Kelleys Island School - Emerald Isle Yearbook (Kelleys Island, OH)

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Mrs. Frank Hamilton Lloyd was born in Bay Bridge, Sandusky County on August 11, 1903. Lloyd, his brother Jim, and sisters, Helen and Mary, came to the Island to visit during the summer. They stayed at Dawn KekeIik's house. They moved to the Island in 1924. Lloyd and his brother Jim, grew grapes and fruit for a living. One year they had 10,00 bushels of aof school for a day or two to help pick fruit. Sometimes it was as long as a couple of weeks. Lloyd can remember when more than 1,000 people lived on the Island. Lloyd said The difference on the Island now is that little land is cultivated and that there are no more grape vineyards. The main occupations were general farming, quarrying, fishing, and raising cattle. He said, Almost everyone had a cow. Many people raised cattle. Lloyd used to give sleigh rides. Sometimes he have as many as 25 a year. He drove the last horse across the ice in 1929. He has also crossed the ice in a Model T Ford. For entertainment, they had masquerade parties. LIoyd's father was the leader of them. Every Sunday afternoon people would gather in front of Matso's Bar - the Lodge - and talk. Downtown was only for men. Women and children were rarely seen downtown. Sherry Willis Mrs. Frank Hamilton came to Kelleys Island in the year 1922, or 1923, lshe can't rememberj. She had gone to business school. After graduating she came to the Island because she heard that the quarry was looking for a girl to work in the office. Mrs. Hamilton can remember that there were many people living on the Island then. The quarry was the main industry. There were also fisheries and wineries. She recalls that her husband, Frank worked in one of the wineries before they were married. Mrs. Hamilton said that there was always some sort of work to be done. Whenever people had some spare time, they went to parties, dances, and other events. One such sport was the baseball games. Many of the people on the Island got together and played. She liked it when she first came to the Island because she got to go dancing quite often. The Island had their hometown orchestra. There were also plays to watch. The Island had their own theatrical company. There were more businesses then on the Island. There was a library, a Red Cross Society, which was formed in 1919, an ice cream parlor, a liquor store, and a boot and shoe repair shop. At one time, she and her husband owned EIfer's Grocery Store and also ran the Casino. lThe store the Hamiltons owned is now Frank Pohorence's warehouse.J Sherry Willis .g -Q . . : I Mr. Lloyd Marchky 29

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Interviews Mr. and Mrs. Lee Brown are one of the elderly couples of the Island. Mr. Brown is 90 years of age. He and his wife, Helen, were both born and reared on the Island. Mrs. Brown was born in Ed Sennish's home. Mr. Brown was born in the house in which he now lives. He was a fruit harvester. The main occupations on the Island were quarrying, fishing, and the wineries. Supplies were brought across the ice in horse and bob sled. Mr. Brown served on the Water Board for 38 years. Mr. and Mrs. Brown said that the Island hasn't changed much, except things are modern now. They rember that steamboat rides were 25 cents. They also remember the first car was owned by the school principal. Mrs. Brown's graduating class consisted of 13 students. The school rooms were filled. They had school dances and school plays. They felt that there was better entertainment on the Island. Bands and orchestras used to come over to play that the people would have a good time. Mrs. Brown was the treasurer of the Literary Society. Miss Jean Dwelle and cousin 28 Sherry Brown Miss Jean Dwelle was born in Sandusky in 1902. She moved to the Island with her family when she was three years old. They moved to Cleveland when Jean was five years old. She came back to the Island in 1914 and attended Estes High School for one year. She was taken out of school by the doctor. She then helped her grandmother run the Dwelle Hotel. Her grandmother ran it until the 192O's. Jean recalls that the Moysey and the Ward families also ran boarding houses. Mr. John Himmelein also ran a hotel. There was a dance hall in his hotel. They invited bands to the Island to play for them. Actors and actresses came to the Island and put on plays in the Town Hall. They used to study their parts on Jean's front lawn. At the Dwelle Hotel they served meals to the boarders every day of the week. A baseball team came to the Island once, and Jean can remember going to the market and buying 12 steaks to feed them. When Jean re-opened the boarding house in 1948, a couple came and wanted to rent a room. Jean found out that they had stayed at the boarding house when her grandmother ran it. Marie Feyedelem

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ii Mr. Karl Miller Ann Pohorence has lived on Kelleys Island since she was four years old. She is now 82. Her parents, Joesph and Ann Chervany, moved to the Island from Czechoslovakia. They and their seven children lived in a house by the stone crusher on the North side. Ann attended public school until the fourth grade. There was also a Catholic school on the Island. At the age of 15, she went to work. One of the railroad engines stopped in front of her house, so she always had a ride to and from work. There were at least a couple thousand year-round residents. The Island had quite a mixture of ltalians, Hungarians, Irish, Germans, and Czechoslovakians. It was very easy to find a job. There were quarries, stone crushers, machine shops, wine cellars, fruit orchards, a cooper shop where barrels were made, and lime kilns. Barges carried the stones away from the quarry. Ann admits she was a tomboy, and always watched the boats and railroad engines. There were around a dozen wine cellars on the Island when wine making was one of the main industries. ln the fall, the school children picked grapes. They made fifty cents a day. In the winter there was a lot of snow. People couIdn't always travel, and many children didn't make it to school. In the summer the Island was overflowing with people. Many kids went to Camp Darby during the summer. lt was a club on the west side. There was even a dance floor. Kelleys was never a dull place. Families could dance to accordian music every night. There was always weddings to goto, with receptions that lasted two or three days. Close to three masquerades were held a year. People even decorated their horses and rode them around the Island before they went to the Town Hall. There, a panel ot judges selected the person with the best costume. Ann married Joesph Pohorence when she was 17 years old. Joe Poherence had been born and reared in Marblehead. Mrs. Poherence has lived in the house where she now lives for 32 years. Her daughter, Florence, lives with her. Marie Feyedelem Mr. Karl Miller was born on December 13, 1891. He was reared on the Island. Karl is 86 years of age, and is still going strong. Karl's grandfather came from Germany to look for property. He brought 13 acres. Karl's father came from South Asherst, Ohio. His mother's maiden name was Schelb. She came from Middle Bass, Ohio. His mother came to the Island when she was twelve years of age. It was a strict rule to go to school everyday. After school they would pick grapes, and also on Saturdays. The whole valley was filled with grapes. Karl lived on the East side of the Island. The family had 23 acres that they farmed. Ten acres of it was used to grow grapes. After Karl graduated he worked in a winery. They made all kinds ot wines. The main occupation on the Island was the quarries. There were over 1,700 people on the Island when the old quarry worked. Block stone taken from the quarry was used to make many of the buildings and homes. Some homes still stand today. There were Lime Kilns on the north side of the Island. People began to raise Long Horn cattle, and had a slaughter house to do it. Alter a long days work, they had dances, masquerades, suppers and orchestras. When Karl Miller's mother was small she lived in Ted Blatt's house. It was the only one on Division street. Sherry Willis Mrs. Ann Pohorence