destiny of the Republic by Candace Millard which is all about that. It's a great book and one of my favorites. I've read it twice!

McKinley Tomb in Canton

1901 - Well we made it to the 20th century! Just 20 years after Garfield, on September 14th, 25th US President William McKinley died after being shot by an assassin eight days earlier in Buffalo NY while headed to Cleveland. McKinley was born in Niles OH and spent most of his life in Canton where his tomb is. He was the 39th governor of Ohio from 1892 to 1896. Rutherford B Hayes was McKinley's commanding officer during the Civil War in the 23rd Ohio Regiment and were both at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. For more on McKinley's assassination, I recommend The President and the Assassin by Scott Miller.

Ohio's Mint Condition

obverse

Did you know Ohio is home to America's oldest private mint? It's also only 6 miles from my house.
Here's the story.
A few months ago I ran across an item on eBay and ended up purchasing it for about $12.
It's a mint condition 62mm (2 ½ inch), 16-gram (.5 ounce) 1953 brushed aluminum medal commemorating the sesquicentennial of Ohio statehood.
The obverse features the Ohio State Seal surrounded by busts of the eight Ohio US Presidents:
William Henry Harrison (9th), Ulysses S. Grant (18th), Rutherford B. Hayes (19th), James Garfield (20th), Benjamin Harrison (23rd), William McKinley (25th), William Howard Taft (27th), and Warren G. Harding (29th).
The reverse notes the company and location "Osborne Coinage Co. Cin. 25, O." At first, I didn't know what the "25" signified. I discovered that it references the zip code of the company location which would be "Cincinnati Ohio, 45225" in the Camp Washington area.

reverse

The medal was struck by the Osborne Coinage Company of Cincinnati, OH which happens to be the oldest private mint in the US and still in operation today. I checked with them but unfortunately, they didn't have any further information on the history of this item, such as how many were made or who specifically it was created for. The early 1950s produced many Ohio Statehood promotional items to gear up for the 150th anniversary. As far as this coin goes, it doesn't show up on eBay much. Another site, which I lost the link to, was selling one and said they'd only seen two of these in twenty years. I don't think it's valuable or anything but I am happy with the price I paid.

Osborne traces its beginning back to 1835 as the Z. Bisbee Co. originally located on 5th Street in downtown Cincinnati a few miles from Osborne's present location in Camp Washington.
During its 181 year history, Osborne produced everything from campaign coins for eight presidents including Lincoln and FDR, food ration tokens in WWII, subway tokens, Alcoholic Anonymous sobriety coins, casino coins, commemorative sports coins, and Chuck E. Cheese tokens. In other words, pretty much anything that was coin-like and wasn't legal tender.

If you need a custom coin, head over to Osborne and tell then Gehio sent you.

related Gehio posts:
- Happy 58th Birthday to our 49th State...Ohio!
- Ohio Statehood Day!
- Ohio History on a Stick
other sources:
- 1997 LA Times article on the Osborne Coinage Co.

Mount Molehill

Mountain-shaped McKinley Tomb in Canton OH

On August 30th, 2015 President Obama changed the name of Mt. McKinley, the 20,237-foot mountain and the tallest in North America to Denali.
What is a lover of Ohio history and a Native American sympathizer like myself to do?
Ohio politicians are fit to be tied. Some are saying it's an example of the President circumventing Congress. Others say it's a slight against Ohio's martyred native son. A meme going around had racist overtones. Former Ohio Congressman Rep. Ralph Regula (R) went so far as to call Obama a dictator. Hyperbole much?

After some soul-searching (in the form of Google), I uncovered some things known as "facts".

Obama himself didn't really change or "decree anything". The headlines you see are mostly clickbait. More on that in a bit.

1896 adoption certificate

The mountain was known as Denali or Deenaalee, a Koyukon Native American word meaning “the high one” or “great one", for centuries. The first documented non-native sighting was by a Russian named Andrei Glazunov in 1834 who used a variant of the name "Tenada" in his 1839 map. Then along came a gold prospector in 1896 named William Dickey (not from OH but just gaga for gold and McKinley) who decided to call Denali, Mt. McKinley since he had just been named the Republican nominee for President. That's pretty good PR. McKinley was elected, served a full term, started the Spanish-American War, annexed Hawaii, got re-elected. But his main legacy is being assassinated in his second term by an anarchist in 1901. For that, he got a whole mountain.

The first mapped depiction of Denali
in an 1839 expedition

In 1917, sixteen years after the President's death, the US officially recognized the name Mt. McKinley when the surrounding national park was created.
Here's the thing. Charles Sheldon, who promoted the idea of creating McKinley National Park, wanted Congress to call the mountain Denali. They ignored that request. Alaska just kept calling the mountain Denali and has had a standing petition for the Federal name to be changed back to Denali since 1975. Ohio politicians kept blocking the 1975 proposal and the name remained Denali in Federal records. McKinley National Park was later renamed Denali National Park in 1980 without much controversy. But Mt. McKinley stayed. I suppose if they had done what Charles Sheldon wanted in the first place, we wouldn't even be discussing this now.

In 2015, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, citing authority in a 1947 law passed by Congress, changed the mountain name back to Denali. The 1947 law states that the  Interior Secretary can authorize name changes if the U.S. Board on Geographic Names does not act within a reasonable time. Alaska's entire Congressional delegation, Rep. Don Young (R-AK), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) praised the decision saying "Denali, the 'Great One' comes home" and "Today, the nation recognizes what Alaskans have known for generations". It's worth noting that Sen. Sullivan was born in OH just 70 miles from McKinley's birthplace.

McKinley was never here

The Obama administration isn't entirely innocent. The timing of the restored name came on the eve of a planned presidential visit with an emphasis on Alaska's connection to climate change. So there is some political maneuvering there. But it's not all rainbows and unicorns for Obama with the state of Alaska. Protesters are planning to greet the President. Not to protest the name change, but to urge him to reverse his decision to allow Shell Oil to drill in the Arctic.
Keep in mind that McKinley never visited Alaska and has absolutely no historical connection to the state of Alaska. None. Re-naming it Mt. McKinley in 1896 was the political stunt.

“With our own sense of reverence for this place, we are officially renaming the mountain Denali in recognition of the traditions of Alaska Natives and the strong support of the people of Alaska.”  - Interior Secretary Sally Jewell

The new 2015 GMC McKinley. Thanks, Obama.

McKinley, a pretty mediocre POTUS in historical rankings, has lots of things named after him, schools, streets, a gun club(!), memorials, a great tomb.
Get over it Ohio. It's embarrassing. I love you lots but you don't get to name mountains in Alaska.

Bonus trivia: McKinley was the first president to ride in an automobile. The one that took him to the hospital after being shot. There is no car named after McKinley, but there is a GMC Denali. Go figure.

Another Gehio post on McKinley

It's Ohio Statehood Day! Now about that flag...

weirdo Ohio flag

I have to be honest. I used to hate the Ohio flag because it tried to be different than the other flags. Now I love it for its uniqueness.

The pennant shaped Ohio flag is called a burgee, also known as a guidon. Ohio is the only US state to have a silly flag like this. Because of its odd shape, there is also a specific procedure for folding the Ohio flag and since 2002 even has its own pledge:
“I salute the flag of the state of Ohio and pledge to the Buckeye State respect and loyalty”
Never in my life have I heard anyone recite that.

Now, on with the obligatory symbolism explanation...

15 star US flag
Sorry Ohio, you have to wait 15 years for a star

The 5 stripes for the 5 states that came from the NW Territory as well as the roads and waterways.

The 17 stars are for the fact that Ohio was the 17th state. It is interesting to note that while Ohio was the 17th state in 1803, there was never a 17 star US flag. Or 18 and 19. Or 16 for that matter. The 15 star US flag (the one that inspired the Star Spangled Banner) was used from 1795-1818 until the 20-star flag was created. What a ripoff!

at the McKinley Library in Canton OH

The blue field represents Ohio's hills and valleys. Um, sure!

The O seems obvious to most sane people, however, when Barack Obama ran for President and was doing a photo op in front of the Ohio flag, an ignorant radio host was outraged and alarmed that Obama had his own flag.
The white circle with red in the center is for the "O" in Ohio and symbolizes the "Buckeye", Ohio's nickname. It's not an Obama flag. It's not a Puerto Rican flag either.

I wondered what flag designs were used before the "official" one but it turns out from 1803 - 1902 there was no official Ohio flag. I thought this was strange at first but it turns out that most States adopted their first official flags in the period between 1890 and 1925. Why? The same reason Ohio did it, to promote their State at various Expositions that occurred in those days. It was for PR to encourage new business which turned into jobs and taxes.
You see, the Ohio flag was created by John Eisenmann, a Cleveland architect, to fly over the Ohio Building at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo NY where it was flown for the first time. Ironically at this very event is where Ohio born US President William McKinley was assassinated on September 6th 1901.
The Ohio General Assembly officially adopted it as the state flag of Ohio on May 9th, 1902, known statewide as "Ohio Flag Day". No, not really, I highly doubt anyone observes this except people that have read this far.

For more about Ohio Statehood Day and how it's really not, read this excellent blog post.

ORC 5.224 Ohio Statehood Day.
The first day of March is designated as "Ohio statehood day," in recognition of the date in 1803 when Ohio became a state. In addition to those duties imposed on the Ohio historical society under section 149.30 of the Revised Code, and those duties imposed on the superintendent of public instruction under section 3301.12 of the Revised Code, the society shall, throughout the state, and the superintendent shall, in all school districts, encourage and promote the celebration of "Ohio statehood day."
Effective Date: 05-31-1988

Breaking Buckeye

Billy's Tomb in North bend OH

I've written a few posts about our Ohio Presidents including another general one for President's Day. Having a 50% mortality rate of the eight Ohio Presidents along with the poor showing of the survivors is not a great legacy but an interesting one at least. They were also all Republicans with one Whig. Draw your own conclusions there. Just kidding. Republicans in those days barely resembled the modern GOP and both the Republican and Democratic parties have produced fine Presidents. That is the closest I will get to modern political commentary on Gehio.

#9 William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia (and his treatment no doubt) 32 days into his 1st term. I have written about Billy (his friends really called him that) a few times on Gehio. OK, he is an adopted Buckeye (like me!). He was born in the colony of Virginia but spent nearly his entire adult life in the Ohio Valley when there was no opportunity for him in the failing Virginian planter class economy. He had an impressive political and military resume (Governor of the Indiana Territory and General in the Northwest Indian Wars and War of 1812) and decided to get back into politics late in life. At age 67 when he ran in 1840, they said he was too old and sickly to be President. They were right.

Now here comes the triple threat Civil War General, Ohio President domination from 1869-1881...

Grant's ironic sign near his birthplace
in Point Pleasant OH

#18 U.S. Grant was the only Ohio president to be elected to 2 (scandal-ridden) terms and sought a 3rd later (Garfield became the nominee in 1880 instead). The end of his life wasn't as grand as his deserved war hero status from the Civil War. Good warriors do not always make good Presidents.

#19 Rutherford B. Hayes chose not to run for a 2nd (a campaign pledge). It's a good thing I guess. Hayes actually lost the popular vote and there was a backroom deal to decide disputed electoral votes similar to Gore v. Bush in 2000. His presidential legacy will always be known for that rather than anything else he did.

Garfield preaching it
in Cincinnati OH

#20 James Garfield finished out the Ohio Presidential hat-trick but was shot by an angry office seeker named Charles J. Guiteau and died 6 months into his 1st term from infections caused by his poor medical treatment. This was standard at the time. In my opinion, he could have been a truly great President but who knows? Maybe he would be led down the path of power and corruption like many others. Read more about James' fascinating life in Destiny of the Republic by Candace Millard. It should be noted that this could have been Grant's 3rd term and he may have been killed by Guiteau himself. Grant did die in 1885 when he would have been finishing that 3rd term. So no matter what, I think #20 was doomed.

After that hot mess, we go in twos from 1889-1923...

#23 Benjamin Harrison, William's grandson lost re-election for his 2nd term. Another Civil War General. He was sandwiched in between the two Cleveland wins. I guess people felt they made a big mistake with Ben. The Harrison's just couldn't catch a break in the state they helped create.

#25 William McKinley was shot by an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz 6 months into in his 2nd term. he was a Major in the Civil War. Believe it or not, it wasn't until McKinley was President that Ohio got a state flag (1902) and the first place it was flown was where he was shot and killed. Coincidence?

McKinley's not so modest tomb
in Canton OH

#27 William Howard Taft of Cincinnati lost his re-election thanks in part to Teddy Roosevelt's 3rd party run that siphoned off votes. The first Ohio president to have no military service. He was appointed a Supreme Court Justice later so he did pretty well for himself compared to the other Ohio guys. I am obligated to point out that he was very fat.

#29 Warren G. Harding ran and won against another Ohioan, a Democrat named James Cox. I believe that was the first Ohio vs. Ohio match-up. Then he died of congestive heart failure 2 years into his 1st term. Harding also had no military service.  My Great Grandfather sent a telegram of congratulations on his win in 1920. They were both from Marion OH. There are lots of weird things about Harding's Presidency and death.

Eight Buckeye's to a plate

Then that’s it. The end of the Ohio Presidents.
Americans gave up on Ohio after that. Too risky. Other Ohioans such as Dennis Kucinich have sought their party nomination and there has been talk of Senator Rob Portman or current Governor Kasich having a go but there has never been another major party nominee from the Buckeye State since 1920.  Ohio still plays a key role in modern presidential politics and her electoral votes are much coveted as no Republican has ever been elected President without winning Ohio. If I were a politician from Ohio thinking about a Presidential run, I would take a deep breath consider the legacy thus far.

Some quick Ohio history for September

History can be fun. For September I decided to go with a cartoon themed synopsis of trivial dates in Ohio history. Enjoy.

September 1st, 1878
Cincinnati's first telephone exchange opens just two years after Alexander Graham Bell made the first phone call and said, "Mr. Watson, come here! I want to see you!". The invention took off but not his suggested greeting of "Ahoy".

September 3rd, 1925
The first US airship the USS Shenandoah, crashed in Noble County OH. This disaster predated the Hindenburg tragedy by 12 years.

September 6th, 1791
Arthur St Clair and 4,128 troops leave Ft Washington in Cincinnati to engage Indians. Only about 1,000 made it due to desertion, poor leadership and gout. They were soundly whooped in what became known as St Clair's Defeat, an overwhelming Indian victory against the US.

September 10th, 1813
Commodore "He's a brick house, he's mighty mighty" Perry wins the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. Control of the lake from the British ultimately led to a US victory in the war that everyone forgot. While it's true that most historians consider the war a draw, this left the Indians in the US without a European ally for the first time in hundreds of years. This greatly accelerated the US sweep across the continent.

September 14th, 1901
Fulfilling Tecumseh's Revenge (not really), Ohio born US President William McKinley, Jr., died after being shot by an assassin eight days earlier.

September 15th, 1857
Future fattest US President ever William Howard Taft is born in Cincinnati OH.

September 18th, 1932
Not able to catch a break in the booming film industry, stage actress Peg Entwhistle infamously jumps from the H on the Hollywood sign and dies. She is buried in Cincinnati OH.

September 19th, 1881
Also fulfilling Tecumseh's Revenge (ok maybe there is something to this), Ohio born US President James Garfield dies from gunshot wounds and bad doctors. September was a terrible month for Ohio US Presidents.

September 26th, 1820
The wildly exaggerated life of Daniel Boone who was a man, a big man with an eye like an eagle and as tall as a mountain, comes to an end. Boone participated in many military expeditions into Ohio against the Shawnee.